Weekly Response Five

“The arts of pleasing men, in other words, are not only angelic characteristics, in more worldly terms, they are the proper acts of a lady."

-         Literary Theory page 816

“‘It may perhaps be pleasant,’ replied Charlotte, ‘to be able to impose on the public in such a case; but it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely—a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better shew more affection than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on.’ "

            - Pride and Prejudice page 59

Question: How does the image of women as angels meant to please men affect the family members and their respective roles in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice?

Austen creates a plethora of characters through this novel, each representing some different personality quirk or goal. For Mrs. Bennet, this stereotype of how women should act sits heavily on her conscious, as “The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news” (Austen 45). She wants her daughters to be seen as the best women in the running for the potential suitors. Mr. Bennet, however, admires his daughter Elizabeth precisely because she does not bow at every man because, “they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters” (Austen 45). This quickness in Lizzy is exactly what sets her apart from this “angelic” image of 18^th century women, and because I’ve yet to finish reading, I’m interested to see how it affects her in the long run.