Introduction
Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice depicts a world in which reputation and social status are determining factors for a person, especially a woman. Moreover, the perception of a woman in the novel is formed from the generally accepted norms of behavior for her, going beyond which threatens to lose the status of ‘worthy’ of marriage. The book depicts women as unblemished like Jane, tainted like Lydia, and women who openly oppose these social patterns like Elizabeth. Through the novel’s main character, the author expresses her attitude to reputation as a social construct that imposes obligations on a woman.
Discussion
The social status of women in the novel before marriage is determined by their beauty and intelligence, and after marriage, by their husbands. The novel’s main character, Elizabeth, “is aware that marriage plays an important role in getting a statue in England” (Hashemipour, 2019, p.53). However, she is not afraid to break society’s expectations by speaking her mind and not being afraid to be smarter than others think she should be. One would assume that by such behavior, she could irrevocably destroy her reputation and never get married. However, it is her character that is one of the main factors that determine her attractiveness. Globally, Elizabeth does not commit serious acts that could threaten her social status. However, even her appearance “with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise” (Austen, 1813, p.39) for Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley becomes a big shock. It causes the characters to question Elizabeth’s manners, yet the readers are not affected by the situation.
Another notable character is Mrs. Bennet, who seems to be a decent woman at first glance. She is successfully married and brings up her daughters so that they repeat her fate. However, despite having Mrs. Bennet’s social status due to her marriage, she is not taken seriously. The only thing this heroine cares about is the marriage of her daughters. She is quite narrow-minded, which ruins her reputation with wealthier people like Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys.
The reputation issue in the novel is especially serious after Lydia elopes with Wickham. These relationships outside of marriage led not only to the destruction of the girl’s reputation but also affected her entire family (Alhaj et al., 2018). Elizabeth says that this situation with Lydia taught them some useful lessons. Firstly, “loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable,” and all further virtues of a woman will not be able to improve the situation (Austen, 1813, p. 355). Second, for a woman, “one false step involves her in endless ruin” (Austen, 1813, p.355). This attitude towards women’s reputation seems unfair because if Lydia were a man, such an act would be easily forgiven, and probably, no one would attach much importance to this. Finally, a woman’s “reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful” (Austen, 1813, p.355). The more beautiful a woman, the more requirements for her behavior, and accordingly, the more opportunities for her to spoil her reputation.
Conclusion
Thus, the theme of reputation in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is one of the key ones. Revealing the importance of social status for a woman through different characters, the author demonstrates social stereotypes and biases regarding women of that era. Through the image of the main character, one can understand how absurd the concept of women’s reputation is and how easy it is to destroy. At the same time, there are fewer requirements for men in the novel, and their actions do not have such devastating consequences.
References
Alhaj, A. A. M., Kilayil, H. M. A., Noorain, A. A. S., & Hamza, S. M. A. (2018). Jane Austen’s Depiction of Female Halfwits in Pride and Prejudice. JAAR, 6(4), 150-155.
Austen, J. (1813). Pride and Prejudice. Planet eBook. Web.
Hashemipour, S. (2019). Two Lovers in an Austenian Novel of Manners: The Impact of Social Status in Pride and Prejudice. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Publications, 1(9), 51-55.