The Proposals Within Pride & Prejudice
“Pride and Prejudice is about how we make choices” the newyorker.com 2013. Austen uses the novel to critique marriage during a patriarchal society, presenting two contrasting attitudes: liberal and conventional, to demonstrate that marriage choices have life-long consequences. This extract shows Lizzie’s unconventional feminist choice to say ‘no’. In Regency times, a clergyman was a good marriage match for Lizzie’s social rank; it would secure her house and future. The twenty-something gambles her security by rejecting Mr Collins (it could be her last offer). Marianne in Sense and Sensibility sums up this risk, ‘‘A woman of seven and twenty could never hope to feel or inspire affection again’
In this extract, Austen pitches Liberal Lizzie against Conformist Collins, in an irony and humour drenched proposal; the juxtaposition and wit emphasise the ridiculousness of the situation. Steeped in irony, Collins mistakes Lizzie’s embarrassment as ‘modesty’, thinking his reasons for marriage (partly to please Lady Catherine), will persuade our feminist Lizzie; instead they repel her. Humour has the reader laughing at Collins, as this ‘boring’ man believes he’ll be ‘run away with by my feelings’, which has Elizabeth ‘near laughing’. Lizzie’s rejections are ironically perceived as ‘encouragement’ – this ‘silly’ man just doesn’t take Lizzie seriously. Lizzie ‘cried’ numerous times, and this repetitive language stresses Lizzie’s exasperation, whilst ramping-up the humour. Collins insists on churning out a pre-learnt formal speech, almost like a monologue, whilst Elizabeth fights for space to stop him ‘you are too hasty sir’ (the reader can’t help but laugh). Collins talks only of ‘my happiness’, in the first person possessive pronoun, something that we later see mirrored in Darcy’s first proposal to Lizzie. Using direct speech, Austen entertains us with a verbal match of wit from Lizzie and irony from Mr Collins, demonstrating how preposterous this conventional marriage proposal was.
Throughout the rest of the novel, Austen continues to compare Lizzie’s feminist attitude, with that of the conventional. Charlotte Lucas pragmatically chooses to accept Mr Collins, knowing that at most she can only hope for ‘happiness’ with this ‘conceited’ man. Mr Bingley almost lost happiness with Jane because the social barriers didn’t conform. Whilst Mr Bennett is the result of a fast fanciful proposal in youth, which led to an ‘end to all real affection’. Lydia and Wickham’s “passions were stronger than their virtues”, and would lead to long-term financial and emotional struggles. Convention brought unhappiness in Austen’s opinion.
However, Lizzie and Darcy are Austen’s case-study of the perfect coupling, to show that homophrosyne is the key to matrimonial success. Darcy’s first proposal to Lizzie mirrors Collins’ in many ways, and this ‘mortified’ Lizzie’s pride, making him the ‘last man I would ever wish to marry’. Non-conformist, Austen allows Lizzie and Darcy’s love to blossom before agreeing to marry. The ‘wild’ Lizzie stands out from the other women and she ‘roused and interested’ him as she was ‘so unlike them.’ Whilst Darcy moves from being ‘proud’ to ‘humbled’ by Lizzie. Jane and Bingley were an acceptable partnership in Austen’s eyes, but Darcy and Lizzie were the best, ‘she only smiles, I laugh’ said Lizzie.
A ‘radical subversive’, Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice as a warning to choose your partner carefully, running society’s conventional views of marriage, alongside her own liberal ideas .She would have shocked and maybe excited Regency readers. Austen was a pioneering feminist ahead of her time.
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