English 1060 Pride & Prejudice

England after Shakespeare English civil war ( ) between parliament and Charles I Charles I executed for treason in 1648 The “Protectorate” rule by Puritan Oliver Cromwell Cromwell dies 1658; protectorate fails and Charles II invited to throne 1660 (Restoration) Brief war again in 1688; James II deposed; William III invited from Netherlands

English Theatre Declines The Puritans are strict Christians and close the theatres in When they reopen in 1660, the great age of theatre is gone. Restoration theatre continues but is less of a force in literature. The rise of literacy makes reading a more private activity.

The English Enlightenment The 1700’s in England is a time of urban prosperity and expansion in the British empire. As the power of the royal court shrinks, science and technology become more prominent. Although the novel form expands, it is not a particularly productive period for literature. Satire and more cynical styles are popular after the religious wars of the 17 th century.

Clothing at 1800 Lace, powder, and wigs disappear from the wealthy, believed to be too close to the styles worn by the French aristocrats before the French revolution. A cultural shift to more individual and expressive clothing begins, with a new interest in following high fashion. Two centuries of fashion

Romanticism Romanticism is in some ways a rejection both of the coldness of enlightenment technology and the industrial revolution, and of the French Revolution. In popular culture there is a new appreciation for nature, human emotions, and humanism. Although romanticism is not a religious movement, the 1800s see a religious revival.

Romanticism German painter Caspar David Friedrich: “the artist’s feeling is his law.” English poet William Wordsworth: poetry should be “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Much of German Romanticism led to a reawakening of feelings of nationalism and emotional desires for recapturing a lost, primitive Germanic identity rooted in nature.

Class System in England The two old medieval classes in England, the aristocracy and the peasant classes, are now joined by the middle class. Upper: Rural; based on land and inherited money Middle: Urban; based on trade and earned money Lower: Urban and rural; based on dependency on other classes As the upper class is no longer the richest, it increasingly distinguishes itself by appealing to standards of honor and breeding, seeing the middle class as vulgar and unsophisticated.

The novel in England Novels existed in some form in ancient Rome, Arabia, China, and India, and in early modern Europe, but did not spread to England until the 1600s with the growth of printing. The first modern novel in English is considered Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719). Novels rejected older aristocratic poetic forms; they were popular with a mass audience and were cheap and easy to read. As they were usually read privately, they tend to deal with the growth and development of personal experience.

Novels were disapproved of! There is a joke in the novel when Mr. Collins strongly protests that he never reads novels. In the time period novels were not high literature and were disapproved of by the nobility and by the church for being immoral and too common in style. No universities were teaching novels in English departments in 1800!

The novel of manners As remaining in the upper class was precarious, and social climbers wished to join it, adopting the romantic ideals of proper behavior was a theme of the novel of manners. It often opposes private desires with the limitations and rules of social politeness.

Jane Austen Jane Austen herself was on the lower fringe of the upper class. Born to a pastor and descended from wool traders, Austen never married and died young but was comfortably wealthy and could afford the luxury of private writing when few woman (or anyone) could. Her novels were published and acclaimed during her lifetime.

Pride and Prejudice Pride and Prejudice was originally written as a series of letters when Austen was young (“First Impressions”), and was rejected for publication in The work was edited over Austen’s lifetime and finally published in 1813, when Austen was nearly 40. Is Austen’s decision to write a novel a statement in itself, in that she rejects more aristocratic formats of writing? Does the novel support or criticize aristocratic values? Her characters try to live up to noble, gentlemanly values, but are sometimes trapped or defeated by them.

The Bennets Because under British inheritance law the eldest male inherits property (primogeniture), when Mr. Bennet dies, his house will be given to his cousin, Mr. Collins. This is one reason Mrs. Bennet is so anxious to find wealthy husbands for her daughters. Mr. Bennet: Kind, wise, distant, unkind? Mrs. Bennet: Emotional, temperamental, cares about daughters Jane (eldest); Elizabeth; Mary; Kitty (Catherine); Lydia Also: Mr. Bingley; Caroline Bingley; Mr. Darcy; Miss Darcy; Charlotte Lucas; the Philips; the Gardiners; Lady Catherine de Bourgh; others

Questions Is the narrator consistent? Sometimes we hear that “everyone felt sorry for the Bennets” or “everyone was jealous of the Bennets” and the community’s opinions keep changing. Can you always trust whether the narrator is honest or joking? How does Elizabeth change as a person? Do you agree with her decisions? How are women represented in the novel? Are they mean? Trapped? Practical? Manipulative? Compare Charlotte/Collins’ marriage to that of Jane/Bingley or Elizabeth/Darcy. Does Charlotte do the right thing in marrying Collins? Is there an ‘ideal’ type of marriage in the novel? Austen originally called her novel “First Impressions.” How do first impressions matter in the novel? Why do you think the novel has the name it does?

Questions Mr. Bennet’s humor is enjoyable in the novel, but at times he seems to be a poor father and husband. Is this true? How and why? Lady Catherine de Bourgh is funny in her arrogance. Why or how is she funny? Is the writer saying something about class distinctions in the novel? Pride prevents people from getting what they want in the novel. How does it hurt or change Darcy or Elizabeth? Analyze Elizabeth’s conversations with Lady Catherine. Is she right to be disrespectful to Lady Catherine? Austen seems to feel that upbringing is more important than people’s basic personalities. Is this true? For example, is Lydia badly raised or just an immature, boy-crazy girl?