1. Feminist Criticism and Pride and Prejudice

2. What is feminist criticism?
Differences between men and women
Women in power OR power relationships between men and women
The female experience

3. Differences between men and women
The assumption that gender determines everything, including values and language
The canon must be expanded to include the study of the genres in which women “traditionally” write: journals, diaries, and personal letters
Note the differences in both the topics or issues about which men and women write and the perspectives from which they write

4. Women in power OR power relationships between men and women
Note and attack the social, economic, and political exploitation of women. Note whether women have any power and what type it is.
Society has not treated all of its constituencies with equity, and literature is a means by which inequities can be identified, protested, and possibly rectified.
Note the division of labor and economics between men and women.
Note how men and women interact with each other in a variety of relationships. Does the woman act in any way subservient to the man? Does the man treat the woman like an adult? A political and economic equal?

5. Marriage in Pride and Prejudice
Use the following chapters:
Volume I, ch. 1 – Mrs. Bennet’s view; entailment
Volume I, ch. 6 – Charlotte’s and Elizabeth’s views
Volume I, ch. 19 – Mr. Collins’s proposal and view
Volume I, ch. 22 – Charlotte’s acceptance, Elizabeth’s reaction
Volume II, ch. 19 (ch. 42) – the Bennet marriage
Another section of your choice related to marriage
Take notes on the different views of marriage presented by each character. Then answer the questions on the following slide.

6. 1. What makes marriage a central element of the society presented in Pride and Prejudice? 2. How do the characters view the role of parental choice in marriage? 3. How do Charlotte’s views on marriage coincide with the views held by others in her community? 4. How does Elizabeth’s view of an ideal marriage differ from other characters’ views? 5. What is Austen criticizing through her depiction of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s marriage? 6. What does Mr. Bennet’s behavior toward his wife reveal about his attitude toward patriarchal culture? Toward women? 7. Why does Mr. Collins structure his proposal as a business proposal? 8. What is the connection between marriage and female power (or lack thereof) in the novel?

7. Other Discussion Questions
9. What role do mothers play in the context of Pride and Prejudice? 10. To what extent do the female characters – Elizabeth, Jane, Miss Bingley, Mrs. Bennet, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh – carry responsibility for the actions and events in the novel? 11. To what extent do the women in the novel hold power? What kind of power do they hold? 12. Do the female characters adhere to traditional gender roles? 13. How would the novel be different if the Bennets had sons in addition to their 5 daughters?