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【Abstract】In Pride and Prejudice, Austen describes various ladies and several subordinating gentlemen. She shows more stupid male roles than female roles in the novel. The criticism of the male characters in the novel indicates that though a number of characters are laughably foolish, and some common mistakes made by both men and women in the pursuit of marital happiness. Austen thus demonstrates the equality of the sexes in all aspects of life.
【Key words】Austen character gentlemen equality
【中圖分类号】I561.074【文献标识码】A【文章编号】1001-4128（2011）04-0023-02
Austen was born in 1775, is one of the most important novelists of the nineteenth century. In her life, she wrote about six novels. Among them, Pride and Prejudice is the most popular and best one. Since it was published in 1813, achieved a popularity that has endured to this day. Many scholars study the novel from the view of value ofmarriage in this novel, Many other scholars study the novel from the description of the female characters in this novel, giving prominence to the heroine Elizabeth’s intelligence, courage, independence and self-knowledge. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen describes various ladies and at the same time she also describes several subordinating gentlemen. She shows more stupid male roles than female roles in the novel. Their idiosyncrasies are not affected by gender, and the male and female possess equal amounts of absurdity. Austen thus demonstrates the equality of the sexes in all aspects of life.
1 Jane Austen and Her Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, is one of the most important novelists of the nineteenth century. She was born in Steventon, England, in 1775. Her father, George Austen, was the rector of the local parish. Jane was born in a happy and resourceful family. Her parents were never wealthy but they had aristocratic connections and a recognized and respected place in society. Austen’s mother was a great reader of novels, which were borrowed from a circulating library and she had a gift for writing verse and choosing words to rhyme-the gift that was inherited by several of her children.. At the age of twelve, Jane began to write down some stories. She copied the stories into three manuscript books, which she labeled ‘Volume the First’, ‘Volume the Second’ and ‘Volume the Third’. They are known as the Juvenilia. The stories are light-hearted, witty and amusing, and were read aloud to the family in the evenings. She also had a high-spirited taste for nonsense…At fifteen her writing is already marked by her characteristic neat stylishness, her crisp irony （Cecil 1967: 273） By 1795, Jane had grown into attractive and lively young women and became popular guests at private parties, and country house balls. There they would meet their friends and dancing partners. In the next year, 1796, Jane began working on the first version of Pride and Prejudice, which she called “first Impressions”. She read it aloud to her family and it impressed her father so deeply that he wrote to Thomas Cadell, a London publisher, offering to send the manuscript.
However ‘Declined by Return of Post’ was written on the top of the letter, though it is true that Thomas Cadell himself had not seen or read the manuscript. Not be discouraged, Jane began revising another manuscript, provisionally entitled ‘Elinor and Marianne’. But she found this too restricting and later transformed the text into Sense and Sensibility, the first of her books was published, in 1811. Pride and Prejudice was published in January 1813, two years after her first novel, and achieved a popularity that has endured to today. Austen published four more novels: Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. The last two were published in 1818, a year after her death. As the most popular novel of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice has won her the highest reputation. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”（Chapter I P1） Beginning with these words, Pride and Prejudice leads us to a beautiful love world of the 19th century shaped by Jane Austen.
2 The male characters in Pride and Prejudice
2.1 Fitzwilliam Darcy：The readers’ attention is first drawn to Mr. Darcy as a tall, handsome and noble feature. His annual income of ten thousand pounds makes him even more of a talking point for the ladies of Meryton. Despite his wealth, however, he is contrasted with his popular friend Bingley and is found to be arrogant and proud, “his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased” （P8） Darcy’s image as a proud man is further emphasized with his offensive rejection of Elizabeth by pronouncing her “not handsome enough to tempt me”（P9） to dance with. Darcy is haughty and biased against Elizabeth’s family, at first conspicuously represented by her flighty younger sisters, her mother and Mr. Collins. Initially his strong prejudices and first impressions stop him from pursuing Elizabeth, but eventually he gives in to his impulses. Indeed, Elizabeth’s lessons to Darcy consist largely in teaching him behavior which would traditionally be assigned to her. In one such lesson she uses the piano as a metaphor to demonstrate that social discourse——that presumably female talent——is not inherent but learned.
“ My fingers…do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do…. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault because I would not take the trouble of practicing”
In another scene, she repeats the lesson by rebuking his silence during a dance:
“It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy. I have talked about the dance, and you ought to make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples.”
Here the heroine is teaching the hero and reversing the traditional mode of male teacher/ female student.
And Darcy also reverses the conventional rule that women’s role is to “ please men” by declaring that the motive for his transformation resides in his desire “ to please a woman worth of being pleased”. Darcy demonstrates his continued devotion to Elizabeth, when he rescues ludia and the entire Bennet family from disgrace, and when he goes against the wished of his haughty aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, by continuing to pursue Elizabeth.
Eventually, Darcy proves himself worthy of Elizabeth.
2.2 Charles Bingley：Mr. Bingley is a wealthy, unattached, young man. He is introduced as “good looking and gentlemanlike”. Bingley’s character is not at all intricate. Much like Jane, he is an amiable and good-tempered person.
Unlike Darcy, Mr. Bingley is not overly concerned with class differences, and Jane’s poor and embarrassing family connections are not a serious deterrent to his attachment to her. Bingley’s lack of pretensions and honest disposition make his feelings for Jane obvious to all people. However, his distinguishing trait is readiness to yield to the persuasion of a friend. So Bingley is so modest and easily swayed by the advice of his sisters and Darcy that he is susceptible to the pressure from them to leave Netherfield for London, and his relationship with Jane is only re-established with Darcy’s approval.
2.3 Mr. Bennet：Mr. Bennet is the patriarch of the Bennet household——the husband of Mrs. Bennet and the father of the five daughters. His humour is largely employed in teasing his wife.
“Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve and caprice that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character.” （P3）
Having ruined his life by a foolish marriage, He takes refuge in his books and seems to want nothing more than to be bothered as little as possible by his family. His indolence leads to the neglect of the education of daughters. Even when Elizabeth warns him not to allow Lydia to go to Brighton because of the moral danger of the situation, he does not listen to her because he does not want to be bothered with Lydia’ complaints. He neglects his duties as a father. In particular, his foolish indulgence of Lydia’s immature behavior nearly leads to the family’s disgrace when Lydia elopes with Wickham. Detached from his family, he is not a good father, and loses respect from the readers.
2.4 Mr. Collins：Mr. Collins is a comic and satirical figure who is not a sensible man. His air was “grave and stately, and his manners were very formal”. （Vol. One Chapter 15） With the help of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, he becomes a clergyman, and the respect which he felt for his patroness mingles with a very good opinion of himself. He is a man who believes wholeheartedly in class, even though he gains only the second helpings of its benefits. And in order to receive those benefits, he must toady himself to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Rather than feel embarrassment at his behavior, he believes so strongly in the value conferred upon a person by class. He is full of self-importance because he has a noble woman as his patroness.
The shallowness of his Christianity is expressed in his critical letter to Mr. Bennet, which shows no compassion or forgiveness towards Lydia. He desires a wife only for the sake of appearances, and his shallow nature allows him to switch his attentions from Jane to Elizabeth, and then finally to Charlotte. His absurdity increased as the story progresses, and when he proposes to Elizabeth, he represents the kind of marital compromise that trades all natural feelings for economic security. It’s Mr. Collins’s arrogant stupidity that makes his proposal to Elizabeth the most comical scene in Pride and Prejudice.
2.5 George Wickham：Wickham is one of the male characters, which is an officer in the regiment stationed at Meryton. George Wickham’s first impression is very favorable for he has a “most gentlemanlike appearance” and “had all the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address.”（P64） He is quickly judged to be a perfectly good and amiable man because of his friendliness and the ease of his manners. Ironically, Wickham has the appearance of goodness and virtue, yet this appearance is deceptive, and hides an unscrupulous and calculating mind. He initially shows a preference for Elizabeth, and she is pleased by his attentions and inclined to believe his story about Darcy. But for the sake of money, Wickham quickly turns his attention to Miss King, concerning whom the “sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most remarkable charm”. Wickham is a trickster who leaves a series of debts in Meryton and Brighton. He is evil, quite willing to corrupt others to involve them in public disgrace if he can thereby assure his own security. Wickham is also an absolute scoundrel. He has attempted to seduce Miss Darcy, and finally, he succeeds in luring Lydia and they elope regardless of fame and family. He is persuaded to marry only by the promise of money and a commission in the Army. Yet on arriving at Longbourn after the hastily arranged marriage, he feels no shame at his actions at all.
3 Conclusion
In Pride and Prejudice, Austen describes various ladies and several subordinating gentlemen. She shows more stupid male roles than female roles in the novel. The criticism of the male characters in the novel indicates that though a number of characters are laughably foolish, and some common mistakes made by both men and women in the pursuit of marital happiness, their idiosyncrasies are not affected by gender, and the male and female possess equal amounts of absurdity. Austen thus demonstrates the equality of the sexes in all aspects of life.
Bibliography
［1］ Austen, J. 1991. Pride and Prejudice. New York :Oxford University Press.
［2］ Bentley, R. 1870. J.E.Austen-leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen.
［3］ Cecil, D. 1967. Jane Austen Society : Jane Austen’s lesser words,pp.273
［4］ Faye, D. L. 1995. Review of English Literature: Anna Lefroy’s Original Memories of Jane Austen, pp.138
［5］ He, Zh. 2001.Jane Austen’s Feminist Visual Angle. Journal of Sichuan Forein.
【Key words】Austen character gentlemen equality
【中圖分类号】I561.074【文献标识码】A【文章编号】1001-4128（2011）04-0023-02
Austen was born in 1775, is one of the most important novelists of the nineteenth century. In her life, she wrote about six novels. Among them, Pride and Prejudice is the most popular and best one. Since it was published in 1813, achieved a popularity that has endured to this day. Many scholars study the novel from the view of value ofmarriage in this novel, Many other scholars study the novel from the description of the female characters in this novel, giving prominence to the heroine Elizabeth’s intelligence, courage, independence and self-knowledge. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen describes various ladies and at the same time she also describes several subordinating gentlemen. She shows more stupid male roles than female roles in the novel. Their idiosyncrasies are not affected by gender, and the male and female possess equal amounts of absurdity. Austen thus demonstrates the equality of the sexes in all aspects of life.
1 Jane Austen and Her Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, is one of the most important novelists of the nineteenth century. She was born in Steventon, England, in 1775. Her father, George Austen, was the rector of the local parish. Jane was born in a happy and resourceful family. Her parents were never wealthy but they had aristocratic connections and a recognized and respected place in society. Austen’s mother was a great reader of novels, which were borrowed from a circulating library and she had a gift for writing verse and choosing words to rhyme-the gift that was inherited by several of her children.. At the age of twelve, Jane began to write down some stories. She copied the stories into three manuscript books, which she labeled ‘Volume the First’, ‘Volume the Second’ and ‘Volume the Third’. They are known as the Juvenilia. The stories are light-hearted, witty and amusing, and were read aloud to the family in the evenings. She also had a high-spirited taste for nonsense…At fifteen her writing is already marked by her characteristic neat stylishness, her crisp irony （Cecil 1967: 273） By 1795, Jane had grown into attractive and lively young women and became popular guests at private parties, and country house balls. There they would meet their friends and dancing partners. In the next year, 1796, Jane began working on the first version of Pride and Prejudice, which she called “first Impressions”. She read it aloud to her family and it impressed her father so deeply that he wrote to Thomas Cadell, a London publisher, offering to send the manuscript.
However ‘Declined by Return of Post’ was written on the top of the letter, though it is true that Thomas Cadell himself had not seen or read the manuscript. Not be discouraged, Jane began revising another manuscript, provisionally entitled ‘Elinor and Marianne’. But she found this too restricting and later transformed the text into Sense and Sensibility, the first of her books was published, in 1811. Pride and Prejudice was published in January 1813, two years after her first novel, and achieved a popularity that has endured to today. Austen published four more novels: Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. The last two were published in 1818, a year after her death. As the most popular novel of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice has won her the highest reputation. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”（Chapter I P1） Beginning with these words, Pride and Prejudice leads us to a beautiful love world of the 19th century shaped by Jane Austen.
2 The male characters in Pride and Prejudice
2.1 Fitzwilliam Darcy：The readers’ attention is first drawn to Mr. Darcy as a tall, handsome and noble feature. His annual income of ten thousand pounds makes him even more of a talking point for the ladies of Meryton. Despite his wealth, however, he is contrasted with his popular friend Bingley and is found to be arrogant and proud, “his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased” （P8） Darcy’s image as a proud man is further emphasized with his offensive rejection of Elizabeth by pronouncing her “not handsome enough to tempt me”（P9） to dance with. Darcy is haughty and biased against Elizabeth’s family, at first conspicuously represented by her flighty younger sisters, her mother and Mr. Collins. Initially his strong prejudices and first impressions stop him from pursuing Elizabeth, but eventually he gives in to his impulses. Indeed, Elizabeth’s lessons to Darcy consist largely in teaching him behavior which would traditionally be assigned to her. In one such lesson she uses the piano as a metaphor to demonstrate that social discourse——that presumably female talent——is not inherent but learned.
“ My fingers…do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do…. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault because I would not take the trouble of practicing”
In another scene, she repeats the lesson by rebuking his silence during a dance:
“It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy. I have talked about the dance, and you ought to make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples.”
Here the heroine is teaching the hero and reversing the traditional mode of male teacher/ female student.
And Darcy also reverses the conventional rule that women’s role is to “ please men” by declaring that the motive for his transformation resides in his desire “ to please a woman worth of being pleased”. Darcy demonstrates his continued devotion to Elizabeth, when he rescues ludia and the entire Bennet family from disgrace, and when he goes against the wished of his haughty aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, by continuing to pursue Elizabeth.
Eventually, Darcy proves himself worthy of Elizabeth.
2.2 Charles Bingley：Mr. Bingley is a wealthy, unattached, young man. He is introduced as “good looking and gentlemanlike”. Bingley’s character is not at all intricate. Much like Jane, he is an amiable and good-tempered person.
Unlike Darcy, Mr. Bingley is not overly concerned with class differences, and Jane’s poor and embarrassing family connections are not a serious deterrent to his attachment to her. Bingley’s lack of pretensions and honest disposition make his feelings for Jane obvious to all people. However, his distinguishing trait is readiness to yield to the persuasion of a friend. So Bingley is so modest and easily swayed by the advice of his sisters and Darcy that he is susceptible to the pressure from them to leave Netherfield for London, and his relationship with Jane is only re-established with Darcy’s approval.
2.3 Mr. Bennet：Mr. Bennet is the patriarch of the Bennet household——the husband of Mrs. Bennet and the father of the five daughters. His humour is largely employed in teasing his wife.
“Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve and caprice that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character.” （P3）
Having ruined his life by a foolish marriage, He takes refuge in his books and seems to want nothing more than to be bothered as little as possible by his family. His indolence leads to the neglect of the education of daughters. Even when Elizabeth warns him not to allow Lydia to go to Brighton because of the moral danger of the situation, he does not listen to her because he does not want to be bothered with Lydia’ complaints. He neglects his duties as a father. In particular, his foolish indulgence of Lydia’s immature behavior nearly leads to the family’s disgrace when Lydia elopes with Wickham. Detached from his family, he is not a good father, and loses respect from the readers.
2.4 Mr. Collins：Mr. Collins is a comic and satirical figure who is not a sensible man. His air was “grave and stately, and his manners were very formal”. （Vol. One Chapter 15） With the help of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, he becomes a clergyman, and the respect which he felt for his patroness mingles with a very good opinion of himself. He is a man who believes wholeheartedly in class, even though he gains only the second helpings of its benefits. And in order to receive those benefits, he must toady himself to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Rather than feel embarrassment at his behavior, he believes so strongly in the value conferred upon a person by class. He is full of self-importance because he has a noble woman as his patroness.
The shallowness of his Christianity is expressed in his critical letter to Mr. Bennet, which shows no compassion or forgiveness towards Lydia. He desires a wife only for the sake of appearances, and his shallow nature allows him to switch his attentions from Jane to Elizabeth, and then finally to Charlotte. His absurdity increased as the story progresses, and when he proposes to Elizabeth, he represents the kind of marital compromise that trades all natural feelings for economic security. It’s Mr. Collins’s arrogant stupidity that makes his proposal to Elizabeth the most comical scene in Pride and Prejudice.
2.5 George Wickham：Wickham is one of the male characters, which is an officer in the regiment stationed at Meryton. George Wickham’s first impression is very favorable for he has a “most gentlemanlike appearance” and “had all the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address.”（P64） He is quickly judged to be a perfectly good and amiable man because of his friendliness and the ease of his manners. Ironically, Wickham has the appearance of goodness and virtue, yet this appearance is deceptive, and hides an unscrupulous and calculating mind. He initially shows a preference for Elizabeth, and she is pleased by his attentions and inclined to believe his story about Darcy. But for the sake of money, Wickham quickly turns his attention to Miss King, concerning whom the “sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most remarkable charm”. Wickham is a trickster who leaves a series of debts in Meryton and Brighton. He is evil, quite willing to corrupt others to involve them in public disgrace if he can thereby assure his own security. Wickham is also an absolute scoundrel. He has attempted to seduce Miss Darcy, and finally, he succeeds in luring Lydia and they elope regardless of fame and family. He is persuaded to marry only by the promise of money and a commission in the Army. Yet on arriving at Longbourn after the hastily arranged marriage, he feels no shame at his actions at all.
3 Conclusion
In Pride and Prejudice, Austen describes various ladies and several subordinating gentlemen. She shows more stupid male roles than female roles in the novel. The criticism of the male characters in the novel indicates that though a number of characters are laughably foolish, and some common mistakes made by both men and women in the pursuit of marital happiness, their idiosyncrasies are not affected by gender, and the male and female possess equal amounts of absurdity. Austen thus demonstrates the equality of the sexes in all aspects of life.
Bibliography
［1］ Austen, J. 1991. Pride and Prejudice. New York :Oxford University Press.
［2］ Bentley, R. 1870. J.E.Austen-leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen.
［3］ Cecil, D. 1967. Jane Austen Society : Jane Austen’s lesser words,pp.273
［4］ Faye, D. L. 1995. Review of English Literature: Anna Lefroy’s Original Memories of Jane Austen, pp.138
［5］ He, Zh. 2001.Jane Austen’s Feminist Visual Angle. Journal of Sichuan Forein.