Essay Sample Discussing Representations in Jane Austen's Novels

Jane Austen, an English novelist, wrote the novels "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility" in 1813 and 1811 respectively while she was in her early 20's. Her novels are more concerned with the challenge of expectations of personal desire versus social or familial. The society depicted by Jane is that which for all the privileges seemed makes a close monitor on behaviors. As a result, they are the individual's relationships' representation of the society. Although her works may have had concerns about getting ahead of time a feminist, it is plausible that her opinions on female gender relate to the expectation of the individual desires and that of the social balance. The dual sisters as represented in the books pride and prejudice and sense and sensibility lays evidence for the right person to navigate the community to forgo and evaluate the best alternative between the achieving the expectations of the society alongside their own mind assertion. This comes in with the previous contributions on the concentrating on a balance of studying some regulations of the system of the class and acknowledging their drawbacks on the persons, as well as the proving latter that individuals can possess all sense and sensibility (Kaufmann, 1992).

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Austen makes an illustration of her beliefs on the balance through her times expected to aspire women images. Such images related to what was expected of a woman in capturing the attention of a suitor and ensure it was a perfect match. She was aware of the community's expectations, although her fictions outline on the weakness that reveals in the conduct codes. For instance, she makes an inclusion of her fiction on the matter of female gender identifying love and marriage, although with the same measure characters that are associated with the individual focus are portrayed as ridiculous (Austen, 1994). Considering this, each of the heroines brought out by Austen in Pride and Prejudice and sense and sensibility enjoy and are happy of their good match, at the same time they don't meet the requirements of the kind of women that perform epic encouraged at the period (Christie, 1997). Minor actors are normally included to illustrate the societal irony that conceptualizes various aspects as much as the individuals care less about the ideals. In Such ways, she uses the expectations of the societies and outlines the means of reality which are unable to live up to the images. With the assertions, some researchers have a view on Austen as a writer with conservative nature while others have opinions of her works as more stressed on feminist.

Jane's contemporaries make a definition of a good lady well. She compels individuals to view their world in a more analytical manner, to take after rules of the society meanwhile acknowledging that they are not necessarily logic, especially in consideration of the women view (Sedgwick, 2002). In such a way, an independence that is operational within convention is achieved by her heroines. It is clear that Austen does not conquer with that the female genders only require conduct rules and fundamental animals to enhance their thoughts. As a result, in Pride and Prejudice, there is addressing the theme of females learning. For instance, there is a scene where Elizabeth prefers sitting and reading to joining the rest of the party in playing cards. As a result, she is troubled by Miss Bingley who thinks that her performance suggests sarcasm: "Miss Eliza Bennet...despises cards. She is a great reader and has no pleasure in anything else" (Austen, 1994).

In the novel, sense, and sensibility, the focus is on how Elinor and Marianne illustrate both models of how navigations of the stricture of the society could be made by the woman, at the same time trying to make a balance between the senses of individuality expectations. She uses Marianne as an illustration of a lady that permits a lot of feelings to regulate the behavior, a means of living that can result in disapprobation of the society. Jane's concern is on placing Elinor before her sister who other ladies should try to follow (Sedgwick, 2002). She seems on the higher side to be kind of female writers of the performed story could have to make an appraisal of, at the same time her deeper thoughts make a revelation that she is not grasping material measures blindly but instead applying them to innovate the individual she is (Austen, 2012).

Jane and Elizabeth, the pair of sisters in the center of the novel Pride and Prejudice, make the emphasis that amidst the limitation of the society, some of the regulations require being paid attention to have a comfortable living (Christie, 1997). As highlighted in the literature conducted at that period, Jane is more close to being an ideal lady. She possesses traits and attributes such as beauty, good behaviors in public, quiet, and founded on a strong sense of virtues in Christianity, which made her kind of unique and understanding. Nonetheless, Austen happens to be identifying a challenge in the way the woman is treated in the society. In contrast, a lady who adheres to the proper female behavior guidelines, as done by Jane, is said that she would be appreciated with a good event. On the other hand, Jane's family low class does not allow her to reach her goal and a proper decorum is not acted too. A persons merit translates nothing close to connections. As of yield, there is no perfect womanhood in Jane, and hence, is her sister, Elizabeth. To be precise, Austen recognizes that there exists such a person. As the story progress, Elizabeth must learn her lesson whereas Elinor, in the sense and sensibility is aware of how to facilitate a social decorum and independent thought balance. Acting with propriety, Elizabeth does not fear to ridicule those around her who adhere to traditional blindly of the society or those who ignore the regulation but identify the weakness in other people. Elizabeth mocks custom less than Marianne, although she still should acquire skills that just since society has its weakness are not an indicator that its decorum modes can be overthrown, especially when one is confined in the situation financially.

In her novels Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen portrays that the concept promoted by the society are not frequently attainable since it is impossible to have a life up to the expectations society. There are things those holdbacks to a woman, which can be factors such as the background of the family, economics, or the personality. An understanding of the society and the individual must be made (Fulford, 2002). The dual sisters realize that such a living can result in happiness in these works. Therefore, Austen is at a crossroad of the progressive spectrum, embracing that certain of society's regulations, as well as expectations, must be adhered to so as to minimize ruin, at the same time asserting that individuals can achieve a move by means of the society following tradition while meeting the personal requirements.

Jane Austen uses men, Colonel Brandon and Mr. Darcy, to show the young women's lack interest for a distinct reason, preconceived notions, and prejudice. In the early setting of the novel, the two men show a significant romantic interest in Marianne and Elizabeth. Contrary to this, Marianne has a first sight love for Willoughby instead, whereas Elizabeth likes Wickham at their first meeting. The dual women respect their love interest and embrace their opinion over Brandon and Darcy. Love and materialism are brought out by Wickham's interests in Elizabeth and the vice versa comes to an end quickly compared to that of Marianne and Willoughby's love affair, when he changes his love game and becomes interested in another lady who is more wealthier, a circumstance that is well accepted by Elizabeth. On the other hand, at an advanced love stage, Willoughby has compelled to love a younger lady with a more considerable wealth at his plight of losing his inheritance, forgoing Marianne's deep love for him. Over a longer time period, the dual, Elizabeth and Marianne, realize good hero traits respectively, especially in the man's aid and participation of the required time. This is the reason for the women's achievement of the higher probability of a prospect, healthy and loving connections among them. With this realization, both women make the decision to settle in love with Brandon and Darcy.

In the basis of the various passionate ties outcome in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, it can be perceived as though Jane Austen must have preferred a type of marriage known as "duller", which is a kind that is founded on shared friendship and regard, developed in times of a continued companionship, other than that of passionate, as well as maybe shallow, love intrigues whereby the invested persons show themselves really fast. Although, it can be perceived that in as much as Austen considers feelings of romance, and more of companionship and a shared honor, to be significant, and that love union for entirely beneficial purposes like financial status, is similarly as not accepted as partner's union for "passionate love" (Richardson, 2014). The inability of Elizabeth to comprehend Charlotte, her friend, who gets married for greater than love purposes, is one technique of illustrating that this kind of intimacy is not deserving. It is therefore considered that as much as Austen had no consideration for a union for purely practical purposes not worthy than those of romantic, as those matrimonies are not shown typically as right ones. As she was concerned to thought matrimonies were done for flimsy purposes like Bennet's, whereby the purpose was Mrs. Bennet's beauty attributions, other than that of mutual regard and compatibility, thus inadequate worth or probability of long-term happiness.

In both novels "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility", Austen uses the four happy marriages: Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet's, Colonel Brandon and Marianne Dashwood's, Edward Ferrars and Elinor Dashwood's, and Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet's to illustrate the challenges of expectations of personal desire in regards to social. The marriages highlighted are founded on unity and love that has been given a period to improve. Although both Mr. Bingley and Jane, along with Edward Ferrars as well as Elinor, had attractions towards each other respectively at the initial stages of their friendship, they invested more time in getting familiar to each other, thus had developed a mutual respect and friendship when they finally united in marriage. Colonel Brandon and Mr. Darcy may not have been attracted by feelings of romance to Marianne and Elizabeth first, nonetheless, as a result of an advanced level of acquaintance; both ladies realize the mature and positive characteristics of Brando and Darcy, which yielded to them developing the friendship which ended up in happy marriages. The four marriages thus are founded on mature traits and embody the eight characters' archetypes positive side respectively. On the other side, Willoughby and Wickham are the unlucky fellows who end up, unfortunately, as they are directed by feelings and reasoning that are immature. Mr. Willoughby is motivated to marry for wealth, contrary to the love expectation, thus get married unhappily to Miss Grey who ha fifty thousand pounds. Similarly, Wickham is attracted on flesh pleasure, thus ends up marrying Lydia Bennet.

References

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice London: Penguin Books, 1994.

Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Amersham: Transatlantic Press, 2012

Christie, W. (1997). Pride, politics, and prejudice. Nineteenth-Century Contexts, 20(3), 313-334. http://doi.org/10.1080/08905499708583453

Fulford, T. (2002). Sighing for a Soldier: Jane Austen and Military Pride and Preju...