READINGS:
R 20 Pride
and Prejudice, Chs.17- (Vol.II) Ch. 8 (pp.58-117)
Answer ONE of the following by Friday at 5pm:
1. Close read a specific
passage that illustrates some aspect of Elizabeth Bennet’s character. As our protagonist, she necessarily has our
sympathy and interest, but Austen’s heroines our unique among the literature of
her time: they are not all goodness and virtue.
How does this passage reveal Elizabeth as a distinct character and why might Austen write
her this way?
2. The first draft of Pride and Prejudice was entitled First Impressions, which offers its own
insights into Austen’s creative process.
How might this title still shed light on some significant ideas and
passages of the work? Additionally, how
might this title coincide with Austen’s favorite notions of sensibility and
Romance?
3. In Volume I, Chapter
XVIII, the narrator reflects that “Elizabeth was the least dear to [Mrs. Bennet] of all her
children” (71). How does Austen paint
the domestic scene at Longbourn? What
kind of family are the Bennets, and why might Elizabeth have so little in common with her mother? What might this family relationship say about
the lives of women in the late 18th century in general?
4. What elements of satire
and broad humor survive the transition from Austen’s early works to Pride and Prejudice? How do they compare with the ‘vulgar’ humor
of Love and Friendship and Lesley Castle? Has her humor/satire change in any
essentials? Does it still contain her unique
artistic thumbprint…or has she become too ‘civilized’ in her adult
fiction?
2) With the original title being First Impressions, it's easy to understand exactly what it's meant to entail. Anything seen for the first time is instantly judged. Pride and Prejudice, and the characters within it, is no different. When Elizabeth first meets Darcy she imposes upon herself a deep dislike of him, even though she secretly likes him. When she meets Wickham, not only does she instantly trust and like him, she also takes for granted what he says about Darcy, thus allowing her to hate Darcy even more, without fully getting Darcy's side of the story and letting him explain herself.
ReplyDeleteAusten, when she wrote the first draft of what became Pride and Prejudice, knew the importance of first impressions. When a young woman was being prepped to get married, it was within her best interests to act as ladylike as possible to draw in and impress the suitor so that she would get married. First impressions became more and more important as the women got older, for as their age increased, the chances they had of getting married decreased. It was crucial to have a fantastic first impression. First impressions also played a big role in writing; if you wanted your book to get noticed, it had to have a good first impression on whomever it was sent to.
Excellent response--first impressions were often "only" impressions at this time. The second impressions came later, after marriage, when you realized how little you teach had in common. As Charlotte says in the novel, happiness in marriage is pretty much an unknown quantity, since everyone is hiding, performing, and dissembling. In fact, not liking someone might be a better bet, since at least you knew what you were getting into!
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