This document discusses Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice and the social status of women during the time period. It notes that Austen lived during a time where women's social status was dependent on men and marriage was seen as the way for women to find happiness and support. The novel explores these social norms through characters like Elizabeth Bennett and shows that marriage should be based on love and compatibility rather than wealth or social status. It examines how the female characters challenged the societal expectations of the time.

1. Woman social
status and
jane Austen
‘pride and
prejudice’

2. 2
👉Name : Upasna Goswami
👉Roll no.24
👉Enrollment no. 4069206420220012
👉Sem : 1
👉Paper Name : Literature of the Romantics
👉Paper no. : 103
👉Paper Code : 22394
Submitted to : S. B. Gardi Department of 👉
English
👉Email: goswamiupasna339@gmail.com

3. Introduction:
Jane Austen is one of the most famous women writers of the 19th century.
She lived in
simple conditions that distinguish social status between men and women,
causing intimidation
for women by men with the thought that the woman can’t be happy without
man’s
comprehensive support. This viewpoint was to be changed in the society Jane
Austen lived and
it made her write and discuss this problem in her literary works.
The novel is one of the literary works which gives the reader joy,
knowledge and leads
him to a particular situation, place, or period that occur in the story.
Though a series of events
and conflicts were experienced by the characters throughout the novel, we
permeate the
characters’ life at the end discovering the meanings, messages or values
revealed by the
author.
3

4. 4
n the 19th century of British society, people live in a materialistic society. Parents
used their
daughters as a means of achieving happiness, believing that marriage is a great way
to achieve
a goal for them. This is due to the roles of parents who wanted to find rich and noble
men for
their daughters. These parents hoped that their daughters will marry a great man
and then
they will find real happiness.
The society’s viewpoint concerning the women to be considered as a second person
after
man is changed by Elizabeth Bannet who is the main character in the novel.
Elizabeth, and the
characterslike Elizabeth explicitly changed the society’s viewpoint, especially the
parents’, that
the marriage is not the best way to change social status of women in the society.

5. 5
1. Women’s Position
a. Economic Dependence
Women in Pride and Prejudice are being weak in financial
affairs. They
have no economic independence. Meanwhile, men are being
authoritative in the
family. They are the leaders of the family. In relation to the
financial affairs, they
are powerful. Economic or financial matters in this novel are,
therefore, matters
for men.
Entailment is the practice of inheritance of property from
some one to
other ones

6. 6
b. Purpose of Marriage
In marriage, women are also weak in the position relate to
property. They
are dependent very much on their husband. As shown in Pride
and Prejudice
women get married with the consideration only of property and
security as the
foundation. This may be because women generally have no
financial or economic

7. 7
Before one decides to get married, he/she must have many considerations
or reasons. The reasons or considerations may be different from each other. One
may get married to continue his/her generation or to have children. Others may
get married to achieve happiness in life by forming a family. Someone else may
want to come into marriage because of sex or great passion. Beauty and youth
may be the other reasons that make people decide to get married. Because he/she
is young and having beauty and finding the match that is also still young and
beautiful in performance, he/she then comes into a marriage.
In Pride and Prejudice, this case about marriage because sex, youth, and
beauty is portrayed. Besides, the marriage because of moral and intelligence is
also represented. The first kind of marriage results in happiness whereas the
second can achieve the happiness. The husband can improve his moral in live and
the wife can get her liberty as an intelligent and moral woman in marriage.

8. 8
Being beautiful
Being Beautiful and Accomplished
In Pride and Prejudice, women are portrays as being always
beautiful and
accomplish. Women are to be always sweet, tender, and
beautiful, especially
when then they are together with men. They must be good in
manner, sweet and
tender in appearance, nice in dressing and hair doing, etc,
addition, in relation to
the beauty women must have, she must be able to sing, dance,
and play a musical
instrument. They must possess all these capabilities. To be a
good performer in
playing music or to be a good dancer and praise by people
especially men is a
woman’s pride.

9. 9
Conclusion
Reputation. Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a
woman's reputation is of the utmost importance. A woman is
expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social
norms makes her vulnerable to ostracism.
Pride and Prejudice, Austen portrayed a women's struggle within
a society that stresses the importance of marriage and strict
behavioral customs. As evidenced by the Bennett daughters:
Elizabeth and Jane, as well as Charlotte Collins, marriage for
young women was a pursuit that dominated their lives

10. Ispriyani, Ninik. Social problems and moral values in Jane
Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Diss. Universitas Islam Negeri
Maulana Malik Ibrahim, 2008.
JABBOROVA, Hilola, and Mukharram Khayatovna ALIMOVA.
"THE PROBLEM OF GENDER EQUALITY IN THE NOVEL
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE BY JANE AUSTEN." E-Conference
Globe. 2021.
Kristić, Andrea. Marriage and Women in Jane Austen's Pride
and Prejudice. Diss. Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of
Osijek. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Department
of English Language and Literature, 2015.
Cited works

11. 11