In Pride and Prejudice, the exemplar men like Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy are portrayed as gracious, charming, polite, well-mannered, and loyal to their families. Mr. Darcy assumes guardianship of his younger sister and cultivates a positive relationship with her, while Mr. Bingley tolerates his unpleasant family members. These men uphold the social expectations of the time by being intelligent, socially adept, caring for their families, and serving as good providers. In contrast, men like Mr. Collins, who is ridiculous, and Mr. Bennet, who fails to properly care for his wife and daughters, are portrayed negatively.

1. Pride and Prejudice
BY
Jane Austen
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2. What are the social expectations for
men according to Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen?
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3. In order to answer this question, we
can look at the men in the novel who
are held up as exemplars: men like
Mr. Bingley and, eventually, Mr. Darcy.
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4. These men, when at their best, are
gracious and charming, polite and
well mannered.
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5. Mr. Bingley, for example, is always
polite, even when faced with Mrs.
Bennet's obnoxious gregariousness;
even Mr. Darcy refrains from
responding in kind when she is rude
to him.
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6. Both men are also loyal to their
families.
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7. Mr. Bingley, with characteristic good
nature, puts up with his, frankly,
horrible sisters—Miss Bingley and
Mrs. Hurst—as well as his drunken,
good-for-nothing brother-in-law, Mr.
Hurst.
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8. Mr. Darcy assumes guardianship of his
much younger sister, Georgiana, when his
parents die, and he cultivates such a
positive relationship with her that she
cannot bring herself to elope without his
consent;
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9. their love for one another, then,
actually saves her from a mercenary
marriage to the deceptive Mr.
Wickham.
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10. Further, Mr. Darcy is most highly
praised by Elizabeth when he is so
gracious and kind to her aunt and
uncle during their visit to Pemberley.
These qualities, then, are prized in
men.
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11. If we look at the male characters who
are ridiculed, like Mr. Collins and even
Mr. Bennet, at times, we can see what
men are not supposed to be.
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12. Mr. Collins is described as "ridiculous,"
and his speeches and personality are
cringeworthy at best.
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13. We can see, then, that men are
expected to be intelligent and socially
savvy, able to pick up on social cues
and conduct themselves with some
grace.
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14. Mr. Bennet is taken to task for
marrying a woman he didn't really
know because she was good-looking
and seemed to have a vivacious
personality.
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15. He also fails to plan ahead for his wife
and daughters, leaving them virtually
penniless after his death.
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16. Qualities like these are obviously,
then, frowned upon; men are
expected to care for their families—
no matter what—and to be good
providers.
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17. THE END
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