British Literature Evaluation Of Novel Research Paper

Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Use a nineteenth century novel as an examination of the British class system, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Outline
Introduction
Background on the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen focusing on the Bennet sisters, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy.
Interactions between the upper class men and low or middle class women.
Social class and interaction among those from the same social strata.
Gender and inequality
Women’s role in public restricted and had few opportunities.
Family connections, rank, wealth and power influenced how men and women interacted.
Women marrying up to gain social and financial status were common.
Women were subordinate to men in the society even among the upper classes
Men inherited property and titles.
Marriage and social class
Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the story was not intimidated by the powerful and wealthy members of societies.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh sought to arrange marriage between her daughter and nephew because they were of the same social class.
Tension and apprehension between the upper class young men and their middle class love interests.
Class consciousness and people’s interactions
Rank and power influenced who people associated with, where those with high ranks and wealth had more political power and commanded respect.
Social stratification meant that people mostly associated with those like them, and little exposure and interaction with those from different social class groups.
Upper class men were reluctant to marry poorer women as this would affect their reputations and social standing.
Marrying for love versus social and financial security
The Bennet sisters believed love was necessary and important in marriage, regardless of how wealthy the groom was.
Many women sought richer men to gain financial security and prestige as marriage was more like a transaction.
Family members also decisions on who the groom and bride married.
People were born into prestige and did not necessarily earn their rank and prestige
People inherited rank, money and power and social system was rigid.
People inherited their positions through birth.
The upper class also inherited large tracks land because of their bloodlines.
Desire to appear wealthy
The financial circumstances of various individuals in the novel are highlighted
Many sought to be associated with the powerful because the upper class had more social, political and financial power
Mobility was difficult because of the rigidity of the social structure
Conclusion
Rank, power and wealth were markers of social stratification in nineteenth century British society.
Men mainly inherited wealth and titles and women aspired to marry such men.
The upper classes sought to maintain their ranks and even as they mainly inherited what they had.

The novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen focuses on the lives of five unmarried Bennet sisters in the 19th century preparing for a ball, honoring Mr. Charles Bingley who is wealthy and single. The sisters meet Bingley‘s friend Mr. Darcy, who is aloof, arrogant and rarely talks to anyone unless when necessary. The story is set in the Victorian times shows how class differences influenced people interacted and were treated by others in the society. The Bennet sisters would not inherit property in case their father died that would most likely go to their male relatives. Pride and Prejudice highlights the class system in 19th century British society where rank, status and power affected social relations, marriage, wealth inheritance and social status in the society.
In eighteenth and nineteenth century, British women had fewer economic opportunities than today, while an aristocratic system was one of the main elements of a mostly rigid class system. The male voices were also more prominent because men dominated public discourse and policy making, and when there was social contact between the middle and working class people this would help the latter (Auerbach 74). Family connections and wealth were closely tied to social stratification in the British society and women were also accepted into the high society mostly because of wealth. Marriage into wealthy families was one way for women to achieve status and social mobility as their options for advancement were few.
The subordination of women was a common feature of the social system in the eighteenth and nineteenth century British society. Not only were the women reliant on the men for social security, there had few or no opportunities to seek a source of livelihood. The women in the novel sought relations with men who could odder financial independence. According to (Wajngot 39), it was common for the families to pressure daughters to marry men they did not love, and sometimes there were threats that they would be disinherited. The first born sons were more likely to inherit their fathers’ titles and landed property, who were seen as the rightful or natural heirs (Wajngot 31).
Darcy refused to dance with Elizabeth Bennet when they first met, because he felt that she was beneath his social status, but came to appreciate her charm and intellect later on. Similarly, the upper class people only sought to associate with those who were of the same stature. Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is Darcy’s aunt, also urged Elizabeth not to get close to her nephew as she thought they were incompatible because of their different social classes. “Are you lost to every feeling of propriety and delicacy? Have you not heard me say that from his earliest hours he was destined for his cousin?" (Austen 206). In the passage, Lady Catherine expressed her disappointment that Elizabeth would go against his nephew’s family wishes and even challenged the class system by marrying Darcy.
In the nineteenth century British society, the nobles and upper class people came from respectable and honorable families. Mr. Bingley loved Jane, but Mr. Darcy felt that she was beneath him because of her social status. The institution of marriage is one that represents social stratification as family members and even friends interfered in the love lives of the novel’s characters if they thought that their social standing would diminish by marrying people from a lower social class. Additionally, the social distance among people from the upper, middle and lower class was seen as necessary as the upper class were seen to be morally superior and essential to maintaining virtues in the society.
Class consciousness was common among the British people, that they judged other people based on rank and possessions. The British class system was divided into the upper class, including nobility the middle class, working class and servants, and people mostly interacted with those of the same social class. Mr. Collins, who was to inherit the Bennet’s wealth first wanted to get closer to Elizabeth, but she rejected him and he later engaged Charlotte Lucas, who desired status (Austen 78). Lucas, Elizabeth’s fr...