Yukyung Lee 1769058

Literary Themes in Films

November 21, 2021

A Woman’s Reputation

In the early 1800s, women were subjected to strong societal duties, whereas men enjoyed

greater individual freedom. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a classic novel of

manners, follows an eventful relationship between the daughter of a simple countryman,

Elizabeth Bennet, and a wealthy aristocrat, Mr. Darcy. Jane Austen highlights several societal

obligations, but this paper will focus on the central concept of the importance of a woman’s

reputation through behavior, accomplishments, and marriage.

The culture depicted in Pride and Prejudice is one in which a woman's reputation is

everything. A woman is expected to exhibit certain characteristics and accomplishments. She

faces ostracism if she deviates from cultural norms. Elizabeth Bennet is the youngest of five

sisters. She is gorgeous, intelligent, and well-read. She refuses to comply to feminine societal

norms and is frequently mocked for it. For example, during her trips to Netherfield, she allows

her shoes and skirts get dirty, much to the displeasure of the reputation-conscious Miss Bingley

and her friends. Elizabeth has an outspoken and sharp tongue, which is seen "unsuitable" for a

young woman, and she refuses to marry for any reason other than pure love. Elizabeth's

demeanor and behavior give her a bad reputation among the more sophisticated Darcys and

Bingleys. Miss Bingley believed that in order for women to have a high reputation, they needed

to have a variety of accomplishments. This is seen in the scenario where Elizabeth Bennet, Mr.

Darcy, Miss Bingley, and Mr. Bingley discuss what it truly means to be a successful woman. Mr.

Bingley is accused of using the term "accomplished" to describe too many women, whereas Miss
Bingley believes that a woman must have "a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing,

dancing, and the modern languages to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a

certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address, and

expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved." Mr. Darcy further said that she must offer far

more than that. He recommends her to broaden her horizons by reading extensively. This list

looks to be improbable, yet Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy feel that all of these qualities and

accomplishments are necessary to be "accomplished," resulting in a good reputation. They did

not, however, address the most apparent element of all: "marriage."

Marriage was a vital issue for female characters such as Charlotte Lucas and the Bennet

sisters since it was the only way for women to achieve economic stability, autonomy, and social

prestige. Marriage was one of the rare options for them to improve their lives beyond their

biological families. The Bennets represent the middle class; they can interact with the upper class

but are still inferior to themJane and Mr. Bingley are humble people who don't care about their

reputation, but many others around them, including Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bingley at initially, are

more interested in Jane's financial situation and connections. They believed she was unsuitable

for Mr. Bingley, which stopped them from spending time together. In addition, Lydia's demise

exemplifies the value of a good reputation. Lydia elopes with Wickham and lives with him out of

wedlock, and her shame threatens the whole Bennet family. This makes Elizabeth and Jane

anxious that they will never be able to find spouses due to this evidence of familial weakness.

Finally, when Lady Catherine de Bourgh aggressively opposes the relationship, the social class

barrier between Darcy and Elizabeth prohibits them from being together. They, on the other

hand, overcome the problem of social class boundaries and no longer worry about their
reputations. It was a pivotal moment in the narrative that demonstrated how their love

transcended their reputations.

In conclusion, Austen emphasizes the significance of a woman’s reputation and its

impacts on family and society using strong characters. Upholding a good reputation seemed to be

an almost impossible task in the expectations of society but the joyful conclusion made it feel so

inconsequential. Nevertheless, one might still question how much it criticizes societal systems

and how much it just accepts their inevitability. Although published two hundred years ago,

Pride and Prejudice is still as relevant to modern day readers as it ever was.