Frank Auletti Essay Rewrite for 2-21-14

V51 Dr. Smoller Prd 4

Women in the 19
th
century did not serve the same, important, and significant
purpose they do serve today. Women were expected to act as elegant beings that
were around to marry men, and help him live in a clean, healthy, and steady
environment. Women such as Elizabeth, Jane and Mrs. Bennet in Jane Austens Pride
and Prejudice provide us with evidence from this claim.

Pride and Prejudice is a book that takes place in the 19
th
. Century, and the
reader is brought into the story through the eyes of a third person omniscient
narrator whom tell the life of a family and their struggles to find a partner and the
disrespect of women in society. The book opens with a dialogue between Mrs. and
Mr. Bennet about the new young man in town, Mr. Bingley. Why, my dear, you must
know Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune A single man with a
large fortune; four or five thousand a year. (Austen 5-6) Mrs. Bennet holds this
conversation with Mr. Bennet because it is not considered polite or of proper
etiquette for women to confront men. Men held the upper hand in the 19
th
century
society and so Mrs. Bennet is persuading Mr. Bennet to speak to Mr. Bingley in order
to have a chance for one for their daughters to marry him.

Mrs. Bennet wanted for her daughters to have a chance o marry Mr. Bingley
because she had no sons, so if and when Mr. Bennet were to pass away, no one
would be able to take ownership of the land. At this time in the 19
th
century women
were also not allowed to take ownership of land and fortune, for the Bennet family it
Frank Auletti Essay Rewrite for 2-21-14
V51 Dr. Smoller Prd 4

meant a matter of survival for the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. The Bennet
family has no sons so no one would be able to take over the land under their name.
This also contributes to why Mrs. Bennet is so dedicated to having the daughters
meeting Mr. Bingley so they will have a roof over their heads, and a plentiful bank
when their father dies.

Not only were women portrayed as characters who had to struggle in order
to find fortune and a home if they were not born into fortune they were also
portrayed personally. In example, there are many contrasts of personalities
throughout the book. In example we have characters such as Mrs. Benner who are
silly, frivolous, and have no responsibilities and tend to see things as a game, then
there is characters such as the Bingley sisters who have little to no sense of humor,
and they take everything as a very important responsibility, including the arranged
marriages of their male relatives. We are then left with the Bennet sisters who are
almost a great mix of both personalities, they do realize that at times they are
needed, but they add a sense of mediation to the book. These contrasting
personalities cause great conflict in the novel.


Women in the 19
th
century did not serve the same, important, and significant
purpose they do serve today. Women were portrayed as elegant beings that were to
be there for men for their needs and not the womens very own needs for
themselves. Women played a key role in the prejudices and prides of the book.
Frank Auletti Essay Rewrite for 2-21-14
V51 Dr. Smoller Prd 4