The Role of Women in the Society Depicted by Jane Austen in Pride and P

The Role of Women in the Society Depicted by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice 'Pride and Prejudice' is a novel which based in truth, explores relationships between young men and women two hundred years ago. It is not difficult for the reader to comprehend Jane Austen?s point of view, but she presents her arguments in a subtle way. Not only is it an admirable story of love lost and found, with an eventual happy ending, it also tells us a vast amount about society at the time. This, however, contrasts heavily with today's values and behaviours. In particular the role of women then was quite different to the role of women in the present day. Pride and Prejudice is mainly concerned with women of a particular social class - the Bennett Family are not poor, they are above the working class, but they are not extremely rich either. Jane Austen explores the position of young women in this situation by telling a story about what seams to be love, but is actually a novel also about the role of women and how they used love and marriage in life to gain what they wanted. She does this by explaining to the reader about all of the necessities that a woman should have, explaining about the different opinions of the different characters in the novel, which are based on opinions of real people of that time. This gives us, the twenty-first century reader, an insight into the people, the lives and the attitudes of the time. The financial status of women is perhaps the most significant aspect. In ?Pride and Prejudice?, Jane Austen describes the exact financial status of each of the characters. For example, when Mrs and Mr Bennet are talking of Mr Bingley, ?A single man of large fortune, four or five thousand a year. Wha... ...ery differently for the sisters especially as Elizabeth had turned down one proposal. If she had not married Darcy it would be very unlikely that she would have time to meet another man who would marry her as she would be considered to be too old for marriage and therefore not a good match. To me, this novel shows women living a live without fulfilment or interest. Women were seen as objects that completed a household and were looked upon the same as a beautiful statue or piece of art work. This lifestyle seems quite stifling and the lack of rights that women had at this time seems brutally unfair and backwards. The novel shows a society that was extremely judgemental and unforgiving that was too fixed on the theme of marriage where it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman will be in want of a husband in possession of a good fortune.