Analysis of The Portrayal of The Female Protagonist of 'Pride and Prejudice'.

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Di dalam skripsi ini, saya menganalisis penggambaran tokoh utama

wanita dalam novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) karangan Jane Austen. Selain

merupakan salah satu novel terkenal, novel ini juga digunakan sebagai wacana

pembelajaran moral dan emosional dalam aspek tema, yang merupakan tujuan

penulis abad ke-18. Jane Austen mengemukakan kesadaran kaum feminis masa

Pencerahan terutama melalui tokoh utamanya Elizabeth Bennet.

Elizabeth Bennet digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang berbeda dari

wanita pada umumnya di abad ke-18. Sebagai wanita dari kalangan menengah, ia

mempunyai pandangan yang diidamkan oleh kaum feminis, yang menekankan

pada kesamaan derajat perempuan dengan laki-laki dalam hal kemampuan

berpikir. Baginya perempuan haruslah banyak membaca sehingga berwawasan

luas dan sadar akan kesetaraannya dengan laki-laki sehingga memandang sebuah

pernikahan sebagai hubungan suami istri yang saling menghormati bukan sebagai

ikatan yang hanya memberikan jaminan materi terhadap kaum perempuan.

Dalam menganalisis tokoh utama novel ini, saya menggunakan teori

Mary Wollstonecraft tentang feminisme jaman Pencerahan yang merupakan titik

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APPENDICES

SYNOPSIS OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Mrs. Bennet is really excited by the news about a single rich man in the

neighbourhood. Mr. Bingley has arrived at Netherfield, where he plans to

temporarily settle with his two sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, and his

sister’s husband, Mr. Hurst. Soon afterwards, Bingley and his close friend

Fitzwilliam Darcy, attend a public ball in the village of Meryton. At first, Darcy is

admired for his fine figure and income of ￡10.000 a year. However, he is soon

regarded as snobbish because the villagers become disgusted by his pride. This is

brought home to the Bennets when Elizabeth Bennet overhears that Darcy her

declined Bingley’s suggestion that he dance with her.

Shortly after the ball, Mr. Collins, a cousin who will inherit the Bennets’

estate because of an entail, visits the family. Following Lady Catherine’s

suggestion, Collins decides to propose to Elizabeth for her future impoverishment

but she rejects his proposal. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is introduced to Mr. Wickham,

a pleasing officer in the regiment. Wickham informs her that he has known Mr.

Darcy his entire life, and that Darcy has disinherited him after Darcy’s father’s

death. After the tale is told, Elizabeth begins to have a strong prejudice against

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After having rejected by Elizabeth, Mr. Collins hurriedly marries her best

friend, Charlotte Lucas, and Elizabeth is invited to visit the newly weds. While

she is staying with them, Darcy visits his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, at the

adjoining estate, Rosings. Elizabeth and Darcy meet each other quite often.

Elizabeth’s charms eventually make Darcy entranced, and lead him to love and

desire to marry her. Surprised and insulted by Darcy’s way of proposing,

Elizabeth refuses. The next day, Darcy hands her a letter before his leave. In the

letter, Darcy justifies his actions regarding his interference in Bingley and Jane’s

relationship, and reveals the truth concerning Mr. Wickham. The letter sheds a

new light on Darcy’s personality for Elizabeth and she begins to reconsider her

opinion of him, particularly in the case of Wickham.

Later, while on holiday with her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, Elizabeth

is persuaded to visit nearby Pemberley, Darcy’s estate, while he is away. She is

therefore surprised when she meets him unexpectedly and their relationship starts

to melt. While Elizabeth is there, she hears the news that her younger sister Lydia

runs away with Wickham, who evades gambling debts. When told of this by

Elizabeth, Darcy takes it upon himself to find Wickham and bribes him into

marrying Lydia, but keeps this secret from Elizabeth and her family.

When Lady Catherine discovers Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth, she pays

Elizabeth an unannounced visit and tries to intimidate her into refusing such an

engagement. Unfortunately, Catherine’s visit serves to consolidate Elizabeth’s

intentions. Furthermore, Lady Catherine visits Darcy later, and relates the entire

conversation to him, leading Darcy to a conviction that marrying Elizabeth is

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The story ends with two marriages: one is between Jane and Bingley, and

the other is between Darcy and Elizabeth. While the Bennets go their separate

ways, both couples live happily.

BIOGRAPHY OF JANE AUSTEN

Jane Austen was born in 1775 at a rectory in Steventon, Hampshire, one

of two daughters of the Rev. George Austen (1731–1805) and his wife Cassandra

(née Leigh) (1739–1827). Her brothers James and Henry followed in the path of

their father and joined the clergy while her brothers Francis and Charles both

pursued naval careers. There was also a disabled brother, George, who did not live

with the Austens.

Austen also had a sister, Cassandra, with whom she shared a close

relationship throughout her life. The abundant correspondence between the sisters

provides historians with the greatest insight into Austen's past. It is regrettable that

Cassandra destroyed some of this correspondence after Jane's death. The only

undisputed portrait of Jane Austen is a somewhat rudimentary colored sketch done

by Cassandra, which currently resides in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

In 1783, Austen was educated briefly by a relative in Oxford, then in

Southampton, and finally in 1785–1786 attended the Reading Ladies boarding

school in the Abbey gatehouse in Reading, Berkshire. She began writing her first

novel in 1789. Her family life was also conducive to writing; the Austen family

often enacted plays, which gave Jane Austen an opportunity to present her stories.

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writing. She was encouraged to write especially by her brother Henry, who wrote

a little himself.

In 1802 Austen received a marriage proposal from a wealthy but "big and

awkward" man named Harris Bigg-Wither, who was also six years her junior. A

marriage would have freed her from some of the constraints and dependency then

associated with the role of a spinster. These considerations may have influenced

her initially to accept his offer, only to change her mind and refused him the

following day.

After her father’s death in 1805, Austen, her sister and her mother lived in

Southampton with her brother Frank and his family for several years before

moving to Chawton in 1809. It was not until 1811, six years before her death, that

her first novel Sense and Sensibility was published, at the expense of her brother

Henry and his wife Eliza. Some of her novels are Northanger Abbey (1798),

Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814),

Emma (1816), and Persuasion (1818).

In 1816, Austen began to suffer from ill health. In May 1817 she moved

to Winchester to be closer to her doctor. Her condition became increasingly

unstable, and on July 18, 1817 she died at the age of forty-one and was buried in

Winchester Cathedral. The disease was at that time unnamed. However, some

people, such as one of her biographers, Carol Shields, hypothesized that she died

of breast cancer.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

I will analyse a novel for my thesis because most novels usually reflect

personal experience, attitudes and ideas or viewpoints of the writers on certain

issue. This matter is interesting to analyse since there are so many novelists who

write their novels not only based on the demand of the market but also based on a

certain ideology that they have at a particular time. David Dvorkin in his article,

Why Do We Write?, said that “Making the idea into the externally real thing, the

novel, is only the first step in the artistic process of creation for a writer.” They

then, intentionally or unintentionally, insert their ideology in their novels.

One of the famous English novelists who inserted their ideology in their

writings, is Jane Austen (1775-1817). Her novels were all written around Regency

Era (1811-1820) and her novels (Northanger Abbey (1798), Sense and Sensibility

(1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1816), and

Persuasion (1818)) are loved and still read by readers even until today. Austen’s

novels also have been adapted into a great number of films and television series.

Furthermore, her novels are highly prized for their light irony, humor and

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Whately praised Austen's works. Scott said “from nature as she really exists in the

common walks of life and presenting to the reader . . . a correct and striking

representation of that which is daily taking place . . .” whereas Whately said

“drew favorable comparisons between Austen and such acknowledged greats as

Homer and Shakespeare, praising the dramatic qualities of her narrative”

(Wikipedia).

For my analysis I chose Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. It is one of

Austen’s best-selling novels. It tells about a restrained women’s life in a realistic

way. Consequently, it indirectly criticizes the society of the late eighteenth

century. The subject of this novel is about love and marriage. However, the

storyline is not really romantic but quite realistic and objective. Future husbands’

income is clarified at the beginning of the novel. It means economic power is

considered to be men’s value. Daughters should marry men in possession to live a

decent life before their father’s death, otherwise they would live miserably.

Because of the patriarchal system, they could not get any fortune from their

father. This kind of storyline shows that the society at that time is influenced by

economic power. So it embosses that women’s life depends on marriage to men in

possession. By telling about marriage, this book shows the reality that women

suffered from an absurd system during that period.

To convey her idea about womanhood awareness Austen creates a

character named Elizabeth. Thus, I will analyse the portrayal of Elizabeth, the

female major character in Pride and Prejudice by using Enlightenment feminism.

In spite of its difference from modern feminism, Enlightenment feminism as an

early feminist movement has an important meaning. “In secular use, the concept

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Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason referring to philosophical

developments related to scientific rationality in the 17th and 18th centuries”

(Wikipedia). In Enlightenment period, the age of reason, feminism emphasizes

woman’s reason. And it can clearly be seen through Elizabeth in Pride and

Prejudice. Enlightenment feminists for the first time try to ask women “to reject

an inferior role of passive obedience” and “to claim, by demonstrating their moral

equality, that they must be allowed and expected, like men, to form opinions on

the basis of rational reflection and to make independent moral judgment”

(Kirkham 6). Judging from the fact that Austen was born in 1775 and her novel

Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, she might have been interested in the

Enlightenment feminist issue. Hence, this thesis is conducted to prove that

Austen, to some extent, inserts her Enlightenment feminist perspectives into her

novel and how those perspectives shape the female protagonist in her novel. I will

elaborate more on the Enlightenment feminism in the next chapter.

Statement of the Problem

1. How is the female protagonist in Pride and Prejudice portrayed?

2. In the perspective of Enlightenment feminism, what does the portrayal

signify?

3. Why does the author create such a character?

Purpose of the Study

1. To figure out how the female protagonist in Pride and Prejudice is

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2. To find out what the portrayal signifies in the perspective of

Enlightenment feminism.

3. To find out why the author creates such a character.

Method of Research

First of all, I read Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice several times

thoroughly for maximum understanding on the content of the novel. Afterwards,

all the data related to the portrayal of the female protagonist from the novel are

collected. Then I gather some information from the Internet which supports my

research. Finally, the collected-data are analysed by means of Enlightenment

feminist literary criticism.

Organization of the Thesis

The thesis starts with the Abstract, which contains a brief analysis of the

thesis in Indonesian. In Chapter One, I present the Introduction, which consists of

the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the

Study, the Method of Research and the Organization of the Thesis. In Chapter

Two, I present the Enlightenment Feminist Discourse as the theoretical

background. Chapter Three contains the analysis of the portrayal of the female

protagonist. Afterwards, I conclude my analysis in Chapter Four. The thesis ends

with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist of the biography of Jane

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CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

Having read and analysed the novel, Pride and Prejudice, I would like to

draw a conclusion in this chapter. I found that the female protagonist, Elizabeth, is

portrayed exactly the same as the Enlightenment feminist womanhood.

The Enlightenment feminists of the eighteenth century are encouraging

women to enter the world of reason by requiring morality and reason of women to

be equal to those of men. Women in general have been related to passiveness,

nature, pathos, and writing while men to activeness, culture, logos and speech.

Enlightenment feminism endorses patriarchy and limits women’s roles as an

affectionate wife and a wise mother. Their maternal feminism, accordingly, is far

from modern feminism. However, we need to make it clear what the

Enlightenment feminism has contributed to the development of modern feminism.

I assume that the author, Jane Austen, as an eighteenth century woman

shows the element of Enlightenment feminism in her novel through Elizabeth. She

shows the Enlightenment feminist womanhood. Her reason, sensibility and

cynicism are in contrast with her angelic and passive sister Jane. While Elizabeth

dramatically succeeds in getting a perfect husband, Darcy, submissive Jane comes

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presents a new womanhood through Elizabeth’s ordinary face, healthy image,

independent mind, firm morality and class equality consciousness.

Furthermore, Austen does not stop but develops Elizabeth’s feminine

subjectivity. Elizabeth is not passive or sentimental. She has an independent mind

and strong self-esteem. She is close to a person of reason not of pathos. In

addition, Elizabeth rejects her position as an object of the male-dominant gaze.

In my opinion, Austen is so intrepid as to write such a novel to express

her ideal through Elizabeth. As she is an eighteenth century woman, she might

have so many troubles and critics in writing her book which offers opposition to

men. I believe that the author’s intention of creating such a character in the novel

is to make readers join the world of reason and find the women’s voice towards

men. However, the novel is so interesting as to make me read more than once. It is

quite easy to understand because the story is about domestic issues. In other words,

I could easily imagine the characters’ situation and their problems and I think it

could happen to me and my family. Like Austen’s intention, I come to know better

about independence, right judgement, reason and feminism.

When I read the novel for the first time, I could not understand about

Elizabeth’s refusal to Mr. Collins’ proposal and Darcy’s first proposal. As it has

been mentioned in my analysis, her marrying to Mr. Collins is a pretty good

decision and marrying to Darcy is the best chance for her being well-married.

However, after reading it several times, I come to agree with her decision which is

not a mistake but a perfect judgment. In addition, I, as a shy and passive person,

am surprised when Elizabeth talks to Darcy about his pride and misbehaviour. Yet,

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help to make everything run well. I could learn many things from this novel so I

appreciate Jane Austen, who has made me understand the real life and right

decision for women.

Having analysed the Enlightenment feminism, I eventually find that women in the

past and present struggle against the same problem. I feel pitiful that the problem

is hard to solve in a short period. However, women should still try hard to be

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text:

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 1994

References:

Carolyn W. Korsmeyer. Reason and Morals in the Early Feminist Movement. Ed. Carol H. Poston. New York: Norton, 1975

Ferguson, Moira and Todd Janet. Feminist Backgrounds and Argument of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. New York: Norton, 1975

Kirkham, Margaret. Jane Austen, Feminism and Fiction. New York: Methuen, 1986

Internet Sites:

Austen-Leigh, William, and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh. Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters.1913 The Project Gutenberg E-text of Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters 7 Sept 2007. Thierry Alberto, 14 Dec 2007 <http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/22536>

Dvorkin, David. “Why Do We Write?” 22 Feb 2008

< http://www.dvorkin.com/essays/whywewrite_d.html>

"Enlightenment (concept)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 August 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlightenment_%28concept%29>

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“Jane Austen” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 25 February 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen#Literary-criticism>

“Social structure of Britain” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 February 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_structure_of_Britain>