Essay On Social Norms In Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

Being a satirical novel, Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice is filled with scenes depicting the social norms and standards of the 19th century and how ridiculous some of them were, the majority prodding at the conditions of their social class structure or genders. Once scene critiquing both of these aspects is Mr Collins ' proposal to Elizabeth. Analyzing the standards of women only marrying for superficial purposes, women being told that they 're worth relied on them being married to men in classes above their original ones, and men not being able to understand the word "no" Austen was able to portray these standards in a way where they were easily seen as over the top and ridiculous, while portrayed in the world where these actions were the norm and were expected. Even after two centuries, remnants of these standards can be found in today 's dating culture. Mr Collins ' proposal to Elizabeth read as less of a heartfelt "spur of the moment" address and more of a speech he rehearsed over and over again, keeping everything the same except switching out one girl 's name …show more content…
This analysis becomes the most apparent through the multiple proposals of the novel, specifically, Mr Collins ' proposal to Elizabeth. Drawn out in a very staged and unromantic fashion, Mr. Collins speech emulated the idea that all women at the time were only looking for a man with wealth and looks, so that 's all he advertised. When Elizabeth, the black sheep of the novel, denies his marriage proposal Mr. Collins then blames the entire female gender for playing hard to get, rather than just accepting her answer Unfortunately, the satire of the novel never changed society 's way of thinking, because even in today 's society this behavior is still seen and practiced, only now with more violent