English Essay

" I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can "

How does Jane Austen reflect "folly and nonsense" in Pride and Prejudice ?


" For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?
Jane Austen , Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen wrote her novels in the style of the Augusten Period, which was a period that emphasised common sense, moderation, reason over emotion, and elegance over brevity. She therefore ridicules those who refuse to stay within the bounds of social behaviour. It is possible to see within each character a certain amount of inconsistency, whether in behaviour ,attitude or manner.
In the beginning of the novel Mr.Bingley is described by Jane - " He is just what a young man ought to be," she said, "sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!- so much ease with such perfect good breeding!" to which Elizabeth replies in further praise " He is also handsome," replied Elizabeth "which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete" These statements do not reflect the emotion present in statements made about him later in the book - " I begin to feel sorry that he comes at all," said Jane to her sister. "It would be nothing; I could see him with perfect indifference, …….. . Happy shall I be when his stay at Netherfield is over!"
From the above remarks it is clear to see the changing in perception of others, namely Lizzie, and Jane on Mr.Bingley. This change stems from the lack of constancy on Mr.Bingleys part. He lacks a strong character and is like clay, i.e. he is easily moulded by his peers. This can be seen in Mr.Darcey’s letter to Lizzie where he states-"But Mr.Bingley has a great natural modesty, with a stronger dependence on my judgement than on his own.- To convince him, therefore, that he had deceived himself was no very difficult point".. Jane Austen uses Mr.Bingley’s character to fully depict the fickleness and inconsistency of people who lack firm and strong character. This also serves another purpose, by making fun of such characters Ms.Austen can more fully compliment those who have firm morals, character, depth and consistence. Such characters would include Lizzie, Jane and Mr.Darcey.
How ever Mr.Bingley’s errors may be overlooked when discussing those of other characters such as Mr.Wickham’s. He appears to be the innocent snake when instead he is the serpent that lurks beneath it. At the Netherfield ball, Lizzie among other ladies is very taken up by the dashing Mr.Wickham. Of him she says -"Mr.Wickham was as far beyond them all in person, countenance, air and walk" later on in the novel in his praise she states-"it was not in her nature to question the veracity of a young man of such amiable appearance as Mr.Wickham"
This opinion of him soon changes to disgust because of the folly of his(Mr.Wickham’s) ways. He purposely sets about to deceive those that are taken in with his charm. In this case however one may say that both Mr.Wickham and Lizzie are victims of folly since in one case Mr.Wickham is trying to deceive all those around him of the follies of his ways, and on the other hand Lizzie is taken up by him, which is folly on her part because she blinded herself to the warnings of others, in particular that of Miss.Bingley. At the Netherfield Ball where she is informed by Miss.Bingley about Mr.Wickham "….though Mr.Wickham has treated Mr.Darcey in the most infamous manner…..". Lizzie allows herself to be blinded by prejudice that she has built up about Darcey. Later on in the novel Mr.Wickham’s folly is further portrayed in the very last chapter of the book -"he bore with philosophy the conviction that Elizabeth must now become acquainted with whatever of his ingratitude and falsehood that had been previously unknown to her ; and in spite of everything, was not wholly without hope that Darcey might yet be prevailed on to make his fortune". This clearly shows the true extent of Wickham’s weakness of character. He is not portrayed as a man of high morals and is therefore presented in a manner unappealing to her readers. One might say she does this to display the possible outcome of a person who chose to lead a life akin to Mr.Wickham.
One of the themes that Jane Austen focuses on in this particular novel is that of self discovery and the attainment of self-knowledge. She believed that in order to become a better product of society one must be in touch with who one really is. That would be one of the reasons that she introduces the whole idea of pride and prejudice. This stems as a direct of the follies of both Lizzie and Darcey. In chapter eighteen Darcey and Lizzie are conversing and she asks him a question that will provide for the foundation of the book-"And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?" to which Darcey replies "I hope not.".
Through out the novel the reader is allowed to see the gradual change in the both these characters whereby they become better people, through discovering themselves. The end result of this metamorphic transition is quite the desired result and it goes to show the reader that overcoming folly within oneself can provide one with a fruitful outcome, in this case a very desirable marriage.
The idea of nonsense is well portrayed through characters like Mary. She is what one may refer to as quasi intelligent. Her desire for knowledge stems from her insecurities, she feels "mortified when compare to her sisters" and so takes refuge in books. However this does not serve her well. When Mr.Collins write the Bennetts a letter informing them of his arrival the sisters analyse it and Mary notes that-"In point of composition," said Mary, "his letter does not seem defective. The idea of the olive branch perhaps is not wholly new, yet I think it is well expressed". It is quit a strange thing to call something stale and overused and then go on to praise it. Mary has no sense of what she is saying, in chapter six she is described as a person who -" Mary had neither genius or taste; and though vanity had given her application, it had given her a pedantic air and conceited manner" . Mary is a prime example of sheer nonsense, she tries overly hard to put all her knowledge into everything she says which results in nothing more than a string of fancy but incomprehensible words.
Her sister Lydia is another such character. She is a prime example of nonsense in Pride and Prejudice.
She is portrayed as a character that does not look before leaping. She is well described in chapter fifteen-"Her father…..restrain the giddiness of his youngest daughters….check the impudence of Catherine and Lydia…..and Lydia, self willed and careless….they were ignorant, idle and vain.". Her foolishness brings shame and humiliation to the whole family. When she elopes with Mr.Wickham her prime concern is not the hurt her family would suffer but instead her petty concerns which in her letter to Harriet-"Pray make my excuses to Pratt, for not keeping my engagement, and dancing with him tonight"
This would serve the purpose Austen may have had in mind when coming up with a character like Lydia, by depicting the end results of foolish and inconsiderate actions like those made by Lydia one might have a better sense of what is socially proper and so refrain from going against the social decorum.
The end result for Lydia was a very unhappy marriage, and as a result an unhappy life-
"His affection for her soon sunk into indifference; her’s lasted a little longer; and in spite of her youth and her manners, she retained all claims to reputation which her marriage had given her".
She as a result of her foolishness and half witted thinking and acting spends the rest of her life in a loveless, financially insecure marriage.
Lady Catherine is a ‘caricature of an old order, powerless in the face of youth and desire and incapable of change’ .. One may draw an analogy of a tree, stiff and unyielding in a storm. She is unable to change her mentality towards Lizzie. One may also observe a differing of values. Lizzie is a firm believer of values identified with mental qualities of seriousness, depth and commitment rather than Lady Catherine’s values of superficial display. She is therefore seen by the reader as a very foolish character.
Miss.Bingley may be viewed in the same manner. She lacks depth and character. Her friendship towards Jane is very fickle and she ridicules Lizzie to great extent when she walks to Netherfield.-"Miss.Bingley began abusing her as soon as she was out of the room. Her manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no stile, no taste, no beauty". This is quit ironic since the whole aim of putting Lizzie down so harshly was to make herself(Miss.Bingley) appear more appealing in the eyes of Darcey. The plan did not succeed since he marries Lizzie at the end of the book.
One may say that Jane Austen uses her novel Pride and Prejudice to more fully praise those who stayed within the confines of decent social behaviour and by doing so ridicule those who did not do so.