Literary Synthesis Essay

The Victorian Era, in which Austen and Dickens’s novels were written, saw a significant shift in the form of the novel. The form began in the Romantic Period, with novels feeling under the category of “pop” literature (Greenblatt, 2012a). However, under the structure of the Victorian Era, novels not only gained popularity, but began to be viewed as much more reputable in literary circles (Greenblatt, 2012b). In addition, the subject matter of literature changed during this time. According to the Glossary of Literary Terms, “much of the writing of the period, whether imaginative or didactic, in verse or in prose, dealt with or reflected the pressing social, economic, religious, and intellectual issues and problems of that era” (Abrams & Harpham, 2012). As a result, much of the literature of the time depicted not only the social expectations dictated by social structures, but the conflicts that arose out of those expectations.

Late Romantic and early Victorian England faced radical changes that began to alter the landscape of the

Darcy and Elizabeth:
The conflicts can be illustrated through Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, in which her depiction of the propertied family is concerned with how relations are conditioned by a notion of propriety, especially in the relationships surrounding a father’s daughter and her suitors (Markley, 2013, p.80). Family ties were significant during this time, and fathers had a great deal of control in daughters’ marriages (Nelson, 2007; Phegley, 2012).

The story of Pride and Prejudice is, effectively the story of the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Specifically, the story follows the progression of the relationship from Elizabeth hating Mr. Darcy at the beginning of the story, to her falling in love with him at the end of the story. The relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy demonstrates ideas about relationships in the Victorian