Modern Lens Essay On Pride And Prejudice

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, main characters Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy learn and grow as a pair, advancing past the prejudices they set for eachother. We follow the story through the eyes of twenty-year-old Elizabeth as her mother pushes her to get married. She has three men courting her over the course of the novel, but eventually finds happiness with Mr. Darcy. Even though he has a happy ending, he is seen as arrogant and subject to many mood swings. This portrayal of him begs the question, is he really a good love interest under a modern lens?

If someone goes into reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time without any prior knowledge, they might see Mr. Darcy as a villain rather than a love interest. After all,

Darcy is so disliked by almost every character in the novel, at what point does this shift in perspective begin? Even at the book’s halfway mark, where he proposes to Elizabeth to the first time, she tells him, “I have every reason in the world to think ill of you. No motive can excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted there.” (Jane Austen, page 215) This, along with various other belittling comments from ELizabeth in this scene, make the reader believe that Mr. Darcy is truly unforgivable, as Lizzy believes he sabotaged her sister and Mr. Bingley’s relationship. However, his confession solidifies the chain of events leading up to her affections. Feeling apologetic for the way he acted, Mr. Darcy writes Lizzy a nine page letter where he explains the truth of his treatment of Jane and Bingley as well as etending his proposal once more. Once she has finished reading, Lizzy expresses shame she could not conceal alongside a new awareness for her “prejudice against everything he might say.” (Jane Austen, page 231) From this moment forward, she no longer regards Darcy with the same spite that she did prior. While it still takes time for her to voice her affections for him, it is at this point where she takes a good look at herself and understands her prejudices. As such, the narrative shifts along with her. After all, it is Lizzy’s eyes that the story is told from, so this is where we, as readers, can begin to see Darcy in a good light. But despite this, the book

Darcy aside, it’s safe to say that Pride and Prejudice, a novel written in 1813, would have character actions far past modern acceptance. For example, the main conflict for Mrs. Bennet is her attempts to have all her daughters married, since the house they live in is entailed to Mr. Collins rather than a daughter of the house. Their estate is not allowed to belong to a woman, which is a problem we have long progressed past in the 21st century. This reinforces the knowledge that the society and actions of the characters are very out of date, and therefore, the morality of them can be debated better when it’s age is ignored. As for Darcy, he chooses to propose to Lizzy right after confessing his love for her, and while she turns him down for his unlikeablity, a modern woman in the same situation might turn him down due to how he rushes things. And yet, such actions were normal in the 1800s, which is consistently proven by the overuse of rushed engagements and elopements. Although, this haste of Mr. Darcy, along with the way he talks about Elizabeth at times, is not something that women of today would find attractive. After all, Darcy’s first spoken impression of Lizzy is that she is “tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.” (Jane Austen, page