Relationships In Pride And Prejudice And Letters To Alice

The complex, yet essential nature of relationships is a fundamental facet of life; this stands as a classic conception, bearing transcending value. Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and Fay Weldon’s ‘Letters to Alice’ are able to explore the adversities relationships carry through their respective texts, albeit their differing contexts. Despite this, the prevalent concerns both texts share allows one to comparatively investigate the hardships of relationships, through the subjects of the value of marriage and the rigidity of gender roles. Through a comparative disintegration of the two texts, individuals identify that discernment of these notions place emphasis on the challenges of relationships and allows individuals to attain insight regarding

Due to this conception, challenges arose regarding relationships, posing individual adversities for both women and men. In Pride and Prejudice, the quote “A single man of large fortune: four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!” emphasises the lack of independency for women through the exclamation and overjoyed tone. It was expected that men were to be the breadwinners of the household, which restricted women as they could not attempt to obtain a job and were confined within domesticity. In addition, this quote is also able to portray societal expectations and reputations of men, as they were regarded as pawns in elevation of status and financial security, rather than human beings. The quote “Mr Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine tall person, handsome features, noble mien; and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance” further supports this notion through cumulative listing, Mr Darcy exemplified as a reflection of society, symbolic of societal values and mores. In Letters to Alice, the quote “Young men abroad today are fascinated by what we call ‘strong’ women…who work, think, earn, have independent habits and who would more make a man a cup of coffee” utilises cumulative listing and high modality to express improvement regarding social mobility for women as they were less

Through meticulously disintegrating the aforementioned texts, the value of marriage and the rigidity of gender roles are identified as shared concepts that assist in expression of relationship hardships, in both Regency era and the 1980s. A close comparative study of the two texts provides readers with insight into the antecedent notions through the use of literary techniques, implanted by the composers to reflect relationship adversities and their progressive