Comment on Austen’s portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

 

Q.08. Comment on Austen’s portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

Or, Write a note on the character of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice

 

Ans:    Twenty years after Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication, Jane Austen created Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth, as Fullerton says, is a " highly unconventional, new sort of heroine and it is easy for modern readers to understand just how astonishing she was for the readers of the time."

 

Elizabeth is definitely the heroine of the novel. Not only does she explicitly represent one word of the title of the novel, she also quite thoroughly dominates the action. She is witty, loyal, clever, beautiful and loving. She is a fun loving girl. She likes to laugh at peoples' follies- “She had lively, playful disposition which delighted in anything ridiculous." Her wit and sense of sarcasm is pertinent when, asked to dance with Darcy, she says “Mr. Darcy is all politeness." Again, when Darcy reveals his idea of accomplished woman - a woman who can sing, dance, draw; a woman who has the knowledge of modern music and who has a noticeable attitude in her air. Elizabeth sarcastically says “I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any." This sense of humour and sarcasm, however, creates a fog around her making her mysterious.

 

Elizabeth is endowed with a strong capability of judging people. Her judgements are, for the most part, correct. She understands her family perfetly well, knows Collins's inner nature from the first letter he writes, comprehends the merits and deficiencies of Bingleys at once. She, however, fails to judge Darcy and gets prejudiced about him. Initially Darcy cannot find anybody outside his class worthy. Elizabeth's repulsion for Darcy makes her admire Wickham who falsely accuses Darcy of cheating him. Elizabeth's prejudice slowly lifts like a fog. The reson for this is Darcy's letter and her visit to Pemberly.

"While her prejudices keep her from Darcy, it is her pride that ultimately unites her with him.  Elizabeth shows a significant moment of personal pride in her final show-down with Lady Catherine.  Elizabeth is not going to let someone of Lady Catherine's stature bully her into a decision.  She stands up for herself, her family and her position in society.  While she doesn't have a title, she is still proud of her own person and this strength and pride proves to Darcy that Elizabeth does care for him and gives him the courage to try a second proposal."

 

What makes Elizabeth remarkable is the fact that she does not conform to the 18th century perspective of woman. She at once runs to see her ill sister, Jane without caring about how she will look when she reaches Bingley’s house after crossing muddy grounds, dusty roads and what not. Attending to her sister is more important to her than her looks. She is the exact opposite of Miss Bingley. Through Jane Austen's creation of robust heroine like Elizabeth and her negative representation of affected women who exploits their weaknesses to gain power, she contributed to a continuing debate about frailty and cunning as necessary feminine characteristic and part of women's legitimate armory. Elizabeth appears as a self sufficient person who does not require a man's attention to prove her worth.

 

To conclude, Elizabeth is indeed ‘as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.’ She is immensely likable for her good sense and right feeling, high spirit and courage, wit, and readiness. Her jest for life and handling situations at difficulty makes her a charming and delightful artistic creation. The popularity of Pride and Prejudice rests on the brilliant portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet.