Each of Jane Austen's heroines offers a unique perspective and reflection on what it meant to be a woman in her society. Elizabeth Bennet, often cited as Austen's most beloved heroine, and Emma Woodhouse, generally perceived as her most loathed heroine, have a similar narrative journey in that they are both in their twenties and single at the beginning of the story, and married . to rich men with handsome and respectable fortunes by the conclusion of their respective novels. The independent and headstrong personalities of both heroines mark a departure from the reserved and modest Dashwood sisters and the naive and immature Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey, allowing Austen the freedom to question the traditional patriarchal authority of both the domestic family unit and wider society. wide. Neither Elizabeth nor Emma adhere to the conventions established in works such as James Fordyce's Sermons to Young Women (1765), as read by Mr. Collins, which insist that any young woman hoping for a husband should sit in silence, suppressing her wits and his intelligence. - if she were unfortunate enough to possess them - and always obey her parents and superiors. Neither heroine conforms to such submissive positions, especially in light of the "shortcomings of their closest relatives." Yet, perhaps that's where their similarities end. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Elizabeth is very aware of her need to get married to secure her future. Her father, a man who willfully neglects his responsibility for his "silly and ignorant" daughters, generally detaches himself from parental responsibility whenever possible. Therefore, it serves as a warning to Austen about the high cost of neglecting one's duty as a patriarch to educate one's children morally and intellectually. This absence of authority is perhaps best illustrated in Lydia Bennet's invitation to Brighton, which Elizabeth perceives as "the death sentence of all possibility of common sense" for her sister and her parents. However, Elizabeth's exhortation to Mr. Bennet to "...take the trouble to control Lydia's exuberant spirit" is rejected, leading her to recognize how destructive his failure as a father is to both her sisters and herself. Consequently, for Elizabeth marriage offers an escape from the corruption of her parents' home. Yet her first proposal comes from Mr Collins, which she rejects, even at the cost of failing to secure Longbourne as her long-term home. Surprisingly, as Berglund argues, by making the ridiculous Mr Collins both the potential provider and the depriver, the man who has both the power to provide a home and to take it away, Austen makes him the embodiment of patriarchal power, further emphasized by the fact that he is a priest, therefore he also represents moral and spiritual authority. Furthermore, the fact that he is a "presumptuous, pompous, obtuse and foolish man" – to use Elizabeth Bennet's words – underlines the arbitrariness of power. However, Elizabeth is saved from the fate of losing her house or marrying Mr. Collins through her marriage to Fitzwilliam Darcy, although Susan Fraiman suggests that Austen seems interested in showing that Elizabeth "pays a certain price for her freedom to behave" shown at the beginning. of the novel. Indeed, Fraiman argues that Elizabeth, although progressive in that she has an active mind and the ability to make good judgments, declines into the normative, submissive female role of her literary predecessors when she meets Mr. Darcy. Furthermore, Alistair Duckworth argues that, howeverconcerns Elizabeth's education, Darcy's first letter encourages her to surrender her individualism "to the aid and control of authority". This argument resembles James Fordyce's perception that accomplished women are "entirely contingent beings", whose virtues incorporate temperance, chastity, modesty, piety, and compassion; all in the first place with passive characteristics. On the other hand, however, Mr Darcy embodies the gentlemanly qualities that Austen promotes; he is honorable and respected, but above all he is a successful landowner. Alistair Duckworth argues that, throughout Jane Austen's fiction, "real estate functions not only as sites of action but as indices of the character and social responsibility of their owners." This motif of order and security - the management of wealth - is the most important metaphor in Austen's novels; heritage is an ordered physical structure, it is a metonym for other inherited structures: society as a whole, a moral code, a set of customs and a system of language. Consequently, the good aesthetic sense evident in the Pemberley landscape, "neither formal, nor falsely adorned", allows both the reader and Elizabeth to infer the fundamental value of Darcy's social and ethical character, and the significance of Elizabeth's first visit at Pemberley highlights the importance of the image of the house evident in all of Austen's novels, especially as it reflects the owner. Furthermore, Pride and Prejudice is perhaps the first of Jane Austen's novels to make extensive use of what Austen calls in Mansfield Park "the influence of place." According to Ann Banfield, "the influence of place" determines the development of individual characters as the physical environment "interacts with and forms consciousness." Thus, when Elizabeth visits Mr. Darcy's ancestral estate and interacts with the landscape, she realizes her feelings for him based on her observations of Pemberley, later declaring to her sister Jane that "I believe I must date my love from the first time that I saw its beautiful grounds". at Pemberley'. As H. Elisabeth Ellington argues, Austen uses the landscape as a metaphor for Darcy, with references to Pemberley as "great", "beautiful", and "beautiful" being interchangeable between the house and its owner and, consequently, the landscape in the novel it becomes a sign of desire. Therefore, the stream that "swelled" may represent Darcy's pride and "natural self-importance", while the lack of "any artificial appearance" demonstrates his honest and sincere nature. Of course, Elizabeth connects her rejection of Darcy very much with her sudden realization of the simultaneous loss of her opportunity to be mistress of a beautiful estate: 'And of this place... I could have been mistress! …I could have…welcomed…my uncle and aunt as visitors. - But no,' - he remembered - 'it could never have been: my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me: I should not have allowed myself to invite them.' Austen often used landscape to present problems in society, and the love of Darcy and Elizabeth undoubtedly challenges the expectations of the society of the time in which she was writing. As Elizabeth declares to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr Darcy's aunt, that Darcy "is a gentleman"; I am a gentleman's daughter; so far we are equal', he is certainly aware of his social position. Therefore, when he visits Pemberley, his uncertainty regarding his aunt and uncle stems from the simple fact that his uncle, Mr. Gardiner, is a merchant, even leading Mr. Darcy to say that the Gardiners "must very materially reduce the Bennet sisters' chances of marrying ". men of every consideration in the world'. Indeed, despite both being members of good society, the pompous Lady Catherine claims of an alliance between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy: "the shadows ofCan Pemberley be so polluted?". The well-ordered house in Austen's novels was also a reason for the moral worth of its owner. Those who are not morally worthy are expelled from their homes. Thus, Austen opens Persuasion with an unflattering description of "Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire"; "Vanity was the beginning and end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and situation." become "distressed for money." Ignores his heavy bills merchants' and his agent, Mr. Shepherd. Kellynch's estate was good, but not equal to the knowledge that Sir Walter had of the status required of its possessor. While Lady Elliot was lived, there had been method, moderation and economy, which had kept him within his income; with her all that rectitude had died, and from that moment on he had constantly surpassed it... He had deigned to mortgage as much as he could he could, but he would never have deigned to sell. NO; until now he would never disgrace his name. Kellynch's estate should be conveyed whole and entire, as he received it. Unwilling to give up his inheritance, but also unable to control and reform himself, Sir Walter therefore does not morally deserve to remain at Kellynch Hall and must "condescend" to rent to a naval family. Interestingly, both Lady Elliot and Mrs Woodhouse are considered excellent... sensitive and lovable, while their husbands are weak and inept. Mr. Woodhouse's incompetence is demonstrated by leaving his daughter to manage her home alone. An invalid who rarely leaves Hartfield, LeRoy Smith argues that Mr. Woodhouse's demanding addiction is simply a form of male tyranny designed to demonstrate the perspective of women's inferior and unequal relationship with men. Mr Knightley, on the other hand, handles both Emma and Donwell Abbey, with his "suitable, convenient, characteristic situation", in a way that is praised by Austen. Like Sir Thomas's estate at Mansfield Park and Pemberley, Knightley's house is the appropriate expression of his firm sense of stewardship. Although Austen often highlighted flaws in the treatment of women, she was realistic about the limitations of a woman's position and a necessary dependence on men. Even Emma, ​​who is, as Marilyn Butler suggests, unique among Austen's heroines in her domestic ascendancy, struggles with the role of managing her household. In fact he states: «You are the worst judge in the world, Mr. Knightley, of the difficulties of addiction. You don't know what it's like to have a temper to manage." In reference to the careful management required to care for her father, an employed valet, Marcia McClintock Folsom argues that in doing so Emma must reach an early maturity in taking on the responsibility of managing a Thus, Emma's accusation that Mr Knightley, "who has always been his own master", of not understanding her position, is expressed from experience beyond her years of managing those who On the other hand, of course, as Gary Kelly argues, her youthful lack of self-knowledge and self-control, combined with the acquisition of social power too early, inevitably leads to the abuse of that power true ruler of the house of Hartfield and is also the only one to be the natural female leader of her entire community. Butler argues that every other protagonist of Austen's novels is socially neglected or taken for granted; even the confident and energetic Elizabeth is denied a positive managerial role in events. Emma, ​​on the other hand, is "beautiful, intelligent and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy character, which seems to combine some of the,.