Property: Tangible or
intangible, property is one of the driving forces in Elizabeth Bennet's society.
Elizabeth and her sisters need to marry in order to provide property (estates, financial
security, and position) to their parents. Charlotte marries an imbecile so that she can
secure a place for herself (in worse "straits" than the Bennets, her parents are unable
to give her any type of security). Similarly, George Collins arrives at the Bennet home,
hoping to get a better view of the property he seeks to inherit when Mr. Bennet dies.
Even though he lives in a comfortable home, he does not own it--he is at the whim of the
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and possessing his own place means status and respect to
him.
Intrigue: While
Pride and Prejudice does not center upon intrigue as do
Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park, it does
offer the reader some suspense, most of which stems from Wickham. The reader wonders at
first what he did to make Darcy dislike him so much and then questions the veracity of
Wickham's tale. Later, the reader follows Elizabeth through her search for the truth
about Wickham and her sister's fate. Austen's readers also question what Bingley's
feelings truly are for Jane.
No comments:
Post a Comment