Mr. Bennet
Mrs. Bennet
George Wickham
Lydia Bennet
Mr. Collins
Miss Bingley
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner
Charlotte Lucas
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Minor Characters in P&P
Even though most of the story focuses around Elizabeth and Darcy (and Jane and Bingley), there are several interesting minor characters. What do you think Austen is saying about these characters and what they are to represent? Why did she choose depict them the way she does? Choose any of the characters from the following list.
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I feel that Jane Austen decided to depict the character of Mr.Bennet as very down to earth and reasonable to provide a foil character to his wife Mrs.Bennet. He does not need to involve himself with the sillyness of others because he has a strong head on his shoulders as well as a compassionate heart. He represents a sense of change within society that is beginning to happen as far as makeing judegement moreso but not entirely deprived of gossip.
ReplyDeleteHe is a necessary character to explain why Elizabeth is so completely different than her mother. She is her father's daughter loving books and reason as he does. Without him Elizabeth would be more than out of place within the family dynamic of the Bennets. So he is the glue, that holds his family togeter as well as nurishes his daughters free spirit and encourages her strong mind.
Alexis,
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you describe Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet as foils, because I think that describes them perfectly. While Ms. Bennet is frantic and chatty, Mr. Bennet is cool and collected. I think the moment to explain the relationship between Mr. Bennet and Ms. Bennet is when Elizabeth refuses Mr. Collins proposal and Mr. Bennet replies to the situation by saying "You mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do."
I also agree that Mr. Bennet is important to characterize Elizabeth. They are similar in the small ways-- they both love to read-- but they also share many larger more significant characteristics-- like their strong opinions and sly ways. I definitely agree where you say nourishes her "free spirit and encourages her strong mind" because the reader certainly gets the feeling that Mr. Bennet supports Elizabeth more then anyone else.
I feel as though Austen is stating that Mrs.Bennet is a nosy and foolish woman because of her interest in other people's business and her main objective in her her life which is the desire to have all her daughters get married. "You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr.Collins, for she vows she will not have him, and if you do not make haste he will change his mind and not have her," (II.XX.109).Not only does Mrs.Bennet want to rush this but also to make sure her daughters find a suitable husband. I feel as if she also emphasizes marriage to her daughters a lot because she wants a good life for them and she knows that without money, life will not be well support as those around you, happiness will be a missing factor in their lives and there will not be decent family protection. In addition, I think that Austen portrays Mrs.Bennet this way because Austen wants to demonstrate the essential of marriage and the important factors of marriage that girls in that period of time should not miss.
ReplyDeleteAlexis and Eva,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the connections you made between Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet. Both Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth seem to have been created with many similarities like, as pointed out, their love of reading and their wit and this also helps to create dynamic characters that are interesting to read about. The fact that these characters are so intelligent helps the reader stay interested in their opinions. As we all know, this book loaded with talk and it makes sense that the only way to keep a book that is based on drama interesting is to have reasonable, intelligent characters who are not obnoxious gossips like Mrs. Bennet.
In response to Alexis,
ReplyDeleteI completely with Alexis's post. Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet are complete oppisites of one another. Mrs. bennet is so into having her daughters married off to financially stable families because she knows that her family will be in ruins if they do not. AS opposed to Mr. Bennet who is so laid back, and wants his daughters to be happy rather then rich. For example Mr Bennet says to elizabeth that the day she marries mr collins in the day that he dies was very interesting to me because it shows that he would rather disagree with his own wife rather then his daughters, showing his fatherness
Mrs. Bennet plays the role of one of the most stressful characters known to Pride and Prejudice. Her single goal in life is to wed her five daughters, however she isn't very subtle in her attempt (which tends to backfire.) She lacks social skills in many scenes which tends to alienate her from the general populous and from possible suitors for her daughters. She constantly looks for ways for her daughters to attract male attention- in fact the very first scene in the novel is of her begging Mr. Bennet to introduce her daughters to Mr. Bingly. She is foolish, and lacks many of the novble characteristics Mr. Bennet portrays which makes her one of the most outrageous characters in Austen's story.
ReplyDeleteIt's likely that Austen wrote Mrs. Bennet in the fashion which she did because she was meant to be the commentary both on women at the time and on what a mother with so many daughters to wed might act like. At this time period daughters were more or less sold to the future husband which made weddings more like a business transaction than an act of live. Therefore the Bennets were more orl ess obligaed to "sell" their five daughters to the world. Since Mr. Bennet chose to take such an absent role in this aspect of raisint his daughters Mrs. Bennet probably would feel the need to double her effors in the quest, making her silly and at times obnoxious. Also Austen is making a general statement about how sometimes older women act silly and worry about all the wronge things. Mrs. Bennet also exemplifies how society judges everything that people do. (She basically is written the way she is to describe a lot in the story).
I agree with Veronica in the sense that Mrs. Bennet is a very nosy woman and she is constantly in everyone's business. I have this feeling that Mrs. Bennet is a symbol for marriage. It seems that that's her only goal in life. I also agree with the fact that she shows the importance of marriage in that time period, because of her NEED to get her five daughters married.
ReplyDeleteJane Austen includes the character Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice because she represents a certain type of belief within the society at this time. Throughout the novel, she contrasts her best friend and main character, Elizabeth, by being absolutely unromantic. Being practical and pragmatic, she does not believe that love is the most important thing in a marriage, but rather being comfortable and financially secure. Also, at this time, matrimony is every woman’s goal. Charlotte is twenty-seven years old in the novel which means she is past her prime. It means that she would have to get married now or never and become a spinster. Mr. Collins, although he can provide a good home, is obviously a man who no woman would be interested in or dreams of marrying. However, when he proposes to Charlotte, she gladly accepts. This exemplifies her belief on the lack of love in a marriage not being an issue.
ReplyDeleteThough the other characters’ relationships revolve around love, including Charlotte’s relationship and depicting her in a positive way mimics the way Austen feels about marriage cast in another light. The reader knows Charlotte is not a bad person and that she is thoughtful and intelligent. Otherwise, she would not be Elizabeth’s best friend. She is just more cynical and realistic. Being painted in a good way only shows that her belief of marriage without love could be okay and work, depending on the person.
Alexis,
ReplyDeleteI agree that although mr. bennet was not a major character, he was very vital to the book. He molded the family and all the sisters together and always wanted the best for them and that was to marry someone that they really loved and to not satisfy for money. I believe mr. bennet was also the most realistc and believble of the parents. Compared to mrs. bennet who just wanted to marry her daughters off for her own benefit, mr. bennet was concerned with their future and happiness.