Ridiculousness and Reality

Ridiculousness and Reality:

as Presented in Jane Austen’s Novel Pride & Prejudice
.

The prejudice that lies between those who are privileged versus those who are not as fortunate is an ancient battle.

In Jane Austen’s celebrated novel, Pride & Prejudice the reader is privy to see the interworkings of such a prejudice.

An excellent showcase of this kind of prejudice occurs in the novel when Lady Catherine Du Bourgh goes to visit Elizabeth Bennet in Longbourn.

Although Mrs. Bennet is absolutely delighted with the arrival of Lady Catherine, it is only because she is ignorant to the reason of her visit.

Ignorance truly is bliss since Mrs. Bennet is convinced that Lady Catherine’s travels were merely to inform them that the Colins’ were in good health and Elizabeth does not give her any reason to believe the contrary.

Seeing as though Elizabeth is of lower gentry than Lady Catherine and particularly Lady Catherine’s nephew Fitzwilliam Darcy, Lady Catherine takes it upon herself to impede any romantic interaction or even worse, a marriage engagement of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.

As soon as Lady Catherine arrives, Elizabeth is cognizant of Lady Catherine’s discourteous demeanor and muses as to what could warrant her arrival. Once the two aforementioned women journey out into the garden it is not long until Lady Catherine begins to illustrate her distaste towards the Bennet family and further insists that Elizabeth not marry Darcy and if he proposes the idea, to deny him out front. It is at this moment that Elizabeth rises from not only being the main character of the novel but the heroine.

Elizabeth does this and Lady Catherine’s illusions of power are deflated in an abrupt yet seemingly polite way. The contrast between Elizabeth as the heroine and Lady Catherine is so delightful because Elizabeth is drawn with an extreme consciousness of her verisimilitude. Elizabeth is “presented as an undistorted portrait”(NCE 298).

Elizabeth’s untainted image is much different than the character drawn for Lady Catherine, since it is as if Lady Catherine seldom displays redeeming qualities and moreover has a tendency to lack rationality.

This is particularly important because, as Harding argues his text, Austen chooses to depict many of the other characters in the text as caricatures. That is, exaggerating one or more of their qualities for dramatic or comic effect.

Austen uses the aforementioned device exceptionally well and also “tells the story with an exquisite sense of its ridiculous side”(NCE 292). T

his is especially evident in the case of Lady Catherine’s visit, the differentiation between Lady Catherine’s rudeness to the unselfish hospitality of Mrs. Bennet. The narrator is very clear in explaining just how impolite Lady Catherine is and chooses to set one extreme next to the other, the other being the excessively polite Mrs. Bennet. The readers may find both the women to be just outside of the realm of verisimilitude and as a result, a source of comic relief.

Elizabeth acts as the only seemingly believable of the characters in the seems and because of this solidifies her role as the natural protagonist. Lady Catherine serves as the “ungracious”(NCE 229) antagonist as we the reader witness Elizabeth’s rise to a new dimension of character.

Elizabeth has developed from the witty and sociable girl at the onset of the novel into a self-respecting and unwavering woman. When Lady Catherine’s obstinate manner and self-serving cause for a visit challenge Elizabeth, she does not cower in the face of adversity. Instead, she returns the favor to the proud and prejudiced Lady Catherine and refuses to oblige to her wishes.

It is Lady Catherine’s refusal to reason and obstinate character that paints her as that much more of a caricature. However, this instance allows the evolution of an at first likable character to a character who instills a sense of hope in the reader.
In relation to the rest of the novel, this tête-à-tête serves as an inspiration for Elizabeth’s actions in the remaining chapters. One could argue that because of the obstacle that Lady Catherine presented Elizabeth is now only more desirous of Darcy. Elizabeth stands- idly by as the hurdles to her and Darcy’s relationship manifested, but after this last one she becomes proactive. Later, when Darcy expresses his affection once more, Elizabeth is only too happy to declare that his feelings are mutual.

In conclusion, it is because of the presence of exaggerated characters and also because of the light-hearted, bordering on ridiculous, nature of the scenes that Austen creates that allows the Elizabeth to rise quickly as the heroine of the novel.

In addition, Elizabeth’s contrast to the majority of the other character’s in the novel furthers her movement in to the affection of the reader and only contributes to the readers amusement of the trials the other character’s face.

Austen’s characterization of the cast in the novel make is quite simple for the reader to root mainly for Elizabeth because her character, through it’s undistorted representation, is received as the most real, and thereby easiest to sympathize with.