Social and Economic Issues

Social and Economic Issues..pride and prejudice

Caroline is obviously very possessive over her brother and disapproves of him showing interest in Jane. She is also possessive of attention by Mr. Darcy and it causes her jealously since he pays more attention and admiration toward Elizabeth. Even after Caroline tries so hard to capture his gaze or have conversation with him, he doesn't seem to be interested at all. This can cause so many wild and selfish emotions inside women. The big question is why?

 

In Caroline Bingley's case, there is a lot at stake when another woman comes into a situation with a man that she has already has an interest in and is trying to pursure. According to Caroline, in "good society" women are expected to "…have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages…and possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions…" (29). These are the tactics a woman of Caroline's same social and economic upbringing would use to capture the attention of a wealthy man in her day. Because it was hard to find a good man of great wealth in 1813, women were pitted against each other as foes and competition. Characters such as Caroline Bingley, who followed such social rules, felt that every woman she met was an instant rival to her endeavor to attain the wealth of Mr. Darcy.

 

When Elizabeth Bennett comes into the picture, Caroline instantly views her as a threat because she doesn't follow all of these social rules of female expectation. She is so different from any other woman; she is unique. In fact, Elizabeth actually has no problem speaking her mind and opinions against the typical ideals of a woman "in good society". Elizabeth's ideas of an accomplished woman are completely different, "I have never seen such a woman. I never saw such capacity, and taste and application, and elegance, as you described, united." (29) This is the biggest insult to Caroline and any other woman just like her, for Elizabeth reveals that all their effort toward social perfection are all done in vain.

 

Aside from the comical irony that Elizabeth wasn't even trying to capture the eye of Mr. Darcy, yet her boldness enraged Caroline to jealously and rivalry over Mr. Darcy, there are other more serious aspects of competition between women that need to be addressed. In the 1800's women needed to be concerned about marrying a man for his money. That was more important than love because women didn't work or have any way of making their own money. Women of both the rich and poor economic classes were concerned about finding a man with wealth, property, and inheritance. Another aspect to remember is that not marrying was also highly looked down upon socially. You didn't stay single or wait until you were old to marry; most people would think there was something wrong with you. Women needed to marry to keep up their reputation. Apart from meeting all the other female expectations, these are all ideas women had to keep in mind when finding a man and fighting the competition and threats of other women.

 

There are many difference between competition among women in the 1800's and today. Finding a husband isn't a popular, competitive sport as it is Pride and Prejudice. Women work, go to school, raise families, and have fast paced lifestyles. Today women are very independent, live in bigger communities, bigger cities with wider varieties of cultures. This has a big effect on competition between women. As far as job and status competition in the workplace, women are not fighting each other for position necessarily. They might be fighting for rank above or equal to men. It reminds me of the women's rights movement beginning about 1848. For over a century, women have been joining together trying to find their status as a whole in the work, business, political, and military worlds . But, there still is competition; it is just executed in a different way with different motives. Here is more on competition from a woman in my women's literature class, " As for relating their competition to modern relationships between women, I think the motivation is completely different. Women in this era were completely dependant upon men for survival. They rarely inherited property, had few (if any) legal rights, and without a husband were frequently forced to choose between abject poverty and living in a convent. I don't see women as inherently competitive; I see competition with other women as a reflection of a need to survive. Women used to compete for men because it was a necessity for their survival. Women compete now to survive in a workplace that has, until recently, been the domain of a male hierarchy. It appears to me that women, in an attempt to succeed in male dominated careers, embody the competitive male stereotype. By perpetuating the hierarchy, I think women end up stepping on other women in a natural drive for higher status, since that is the fundamental goal of any such system. I am rarely a witness to fights between women over men, unless I happen to be watching the Maury Povich show or having a high school flashback. I rarely see intelligent women debase themselves in such a way. Men and marriage are no longer a necessity for survival and any such competition for male attention is viewed as shameful in my experience."

 

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