From the start of the book my view of Elizabeth has been that she is very intelligent and all together more interesting than her sisters or any other female characters. For example in chapter one, Mr Bennet expresses that she is his favourite child, referring to her as "My little Lizzy". He then goes on to justify this by saying she has "something more of a quickness than her sisters". So before we are even introduced fully to Lizzy we have an idea that she is different to the others. I think that Elizabeth seems to share more of her father's character than her mother's. She is not silly and excited like Lydia and Kitty and it does not seem to be her main aim in life to secure a husband. So in this sense she seems unfeminine in her views, compared to other women in the book.
It also seems to me that Elizabeth isn't in anyway vain and doesn't care what people think of her. For example, this is shown in chapter three when Mr Darcy insults her and she doesn't seem upset at all. On the contrary, she tells the story "with great sprit amongst her friends". She doesn't worry about what Darcy has said and seems able to laugh about it, this is displayed through the narrator's description of her; "She had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous".
Another example of Elizabeth's good humour is in chapter six when she is teasingly sarcastic with Mr Darcy. She says "Mr Darcy is all politeness"-she is evidentily referring to Darcy "slighting" her, and Darcy will know this. There are times in the book so far when we can tell that Elizabeth's behaviour is not the norm to some people. For example she appears unladylike when, in chapter seven, she walks through muddy fields to visit Jane at Netherfield. "her appearance created a great deal of surprise. That she should have walked three miles so early in the day, in such dirty weather and by herself was almost incredible to Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley". Elizabeth doesn't pretend to be something she's not, she acts as she sees fit.
Another view of Elizabeth that I have so far is that she is a free sprit and can be teasingly defiant and confrontational. For example in chapter six when we are told "Miss Lucas defied her friend to mention such a subject to him (Darcy), which immediately provoking Elizabeth to do it". She seems to say what she wants, despite being advised by her friend to keep quiet.
Elizabeth also appears to be a very caring person. She is very close to her sister, Jane and is very loving towards her. For example in chapter four she says to Jane "He (Bingley) could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room". She also seems protective of Jane, and makes her aware of the impression she has of Bingley's sisters. This is another thing I have found about Elizabeth's character so far, she seems very observant and notices things in people that most wouldn't or don't in the book. An example of this would be the fact that she sees through Bingley's two sisters as Jane does not. She calls them "proud and conceited" whereas Jane insists they are "very pleasing women". She makes another observation of the sisters in chapter six, "Elizabeth still saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody".
I think that Elizabeth's attitude to marriage in chapter six shows that she has sense and perhaps a more contempory attitude towards marriage. She feels that marriage should be for genuine love and affection and that you should "understand his character". She also feels marriage shouldn't be rushed, for example she reminds Miss Lucas that Jane has "only known Bingley a fortnight" and so should not be too hasty.
Finally I believe that Elizabeth is very popular amongst her peers due to her easy-manners and down to earth attitude. For example in chapter six we see this when she plays the piano, "Elizabeth, easy and unaffected, had been listened to with much more pleasure, though not playing half so well"-due to her passion and liveliness, people just enjoy her company more than others.
Overall my view of Elizabeth so far is that she is sensible, intelligent, genuine and playfully teasing, especially in comparison to other women. She is observant of other people and doesn't seem to get as caught up in marriage and society as her sisters and mother do.
She appears to have it all, wit, looks, intelligence and popularity amongst most people (apart from Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley perhaps), and even Darcy cannot resist being charmed by her light and carefree personality.
Monday 31 October 2011
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Jane Austen
Jane Austen lived from 1775 to 1817.
She was one of eight children of a clergyman, and she grew up in a close-knit family. Her father mostly educated her at home. Although not incredibly rich, her family were of middle class wealth and so were a part of the social environment often described in her novels. For example her status will have been similar to that of the Bennets in 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Her books are set among the English middle and upper classes, and they are well-known for their wit, social observation and insight into lives of early 19th Century women. For example along with being comical, her novels offer a real message about how dependant women at the time were on marriage for social and economic security. Her books are set in more rural environments, and Austen could have been writing from experience as she lived in the country. She is known to have enjoyed dancing for social purposes, attending formal dances at the local assembly hall, similar to those mentioned so frequently in 'Pride and Prejudice'. So we can assume that the important implications these dances had on a womens chance of marrying well, were observed by Austen and therefore useful when writing 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Austen's brother Henry helped her to negotiate with a publisher in 1811, which resulted in her first novel 'Sense and Sensibility' being released. Her other novels included 'Pride and Prejudice'(which she is thought to have referred to as her "darling child"), 'Mansfield Park', 'Emma' and two novels released after she died, 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion'. She published all of her novels anonymously and although they sold well at the time of their release, none of them were bestsellers.
Austen was never married and this could have been because she had strong attitudes towards marriage, as reflected in her writing. Perhaps being one of eight children she was all too familiar with the pressure to marry well, which is displayed through Mrs Bennet's attitude in 'Pride and Prejudice'.
She was one of eight children of a clergyman, and she grew up in a close-knit family. Her father mostly educated her at home. Although not incredibly rich, her family were of middle class wealth and so were a part of the social environment often described in her novels. For example her status will have been similar to that of the Bennets in 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Her books are set among the English middle and upper classes, and they are well-known for their wit, social observation and insight into lives of early 19th Century women. For example along with being comical, her novels offer a real message about how dependant women at the time were on marriage for social and economic security. Her books are set in more rural environments, and Austen could have been writing from experience as she lived in the country. She is known to have enjoyed dancing for social purposes, attending formal dances at the local assembly hall, similar to those mentioned so frequently in 'Pride and Prejudice'. So we can assume that the important implications these dances had on a womens chance of marrying well, were observed by Austen and therefore useful when writing 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Austen's brother Henry helped her to negotiate with a publisher in 1811, which resulted in her first novel 'Sense and Sensibility' being released. Her other novels included 'Pride and Prejudice'(which she is thought to have referred to as her "darling child"), 'Mansfield Park', 'Emma' and two novels released after she died, 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion'. She published all of her novels anonymously and although they sold well at the time of their release, none of them were bestsellers.
Austen was never married and this could have been because she had strong attitudes towards marriage, as reflected in her writing. Perhaps being one of eight children she was all too familiar with the pressure to marry well, which is displayed through Mrs Bennet's attitude in 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Pride and Prejudice Timeline
In our last lesson we were asked to make a timeline of the key events in Pride and Prejudice. I used the website suggested and this is my timeline (click on timeline).
I hope it's right! The dates I used were just ones I found on the internet or made up, as the website insisted upon dates for every point!
I hope it's right! The dates I used were just ones I found on the internet or made up, as the website insisted upon dates for every point!
Monday 10 October 2011
'The Convent Threshold' by Christina Rossetti
In our last English Lit lesson we read through another Rossetti poem called 'The Convent Threshold'. I found the poem a lot more difficult to understand than some of the previous Rossetti pieces we've looked at. However I understood a few points made in the poem and will explain them the best I can.
The poem seems to be about a pair of lovers who have committed a 'crime', the most obvious thought is that they had sex outside marriage. The poem is told to us by a presumably female persona, and she seems to feel that they have sinned and so must repent. The sex outside marriage is insinuated through "all the gifts we took and gave" as the gifts they gave suggests they gave each other their love and virginity, however these were also the gifts they took as because they weren't married they shouldn't have taken these gifts from each other. So as I said the speaker seems very affected by what they did and she is trying pursuade her lover to repent in the poem. She seems to be very religious and feels they both must repent in order to go to heaven. The persona seems to feel tainted by their wrongdoing, this is shown in "My lily feet are soiled with mud, with scarlet mud"-this symbollises something pure and clean, like a lily being made dirty and stained. So this could show that the speaker's virginity and innocence have been spoiled. Also refering to the mud as "scarlet" suggests blood, so this ties in the idea of tradegy and extreme guilt on the speaker's part. So the speaker seems to want to make herself pure again, this is shown in "I seek the sea of glass and fire to wash the spot, to burn the snare"-she is seeking forgiveness, she wants to burn the symbollic snare that is holding her back (which could be her lover) so she can be free.
In the poem there is a lot of imagery about heaven and earth as the speaker seems to be torn between the two. Some examples of the imagery of heaven are "mansions where the righteous sup" and "far-off city grand"- as heaven is far off it could imply that the speaker is waiting for her lover to repent with her before making the journey to heaven. So the speaker obviously loves the man very much but is urging him to repent so they can be together forever in heaven, "Repent, repent, and be forgiven. This life is long but yet it ends" -if he repents their love can be eternal. However the man doesn't seem to be very interested in the idea of heaven, maybe he is not religious or feels they have done nothing wrong. A quote that shows this is "Your eyes look earthward, mine look up". This shows the seperation between the lovers and shows the speaker is in conflict; her religion or her love. This is also illustrated in the fact that earth is made to seem heavenly in the poem, perhaps showing earth is her heaven if her love is there. For example the people are described as having "golden hair" which suggests purity and happiness. The speaker feels very strongly about her religion and her wish that her lover will repent, however we see how much her love means to her. "How should I rest in Paradise, or sit on steps of heaven alone?" this shows even heaven cannot compare to their love, and that heaven would be more like hell were he not there with her.
So overall the speaker seems to be in conflict with herself in the poem; Heaven or earth? Religion or love? A quote that I think shows this is "only my lips still turn to you, my livid lips that cry, Repent!" The reference to lips shows her passion and love for the man, but the livid cry of "Repent!" shows her struggle and religious devotion.
The poem also shows parrallels with the story of Heloise and Abelard.
The poem seems to be about a pair of lovers who have committed a 'crime', the most obvious thought is that they had sex outside marriage. The poem is told to us by a presumably female persona, and she seems to feel that they have sinned and so must repent. The sex outside marriage is insinuated through "all the gifts we took and gave" as the gifts they gave suggests they gave each other their love and virginity, however these were also the gifts they took as because they weren't married they shouldn't have taken these gifts from each other. So as I said the speaker seems very affected by what they did and she is trying pursuade her lover to repent in the poem. She seems to be very religious and feels they both must repent in order to go to heaven. The persona seems to feel tainted by their wrongdoing, this is shown in "My lily feet are soiled with mud, with scarlet mud"-this symbollises something pure and clean, like a lily being made dirty and stained. So this could show that the speaker's virginity and innocence have been spoiled. Also refering to the mud as "scarlet" suggests blood, so this ties in the idea of tradegy and extreme guilt on the speaker's part. So the speaker seems to want to make herself pure again, this is shown in "I seek the sea of glass and fire to wash the spot, to burn the snare"-she is seeking forgiveness, she wants to burn the symbollic snare that is holding her back (which could be her lover) so she can be free.
In the poem there is a lot of imagery about heaven and earth as the speaker seems to be torn between the two. Some examples of the imagery of heaven are "mansions where the righteous sup" and "far-off city grand"- as heaven is far off it could imply that the speaker is waiting for her lover to repent with her before making the journey to heaven. So the speaker obviously loves the man very much but is urging him to repent so they can be together forever in heaven, "Repent, repent, and be forgiven. This life is long but yet it ends" -if he repents their love can be eternal. However the man doesn't seem to be very interested in the idea of heaven, maybe he is not religious or feels they have done nothing wrong. A quote that shows this is "Your eyes look earthward, mine look up". This shows the seperation between the lovers and shows the speaker is in conflict; her religion or her love. This is also illustrated in the fact that earth is made to seem heavenly in the poem, perhaps showing earth is her heaven if her love is there. For example the people are described as having "golden hair" which suggests purity and happiness. The speaker feels very strongly about her religion and her wish that her lover will repent, however we see how much her love means to her. "How should I rest in Paradise, or sit on steps of heaven alone?" this shows even heaven cannot compare to their love, and that heaven would be more like hell were he not there with her.
So overall the speaker seems to be in conflict with herself in the poem; Heaven or earth? Religion or love? A quote that I think shows this is "only my lips still turn to you, my livid lips that cry, Repent!" The reference to lips shows her passion and love for the man, but the livid cry of "Repent!" shows her struggle and religious devotion.
The poem also shows parrallels with the story of Heloise and Abelard.
Wednesday 5 October 2011
'Cousin Kate'-essay plan with quotes
In our last lesson we started to plan an answer for the question; 'To what extent do you agree that the women in 'Cousin Kate' are heroic?'. These are some of the ideas we came up with:
To a certain extent the women in 'Cousin Kate' are heroic, for example;
Overall you could argue that women are heroic in the poem as we see the narrator go on a journey to eventually prevail over the man, she grows strong and is raising a child alone which, in itself displays heroism. She is a fallen women with a plan and hope for the future. However I think that women aren't heroic in the poem to a higher extent. For example even though the speaker prevails at the end it doesn't symbolise women prevailing over men, as Kate gets left behind. So I think the ending more shows that women are not unified and so cannot prevail over men until they get along with each other. Also the whole poem focuses on the betrayal of the speaker by cousin Kate, so this isn't very heroic. Finally the women appear bitchy, snide and jealous. For example the speaker seems jealous of Kate's beauty "You grew more fair than I".
Rossetti may have intentionally made the speaker the victim and Kate the betrayer to show her views in feminism. For example that women can't expect equal treatment from men if they can't even respect each other.
To a certain extent the women in 'Cousin Kate' are heroic, for example;
- The speaker overcomes her bad experience and rises above tradition, whilst also challenging it. She takes the critism and carries on, she rises above it. For example she is called an "outcast thing" by the neighbours, and she is very proud of her son at the end. She calls him her "shame" and "pride", thus showing that she considers him her pride and joy but society sees him as her shame. She refuses to act as a weak woman who just accepts the power of men in society. We see in the poem that women in general are second best to men, however in the poem the speaker challenges this and ends up better for it.
- The female speaker is headstrong, she knows her morals and achknowledges that she did something wrong in being tricked into sleeping with the lord. Quotes that show this are "so now I moan an unclean thing" she considers herself dirty and she was obviously upset by what happened to her, but she uses her experience to make her stronger. When she says how she would not have been bought by the lord's land and she says she would "spit into his face"-this shows quite a feminist view and shows she has a strong feeling of what she thinks is right and wrong. This symbolises women standing up to men, and displays women's strength, therefore suggesting they're heroic.
- The speaker prevails over men at the end as her son will inherit his lands, it's like victory has come to the women at last. This is shown in "Your father would give lands for one to wear his coronet".
- Cousin Kate is on a moral high ground as she hasn't actually done anything wrong, however because we only see Kate through the speakers eyes it creates a speaker bias. For example she is called "good and pure by the neighbours which shows women's normal traits.
- At the beginning of the poem we see women to be gentle, beautiful and kind, for example "cottage maiden" suggest innocence and "not mindful I was fair" shows women in general to be humble. So the women are gentle and kind, but they aren't weak.
- The speaker seems to feel she is better than cousin Kate, when she says "neighbours call you good and pure" etc it's like she's saying Kate doesn't deserve this treatment, it shows the speaker's jealousy.
- The speaker gets tricked by the lord into sleeping with him. This shows women's weakness , naïvity and lack of sensible judgement. Quotes that show this are "lured me to his palace home" and "His plaything"-the speaker has been controlled and taken advantage of by the man, so this shows women not to be heroic as men have control over them. The lord is also able to "choose" cousin Kate, it's as if there is no input from the women, they just do as they're told, therefore displaying a form of weakness.
- The women seem very bitchy in the poem. For example in the poem the speaker is talking to her cousin Kate and she seems very bitter. She says "Because you were so good and pure" to Kate and it sounds like she is being sarcastic, even mocking Kate. She also ridicules Kate because she can't have children, which is awful as, as a woman the speaker should know how important it is for women to carry a child themselves. This is shown in "Yet I've a gift you have not got, and seem not like to get". This is like she's showing off, using her son to get back at Kate and therefore displaying no natural motherly instinct women are expected to have. So the speaker makes bitchy snide comments. Also Kate herself betrayed the speaker by agreeing to marry the speakers lover. We are told that Kate had a "stronger wing" than the speaker. So suggests she played the game better than the speaker as she doesn't actually have feelings for the lord. This is shown in "writ in sand" her love is temporary. This could even suggest that Kate is leading the lord on now as he may actually have feelings for her. (shows women to be just as bad as men).
- Women aren't heroic as the patriarchal rule remains at the end. The women are fighting over a man the entire way through which displays men's power and women's pettiness.
- Women display a love of material things. For example Kate seems to only marry the lord for his wealth, this is shown in "lifted you from mean estate", "bought me with his land" and "all your clothes and wedding-ring". Kate shows aspects of greed. The speaker, despite what she says, also displays a longing for material things at the end of the poem. For example "give lands for one to wear his coronet"-the speaker is using her son to rub it in Kate's face that her son will inherit all the lords land and Kate will be left with nothing.
Overall you could argue that women are heroic in the poem as we see the narrator go on a journey to eventually prevail over the man, she grows strong and is raising a child alone which, in itself displays heroism. She is a fallen women with a plan and hope for the future. However I think that women aren't heroic in the poem to a higher extent. For example even though the speaker prevails at the end it doesn't symbolise women prevailing over men, as Kate gets left behind. So I think the ending more shows that women are not unified and so cannot prevail over men until they get along with each other. Also the whole poem focuses on the betrayal of the speaker by cousin Kate, so this isn't very heroic. Finally the women appear bitchy, snide and jealous. For example the speaker seems jealous of Kate's beauty "You grew more fair than I".
Rossetti may have intentionally made the speaker the victim and Kate the betrayer to show her views in feminism. For example that women can't expect equal treatment from men if they can't even respect each other.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)