Class Distinction in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Critical Discussion

An English Writer Jane Austen, who was considered as a commanding literary figure of the eighteenth century. She is considered as the first who gave the novel its distinctly modern character of everyday life. She vividly depicted English society during the early 19th century. 'Pride and Prejudice' can be seen as an example of class depiction. Her novels are regarded as the "era’s novel of manners". She got fame following her death. The target of my work is class line demarcation in Pride and Prejudice, which is strictly drawn by Jane Austen. 

There are three types of classes in Pride and Prejudice, the lower class, middle class, and upper class. The lower class/ working class includes servants, factory workers, and shop workers who have no place in this novel. Middle class includes educated professionals (doctors, lawyers, and engineers), Mr. Bingley is a good example of this social rank. The upper class includes statesmen and rich people. Darcy and Mr. Bennet are the perfect examples of the upper class.

Jane Austen wants to vividly demarcate the social class lines and expected her readers to be sensitive about it, but she remorselessly satirized characters who were obsessed with fine social distinctions. There is certainly no association in her novels between high rank and any great virtue or ability. Aristocrats are at best buffoons, at worst paragons of arrogance. The most famous case is probably Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice, a woman with whom no one before Elizabeth Bennet has ever disagreed.

In Pride and Prejudice class distinction is a major theme in the novel, related to reputation, in that both reflect the strictly regimented nature of life for the middle and upper classes in Regency England. A minute study of the novel shows that the Bennet family, who belongs to the middle class, try to socialize with the upper-class Bingleys and Darcys, they are their social inferiors and are treated as such. Austen ironically satirizes this kind of class-consciousness, and differentiation especially in the character of Mr. Collins, who spends most of his time toadying to his upper-class patron, Lady Catherine.

The Writer shows the power of love and happiness to overcome class boundaries and prejudices, thereby implying that such prejudices are hollow, unfeeling, and unproductive. His conception of the importance of class is shared, among others, by Mr. Darcy, who believes in the dignity of his lineage; Miss Bingley, who dislikes anyone not as socially accepted as she is; and Wickham, who will do anything he can to get enough money to raise himself into a higher station. Though Mr. Collins offers an extreme example, he is not the only one to hold such views. The satire directed at Mr. Collins is therefore also more subtly directed at the entire social hierarchy and the conception of all those within it at its correctness, in complete disregard of other, more worthy virtues. Through the Darcy-Elizabeth and Bingley-Jane marriages, Of course, this whole discussion of the class must be made with the understanding that Austen herself is often criticized as being a classist: she doesn’t represent anyone from the lower classes; those servants she does portray are generally happy with their lot. 

Austen does criticize class structure but only a limited slice of that structure. Finally, Austen employs the character of Mr. Wickham in demonstrating the ruthlessness present in many to elevate themselves in the class system.  A military officer from a poor family, Mr. Wickham appears to Elizabeth as a charming gentleman.  He spins a web of lies about his past, all in the hopes of obtaining a marriage with one of the Bennet daughters so that he can accrue some wealth as a dowry.  However, his history proves to be far more disturbing than the Bennets could have imagined.  Hungry for wealth, Mr. Wickham attempted to elope with Mr. Darcy’s younger sister Georgiana. “Mr. Wickham’s chief object was unquestionable my sister’s fortune, which is thirty thousand pounds,” His scheme was foiled when Mr. Darcy learned of it, and he disappeared.

Conclusion

Class issues are everywhere in Pride and Prejudice. ... In the end, the novel's verdict on class differences are moderate. Austen seems to accept the existence of class hierarchy, but she also criticizes the way it can poison society.