The image of the province in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice
"The Image of the Province in Jane Austen's Novel
"Pride and Prejudice"
| Introduction………………………………………………………………………………... |
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| 1. Jane Austen - the “first lady” of English literature………………... |
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| 1. 1 Jane Austen - the founder of the classic romance novel........ |
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| 1. 2 The influence of the province on the writer’s work………………………. |
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| 2. 1 The English province is a key element of the artistic space in the novel “Pride and Prejudice”……………………… |
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| 2. 2 Images of the provincial nobility and their role in the novel……………. |
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| 2. 3 The influence of the social environment on the formation of the characters of the heroes of the novel “Pride and Prejudice……………………………………………………….. |
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| 3. Stylistic means of revealing characters in Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice”……………………………………………………………………. |
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INTRODUCTION
which coexisted almost simultaneously in Great Britain and mutually influenced each other. The writer’s novels are constantly in the zone of unflagging reader and research attention, which is associated with the originality of the artistic solution in them to the so-called “eternal” existential questions of human existence. To this day, they are in demand by the reader, as they are dedicated to topics that do not lose their relevance. universal human values, reveal the evolution of the concept of a woman’s personality in historical and literary development. The interest of professional researchers is based on the opinion that Jane Austen is an innovator of motifs and techniques that enriched English realistic prose. In this regard, Austen’s work is perceived as the foundation for important discoveries in English literature of the 30s of the 19th century. The consonance of Austen's works acute problems modern civilization determines the demand for research addressed to the “universal human component” of her work, and today, in beginning of XXI century.
Despite the fact that the work and life of Jane Austen was studied by such famous critics as R. Liddell, M. Madrick, W. Scott, A. Kettle, S. Morgan, N. Auerbach, R. Ferer, M. Bradbury, R. Chapman, W. Booth, A. Litz, the analysis of her work is still relevant and interesting in research today.
In a fairly representative foreign and domestic research tradition In the field of studying the creative heritage of Jane Austen, in our opinion, such an aspect as the influence of the province on the formation of the worldview and creativity of the writer is still insufficiently studied. Related to this is the scientific novelty of the work, which lies in a detailed examination of provincial England in the novel “Pride and Prejudice”. The relevance of the study becomes especially obvious in the context of unquenchable interest in the personality of Jane Austen and her work.
Purpose course work is an analysis of the image of the English province in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice.
Coursework objectives:
Revealing the influence of Jane Austen's provincial life on the plot of her novels;
Justification of the need to study the novel “Pride and Prejudice” in terms of historical value;
Consideration of the mental priorities and stereotypes of the provincial environment of England in the 18th century;
The subject of the study is the novel “Pride and Prejudice” itself in Russian and the original language.
Main research methods: methods of conceptual, philological, functional, component text analysis, elements of comparative, descriptive methods, historical and etymological method.
The theoretical significance of the work lies in the fact that the image of the province in the novel is considered as an important characteristic of the lifestyle and morality of the provincials XVIII century in England.
The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that the presented materials can be used in the practice of university teaching when developing courses on the history of English literature of the 18th - 19th centuries.
The presented work, in addition to the introduction and conclusions, contains three sections that clarify theoretical and practical issues on the formulated topic. In addition, a list of processed scientific sources is attached.
The research material is the original text of Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” and its Russian translation, biographical articles about the writer, publications and studies of Austen’s work, critical literature.
1. JANE AUSTEN – THE “FIRST LADY” OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
1. 1 Jane Austen - the founder of the classic romance novel
phenomenon. It is necessary to find a different approach to literary activity. The female author, describing her model of seeing and understanding the world, focuses on personal observations and experiences; she is looking for special ways of perceiving and assessing reality, trying not to get lost in the prevailing male standards literary tradition. This is what made Jane Austen's novels so popular.
Jane Austen is rightfully considered the “first lady” of English literature; the positivist critic Lewis puts her as an example to Charlotte Bronte, her “exemplary realism” becomes the basis for followers of this genre. Later, J. Eliot discovers the connection of his aesthetic principles with the practice of the “incomparable” (as defined by W. Scott) Jane.
Despite the little fame and popularity of this name in the 19th century, the study of Austen’s literary heritage began during her lifetime. W. Scott, who became one of the first critics and reviewers of Jane Austen, dedicated a detailed article to the novice author. The writer noted the emergence of a fundamentally new “novel style” depicting the everyday life of a person, in which he saw the origin of a realistic image. V. Scott, in his statements about the author’s creative style, expressed the idea that Austen “creatively approaches the romantic heritage and in many ways surpasses his predecessors.”
Jane Austen gave the basis for English realism, which was developed by her followers. She has been and continues to be set as an example more than once. After all, to tell the truth, today there are few writers whose books can be reread at least twice. And reading Austen’s novels at different ages, each time you discover them in a new way, drawing truths and drawing conclusions for yourself, determining what is funny and stupid, and what you really should learn. For example, meekness and patience, the ability to neglect one’s principles and pride, prejudice and arrogance.
Fielding and Richardson, thereby anticipating the classical images XIX century, that method that allowed artists to reflect both the course of external events and the entire complexity of individual impressions and perceptions of the individual.”
Everything that she herself wrote was perceived and revised by her followers. “It stands at a crossroads in the history of the novel, anticipating in some respects the greater preoccupation with moral issues of the Victorians, while at the same time maintaining the objectivity, skepticism and detachment of the 18th century. Although her social range was limited... in some respects she knew more and perceived life more broadly than many of the more experienced and learned writers who came after her."
M. Bradbury emphasizes the relevance and topicality of the writer’s work. According to the researcher, while focusing on the “moral” world in his novels, Austen, however, focuses on what is reasonable and desirable in social relations (marriage, material security). From the point of view of M. Bradbury, Austen's novels are distinguished by a type of narrative style that is progressive compared to previous literature: the omniscient narrator is replaced by the characters' thoughts about what is happening. The comparison of different points of view deepens the psychologism of the narrative, and their obvious polarity creates a comic effect. The listed circumstances, from the researcher’s point of view, indicate both a certain dependence of Austen’s work on the aesthetics of the Enlightenment, and the emergence of features of the author’s realistic consciousness.
Jane Austen was the herald of realism in British literature, the founder of the family, “ladies' novel.” She revolutionized the art of narrative, establishing the leading role of the novel and proving that women have the right to creativity. At one time, Jane Austen took up her pen when a woman writer was criticized and not taken seriously.
The history of the creation of her most popular and famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, begins back in 1796. Austen finished it by August of the following year; she was then twenty-one. Little is known about this early version of the book from its original title, First Impressions. As far as is known, no copy of that original exists. Three months after Miss Austen finished the book, her father offered the manuscript to a publisher in the hope that it would be published. The publisher refused without even seeing the manuscript.
Fortunately for all her fans, the first refusal did not stop Miss Austen, she continued to write; although it was not until the winter of 1811, fourteen years after finishing First Impressions, that she took up the manuscript and began revising it into the book we know today as Pride and Prejudice. The work was much more successful than its earlier incarnation; it was accepted for publication and presented to the world on January 28, 1813.
So why are Jane Austen's novels so popular today? Why, despite the fact that the manners and era that gave birth to them are long gone, do they continue to touch and excite readers? The answer to this question is simple. Jane Austen was a great artist who had the ability to “live the lives of her heroes and convey this feeling to readers.” “She was interested in the ordinary, and not what is called extraordinary,” noted S. Maugham. “However, thanks to her visual acuity, irony and wit, everything she wrote was extraordinary.”
The reason for Austen's eternal youth is her subtle irony and cheerful laughter. Immutable truths, outwardly accepted with respect by her, are subjected to ironic ridicule; Her laughter not only amuses, but also awakens thought and undermines the very foundations of false social principles. This is the enduring significance of Austen's irony, its humanity and ethical value.
1. 2
poor. They kept no servants; only from time to time a village girl came to help with the housework. Mrs. Austin smoked hams and made mead and beer; Cassandra cooked; Jane sewed for the whole family.
a description of the life of two or three modest provincial families. But the author’s excellent knowledge of human nature and psychology, her subtle humor, her jewelry pen even today, two centuries later, never cease to amaze and delight, giving every right to rank the novels she created among the masterpieces of world literature.
Jane Austen had one quality that is not often found in novelists: she knew her capabilities and their limits. As a fifteen-year-old girl, writing her first unfinished novel in the corner of the classroom, she had already firmly outlined with school chalk the circle of themes, characters and relationships that she recognized as her own; that circle that will not be crossed even in the years of mature creativity. According to the writer herself interesting topic she imagined “the life of several families living in the countryside.”
To some this may seem small and modest, but in this field Jane Austen managed to create surprisingly capacious images and situations that, with purely English humor, described the life of middle-class people in the English province, and received the title of “Queen of the English Novel.” The secret of her popularity is simple: she wrote about what she knew thoroughly, she knew based on her observation and experience taken from everyday life, since she was born in the province.
A quiet, cozy place in rural England, where all more or less worthy people know each other, go to visit each other, discuss each other - this is an unusually stable world. A world where there is no place for cataclysms and catastrophes, where relationships are simple and clear, where people have enough time to think about and deeply analyze the events that happen to them; where there is a place for feelings, they are important, they are given significant meaning.
Calmly and without tension, she guides the reader through the plot lines of her novels. There is no doubt that Jane Austen is a subtle psychologist of human characters, she is not distracted by detailed descriptions of appearance, interior, nature, the inner world of a person is important to her, which is revealed through dialogues between the characters in novels. Jane Austen looks at the events of the era from her own unique perspective.
Having analyzed the life of the founder of the classic romance novel, you can, through the prism of the irony of the pen, see in her novels real people with whom she had to deal, somewhere even herself, her experiences and problems, between the lines you can see the almost transparent haze of the most hidden corners of her soul, hear whispers of the deepest secrets of her life. She wrote about the sphere of life in which she herself grew up; she knew the problems of the provincials from the inside. At the same time, unlike her predecessors, as E. Baker correctly noted, Austen was not fundamentally a “educational or moralizing” novelist.
The novelist consciously gravitated towards the economical use of artistic and visual means. She strove to express in a few words, without any verbal embellishment, the most important and necessary things. It is characteristic that Austen sought to draw these visual means from the sphere of the everyday reality that surrounded her.
“Her judgments,” writes Kettle, “are always based on actual facts and the aspirations of her heroes. Taken in a broad sense, they are always social. Human happiness in her understanding is by no means an abstract principle.”
clergy. Austen's powers of observation, as her novels show, were unusually acute, but she did not write about everything she knew and saw. She was interested in the psychological background of ordinary, everyday actions in the provincial corners of England. “You can’t even say about a writer like Jane Austen that she is original - she is simple and natural, like nature itself,” wrote one of the most insightful critics G. -K. Chesterton.
Jane Austen is a master of everyday life; she easily depicts characters and faces through the prism of subtle humor and irony. The secret of the enduring popularity of Jane Austen's novels is simple: she, several centuries ahead of her time, wrote about what so deeply worries human minds and souls. Jane Austen wrote about how simple and difficult it is to combine love and prejudice, sincere love and the need to “correct” financial condition due to a successful marriage. Reading any novel by Jane Austen confirms the idea that only someone who himself experienced the struggle of these contradictory principles could portray them so faithfully.
2. THE IMAGE OF THE PROVINCE IN JANE AUSTEN’S NOVEL “PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.”
The image of the province is not new; it has been present in the works of many authors for centuries, but Jane Austen introduced complex thoughts into it in an accessible presentation ,
The everyday life of ordinary people, the little things in the life of provincial existence - that’s it art space the novel “Pride and Prejudice”, where Austen, thanks to his subtle wit and brilliant irony, achieves great depth.
The description of the province itself is very laconic and restrained; Jane avoids unnecessary descriptions and unnecessary details, strictly subordinating all elements of the narrative to its main development. She criticizes novels in which "circumstances are introduced that have apparent significance, but which, however, lead nowhere." There were no such circumstances in her novels; in them all descriptions, all landscapes are used for the further development of action or characters.
There is almost no landscape in the novel: a few lines of description of Rosings and Pemberley. The names of towns and estates are often fictitious, for example, Netherfield Park, Meryton, Hansford, Westerham, etc.
The novel takes place in Longbourn, "the village in which they [the Bennets] lived, and where the Bennet family occupied a prominent position." The name of the village is also fictitious. The Lucases, with whom the Bennetts were on friendly terms, live next door. Nearby, in Netherfield, Mr. Bingley and his sisters and his friend, Mr. Darcy, appear. They visited here occasionally, introducing new topics for the conversations of everyone around them, adding variety to the everyday life of provincial residents.
With an amazing breadth of coverage of life phenomena. Reading the novel, we learn about various aspects of life in England at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries: about the economy, politics, social structure, church, the institution of marriage in those days, about morals, life, manners, clothing. The English province, as a key element of the novel's artistic space, is necessary to characterize that era, for the development of action and for a brighter comic effect.
The small nuances of human relationships are conveyed in great detail, which, together with the fascinating “Old English” dialogues, evokes a feeling of immersion in the atmosphere of the 19th century and in the world of an individual English family. The following dialogues of the characters in the novel “Pride and Prejudice” are interesting:
"The country," said Darcy, "can in general supply but a few subjects for such a study. In a country neighborhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society."
"Yes, indeed," cried Mrs. Bennet, offended by his manner of mentioning a country neighbourhood. "I assure you there is quite as much of that going on in the country as in town."
"I cannot see that London has any great advantage over the country, for my part, except the shops and public places. The country is a vast deal pleasanter, is it not, Mr. Bingley?"
"When I am in the country," he replied, "I never wish to leave it; and when I am in town it is pretty much the same. They have each their advantages, and I can be equally happy in either."
"Aye-that is because you have the right disposition. But that gentleman," looking at Darcy, "seemed to think the country was nothing at all."
One can note the very simple way of life of families in the English province. The man is responsible for the financial support of the family, the inheritance is passed on only through the male line, thus the daughters have only one hope - marriage. What are the female half of England doing? – Attending balls and discussing events taking place in the surrounding area. Reasoning about life is also very simple. “Whoever is interested in dancing, it doesn’t cost anything to fall in love.”
want."
are planning further actions to win men's hearts.
Wherever in the provinces, the problem of marriage is purely a property problem. That's why Austen's characters so often put words like match and fortune next to each other in their conversations. “As to a fortune it is a most eligible match,” notes one of the heroines of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” in connection with the marriage of Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” - this is how the first chapter of the novel begins. “Fortune” - that is, the wealth that a young landowner has the good fortune to possess, becomes and should become an object of desire for the environment where he will most likely begin to look for a life partner. Therefore, not only negative characters, but also those with whom the writer sympathizes, constantly talk about fortunes, profitable parties and inheritances.
By immersing the reader in the atmosphere of the English province, Jane Austen gives us the opportunity to better understand the actions of the characters in the novel and compare the actions of different layers of the gentry. On every page of the novel Pride and Prejudice, the English countryside is a key backdrop for the development of events.
2. 2 Images of the provincial nobility and their role in the novel.
The focus of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” is the private life of the provincial nobility, among which the author identifies people of various property status. The plot of the novel is simple, and the grouping of characters in it is strictly thought out. The provincial family is, as they say, “middle-class”: the father of the family, Mr. Bennet, is of quite noble blood, phlegmatic, prone to a stoically doomed perception of both the life around him and himself; He treats his own wife with particular irony: Mrs. Bennet really cannot boast of either origin, intelligence, or upbringing. The Bennett couple have five daughters: the eldest, Jane and Elizabeth, will become central heroines novel.
The action takes place in a typical English province. Sensational news comes to a small town: one of the richest estates in the area will no longer be empty: it has been rented by a rich young man, a “metropolitan thing” and aristocrat, Mr. Bingley. However, Mr. Bingley does not arrive alone; he is accompanied by his sisters, as well as his friend Mr. Darcy. The action develops around one, at first glance, seemingly trivial conflict: Elizabeth Bennet meets with the aristocrat Darcy. She feels Darcy's disdain for her family, and a prejudice against him is born in her, which is difficult for her to overcome even when mutual feelings are born between people. Darcy, in turn, aware of his superiority (both class and personal) over the provincial gentry, first reveals emphasized arrogance in the presence of Elizabeth, and then, having fallen in love with the girl, overcomes both his pride and his prejudices.
Let us dwell in more detail on the images of the provincial heroes of the novel. J. Austen characterizes human nature in his work as “a combination ... of good and bad.” Her character appears in development, in the unity of the particular and the general, “so unlike anyone else and so similar to others.” This deeply innovative understanding of the nature of character allowed Austen to create psychologically convincing images in the novel Pride and Prejudice.
The main character of the novel, Elizabeth Bennet, is the artistic discovery of Jane Austen. Elizabeth, who grew up in the family of a poor provincial squire, in an environment characterized by petty interests and narrow-mindedness, stands out sharply from the general background. Her mindset can be called analytical. She thinks a lot and seriously, observing the morals of the people around her. However, the writer does not idealize the heroine. Miss Bingley remarks: “There is so much folk complacency in her whole appearance that it is impossible to reconcile herself with it! »
She is poor and suffers from the vulgarity of her family. Living under the same roof with a mother who did not shine with tact and intelligence, and with obnoxious younger sisters, was very painful for Elizabeth. In Elizabeth's character there is no frivolity, a thoughtless pursuit of entertainment, characteristic of her younger sister Lydia. The monotony and monotony of everyday provincial life make any trip that promises a change of impressions, the opportunity to meet new people, so desirable. Therefore, her aunt’s offer to go on a trip with them causes outright delight. “What a delight! What felicity! .
Elizabeth is a heroine endowed with wealth inner life; concrete facts of reality make her think about the imperfections of human nature. She understands well the limitations of her mother, she is antipathetic to the vanity of the priest Collins and the prim arrogance of the rich and noble Lady de Bourg.
In her refusal to marry the priest Collins, the character of Elizabeth is revealed at its best. Her words convince us that before us is a woman who will not go against her feelings, for whom in love and marriage it is not considerations of self-interest or profit that are important.
"Mr. Collins," she says, "is a vain, pompous, narrow-minded, stupid man... The woman who marries him cannot be considered sane." Thus, through her attitude towards Collins, Elizabeth’s character is convincingly revealed, her integrity and uncompromisingness become obvious.
Elizabeth's opposite is her sister Lydia, although they grew up and were raised in the same family. She is the most frivolous of the five daughters of the Bennet family. Lydia is proud of her new military gentlemen, and reproaches Elizabeth for her pickiness in relation to gentlemen. “Jane will soon be our old maid, honestly! She's almost twenty-three already! If I hadn’t been able to get myself a husband before these years, I would have burned with shame.” She just wants to get married, she does not lose herself in thoughts about the similarity of interests, about internal qualities people, about who exactly to live with, it seems to her that she doesn’t care with whom, the main thing is that she is married, and before her older sisters.
per family. This is perfectly confirmed by the fact of her escape with Wickham. Lydia does not think at all about the consequences, and does not think at all about what reputation she creates for the whole family, what example Kitty sets. She does not respect family values and does not care at all about the reputation of her family name, disgracing her mother and father with her frivolous behavior, and preventing her sisters from getting married with such fame.
The image of Darcy is revealed in general in less detail than the image of Elizabeth. Austen highlights in this hero, first of all, one leading feature - his pride. “He can be completely different,” says Wickham, “if he finds meaning in it. With those who are equal to him in position in society, he behaves differently than with those who have succeeded in life less than him.”
- ten thousand pounds a year. However, in addition, he is the owner of “fine, tall person, handsome features, noble miens” - that is, “a beautiful slender figure, pleasant facial features and aristocratic manners.” However, Mr. Darcy has one significant flaw: he is not at all “agreeable.” Moreover, despite his aristocracy, he has “disagreeable contenance”, that is, “unfriendly manners, unfriendly behavior.”
How is this hostility expressed? The fact is that he danced only two dances with familiar ladies - Mr. Bingley's sisters - and flatly refused to make new acquaintances, both among men and among ladies. He "passed the rest of the evening walking about the room, and from time to time uttering a few words to some of his company." Such unsociability quickly turns everyone's sympathy away from the aristocrat. Darcy, meanwhile, moves from unfriendly to rude. When Mr. Bingley, fascinated by Jane Bennet, notices that Jane's younger sister Elizabeth is left without a partner, he invites his friend to invite Elizabeth. But Mr. Darcy does not share his enthusiasm. Seeing that Elizabeth is close enough to hear their conversation, he nevertheless tells his friend that the second Miss Bennet is “tolerable” - “acceptable”, but nevertheless “not handsome enough to tempt me” - “not good enough for to attract me."
Darcy makes a certain impression on those around him: a proud, arrogant person. This is how he perceives local society at the beginning of the novel: “Darcy, on the contrary, saw around him a crowd of rather ugly and completely tasteless people, in whom he did not feel the slightest interest and from whom he did not notice any attention or affection.” Being in the grip of snobbish prejudices, Darcy managed to separate his friend Bingley from Jane Bennet, believing that the latter, due to her “social position, was an unsuitable couple for him.”
Despite his negative qualities, Darcy has intelligence, strength of character, and the ability to love. He says the following about himself: “I have enough weaknesses. I just hope my mind is free of them. But I wouldn’t vouch for my character.” The refusal Darcy received from Elizabeth was a difficult test for his pride. A man of an aristocratic upbringing, he did not betray the feelings raging within him. Given his restraint, the most natural way of expressing emotions was not direct dialogue with his chosen one, but correspondence with her.
a person with an unstable mood. When she was dissatisfied with something, she believed that her nerves were not in order. Her only entertainment was visits and news.”
The image of Mrs. Bennet, her narrow-mindedness and primitive thinking are expressed through dialogue in a comic-everyday style. The verbose speeches put into Mrs. Bennet’s mouth objectively parody philistine ideas and interests. They allow us to present in an ironic way the mores of a very specific social environment. Mrs. Bennet is obsessed with only one idea, like all mothers in England at that time - to marry off their five daughters:
“- A young bachelor with an income of four or five thousand a year! Isn’t it a good opportunity for our girls?”
what he thinks, however, without always thinking about the consequences. The final goal is important to her, and it doesn’t matter what sacrifices will be made to achieve it. So, she sends her own daughter, dear Jane, into the rain, risking her health, but benefiting Jane’s soul and heart, because in this way she spends several days in the care of the person dear to her heart - Mr. Bingley.
As for Mr. Bennet, having married a narrow-minded, spiritually undeveloped woman, he, instead of raising her, considered it best to isolate himself - from Mrs. Bennet, from her stupidity, truly unprecedented, and at the same time from the world with its problems - the walls of the library or a newspaper. Disillusioned with the family idyll, he sneers at everything and despises everyone around him, including, it seems, himself. Over the years, indifference becomes not only a protective shell, but also second nature for Mr. Bennet, whose existence, in fact, is even more meaningless than his wife, who, although stupid, is not cynical. Even at the beginning of their marriage, Mr. Bennet regretted that behind his wife’s beautiful appearance he did not see the narrowness of her horizons. He acts rudely by ridiculing his wife’s stupidity and ignorance in the presence of his own daughters.
"Almost all of Mr. Bennet's property consisted of an estate generating two thousand pounds a year. Unfortunately for his daughters, this estate was inherited through the male line and, since there was no male child in the family, passed on the death of Mr. Bennet to a distant relative. Funds Mrs. Bennet, sufficient in her present situation, could in no way compensate for the possible loss of the estate in the future. Her father during his lifetime was a solicitor in Meryton, leaving her only four thousand pounds.
That is, if the Bennet young ladies do not find husbands for themselves after the death of their father, they will have to leave their home and live with five of them on Mrs. Bennet’s very limited income. It is not surprising that Mrs. Bennet is nervous and fixated on catching suitors.
The image of Collins is one of the most colorful in the novel. Collins is presented as a smug fool on his first visit to the Bennet house. He is unbearably pompous and verbose. He endlessly praises his own merits and the advantages of his position, the main one of which is the patronage of the wealthy aristocrat Lady Catherine de Bourg. As a preacher in the parish that is part of Lady de Bourg's domain, Collins in every possible way advertises his devotion to her. He is extremely proud that a lady with a title has brought him closer to her: “my humble abode is separated only by a lane from Rosings Park, her Ladyship’s residence.” It is characteristic that Collins is by no means a hypocrite. Therefore, Collins' humiliating speech (my humble abode) is a highly typical phenomenon, corresponding to the very essence of his character. Mr. Collins says with respectful delight: “Her behavior to my dear Charlotte,” he continues, “is charming. We dine at Rosings twice every week, and are never allowed to walk home. Her Ladyship"s carriage is regularly ordered for us. I should say, one of her Ladyship"s carriages, for she has several" . He cannot stress enough that Lady de Bourg has not one, but several crews. This elevates him in his own eyes. A distinctive feature of Mr. Collins is the need to flatter everyone who is significantly higher than him. He, without hesitation, tells the following about himself: “I have more than once observed to Lady Catherine, that her charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess, and that the most elevated rank... would be adorned by her.”
to everyone else.
Interestingly, the name Collins has become a common noun in the English language, just like the name Dombey or Pickwick. Collins is pomposity, pomposity, sycophancy, intoxication with title and position. The image of Collins is characterized by significantly greater social content than the other characters discussed above. In this regard, humor here ultimately acquires a satirical sound.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh perfectly complements and sets off Collins,
which appears on the pages of the novel twice. Elizabeth meets-
with her when he comes to visit the Collinses. She is struck by the unceremonious
Monstrousness of the mistress of the estate: she considers herself entitled to question
hang around and give advice on how to run a household, etc. Another time
Elizabeth is a real stream of abuse. She called the rumor about a possible
the rumor of her nephew, Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth a vile invention, for-
thereby using threats and insults against Elizabeth and her
relatives. The authoritative and peremptory tone of her speech, the choice itself
words like the upstart, retentions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune testify not only to hostility towards Elizabeth, but also to the rudeness and unceremoniousness of this high-born lady.
The images of the heroes of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” bear traces of the influence of those mores and the morality that were dominant among the provincial classes of England at that time. We still see images of Osten’s heroes today, recognizing their speech or manner of behavior in people around us and acquaintances.
2. 3 The influence of the social environment on the formation of the characters of the heroes of the novel “Pride and Prejudice”
No matter how strong a person is, the social environment dictates its own principles and rules. Based on the degree of activity of the speakers and their role during the conversation, the reader can get an idea of the social affiliation of the interlocutors, the essence of the relationship between them, since each person’s speech reflects his social consciousness. The topics of conversation are usually determined by the interlocutors, who in the novel represent the social “tops”. They have a “monopoly” in the conversation. Those who are dependent on their whim and favor due to their “low” origin adapt to these people. In conversations, they learn to “keep their distance.” .
Those who have a sense of pride and self-esteem do not stoop to ingratiation and flattery. But their relatively low social position often condemns them to the role of passive listeners or, conversely, forces them to speak when they want to remain silent.
In the psychologically and socially conditioned speech of the heroes, Austen highlights another important mental and spiritual phenomenon: their desire for self-affirmation. It is expressed, first of all, in the straightforward statements of the heroes about themselves and their affairs. In the speeches of people, not only those who are accustomed to the consciousness of their social superiority (Mr. Bingley and Darcy), but also those who grew up in an atmosphere of social humiliation (Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet), self-characterization is repeated more than once, full of complacency and exaggerated assessment of your personality. Miss Bingley’s review of local society is indicative: “They go out of their way to show off! There is so much insignificance and at the same time complacency in these people.”
Those characters who, by their position in society, are above ordinary provincials, emphasize this difference at every opportunity. Among not very rich provincials, Darcy clearly feels like a person of the highest rank: “Mr. Darcy,” we read in the novel, “danced once each with Mrs. Hearst and Miss Bingley and did not want to be introduced to the other ladies.” Simply because he considers it beneath his dignity.
and besides them, there is not a single woman in the hall with whom dancing would not be a real punishment for me.” Although Darcy and Bingley come from the same environment, despite the established mentality of this “top of society,” their behavior is radically different, it’s just a phenomenon, how can they be so radically opposed to provincial society! If Mr. Bingley finds the company of a girl without an inheritance interesting, he sincere feelings to Jane, then Darcy challenges everyone present; he considers it humiliating to dance with Elizabeth only due to social and property prejudices.
Along with those who relentlessly follow social prejudices and the general opinion that they belong to a lower social class, there is also the exact opposite image of Elizabeth Bennet. She directly points out to people their shortcomings, ridicules them, cutting off all their principles and foundations.
Throughout the novel, class differentiation is evident, and all vices are attributed to origin, which to some extent is naturally true, but, on the other hand, a lot depends on how a person develops himself, what conclusions he is able to draw from the events that have occurred .
In the novel “Pride and Prejudice,” through the prism of the relationships between the Bennet, Bingley, Darcy, Collins, and Lucas families, we can observe traditions and morals typical of Austen’s contemporaries and judge the life of the English province. The main problems are problems of a material nature, against the background of which we evaluate the behavior of the characters, analyze their actions, their motives.
Re-reading “Pride and Prejudice”, you think more and more about the subtext, about what Austen did not lay out on the surface, veiling the motives of her characters’ behavior. And the understanding that behind the words and actions of the characters is an established mentality, a way of thinking, and certain spiritual values is becoming more and more clear between the lines.
A study of Jane Austen's stylistic mastery shows that her extraordinary talent allowed her to create a work that, both in theme and in its entire structure, is a great and important event in the development of English realistic prose. Jane Austen's skillful stylistic skill creates a very vivid, very reliable picture of the morals, way of life, and life of a small provincial society.
N. M. Demurova noted that Jane Austen significantly expanded
la and enriched the method of “humors” characteristic of classicism, rejecting
having abandoned the division of heroes into villains, victims and reasoners.
Having thus noted Austen's characteristic realistic vision
characters, N. M. Demurova showed how it is embodied in the novel on
stylistic level. She, for example, believes that one of the innovative
one of J. Austin's techniques was the use of improperly direct re-
For example, Elizabeth’s initially hostile attitude towards Darcy gradually transforms into completely different feelings, and her internal and improperly direct speech, intertwined with the author’s narration, allows us to trace all the shades of this evolution. Thus, Elizabeth’s first reaction to everything she saw at Pemberley was expressed in her internal remark “And of this place,” she thought, “I might have been mistress!” This involuntary regret is replaced by a phrase in which she reminds herself: “... that could never be; my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; I should not have been allowed to invite them." Her speech here indicates not so much regret about a missed opportunity in the past, but rather the complete impossibility for her of marrying such a snob who would not allow her to accept her relatives. But then, listening to Darcy's housekeeper, looking at his portrait, she begins to understand the scale of his personality. Each phrase in her internal monologue, marked with an exclamation mark, reveals her inner excitement, a gradual change in her assessments: “What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant? As a brother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people"s happiness were in his guardianship! How much of pleasure or pain it was in his power to bestow! How much of good or evil must be done by him!” .
Widely using improperly direct speech, Jane Austen
allows you to see the inner world of heroes in their most moments
strong emotional experiences and emotions. So, a series of short questions
corporal and exclamatory sentences spoken by Elizabeth
"to myself" after an unexpected meeting with Darcy at Pemberley, wonderful
conveys her excitement at this moment: “Her coming there was the
most unfortunate, the most ill-judged thing in the world! How strange must it
appear to him! In what a disgraceful light might it not strike so vain a man! It
might seem as if she had purposely thrown herself in his way again! Oh!
Why did she come? Or, why did he thus come a day before he was expected?
Austen was new not only in the multifaceted portraits she created of ordinary people against the backdrop of a social environment known to her down to the smallest manifestations, but also in the very language of her novel, an artistic system unique in its originality. The novelist's style has not yet been subjected to comprehensive analysis.
Unlike her predecessors and contemporaries, Austen strives, as far as possible, for an objective interpretation of life, preferring their direct depiction to stories about people, and this is one of the peculiar features of her style. The artist reveals the human essence mainly through the depiction of verbal communication between people. A very significant feature of Jane Austen’s poetics was noticed by T. A. Amelina. She writes: “The artist reveals the human essence mainly through the depiction of verbal communication between people, that is, direct and dialogical speech.”
“Well, listen, my dear,” continued Mrs. Bennet. - Netherfield, according to Mrs. Long, was taken by a very rich young man from the North of England.
What's his name?
Is he married or single?
Single, dear, that's the point, single! A young bachelor with an income of four or five thousand a year! Isn't it a good opportunity for our girls?
How so? Does this have anything to do with them?
“Dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “you are simply unbearable today.” Of course, you understand that I mean his marriage to one of them.”
heroes talk about the subject of their mental, business, everyday interests, the writer always penetrates into the most intimate motives hidden in the depths of the objective conditioning of statements. The psychologically determined speech of Austen's heroes is always reproduced as a manifestation of their historically determined consciousness. Thus, the entire social background and the depicted social phenomena appear with great artistic power and specificity.
Jane Austen, without any special authorial pressure, using mainly the means of linguistic characterization, which always includes vocabulary, syntactic structure, style, and intonation individual for each character’s speech, achieves a comprehensive disclosure of the characters. Individualization of language characters Austen also serves as a means of typification, with the help of which she characterizes people of a certain social appearance, mentality, psychology, exposing socially determined human vices.
For example, Mr. Collins. The base essence of his nature makes itself felt most of all during the most difficult period for the Bennet family: during the flight of Lydia with Wickham. Collins sends them a letter of “condolence.” The lexical composition of this letter is represented by sublime literary vocabulary: respectable family, present distress of the bitterest kind, the death as a blessing, augmented satisfaction, involved in disgrace, etc., behind which is hidden hypocritical sympathy in the grief that befell the respectable family, as well as and a great deal of schadenfreude and self-satisfaction in the knowledge that, having been rejected by Elizabeth and married to Charlotte Lucas, he was now freed from having to share the shame of the Bennet family. .
The statements of heroes who strive to enrich themselves with reading and have a balanced character and the ability to think logically are distinguished by harmony and completeness. This is typical of Mr. Darcy's speech, Elizabeth Bennet. The speech of heroes who think inconsistently and do not feel the need for enlightenment is as disordered and confused as their thoughts. This is the speech of Mrs. Bennet and Lydia Bennet.
The comic character - Mrs. Bennet - is a very impulsive and impatient creature. The essence of her character is perfectly revealed by each of her remarks. The lexical and syntactic composition of her dialogue is always simple: words from everyday use, abrupt exclamations and interrogative sentences that reveal the heroine’s vanity, her ineradicable curiosity: “Well, Jane, who is it from?” What is it about? What does he say? Well, Jane, make haste and tell us, make haste, my Love."
statements to the character. For example, she calls Darcy
disagreeable, i.e. an unpleasant subject, and remains sincere in his
that disagreeable man all to yourself; but I hope you won't mind. It is all for
enthusiastic cries: “...Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it? And is it
really true? Oh my sweetest Lizzy! How rich and how great you will be!
What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane's is nothing
to it – at all. I am so pleased - so happy." These exclamations are not
less sincere than what she said about Darcy earlier, although
they are opposite in meaning. This change of assessments in the speech part
Mrs. Bennet creates a visible image of a truly comic heroine.
But there are characters in the novel who are not outlined in soft comic terms.
our strokes, but truly satirical. Unlike the main characters
mana, who are constantly learning to better understand themselves and each other,
who sincerely experience their mistakes and shortcomings, comically
Chinese and, in particular, satirical characters do not undergo any
changes in its development.
principles of a realistic novel, as a complex system of characters,
speech, gets the opportunity to express himself as if independently.
For the first time in the history of English literature, works of prose are marked by such an obvious predominance of indirect means of characterizing reality. The main functions of indirect analysis and generalization of phenomena are assigned to dialogue, which in this case became the basis of poetics. It is not for nothing that Jane Austen is called a master of dialogue, because through direct speech, peculiarities of expressions and phrases, and the semantics of sentences, the author paints for us the life that was so close and familiar to her.
CONCLUSIONS
Drawing parallels between the work of Jane Austen and her biography, our study deeply reveals the influence of the province in which the writer grew up on the formation of her worldview and creativity, and also revealed the correspondence between the content of her novel “Pride and Prejudice” and the events that took place in her life Osten herself. Therefore, it is natural that the actions in the novel “Pride and Prejudice” develop among provincial English families. In the images of her heroes you can see individual character traits of the people around her.
the artistic space in which she lived. Thus, the novel achieves a realistic depiction of the morals, way of life and life of a small provincial society. Concentrating on the ordinary, everyday, Austen reveals to us with all authenticity the life of her generation. Thus, the entire social background and the depicted social phenomena appear with great artistic power and specificity. The image of the province in the novel is seen as an important characteristic of the lifestyle and morality of the English provincial nobles. Based on the above, it follows that the novel is of historical value, since it is a kind of encyclopedia of provincial life in England at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries.
Having examined in the work the mental priorities and stereotypes of the provincial English environment, we can draw a conclusion about the social and property differences that dominated within the class of provincial nobles in England at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. Due to the fact that the characters in the novel are viewed from the angle of property interests, one can identify such characteristic features of provincial heroes as limited interests, pompousness, unprincipledness, sycophancy, selfishness, self-interest, and immorality. The novel clearly outlines the range of problems that plague the society of English provincials and aptly notes their shortcomings, among which snobbery stands out most clearly.
about the influence of the social environment on the character of the characters in the novel “Pride and Prejudice”.
An analysis of the mechanism of functioning of stylistic devices showed that with their help Jane Austen was able to create living, full-blooded characters of the heroes of the novel “Pride and Prejudice”. For example, one of J. Austin's innovative techniques was the use of improperly direct speech. For the first time in English literature, the dialogue developed by Austen, which reveals the behavior of the characters, their psychology, and moral character, becomes the basis of poetics, a means of expressing the author’s point of view.
The analysis of the image of the province in Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” is a voluminous and meaningful, constructive and logically consistent philological research work, the results of which can subsequently be used to write a thesis.
LIST OF REFERENCES USED
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2. English literature, 1945-1980 / [A. P. Sarukhanyan, G. A. Andzhaparidze, G. V. Anikin, etc.] ; Rep. ed. A. P. Sarukhanyan; Academician Sciences of the USSR; Institute of World Lit. them. A. M. Gorky. - M.: Nauka, 1987. - 510 p.
3. Anikin G.V. History of English literature: [Textbook for students of pedagogy. in-tov i fak. foreign language in specialty No. 2103 "Foreign language"] / G.V. Anikin, N.P. Mikhalskaya. - 2nd ed. - M.: Higher School, 1985. - 431 p.
"Pride and warning" and their translations into Russian: Author's abstract. dis. for the job application scientist step. Ph.D. Philol. Sciences (10.02.19) / Kuban. state univ. - Krasnodar, 2003. - 21 p.
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7. Woolf V. Jane Austen // Foreign novel. Problems of method and genre: Interuniversity. Sat. scientific tr./perm. state University named after A. M. Gorky - Perm: PSU, 1982. -
8. Genieva E. Yu. Jane Osten.: Bibl. Decree. /Ans. ed. M. V. Chechetko. – M.: Publishing House, 1986. – p. 57
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Jane Austen. – In the book: Nabokov V.V. Lectures on foreign literature. M., 1998. – 259 p.
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cassettes (CD-ROM)
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Today's name Jane Austen is familiar, at least aurally, to the vast majority of people from developed countries. And associations that don’t keep you waiting suggest the phrase “women’s novels.” And although traditionally it is women who read more often and more, in Russian-speaking society, at least, a purely male, slightly arrogant, position has formed, classifying works of this subgenre as second-class literature. Although you will almost certainly hear about the frivolity of Pride and Prejudice from lazy people who will find a hundred excuses not to pick up any book. Personally, I always openly and with interest approach cult works of literature in order to compare the prevailing opinion and my own beliefs. Before moving on to analyzing what I read, I will make, as it seems to me, an important remark. In order not to get confused, you need to remember that in domestic publications you can find the following common translation options: “ Pride and Pride" And " Pride and Prejudice" In addition, the novel should not be confused with another work by the author of a similar nature, “Sense and Sensibility” (“Reason and Sensibility”) - in my university years, not having copies at that time, I confused it.
What does your expressive remark mean, madam? - he asked in surprise. - Do you consider the custom that, before dealing with a stranger, he must be introduced to you, to be absurd? Or do you not like the existing order of such presentation?
If we talk about the sensations that accompany reading Pride & Prejudice, then they can be compared with the reader’s slight abstraction from the outside world, outside the pages of the book. This comparison may seem strange to some, but it’s like getting acquainted with a fantastic work. Not in the sense that the story told turns to the boldly fictional - just with each decade Jane Austen's creative universe and the society that thrives in it become something expressively different, acquiring those very romantic notes, often alien to modern globalization and information dependence in which we are accustomed to living. The heroines of the novel live guided by concepts that are alien to most people who pick up the book. And although Bennet family experiences condescension from the wealthy aristocracy of the province, they are also noble people. Thus, during the hours that we spend with the characters in the novel, we touch life English aristocracy of the early 19th century her literary diversity. Moreover, the author did not have to look far for inspiration - she surrounded the fictional story of specific people with very real attributes that were well known to her.
If we say out loud the well-known rhetorical question: what can a book teach us, then “Pride and Pride” is one of the highest quality works, the history of which is based on such a concept as morality. A young girl can compromise herself for the rest of her life and become an object of contempt and ridicule if she goes on a horseback ride with an unfamiliar young man, or agrees to communicate with him in the house, without the presence of her parents. The gentleman is obliged to show attention and favor to the participants of the ball so that none of them is on the sidelines of attention that evening. A family that may lose the right to its property due to bureaucratic conventions does not consider intrigue, incitement and deceit. To some, such social chastity will seem unnecessary and alien, but we are simply so accustomed to liberalism, accustomed to turning a blind eye to immorality and depravity, that a defensive reaction of our own convictions can work. I'm not talking about biblical sins and superstitions of the Bronze Age, but about self-esteem.
When she reached the place where the shortcomings of her relatives were harshly and at the same time deservedly condemned, the feeling of shame she experienced became even more acute. She understood too well the justice of the reproaches expressed in the letter to try to refute them.
The storyline concerns the well-being of the Bennet family living in Hertfordshire, which gives the kindly told story a deceptive sense of the reality of what happened. In a house where five young girls live, naturally, the main headache of the mother and, to a lesser extent, the father is the arrangement of their future life. The novel gave us several fascinating images and Elizabeth Bennett is considered an example of a strong female character in world literature. She is truly a rebel, without excesses rejecting pressure on herself from the outside, including denying public censure. We will spend most of the work in her campaign, although the scale of events covers other sisters and people involved in their fate. For example, Jane's older sister simply evokes attacks of sympathy and empathy, as an incredibly bright and open, vulnerable image. Acts as one of the facets of the eternal rivalry between good and evil.
The main male character, who became the title character, also deserves a special mention. In the case of Mr Darcy, as the hero of the novel Pride and Prejudice, his fame, as they say, precedes him. The young man shows prudence and composure of mind, which is not characteristic of his environment. Throughout the entire part of the work where Darcy is present, his actions and behavior, in sharp contrast even with his best friend, Charles Bingley, evoke a mixture of emotions - from censure to admiration. The small volume of Austen’s book ensures a certain richness of what is happening, and here I frankly don’t want to skip any individual parts.
For more than two centuries, reader interest in Jane Austen's novels has not waned. The founder of realism in English literature, the founder of the “ladies' novel,” even in the 21st century cannot be called old-fashioned, since fashion passes, but Austen remains. You won’t surprise anyone with romance novels these days, you can’t keep track of everyone, but for good literature in this genre, it’s better to turn to the original source. Even Walter Scott, the first connoisseur of Jane Austen's works, admired her artistic talent, subtle and deep understanding of human relationships, brilliant ironic dialogues that inherit drama.B family novels Jane Austen - always a happy ending, wedding bells and a wedding... At the same time, there is no place for sweetness and illusions - the author is aware of the realities of life, makes excellent use of his natural gift of observation and penchant for analysis, always keeps ironic means in reserve and parody layer. And most importantly: Austen’s heroes are not only people with their multifaceted characters, but also their key feelings, like communicating vessels.
Description added by user:
"Pride and Prejudice" - plot
The novel begins with a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet about the arrival of a young gentleman, Mr. Bingley, at Netherfield Park. The wife persuades her husband to visit a neighbor and make a closer acquaintance with him. She believes that Mr. Bingley will certainly like one of their daughters and propose to her. Mr. Bennet pays a visit to the young man, and after some time he returns the favor.
Mr. Bingley's next meeting with the Bennet family takes place at a ball, where the Netherfield gentleman arrives accompanied by his sisters (Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst), as well as Mr. Darcy and Mr. Hurst. At first, Mr. Darcy makes a favorable impression on others due to the rumor that his annual income exceeds 10 thousand pounds. However, later society changes its point of view, deciding that he is too “important and inflated,” since the young man does not want to meet anyone and dances at the ball with only two ladies he knows (the Bingley sisters). Bingley is a huge success. His special attention is drawn to the eldest daughter of the Bennets, Jane. The girl also falls in love with young man. Mr. Bingley draws Darcy's attention to Elizabeth, however, he says that he is not interested in her. Elizabeth witnesses this conversation. Although she doesn't show it, she begins to develop a strong dislike for Mr. Darcy.
Soon Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst invite Jane Bennet to dine with them. The mother sends her daughter riding a horse in the pouring rain, as a result of which the girl catches a cold and cannot return home. Elizabeth walks to Bingley's house to visit her sick sister. Mr. Bingley leaves her to look after Jane. Elizabeth does not enjoy communicating with Netherfield society, since only Mr. Bingley shows sincere interest and concern for her sister. Miss Bingley is completely infatuated with Mr. Darcy and tries unsuccessfully to attract his attention to her. Mrs. Hurst agrees with her sister in everything, and Mr. Hurst is indifferent to everything except sleep, food and playing cards.
Mr. Bingley falls in love with Jane Bennet, and Mr. Darcy feels sympathy for Elizabeth. But Elizabeth is sure that he despises her. In addition, during the walk, the Bennet sisters meet Mr. Wickham. The young man makes a favorable impression on everyone. Somewhat later, Mr. Wickham tells Elizabeth a story about Mr. Darcy's dishonest behavior towards himself. Darcy allegedly did not fulfill his late father's last wishes and refused Wickham the priesthood he was promised. Elizabeth has a bad opinion of Darcy (prejudice). And Darcy feels that the Bennets are “not his circle” (pride); Elizabeth’s acquaintance and friendship with Wickham is also not approved by him.
At the Netherfield ball, Mr. Darcy begins to understand the inevitability of Bingley and Jane's marriage. The Bennet family, with the exception of Elizabeth and Jane, display a complete lack of manners and knowledge of etiquette. The next morning, Mr. Collins, a relative of the Bennets, proposes to Elizabeth, which she rejects, much to the chagrin of her mother Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Collins recovers quickly and proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth's close friend. Mr. Bingley unexpectedly leaves Netherfield and returns to London along with the whole company. Elizabeth begins to realize that Mr. Darcy and the Bingley sisters decided to separate him from Jane.
In the spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins in Kent. They are often invited to Rosings Park by Mr. Darcy's aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Soon Darcy comes to stay with his aunt. Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, who in a conversation with her mentions that Darcy takes credit for saving his friend from an unequal marriage. Elizabeth understands that we are talking about Bingley and Jane, and her dislike for Darcy increases even more. Therefore, when Darcy unexpectedly comes to her, confesses his love and asks for her hand in marriage, she resolutely refuses him. Elizabeth accuses Darcy of ruining her sister's happiness, of acting meanly towards Mr. Wickham, and of his arrogant behavior towards her. Darcy answers her in a letter, in which he explains that Wickham exchanged his inheritance for money, which he spent on entertainment, and then attempted to escape with Darcy's sister Georgiana. As for Jane and Mr. Bingley, Darcy decided that Jane "has no deep feelings for him [Bingley]." In addition, Darcy speaks of the "total lack of tact" that Mrs. Bennet and her younger daughters constantly demonstrated. Elizabeth is forced to admit the truth of Mr. Darcy's observations.
Several months later, Elizabeth and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner go on a trip. Among other attractions, they visit Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's estate, confident that the owner is not at home. Unexpectedly, Mr. Darcy returns. He receives Elizabeth and the Gardiners very politely and hospitably. Elizabeth begins to realize that she likes Darcy. Their renewal of acquaintance, however, is interrupted by the news that Lydia, Elizabeth's youngest sister, has run away with Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth and the Gardiners return to Longbourn. Elizabeth worries that her relationship with Darcy has ended due to the shameful flight of her younger sister.
Lydia and Wickham, already husband and wife, visit Longbourn, where Mrs. Wickham accidentally lets slip that Mr. Darcy was at the wedding ceremony. Elizabeth learns that it was Darcy who found the fugitives and arranged the wedding. The girl is very surprised, but at this time Bingley proposes to Jane, and she forgets about it.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh unexpectedly arrives at Longbourn to dispel rumors of Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage. Elizabeth rejects all her demands. Lady Catherine leaves and promises to tell her nephew about Elizabeth's behavior. However, this gives Darcy hope that Elizabeth has changed her mind. He travels to Longbourn and proposes again, and this time, his pride and her prejudice are overcome by Elizabeth's consent to the marriage.
Story
Jane Austen began working on the novel when she was barely 21 years old. The publishers rejected the manuscript, and it lay shelved for more than fifteen years. Only after the success of the novel Sense and Sensibility, published in 1811, was Jane Austen finally able to publish her first creation. Before publication, she subjected it to thorough revision and achieved an extraordinary combination: cheerfulness, spontaneity, epigrammaticity, maturity of thought and skill.
Reviews
Reviews of the book “Pride and Prejudice”
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Anna Alexandrovna
World of feeling
How many are those who read, how few are those who understand.
This book is one of my favorites. I've read it 5 times and still find it interesting every time. Our world is full of love, and this book provides a simple example of that love that we all seek. When I close the binding, I know for sure that love exists, it has not died and that I need to continue to believe in it.
Let's move on to the character who, for me, is the climax of the book. For every girl, girl, woman, Mr. Darcy will always be ideal. His attractiveness and intelligence will conquer any sensual heart. Everything he does, he does as a gentleman. His life is the path of a hermit, a man who is strong and confident, but longs for love deep down. It was the thirst for sincere love that opened the way to Elizabeth's heart.
Eltzabeth. Which of us has not compared ourselves to her? Simplicity and intelligence, love of books and an accurate understanding of the male gender, will and honesty with oneself. And the main thing that the author endowed her with, like all her main characters, is a sense of humor. This is undoubtedly what attracts us to Elizabeth.
The whole book is a path that is worth going through with the characters more than once. After going through it, you will believe in love.
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4 / 0
Araika
Peerless classic
Classic at its best. What captivates me most in her works is her humor and wit.
I believe that it is precisely such good works that make a Man out of us, motivating us to the sublime.
It is thanks to books like these that you may realize why you need to read.
Because after that you will no longer be the same.
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1 / 0
Dasha Mochalova
I would have forgiven him his pride if he hadn’t hurt mine!
The novel "Pride and Prejudice" was and remains an all-time classic. A good combination of humor and romance leaves a lasting impression, so that the third and fourth time you admire not only the beautifully written characters, but also the lively language of the narrative. The very idea of the novel - about falling in love, which is not afraid of any obstacles - makes it popular for all ages and generations, and the beautiful ending gives faith in beauty.
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At the end of the 18th century, the twenty-year-old daughter of a pastor from Hampshire began writing her new novel, First Impressions. This girl's name was Jane Austen. And the novel, published only 17 years later under the new title “Pride and Prejudice,” later became one of the most famous works in English and world literature.
The girl from Hampshire was distinguished by her sober mind and mocking disposition. The heaps of troubles and ghosts, as well as the storms of passions that dominated the world, seemed implausible to her. romantic literature of that time. And the moralizing novels of the mid-18th century seemed simply outdated and ridiculous to her. Apparently, at the behest of her soul, she began to write only about what she knew: about modest village life with rare holidays and boring everyday life, few inhabitants and rare guests, whose arrival was always an event. The keen eyes of Jane Austen saw that behind the established provincial life, subject to the unshakable rules of etiquette and strict morality, many conflicts and sometimes real dramas were hidden.
She follows these principles in her most famous novel. We can say that it talks about big family a poor landowner with five marriageable daughters. About the commotion caused in established village life by the arrival of two young people, potential suitors. Visits, balls, mother's tricks - all this is reflected in the novel.
But we can say that the novel is about something else. It is about the souls of the main characters, who move towards love, casting aside pride (let’s not forget that in Christianity, pride is one of the deadly sins) and prejudice.
The first meeting of heroes. The visiting aristocrat Darcy finds the artless village society funny. And to the offer to dance with one of the village young ladies, he responds with a dismissive refusal. Elizabeth’s pride, having accidentally heard Darcy’s words, suffers. After his words, she begins to be prejudiced towards all his words and actions. And Darcy’s soul is gradually overcome by a feeling of love, which he resists with all his might. But unable to resist, he confesses his love to Elizabeth. The scene of his explanation with the girl is one of the most powerful scenes in the novel. In it, Jane Austen most subtly conveyed love, contrary to reason, despite prejudices, Darcy's bewilderment because of this feeling, his sober view of Elizabeth and her family, and, nevertheless, love. His confession is mixed with bitterness; while confessing his love, he says that he should not have loved.
It is not surprising that Darcy receives a decisive refusal; moreover, Elizabeth accuses him of unseemly acts. And only later does she realize that part of her accusations were caused by the slander of their mutual friend Wickham.
While reading this book, I wondered what attracted the proud family aristocrat to the provincial girl? Naturalness, harmony of his nature and liveliness of character. Apparently, he lacked these qualities in his usual circle.
And Elizabeth overcame her prejudices when she met Darcy at his family estate, Pemberley. There she recognized the new Darcy, whom the servants spoke of as the best person in the world. It is obvious that he also has a living soul. But due to his upbringing and the views accepted in society, he put on the mask of a proud aristocrat, and only his love for Elizabeth helped him take it off.
But by simultaneously depicting secular and rural society, the writer shows that high society is not so different from provincial society.
The main character's younger sister, the frivolous Lydia, covered herself in shame by running away with the treacherous Wickham. But the aristocrat Georgiana almost committed the same reckless act. And Darcy, because of prejudices, did not want publicity, contributed to Wickham’s impunity.
Elizabeth's mother is tactless, whose entire mind is occupied only by thoughts about the future marriage of her daughters. But Lady Catherine, Darcy’s aunt, is also tactless, believing that, due to her position, the whole world is obliged to obey her orders.
A series of minor characters, under the skillful hand of Miss Austen, turn into the most expressive figures; every image of her novel is remembered. The heroine's sisters: busy with constant self-improvement (speaking modern language, just boring) Mary, spineless Kitty, frivolous Lydia, shy aristocrat, Darcy's sister, Georgiana. Mr. Bennet, hiding from worries in the library, Elizabeth's cousin Collins, whose name has become a common noun in the English language synonymous with a pompous message, and, finally, Wickham, whose amiable appearance hid a vile essence, all of them are distinguished by both character and speech.
This novel is one of my favorite works. For me, he became a kind of standard. Purity and elegance of style, brightness and liveliness of characteristics, subtle understanding of mental life, individuality, clarity of composition, peculiarities of the language of each character, all this combination creates an extremely holistic harmonious picture. Darcy and Elizabeth cannot be imagined as historical characters; they are perceived as our contemporaries. Reading this amazing novel, I look into myself and learn to “read from the heart” and test feelings with my mind.
Jane Austen's novels are often considered "women's" literature. As the best example of the genre, perhaps, since its main characters are always women, there is a love story in the center, it is related to women's literature and attention to detail. But, of course, the writer’s works cannot be counted among the romance novels that fill the shelves. For this they are too complex and polysemantic, despite their apparent simplicity.
With her subtle psychologism and mocking realism, Jane Austen was far ahead of her time and will forever remain in the history of world literature.
Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's most popular novel, known to millions of readers around the world. The critical literature devoted to its analysis is also enormous. Among the authors of books and articles are such famous literary scholars as D. Cecil, M. Butler, A. Brown, M. Masefield, M. Kennedy, J. Kaestner, N.M. Demurova, T.A. Amelina and many others.
D. Cecil believes that Jane Austen correlates her heroes with three basic standards of behavior: virtue, common sense and taste. Virtue is perceived in its Christian interpretation. Common sense refers to the desire to achieve something better in this inevitably imperfect world. Jane Austen believed that what a person lives for is more important than how he lives. Culture and the external signs of its manifestation can make a person’s existence much happier. D. Cecil, therefore, believes that the ideal of Jane Austen is a person who is not only virtuous and prudent, but also well-mannered.
M. Masefield, among the most important problems of the novel, highlights D. Austen's desire to ridicule and condemn snobbery, especially its extremes, embodied in the image of Lady Catherine de Bourg. M. Masefield believes that the genre specificity of this novel is determined by the combination of comedy with the romance genre, where an unusually attractive heroine rises above all the characters. J. Kaestner considers it a great success, a sign of the writer’s increased skill, that her minor characters become more defined, clear, and more accurately written out.
N.M. Demurova noted that Jane Austen significantly expanded and enriched the method of “humors” characteristic of classicism, abandoning the division of heroes into villains, victims and reasoners. Having thus noted Austen’s characteristic realistic vision of characters, N.M. Demurova showed how it is embodied in the novel at the stylistic level. She, for example, believes that one of J. Austen’s innovative techniques was the use of improperly direct speech. A very significant feature of Jane Austen’s poetics was noticed by T.A. Amelina. She writes: “The artist reveals the human essence mainly through the depiction of verbal communication between people, that is, direct and dialogical speech.”
Thus, critics, when characterizing the characters in the novel, pay attention to the social motivation of the characters’ behavior and relationships and pay considerable attention to the stylistic techniques that Jane Austen used, but the mechanism of operation of these techniques needs a more specific and detailed consideration.
Analysis of the means used by the writer to create images of her characters is the main task of this article. Its solution will determine the nature of Jane Austen's ethical and aesthetic ideal.
All plot lines of the novel converge around the two main characters Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy. The initial opinion about them may be largely influenced by the title of the novel “Pride and Prejudice.” That is, it may seem that each of them embodies one of these traits: Darcy - pride, Elizabeth - prejudice against him - a rich, arrogant man accustomed to the servility of others. In reality, each of them is equally characterized by pride and long-term prejudice against each other.
The character of Elizabeth Bennet is revealed gradually through the complex system of relationships of the heroine with her parents, sisters, friends, with those who wish her happiness and her ill-wishers, and finally, with those men who were candidates for her hand. Despite the impersonality of the narrative, the author’s attitude towards her expresses itself in what traits of her character stand out first of all: a sense of humor, a lively, cheerful disposition. Having heard Darcy’s first, unflattering opinion of her, Elizabeth “told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition which delighted in anything ridiculous” Here the epithets lively (full of life and spirit), playful (full of fun, fond of play) to the noun disposition (one's nature or temper) perform a characterological function. Their positive connotations are an indirect confirmation of the author’s approving attitude towards the heroine. In Elizabeth’s speech, the words “laugh, laugh” actually appear many times: “I dearly love a laugh... Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can,” she says about herself.
But in Elizabeth's character there was no frivolity, a thoughtless pursuit of entertainment, characteristic of her younger sister Lydia. Her mindset can be called analytical. She thinks a lot and seriously, observing the morals of the people around her. The monotony and monotony of the family's daily life made any trip that promised a change of impressions, the opportunity to meet new people, so desirable. So, the offer of her aunt, Mrs. Gardiner, to go with them on a big trip, perhaps to the romantic Lake District, causes outright delight (“What delight! What felicity!”).
In the composition of “Pride and Prejudice,” the chronotope of the road not only contributes to the development of the plot, enlivening it with new events and characters. Its main function here is to show the evolution of the characters of the main characters, the gradual development of the relationship between them. So, during Elizabeth's trip to the Collinses, Darcy's first explanation with her occurs. During a trip with her aunt, her fate is decided: after visiting Darcy's house, she begins to change her opinion about him, gets rid of prejudice against him, and begins to understand that she could love him.
But no matter how much the reader learns about the heroine through the author’s comments and characteristics, the main thing is that Elizabeth herself speaks about herself. This main thing is never mentioned, but it is present in her every action and every remark. This is the main thing - pride, or rather self-esteem and real fearlessness. Elizabeth herself is not rich; after the death of her father, they may be deprived of their house, the owner of which will be Reverend Collins. Under such circumstances, not getting married means dooming yourself to a miserable existence. It would seem that one should rejoice at Collins's proposal, but Elizabeth indignantly rejects it. Her reaction to Darcy's proposal may seem even more incredible. A rich, powerful man, with whom marriage is the pipe dream of many brides, proposes to her, Elizabeth Bennet. Instead of accepting such a flattering offer, Elizabeth, in the harshest form, accuses Darcy of humiliating her dignity, insulting her sister, and insulting Wickham. In order to become her chosen one, it is not enough to occupy a high position in society; it is much more important to always behave as befits a noble person. Time must pass before Elizabeth can better understand Darcy’s character and appreciate his merits.
Darcy also has his own pride. As soon as he appears on the pages of the novel, all the characters and readers become aware of the amount of his income - 10,000 pounds a year, a colossal amount for that time. He immediately makes a certain impression on those around him: a proud, arrogant person. And although he himself, trying to explain his behavior, talks about his isolation and inability to easily get along with people, Elizabeth is not convinced. The fact is that almost simultaneously with Darcy, Wickham is introduced into the cast of characters, acting as Darcy’s antipode. If no one hears almost a word from Darcy, then Wickham easily enters into conversation. He has a pleasant, attractive appearance, and he knows how to be a very entertaining conversationalist. Having barely met Elizabeth, he tells her the story of his life, in which Darcy played the most unseemly role, in his words. Thus, all circumstances are not in Darcy’s favor, and the further development of the plot seems unpredictable. The rebuke that Elizabeth gives to Darcy should seem to mark the end of their acquaintance. But the main plot intrigue lies precisely in the fact that Elizabeth’s refusal only gives impetus to a new development in their relationship.
The refusal Darcy received was a difficult test for his pride. A man of an aristocratic upbringing, he did not betray the feelings raging within him. Given his restraint, the most natural way of expressing emotions was not direct dialogue with his chosen one, but correspondence with her.
The development of Elizabeth's feelings for Darcy appears before the reader in all its complexity and inconsistency: from hostility to doubts, then to regret about her judgments about him, finally to admiration, to the understanding that meeting him is the main event of her life. The complexity of the heroine’s emotional experiences is also matched by a complex system of stylistic means of expression. Here is the author's commentary, which conveys to the reader the confusion of her feelings (a flutter of spirits). Here are details of the interior and landscape that allow Elizabeth to see Darcy in a new light: “She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste.” The feeling that gripped Elizabeth at the sight of the beauty surrounding her is expressed by one adjective - delighted. "Elizabeth was delighted" is the key phrase describing her state of mind during her visit to Pemberley. She is admired by the impeccable taste of the owner, who managed not to disturb the natural beauty of the landscape. She gives her no less pleasure to the interior decoration of the house - not glaring luxury, but genuine elegance. His housekeeper's enthusiastic review of Darcy becomes another revelation for Elizabeth. Finally, the courageous beauty of his appearance in the portrait, which both Elizabeth and her uncle and aunt admire, is in harmony with the beauty of everything that surrounds him.
All these external impressions gradually transform Elizabeth’s initially hostile attitude towards Darcy into completely different feelings, and her internal and improperly direct speech, intertwined with the author’s narration, allows us to trace all the shades of this evolution. Thus, Elizabeth’s first reaction to everything she saw at Pemberley was expressed in her internal remark “And of this place,” she thought, “I might have been mistress!” This involuntary regret is replaced by a phrase in which she reminds herself: “...that could never be; my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; I should not have been allowed to invite them." The form of the subjunctive mood with the perfect infinitive indicates here not so much regret about a missed opportunity in the past, but rather the complete impossibility for her of marrying such a snob who would not allow her to accept her relatives. But then, listening to Darcy's housekeeper, looking at his portrait, she begins to understand the scale of his personality. Each phrase in her internal monologue, marked with an exclamation mark, reveals her inner excitement, a gradual change in her assessments: “What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant? As a brother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people"s happiness were in his guardianship! How much of pleasure or pain it was in his power to bestow! How much of good or evil must be done by him!” .
And yet the main result of her thoughts is different. Unexpectedly for herself, she begins to understand how harmoniously they complement each other. At the end of the novel, Darcy’s words about what the meeting with Elizabeth meant in his life will be consonant with her thoughts. But his first statement had an arrogant and contemptuous tone: “I am in no humor of present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.” Later, in the moments of his first confession, first confident of her consent, then stunned by her refusal, he directly speaks of all his fears regarding their possible union:
“These bitter accusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection, by everything. But disguise of every sort is my abhorrence... Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? To congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” .
In his speech there is a non-union enumeration of homogeneous prepositional objects (by reason, by reflection, by everything), the use of conditional and subjunctive moods (might have been suppressed, had I concealed, could you expect), a parallel construction in two interrogative sentences following one after another ( Could you expect me to rejoice... To congratulate myself...) create a growing effect, thanks to which his resentment and irritation find expression. Darcy's love is perhaps the main psychological mystery of this novel. There is nothing rational in his feelings, although he is undoubtedly a reasonable and insightful person. As he himself speaks about his love for the first time: “In vain have I struggled.” It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."
Some researchers (for example, M. Pouvey), classifying the novel as a realistic work, consider its ending to be purely romantic. It’s too incredible (not like in life) that Elizabeth’s fate turns out happily. But perhaps Jane Austen’s psychologism and the authenticity of her characters are manifested in the fact that she portrays Darcy’s love as a passion that is not subject to reason and calculation (and therefore possible). Darcy's path towards Elizabeth is a path of getting rid of prejudice and arrogance, from vanity, pride and self-confidence to a sharply self-critical assessment of his character: “I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle... I was spoiled by my parents, who, though good themselves ... allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing, to care for none beyond my own family circle, to think meanly of all the rest of the world, to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own... You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous.” His self-esteem comes through in this conversation with Elizabeth. The repetition of the word selfish, the italics of the words right, child, wish, parallel constructions (I was taught, I was given, I was spoiled) and enumeration reveal his excited, confessional mood, his gratitude to Elizabeth, whose love made him different.
Thus, from many observations, meetings, and impressions, a new image of each other gradually emerges in the souls of Elizabeth and Darcy. The fullness of life that each of them finds in the other creates the overall major key of the entire work. And, besides, throughout the novel, the dramatic vicissitudes of their relationship are intertwined with comic scenes.
Comic characters constantly enliven the narrative. The first of them is Mrs. Bennet. The mother of five adult daughters, all she thinks about is how to get them married. There are many obstacles to this, and not the least of them is the stupidity and vulgarity of Mrs. Bennet herself. Mrs. Bennet is a very impulsive and impatient creature.
The essence of her character is perfectly revealed by each of her remarks. The lexico-syntactic composition of her dialogue is always simple: words from everyday use, abrupt exclamations and interrogative sentences that reveal the heroine’s vanity, her ineradicable curiosity: “Well, Jane, who is it from?” What is it about? What does he say? Well, Jane, make haste and tell us, make haste, my Love."
In depicting the character of Mrs. Bennet, J. Austen effectively uses the dramatization of the narrative, that is, he gives the character the opportunity to express himself. For example, in chapter 59 she calls Darcy disagreeable, that is, an unpleasant subject, and remains sincere in her dislike for him: “I am quite sorry Lizzy, that you should be forced to have that disagreeable man all to yourself; but I hope you won't mind. It is all for Jane's sake." But at the end of the same chapter she breaks out in a stream of enthusiastic cries: "...Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it? And is it really true? Oh , my sweetest Lizzy! How rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! I am so pleased - so happy." These exclamations are no less sincere than what she said about Darcy earlier, although they are directly opposite in meaning. This change of assessment in Mrs. Bennet's speech part creates a visible image of a truly comic heroine.
But there are characters in the novel who are outlined not with soft comic touches, but with genuine satire. Unlike the main characters of the novel, who are constantly learning to better understand themselves and each other, who sincerely experience their delusions and shortcomings, comic and, especially, satirical characters do not undergo any changes in their development.
The first of them is Mr. Collins, whose name has become a household name in English literature. Collins is presented as a smug fool on his first visit to the Bennet house. He is unbearably pompous and verbose. He endlessly praises his own merits and the advantages of his position, the main one of which is the patronage of the wealthy aristocrat Lady Catherine de Bourg. Having never seen him, only by the tone of his letter, eloquent, verbose, Elizabeth determined the character of its author in one word - pompous. She will have to see that there was something worse in him - the ability to basely worship strong of the world this and the ability to humiliate someone who was lower than him in wealth and position. The base essence of his nature makes itself felt most of all during the most difficult period for the Bennet family: during the flight of Lydia with Wickham. Collins sends them a letter of “condolence.” The lexical composition of this letter is represented by sublime literary vocabulary: respectable family, present distress of the bitterest kind, the death as a blessing, augmented satisfaction, involved in disgrace, etc., behind which is hidden hypocritical sympathy in the grief that befell the respectable family, as well as and a great deal of schadenfreude and self-satisfaction in the knowledge that, having been rejected by Elizabeth and married to Charlotte Lucas, he was now freed from having to share the shame of the Bennet family.
Thus, the author's strategy can be defined here as the desire to create the image of a character such as Mr. Collins based on the self-disclosure of his character, because in all cases, Collins’s own statements and actions become the main means of characterizing the various properties of his nature: hypocrisy, lackey humiliation and limitations.
Collins is perfectly complemented and shaded by Lady Catherine de Bourg, who appears on the pages of the novel twice. Elizabeth meets her when she comes to visit the Collinses. She is struck by the unceremoniousness of the mistress of the estate: she considers herself entitled to question the Collinses and Elizabeth about any details of their private lives, interfere and give advice on how to run the household, etc. Another time, Lady de Bourg herself comes to the Bennett house. Now she is pouring out real torrents of abuse at Elizabeth. She called the rumor about the possible engagement of her nephew, Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth a vile invention, then launched threats and insults against Elizabeth and her relatives. The authoritative and peremptory tone of her speech, the very choice of words like the upstart, retentions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune testifies not only to her dislike for Elizabeth, but also to the rudeness and unceremoniousness of this high-born lady. However, ironically, it was she who became the unwitting accomplice in the marriage of her nephew and Elizabeth. Upon learning of her conversation with Elizabeth, Darcy realized that Elizabeth loved him and would accept his proposal. So evil punished itself, and if we can talk about the influence of Ben Jonson’s ideas on D. Austen, then it was reflected in this: evil in her novel is defeated due to internal reasons and contradictions.
In addition to the lyrical-dramatic plot line, represented by the images of the main characters, in addition to its comedic-satirical beginning, the bearers of which are Mrs. Bennet, Reverend Collins and Lady de Bourg, the novel also has an adventurous and picaresque component, represented by such heroes as Wickham and Lydia Bennet . By themselves, as individuals, they are quite ordinary and do not represent anything of themselves. Lydia thinks only about fans and a quick marriage, and running away with Wickham is the result of her latest hobby. Wickham, in comparison with her, seems to be a more significant person; he is an attractive young man, an interesting conversationalist. But the difference between what he says about himself and who he really is is very striking. The fact that, escaping from the regiment, he drags Lydia along with him, reveals not so much the depravity of his nature as his inability to foresee the consequences of his actions. The very adventurous and roguish episode associated with these two characters adds significant tension to the plot. Not only Lydia’s honor is at stake, but also that of the entire Bennet family and the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. Thanks to Darcy, the episode gets a happy ending, because in the wonderful world of Jane Austen's heroes there is no place for evil and dishonesty.
Among the most important stylistic devices of Jane Austen is, first of all, irony, which was already mentioned in connection with the characteristics of the characters. The ironic effect is created both by grammatical means (for example, the use of the subjunctive mood) and by means of vocabulary, when the spoken words are directly opposite in meaning to what is meant. Thus, Mr. Bennet is ironic when he says that, admiring his three sons-in-law, he singles out Wickham as his favorite (“Wickham, perhaps, is my favorite”), while he has nothing but antipathy for Wickham.
The author’s comment at the beginning of chapter 61 is also ironic: “Happy for all her maternal feelings was the day on which Mrs. Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters." The happiest day in the life of the mother, Mrs. Bennet, is called the day when she “got rid of” her two most worthy daughters. The dictionary definition of the phrasal predicate get rid (to make a person free from - get rid of) to some extent contrasts in meaning with the words happy day (a day of pleasure - a happy day), this is how the author expresses his ironic attitude towards Mrs. Bennet’s maternal aspirations.
Jane Austen also makes extensive use of her own direct speech, which allows her to see the inner world of the heroine in moments of her most powerful emotional experiences and emotions. Thus, a series of short interrogative and exclamatory sentences uttered by the heroine “to herself” after an unexpected meeting with Darcy at Pemberley perfectly conveys her excitement at that moment: “Her coming there was the most unfortunate, the most ill-judged thing in the world!” How strange must it appear to him! In what a disgraceful light might it not strike so vain a man! It might seem as if she had purposely thrown herself in his way again! Oh! Why did she come? Or, why did he thus come a day before he was expected?” .
The lexical composition of the author's speech is determined by commonly used or neutral vocabulary. Even to convey strong emotional tension, the writer does not resort to any sophisticated techniques, but very skillfully uses the superlative degree of comparison of adjectives. Thus, the changed opinion about Wickham is expressed in a simple phrase: “Everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world.”
Nervous condition, in which Elizabeth and Jane were waiting for news about Lydia, is conveyed using a metaphorical epithet: “Every day at Longbourn was now a day of anxiety; but the most anxious part of each was when the post was expected.”
Superlative adjectives characterize the state of the characters in the happiest moments of their lives: “...the liveliest emotion; ...the happiest creature in the world; ...the happiest, wisest, and most reasonable end!” - all this is about Jane Bennet after Mr. Bingley proposed to her. If Bingley was everyone’s favorite, then the attitude of those around him towards Darcy was more difficult; epithets also help to understand all his shades and changes. First, Austin describes everyone's admiration for him: “A fine figure of a man... much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he looked at with great admiration...” But Darcy's reserved behavior, which everyone takes for arrogance, very soon arouses hostility towards him. Now the attitude towards him is expressed in a gradually increasing flow of enumerations of all kinds of negative qualities:
“.He looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend."
This list uses constructions with an infinitive (to be proud, to be above his company) and a gerund (above being pleased, from having a ... countenance, being unworthy), as well as epithets with a negative connotation (forbidding, disagreeable, unworthy) . This first impression of Darcy very soon turned into a persistent negative attitude towards him both from the entire provincial society and from Elizabeth and her family in particular. It took many events, meetings, explanations before Elizabeth saw and learned true essence his nature.
The size of sentences plays an important stylistic role in the novel: from short remarks in dialogues and sentences of medium length that form the author's commentary to very large sentences, sometimes occupying an entire paragraph. One such example is an excerpt from Jane’s letter to Elizabeth about the unsuccessful search for Lydia and Wickham: “By this time, my dearest sister, you have received my hurried letter; I wish this may be more intelligible, but though not confined for time, my head is so bewildered that I cannot answer for being coherent... Imprudent as a marriage between Mr. Wickham and our poor Lydia would be, we are now anxious to be assured it has taken place, for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to Scotland." In this fragment, the author strings together a series of complex sentences (that I cannot answer for being coherent, imprudent as a marriage ... would be; for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to Scotland) and complex sentences (By this time, my dearest sister, you have received my hurried letter; I wish this may be more intelligible...) to create either a retrospective, or speculative (a marriage between Mr. W and Lydia would be), or a synchronous image of events and feelings (my head is so bewildered, there is too much reason to fear they are not gone to Scotland), as well as to convey feverish states of thoughts and actions (my head is so bewildered; I cannot answer for being coherent). Complex constructions turn out to be necessary and adequate to the entire complex range of feelings experienced by Jane.
One of the climaxes of the novel is the evening at the Bennet house, when Mr. Darcy asks Elizabeth's hand from her father. It seems that all the diversity of J. Austen's stylistic techniques is concentrated on these pages. Here is the dramatization of the narrative: Darcy’s whispered words “Go to your father; “he wants you in the library,” Elizabeth’s dialogue with her father, which uses a build-up effect: “Lizzy,” he said, “what are you doing? Are you out of your feelings, to be accepting this man? Have not you always hated him?" . Here are parallel constructions, stylistically colored use of the subjunctive mood and italics in Elizabeth’s indirect speech: “...But he was going to be made unhappy, and that it should be through her means; that she, his favorite child, should be distressing him by her choice, should be filling him with fears and regrets in disposing of her, was a wretched reflection.” This convergence of stylistic devices creates the effect of enormous emotional tension and complete authenticity of what is happening.
Jane Austen's skillful stylistic skill creates a very vivid, very reliable picture of the morals, way of life, and life of a small provincial society. It was inhabited by quite ordinary people. Only a few of them had a developed mind, independence of judgment and nobility. But it was they who filled this novel with such a joyful acceptance of life, such optimism, which never sounded with such force in any subsequent work by J. Austen.
In this novel, the system of ethical values (sincerity, benevolence, rejection of class arrogance, self-esteem) that Jane Austen's heroes embody is finally formed. Her ethical ideal also finds equal artistic expression: impeccable stylistic mastery is combined with the skillful use of the genre possibilities of the novel.
“Pride and Prejudice” uses such compositional principles of a realistic novel as a complex system of characters, the significant role of the chronotope in the development of the plot, as well as portrait and landscape sketches in their characterological and aesthetic functions, and finally, the complex subjective organization of the text, in which the dominant role belongs to impersonal narration, but where each character, not only the main one, but also the secondary one, thanks to dramatization, the inclusion of improperly direct speech and intexts, gets the opportunity to express himself as if independently.
Thus, in the novel “Pride and Prejudice”, 25-30 years before the release of the first novels of Dickens, the recognized founder and classic of English critical realism, the characteristic features of this artistic method were already appearing.
References
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