World Literature Essay -- English Literature

World Literature Essay â€Å"The Jane Austen novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is basically concerned with the education of a young heroine† The statement â€Å"The Jane Austen novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is basically concerned with the education of a young heroine† raises many questions. The term education in this context means a journey of ones self rather than a formal schooling education. From the beginning pages of the book the idea of Elizabeth being the heroine is established. Since there are other themes of the novel, themes of love, reputation and class, it can be questioned as to whether the novel is centred on the education of Elizabeth. Darcy is also a major character to the plot of the novel and contains the same faults as Elizabeth so the book could be centred on his journey as well as hers. However, Elizabeth’s education in overcoming her obstacles is a very long one compared to that of Darcy’s In the first three pages of the novel the character of Elizabeth is depicted as a very intellectual character by her father. ‘ â€Å"..they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of a quickness than her sisters.† ’[1] It is clear that Austen introduces and forms such an impression of Elizabeth early in the novel in order to promptly get the reader into the plot and communicate the heroine of the novel. No other character commands the same interest as Elizabeth. Even though Elizabeth is depicted as the heroine, she possesses faults which are very set. The character’s biggest issues lie with pride and prejudice, each one in the way of her conquering the other. Whether the novel is basically concerned with the education with Elizabeth can be questioned as there are other major... ...enguin Books, London 1996. * Williams.M, Jane Austen: Six Novels and Their Methods. Macmillan, London 1986 * Lambert. J, A Text Response Guide to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Wizard Books, Ballarat 1993 * Curtis.T, Get Smart Study Guide: Pride and Prejudice. Science Press, Australia 1999 * Handley.G, Brodies Notes on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, London 1990. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp 7 [2]Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp 36 [3] ibid.,pp33 [4] ibid.,pp57 [5] ibid.,pp309 [6] Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp21 [7] Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp 89 [8] ibid.,pp94 [9] ibid., pp 202 [10] ibid., pp 295