The Portrayal Of Women By Jane Austen And Charles Dickens...

Analysis of the Portrayal of Women by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens in Pride and Prejudice and Hard Times respectively, in view of their social positions, gender identities and historical situations. Published first in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is universally acknowledged as Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) most popular work of all times. The novel was written between 1796 and 1797 and was initially titled First Impressions. Set in the backdrop of rural England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, it revolves around the Bennet family and their five unmarried daughters as they struggle to ensure a secure future for themselves in a society where women were reduced to commodities for marriage on account of their gender. â€Å"In fact, in Pride and Prejudice, at the outset, marriage is proclaimed the central preoccupation of the community. Marriage, it is argued, is the only fortunate event, that can happen in a woman’s life.†(Mangalam 279) The novel uses the theme of marriage to examine gender positions and class institutions in society. Written by Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Hard Times, on the other hand was published in 1854. Originally written in a serial format, the novel was made to fit the demands of a conventional moral standard and hence, it lost the very elements that make the characters and situations of any novel come alive. Through this novel, Dickens presents a sustained and scathing critique of the industrial society that was emerging in the urbanShow MoreRelatedDiscovering a Woman’s Role in Society in Pride and Prejudice Essay1226 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the early 1800s, British women often played a subordinate role in society, flexed by many obligations, laws, and the superior males. A young woman’s struggle for independence and free will can often be compared to a life of servitude and slavery. Women were often controlled by the various men in their lives; whether it be father, brother or th e eventual husband. Marriage during this time was often a gamble; one can either be in it for the right reasons such as love or for the wrong reasonsRead MoreMr Benett and the Failures of Fatherhood8365 Words   |  34 PagesMr. Bennet and the Failures of Fatherhood in Jane Austens Novels Author(s): Mary A. Burgan Reviewed work(s): Source: The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 74, No. 4 (Oct., 1975), pp. 536552 Published by: University of Illinois Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27707956 . Accessed: 29/08/2012 00:55 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR isRead MoreLiterature and Language10588 Words   |  43 Pagesand Related Criticism (1986). Until Helmut Hatzfeld brought out his bibiography the word â€Å"stylistics† had not appeared in the title of any English book about style although â€Å"stylistique† had appeared in French titles, beginning in 1905 with Charles Bally’s Traite de stylistique francaise. The distinction between the French â€Å"stylistique† (with implications of a system of thought) and the English â€Å"stylistics† ( with the connotation of science) reflects the trends manifested in the grouping of