英国文学学年论文.docx

1、英国文学学年论文ContentsAbstract.1 Key Words.1摘 要.1 关键词.21. Introduction.22. Analysis of five marriages in Pride and Prejudice. 22.1 Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.32.2 Jane and Bingley.42.3 Elizabeth and Darcy.52.4 Lydia and Wickham.52.5 Charlotte and Collins.63.Significance of Austens views on marriage in Pride and

2、Prejudice.73.1 Progressiveness of Austens views on marriage.73.2 Limitation of Austens views on marriage.84.Conclusion.9Bibliography.10Jane Austens View of Marriage in Pride and PrejudiceAbstract：Jane Austen was one of the outstanding realistic novelists in the nineteenth- century-English literature

3、Pride and Prejudice is a world wide popular novel published in 1813Austen set the story in the first decade of the nineteenth centuryAt that time，marriage was the only way for women to gain social status and recognition. The author of the present thesis will analyze the five marriage patterns from t

4、he perspective of sociohistorical literary criticism to explore the important role that money and love plays in marriage. It can be seen clearly that Austen fully expresses her original views on marriage：property, social status and love are three indispensable elements in a marriageIt is wrong to ma

5、rry for money，but it is unwise to marry without money. Austens views on marriage emphasize love and economic condition, but love plays the significant role，which is the predominant aspect at Austens time. The thesis tries to draw some inspiration from Austen and provide some hints for modern women i

6、n their view of marriage, and add something new into the literary criticism of the great work of Jane Austen.Key Words：Pride and Prejudice; views on marriage; love; property; realistic significance摘要：简奥斯汀是十九世纪英国文学史上最伟大的现实主义小说家之一。她的傲慢与偏见于1813年问世，是一部享誉世界的著名小说。小说将故事情节置于十九世纪初，十九世纪的英国，婚姻是女性获得社会地位和社会认知的唯一

7、途径。本文使用社会历史批评的方法来分析小说中五种不同类型的婚姻，探讨金钱与爱情在婚姻中的重要作用，从而得出作者简奥斯汀的婚姻观：财产、门第和爱情是婚姻中必不可少的三个因素，为了金钱而结婚是错误的，然而缺少金钱的婚姻也是不明智的。奥斯汀的婚姻观强调爱情和经济条件，但是爱情起着重要的作用，这一点在奥斯汀所处时代是有重要意义的。本文作者意在借用奥斯汀的一些进步观点为现代女性在婚姻观方面提供一些借鉴，同时为使用文学批评方法研究奥斯汀的这一著作增添一些新的东西。关键词:傲慢与偏见；婚姻观；爱情；财产；现实意义1. IntroductionJane Austen was one of the distin

8、guished English novelists of the nineteenth centuryAs a daughter of a country clergyman，Austen never entered a formal school，but she was well educated by her family. At the age of about twelve，Austen began to writeShe wrote and completed six novels and three minor writings in her life timeShe was ob

9、viously a fruitful novelist and engaged in writing for all her life“She is said to have the equal name as Sir Walter Scott”(Duckworth 23).Like her other novels，Pride and Prejudice focuses on five families in the townThe main characters are the ladies from the genteel class. Austen uses characters as

10、 literary devices to show the relationship between married for love and married for alternative reasonsMarriage was thought to be the single possible fulfillment for a woman at the time when Austen wrote the novelMarriage played an important role in womens lifeThe author of the present thesis will a

11、nalyze the five marriage patterns from the perspective of sociohistorical literary criticism. Part one is a brief introduction of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. Part two will present a anslysis of five marriages in Pride and Prejudice. Part three is the significance of Austens views on marriag

12、e. The positive aspects that Austen emphasizes on love between male and female and on womens education are included, as well as the limitation. The last part of the thesis is conclusion. Although women become independent in economy, marriage is still their important life goalAustens views on marriag

13、e give useful advice for selecting their proper mates 2.Analysis of five marriages in Pride and PrejudiceIn Pride and Prejudice，Austen opens with a direct reference to money marriage and shows that how the delicate human emotions interact with and are influenced by financial considerations. The bril

14、liant first sentence outlines the plot and states the underlying theme of social criticism：“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”(Austen 1)“a good fortune” and “in want of”are two key phrases“in want of” means the single m

15、an needs a wife objectively, while “a good fortune” means that single man becomes a subjective target of the girl who wants to capture him as husbandSuch kind of words makes the proposition have more objectivity of “truth”Womens choices in Jane Austens society were severely limitedMarriage was not m

16、erely a problem of love；what is more，it was a problem of economyBoth Austen and her heroines are more interested in money than in other more important considerations when it comes to choosing husbandsHowever, it does not mean that Austens views on marriage are vulgar. On the contrary, they truly ref

17、lect the social and historical conventions of her timeAs a female writer of womens love and marriage at her time，Jane Austen describes marriage as more for convenience rather than compatibilityMarriage is based on economic and social backgroundsIn other words，it is far more based on money and not on

18、 1oveThroughout Pride and Prejudice，Austens views on marriage are conveyed through the marriage of several different characters and their marriage patterns.2.1 Mr. and Mrs. BennetThe marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is a typical instance of the traditional marriage in the eighteenth centuryTheir marr

19、iage quite dearly shows that the two have never experienced much mutual love and is done mostly for financial benefit. It is a safe preserve to Mrs. Bennet，but is a tragedy to Mr. Bennet.Austen depicts Mrs. Bennet as a simple-minded pretty woman who frequently complains about her nerve.Mr. Bennet is

20、 an intelligent and witty manHe “was so odd a mixture of quick parts，sarcastic humor, reserve and caprice，that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character”(Austen 3)It shows that there is no marital happiness of emotional and intellectual

21、understanding between the coupleMr. Bennet married for beauty and moneyAfter marriage，he soon realized that Mrs. Bennet，due to her intellectual weakness and narrow vision，would not make her an ideal wifeHe puts an end to all real affection for herTo Mrand Mrs. Bennet，their marriage is a social respo

22、nsibility, even when love disappears，the marriage still can be continuingThrough their marriage，Austen tries to show that Mrs. Bennet is unfairly treated，and the womens social status is very low in the patriarchal societyAs a typical woman of that time，she was merely educated in pleasing the maleBut

23、 in the real lifeshe could not satisfy with her husbandAusten seems to ridicule Mrs. Bennet，in fact，she criticizes this unequal society. She believes that both men and women should enjoy equal treatmentAlthough the world is dominated by men，and men are considered as intelligent and sensible，not all

24、of them are qualifiedMr. Bennet provides a good exampleHe has intelligence and insights，but he is not a qualified husband，nor a qualified father2.2 Jane and BingleyJane，the eldest daughter of Bennet family, is a good-natured and gentle woman with introverted dispositionBingley is a wealthy, handsome

25、，cordial and simple young man who is easy to approach and constant in loveAt a dancing party in Meryton，Jane and Bingley fall in love with each other at first sightThe marriage of Jane and Bingley is based on mutual loveBoth of them possess so many common virtuesThey are good-tempered and modestThey

26、 share a mutual understanding and always think best of othersHowever they also have weaknessesTo conceal her passions to Bingley shows that Jane lacks strength and self-confidencePleasant and modest as he is，Bingley can not to be a man with strong and determined dispositionHis indecisive character d

27、etermines that he lacks independence in his marriageBoth of them are weak in judgment and easy to be influenced by others so they need help in some momentsIt is fortunate enough that Jane and Bingley can always receive considerate and beneficial advice from Elizabeth and Darcy2.3 Elizabeth and Darcy

28、Elizabeth，the second daughter of Bennet family and the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice，is an intelligent and quick-witted young ladyShe is Jane Austens own favorite and she wrote her sister when it appeared：“I must confess that I think her the heroine，Elizabeth as delightful a creature as ever ap

29、peared in print；and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least I do not know” (Rubinstein 345)Austens dreams which could not be realized in the reality have been realized by her favorite female creature in the novelElizabeth is certainly a striking and satisfactory self-portr

30、ait of AustenDarcy is a “fine，tall person，with handsome features，”(Austen 7). His proud is further emphasized with his offensive rejection of dancing with ElizabethHowever, Darcy is increasingly attracted by Elizabeths dark eyes，disposition and intelligenceBut his haughty proposal insulted Elizabeths self-esteemShe feels that she is not treated equally with DarcyShe is by no means to sacrifice her self-respect to accept his offerThe temptation of money and social status can not make her disregard the inequality between men and womenTherefore