The Power of Love in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice

In the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, a major theme is the power of love and its ability to overcome hardships. In this novel the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, yearns for a life with much more meaning than being dependent on a spouse for the rest of her life. Jane Austen wrote this novel in a time period in which women were expected to marry in order to attain financial security rather than marry for love. Mr. Darcy, a man of wealth and high social status, is initially loathed by Elizabeth due to his prejudice against her status and family’s lack of money and manners. Overcoming social barriers, Elizabeth and Darcy find that their true feeling towards each other was love. Austen utilizes the main protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, as strong feminist who breaks away from her societal expectations and overcomes various hardships to be united with her true love. Love is a central theme in this novel which becomes the driving force behind Austen’s purpose of empower ing women to refuse social norm and follow their hearts despite social expectations. Austen establishes the theme of love throughout the novel by incorporating many characters that benefit Elizabeth socially. Yet due to her opposition to abide to social standards, she denies and turns them down. The author set this novel in the nineteenth century of English society which viewed women as another possession of men. The cult of domesticity was strictly set to social standard as it was worth praise to seeShow MoreRelatedNorthanger Abbey as a Precursor to Pride and Prejudice Essay1614 Words   |  7 PagesJane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is frequently described as a novel about reading—reading novels and reading people—while Pride and Prejudice is said to be a story about love, about two people overcoming their own pride and prejudices to realize their feelings for each other. 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