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January to March 2024 Article ID: NSS8558 Impact Factor:7.60 Cite Score:78046 Download: 394 DOI: https://doi.org/ View PDf
Representation of Women in Jane Austen Pride & Prejudice
Prof. Swati Sharma
Department of English, Govt. Holkar (Model Autonomous) Science College, Indore (M.P.)
Abstract: "Pride and
Prejudice epitomizes the intricacies of societal conduct, delineating the
multifaceted circumstances endured by women amidst the backdrop of
nineteenth-century England. Jane Austen astutely portrays a woman's felicity as
contingent upon marriage, wherein her social standing is inexorably tethered to
the selection of a husband. While happiness and affection ostensibly underpin
marital unions, material affluence and the possessions of the suitor hold
paramount significance. Thus, a woman endeavors to sculpt her identity to meet
the exacting standards requisite for matrimonial acceptance, for the stigma of
spinsterhood consigns unmarried daughters to the status of familial burdens.
Regrettably, women's aspirations and preferences are frequently disregarded
within the patriarchal paradigm, wherein authoritative male voices predominate.
Subjugated to submissive roles, their voices muted, women are constrained to
traverse the paths dictated by their male counterparts. Austen's narrative
starkly illustrates the absence of self-made women, ensnared as they are within
the constricting confines of societal norms."