英语毕业论文 小说《傲慢与偏见》中简

XX大学旅游文化学院本科生毕业论文

题 目:Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

专业班级： 06级外语系英语

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Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

Contents

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ i 摘要 ............................................................................................................................................. ii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................1 1. Basic Information About the Novel ..........................................................................................2 1.1 The Introduction of Jane Austen .........................................................................................2 1.2 The Introduction of the Social Background........................................................................2 1.3 The Introduction of Pride and Prejudice ............................................................................3 2. Analyses of Several Types of Love ..........................................................................................4 2.1 Love Based on Mutual Good Impression ...........................................................................4 2.2 Love Based on Blind Passion and Impulse ........................................................................5 2.3 Love with Certain Benefits and Compromise ....................................................................6 2.4 Love with Some Kind of Platonism ...................................................................................8 3. Enlightenment to People in the Modern Times ........................................................................9 3.1 The Relationship of Wealth, Social Status, Success and Love ...........................................9 3.2 The Importance of the Same Interest and Aspiration in a Marriage .................................10 3.3 The Essentiality of Change and Mutual Understanding in a Marriage ............................. 11 3.4 The Perfect Combination of Perception and Rationalism ................................................12 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................13 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................14

Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

[Abstract]：It is known to all that Pride and Prejudice was Jane Austen’s most remarkable work. It mainly talks about daughters of Bennet family and their different marriages. At the same time, Jane Austen’s views of love and marriage are revealed. In this essay, firstly, the writer is going to introduce some related information about the novel Pride and Prejudice; Then, the writer analyses several types of marriages combined the typical examples in the novel with those in the modern society, including people’s mentality and those phenomena of love and marriage which are very popular nowadays. The writer mainly analyses the lopsidness, defects and potential dangers in a marriage. At last, and also the key points, the author stresses on the discussion of those essential elements which form and lead an ideal happy marriage.

[Key Words]: Love Marriage

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Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

[摘要]: 众所周知，《傲慢与偏见》是简·奥斯汀最杰出的代表作。小说主要讲述了班纳特家中几个女儿以及她们所遭遇的不同的爱情与婚姻，由小说也反映出了简·奥斯汀的爱情婚姻观。在本文中，首先，作者介绍了简·奥斯汀的《傲慢与偏见》的基本信息。其次，作者将《傲慢与偏见》中的爱情婚姻的典型例子结合当今社会中流行的恋爱与婚姻现象进行了不同分析, 作者主要分析阐述了这几种类型恋爱的片面性、不足之处以及在婚姻生活中可能存在的潜在危险。最后，通过对不同类型爱情婚姻的分析，作者旨在分析和描写形成与通往幸福理想婚姻的要素，从而给人们以启示。

[关键词]: 爱情 婚姻

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Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

Introduction

Pride and Prejudice is the book about commonplace things and ordinary people, it is one of Jane Austen’s famous books, being the representative of realistic literature. The descriptions and visual angles based on special sensitive characteristic of female writer. This novel takes young people’s marriage as the thread and it covers the inheritance of fortune, women’s social status, ethics and customs. There were many people researched Pride and Prejudice on various aspects, like the four marriages in the novel, the character of Elizabeth, the art of people’s conversation, and so on. In this essay, the author is going to analyze several types of marriages combined the typical examples in the novel with those popular phenomena in the modern society. Through the examples and analysis, the author tries to discuss and figure out some practical and useful propositions for people in the modern society, which may form and lead an ideal happy marriage.

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Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

1. Basic Information About the Novel

1.1 The Introduction of Jane Austen

Jane Austen (1775-1817), who was born on December 16, 1775, was one of the greatest novelists in England. She was born in Hampshire, a small town in southwest England. Her father graduated from Oxford University, and her eldest brother’s attainment of British literature was very high. She was the youngest of seven children in her family. She received most of her education at home. Her family members are all fond of reading books, which influenced her very much. So, although Jane Austen didn’t receive much education, under the influence of her father and brother, she also achieved great success in literature. Her reading extended little beyond the literature of the eighteenth century, and within that period she admired Dr. Johnson particularly. And later she was delighted with both the poetry and prose of Scott. She died on July 18, 1817, and was buried in the cathedral in Winchester. Jane Austen was a beautiful, talented middle class woman with extraordinary temperament and good cultivation. However, her marriage was like a blank paper in her 42 years real lifetime. Going through the finest time, but eventually without meeting a comfortable partner, she gives up her love. Going through the sweet and bitter feeling which helps her to write the great work pride and prejudice. Austen wrote altogether 6 novels, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Manor, Emma and Persuasion, among which the important ones were Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Emma.

1.2 The Introduction of the Social Background

Since the late 18th century to the early 19th century, the field of British literature was full of those vulgar sentimental stories and Gothic stories. However, Jane Austen’s novels described the daily life and rurality of British countryside which hasn’t been stimulated by capitalism yet. Her stories get rid of the tradition in 18th century and had some kind of modernization. Such a change made Jane Austen’s novels has a function and a sense of both carrying on and continuity in the history of British novels.

At that time, according to the social conditions in Britain, a good marriage for a

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Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice young woman was critical. This phenomenon was closely associated with the British society and the status of women in the society. In the 19th century, women were not well respected compared with the ones in the present society. There was no equality between woman and man. Women were considered to be inferior to men in terms of intelligence and capacity. The central life of women was forced to be staying at home, their roles were to deal with the family affairs, such as taking care of the children and serving for the husband.

At that period, many middle-class young women had three solutions: getting married; staying at home as old maids or working as the family female teachers. The income of family female teacher was very low, and the status was low as well. It was very difficult for them to change or swap out of this status, no one would like to be a maid forever. The status of women at that time was low; few of them expressed dissatisfaction about their own destiny. It seems that to get married was the only way for them to gain respect, stability and social status, so most of the women didn’t care the real feelings and emotions of their own in a marriage. So, the story in Pride and Prejudice was taking place in such a social background and developing naturaly. 1.3 The Introduction of Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen totally wrote six novels in her life. Among the six novels, Pride and Prejudice has been valued as the most successful and popular masterpiece. In this novel, Jane Austen mainly described the ordinary life of the Bennets. She told us four different marriages to show the readers that different people have different attitudes towards love. The leading characters of the novel are Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Jane Austen emphasized and appreciated their marriage. In her opinion, the money-oriented marriage and sex-oriented marriage are not successful although the people can live together. Through the discussion of the different marriages and love, Jane Austen also demonstrates her concept about love and marriage: love and marriage is closely associated with property and society, however, love and marriage can not only be decided by the property and social status. An ideal marriage should be based on mutual affection and respect, and she also stresses the element of emotions and feelings of both man and women in a

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Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice marriage.

2. Analyses of Several Types of Love

2.1 Love Based on Mutual Good Impression

One’s moral character and cultivation played a very important role in people’s life in the late 18th century and early 19th century. On the first ball which organized by Mr. Bingley in the Niger Park, Jane, the eldest daughter of the Bennett’s, and Bingley, both of them have good upbringing, have the good impression mutually when they meet at the first time. But Jane’s conservative personality makes her show nothing about her feelings, so she almost loses Bingley. Besides, Mrs. Bennett often gives comments on the marriage in public, especially the benefits of the marriage, which almost frightens Bingley away. Their marriage based on a favorite of mutual good impression. Fortunately, the lovers get married after experiencing frustration.

In the modern times, such a mutual good impression can be described as “love at the first sight”. Some people believe it but also some are not. Analyze and discriminate by the theory of Marxist philosophy, “love at the first sight” has the principle of dialectical relations between perceptual knowledge and rational knowledge. Before \at the first sight\two people must have the advanced feelings and perceptions and form a template image in his/her mind. As soon as he/she meets the one corresponds to such a template, then instantaneously from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge, through a series of the concept of identification, reasoning and judging, and instantly identify the person who should be cherished a lifetime later. Through practice, two people receive sensory and perceptions, which prove their theoretical understanding is correct and begin the journey of love.

Lots of people consider that “love at the first sight” is beautiful and romantic. However, we should judge a person mainly by his/her quality, ability and sincerity. Love is not the attraction for a short time. The two should get more information to know each other and understand each other. Thus they can get along well with each other.

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Enlightenment from Jane Austen’s Views of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice 2.2 Love Based on Blind Passion and Impulse

In Pride and Prejudice, Bennett’s third daughter Lydia and Wickham’s marriage can be regarded as the typical kind of love which based on blind passion and impulse. Originally, Wickham is well-treated by the family and the friends. However, he comes down in the world because of his misbehavior. He gets into debt. So, he wants to get money and become rich and change his social status through marriage, marriage is also a way to approach the talents, he is a man without any responsibility. He does nothing except assailing a woman with obscenities. In his opinion, love is only recreation. For his purpose, he entices Lydia and gets her love easily, for Lydia is young, innocent and vainglorious. She loves to go ease and hates to work hard, and she is spoilt by her mother. Getting love and praise of a boy is her dream. So when Wickham wants to reach his aim－getting wealth by love and exalts her beauty hypocritically, she forgets who she is and feels she is the most beautiful and happiest girl in the world. Their love does not get the permission from the parents, and then they elope. When Elizabeth hears the news, she believes that their love is false, Wickham would not marry Lydia, because she is no charming and has nothing to attract him, He does not love her but the wealth of her family. The marriage is admitted on the condition of Darcy's help. Their marriage is considered to be a scandal to both families. But Mrs. Bennet is not disgraceful to this marriage. When Collins gets the news, of course, he is very angry and reacts to the marriage to revenge his early failure of proposal to her. This marriage is one without love, but based on blind passion and impulse. They don’t know the real meaning of love and marriage, they only want to satisfy their aspiration. So we can say this is a kind of impromptu love and marriage without true love and responsibility. Such couple only seek having had the experience but not everlasting and unchanging. Of course, such kind of marriage is doomed to be a tragedy.

Bennett couple is another example for this kind of marriage. Mr. Bennett covets the beauty and gets married with a narrow-minded young and beautiful woman lacking intelligence. Not very long after the marriage, he puts an end to his love and affection, the mutual respect and trust between the couple has gone. The

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