Social Norms and Values in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
David Davidson
Professor Jane Doe
English 326
29 January 2014
Social Norms and Values in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen makes brilliant use of her characters and their situations to paint an image of society in the early 19th century. At the same time, the norms and values which she presents bear some remarkable similarities to today’s world. Social norms are defined by Kendall, Murray, and Linden in Sociology in Our Times as “established rules of behavior or standards of conduct” (664), while a social value is defined as “a collective idea about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture” (668). These terms can be used fairly interchangeably; they both mean basically the same thing, with norms being the actual behaviors that are dictated by values. Such norms and values are shown in a multitude of ways throughout Pride and Prejudice. There are norms associated with most every aspect of society, including the norms for class, money, gender, and marriage most commonly explored in Austen’s novels. Austen shows society’s values both through satire and through presenting what she considers to be the better alternative. The society of Austen’s time no doubt differs from today in many ways; however, when the actual values of society are closely examined, it becomes apparent that there are some fundamental similarities.
Money and class had a very strong influence on what was deemed ‘proper’ during the 19th century. The higher one’s class and economic level, the more highly respected one would be in society. Darcy, with his £10 000 a year and landed gentry background, is the social superior of the Bennets, who make only £2000 a year and have connections to relations in the lower class. This social superiority is part of why Darcy initially considers Elizabeth to be an unsuitable match for him. In his first proposal to her, he asks her “Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority
Professor Jane Doe
English 326
29 January 2014
Social Norms and Values in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen makes brilliant use of her characters and their situations to paint an image of society in the early 19th century. At the same time, the norms and values which she presents bear some remarkable similarities to today’s world. Social norms are defined by Kendall, Murray, and Linden in Sociology in Our Times as “established rules of behavior or standards of conduct” (664), while a social value is defined as “a collective idea about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture” (668). These terms can be used fairly interchangeably; they both mean basically the same thing, with norms being the actual behaviors that are dictated by values. Such norms and values are shown in a multitude of ways throughout Pride and Prejudice. There are norms associated with most every aspect of society, including the norms for class, money, gender, and marriage most commonly explored in Austen’s novels. Austen shows society’s values both through satire and through presenting what she considers to be the better alternative. The society of Austen’s time no doubt differs from today in many ways; however, when the actual values of society are closely examined, it becomes apparent that there are some fundamental similarities.
Money and class had a very strong influence on what was deemed ‘proper’ during the 19th century. The higher one’s class and economic level, the more highly respected one would be in society. Darcy, with his £10 000 a year and landed gentry background, is the social superior of the Bennets, who make only £2000 a year and have connections to relations in the lower class. This social superiority is part of why Darcy initially considers Elizabeth to be an unsuitable match for him. In his first proposal to her, he asks her “Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority
Cited: Austen, Jane, Claudia L. Johnson, Susan J. Wolfson. Pride and Prejudice, A Longman Cultural Edition. New York: Longman, 2003. Kendall, Diane, Jane Lothian Murray, Rick Linden. Sociology in Our Times. Scarborough, Ontario: Thomson Canada Limited, 2004. Le Faye, Diedre. Jane Austin: The World of Her Novels. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002. Litz, A. Walton. "Into the Nineteenth Century: Pride and Prejudice." Interpretations of Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Rubinstein. E. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969. 59-69. Thompson, James. Between Self and World: The Novels of Jane Austen. University Park and London: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1988.