AOS Belonging Essay - Emily Dickinson
In what ways does a comparative study accentuate the distinctive contexts of Pride and Prejudice and Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen?
A comparative study of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Letters to Alice by Fay Weldon accentuates their distinctive contexts through Weldon’s didactic assertions spoken through the fictional character Aunty Fay, encouraging a heightened understanding of the contemporary values and issues of Austen’s cultural context. In doing so, it inspires a reader to develop a more holistic appreciation for the plight of the characters in Austen’s novel, whilst simultaneously rationalising young Alice’s difficulty over grasping Austen’s contextual issues in LTA. Comparing the issues of the role of women and social class in both texts explores the underlying reasons behind the values that define each issue to their own respective time; ultimately creating accentuated distinctions between the contexts of both texts.
The fundamental importance and value assigned to marriage in the context of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is explained through Weldon’s discussion of the options for women outside marriage and its purpose of providing financial security for women, revealing how the values of marriage have been shaped and reshaped into what they are in the modern cultural context. We see Austen’s attempt to reshape marriage conventions in Pride & Prejudice through Elizabeth who defies expectations and turns down Mr. Collins’ proposal despite the risk of not getting married and living without a source of income, stating “My feelings in every respect forbid it.” Weldon mentions about Austen that, “She believed it was better not to marry at all, than to marry without love.” In Pride and Prejudice, Austen constructs Charlotte Lucas as a character who does not think “highly of either men or matrimony”, and hence she marries Mr Collins despite not loving him, to ensure her financial security and elevate her position within society. In
A comparative study of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Letters to Alice by Fay Weldon accentuates their distinctive contexts through Weldon’s didactic assertions spoken through the fictional character Aunty Fay, encouraging a heightened understanding of the contemporary values and issues of Austen’s cultural context. In doing so, it inspires a reader to develop a more holistic appreciation for the plight of the characters in Austen’s novel, whilst simultaneously rationalising young Alice’s difficulty over grasping Austen’s contextual issues in LTA. Comparing the issues of the role of women and social class in both texts explores the underlying reasons behind the values that define each issue to their own respective time; ultimately creating accentuated distinctions between the contexts of both texts.
The fundamental importance and value assigned to marriage in the context of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is explained through Weldon’s discussion of the options for women outside marriage and its purpose of providing financial security for women, revealing how the values of marriage have been shaped and reshaped into what they are in the modern cultural context. We see Austen’s attempt to reshape marriage conventions in Pride & Prejudice through Elizabeth who defies expectations and turns down Mr. Collins’ proposal despite the risk of not getting married and living without a source of income, stating “My feelings in every respect forbid it.” Weldon mentions about Austen that, “She believed it was better not to marry at all, than to marry without love.” In Pride and Prejudice, Austen constructs Charlotte Lucas as a character who does not think “highly of either men or matrimony”, and hence she marries Mr Collins despite not loving him, to ensure her financial security and elevate her position within society. In