1.4 Layout of the Paper 3

2. Mr. Bennet’s Lack of Sense of Family Responsibility and Its Effect on His Family 4

2.1 His Lack of Sense of Family Responsibility 4

2.1.1 His Imprudence in Managing His Legacy for His Family 4

2.1.2 His Partiality to Elizabeth and His Negligence of the Other Three Daughters 4

2.1.3 His Indifference to His wife 6

2.2 The Negative Effect of His Lack of Sense of Family Responsibility 8

2.2.1 Wife’s Anxiety 8

2.2.2 Daughters’ Weaknesses in Personalities 8

3. Weaknesses in Mr. Bennet’s Personality and His Sense of Alienation 10

3.1 Mr. Bennet as an Escapist from Reality 10

3.1.1 Escaping from Reality as Shown in his Mentality 11

3.1.2 Escaping from Reality as Shown in his Behavior 12

3.2 Mr. Bennet as a Cynic 12

3.2.1 Sarcasm in Language 12

3.2.2 Rejection to Society 13

3.3 Lack of being Esteemed 14

4. Conclusion 16

References 17

1. Introduction

1.1 Brief Introduction of Jane Austin and Pride and Prejudice

It is known to us all that Jane Austen is one of the most distinguished writers in early nineteenth century and she is one of the most popular and beloved writers in English literature. With her six well-known novels Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion, Austen has become one of the best-known and most widely read novelists in the English language. There are generally two perspectives shared among the critics about Jane Austen, namely, Jane Austen as a political writer and Jane Austen as a feminist writer. In Jane Austen and the War of Ideas (1987), Marilyn Butler argues that Austen was steeped in, not insulated from, the principal moral and political controversies of her time, and espoused a partisan, fundamentally conservative and Christian position in these controversies. As Rajeswari Rajan notes in her essay on recent Austen scholarship, "the idea of a political Austen is no longer seriously challenged."(2005: 101–10) We may see that Jane Austen is established as a political Austen. As mentioned, Austen is also a crucial feminist writer as observed in The Madwoman in the Attic, which principally positions Austen as a feminist writer. (Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar 1979) Besides, Kirkham also deals with the similarities between Austen's thought and that of Mary Wollstonecraft, labeling them both as “Enlightenment feminists”. (2005: 68–79)

As for her enchanting novels, there has been much exploration and appreciation from various perspectives. Southam states, “We see the novels praised for their elegance of form and their surface 'finish'; for the realism of their fictional world, the variety and vitality of their characters; for their pervasive humour; and for their gentle and undogmatic morality and its unsermonising delivery. The novels are prized for their 'perfection'. Yet it is seen to be a narrow perfection, achieved within the bounds of domestic comedy.”(1987: 13-14) Pride and prejudice is one of Austen’s most popular novels, which without any doubts possesses and far beyond above mentioned qualities. And as for themes, it dealt with marriage, love, class, education, inpidualism.