Female Oppression in Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Jane Austen

The Theme of Female Oppression in vanity and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen. In nows society, women are faced with oppression in human worldsy different ways, whether they are denied a promotion at their job over a man of equal or lesser ability or qualification, or brought up to act a certain way as a female piece of society. A females fight against oppression, be it social or societal, is certainly a difficult one, and one that - depending on the woman and the society in which she lives- may fall out her done and throughout her entire life. Pride and Prejudice is a novel written by Jane Austen that follows a woman named Elizabeth Bennet through her trial to fight oppression in a time where certain behaviour and actions are expected of women. In this novel, the reader can view oppression through Elizabeths struggle to maintain a sense of self through her constant fight against societal oppression, the Bennet familys struggles with class segregation , as come up as the standards or roles set for the women in the time in which the novel is set. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Elizabeth through her struggle to maintain her personal identity, despite what her m otherwise, sisters, and other women in society think of her. Elizabeth enjoys physical activities, such as walking , which is comical for women in the society in which she lives. She has nothing, in short, to recommend her, but being an excellent walker. I shall never forget her appearance this morning. She really looked almost wild. (Austen, 24). The women often look upon Elizabeth negatively due to her behaviour and personality, especially for her outspokenness, which was especially uncommon and unacceptable upon women. Lizzy, cried... ... but the story of those around her through the novel, they can see the different ways that female oppression is illustrated to them. Oppression, specifically female oppression, shows up through Elizabeths fight against it, t he Bennet familys struggles to maintain status in a society in which people are segregated by class, as well as the roles and standards set forward by society for women to follow accordingly. In any case, oppression poses a decision to the person facing it to follow or not to follow? Whichever path a person chooses to follow can affect them for their entire life, either negatively or positively. In Pride and Prejudice, the reader gets to see oppression in many different ways, and is allowed to gain insight through the characters opinions and statements. Works Cited Austin, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Norwalk The Easton Press, 1997.