While reading Pride and Prejudice I have come to the conclusion that Mrs. Bennett may be one of the main causes that the views on marriage (in regards to women) took an incredibly long time to change. Marriage is viewed as nothing more than monetary contract. A chance to gain wealth that would otherwise be unattainable in the present circumstances. Not knowing any other possible way for her daughters to gain wealth in life, Mrs. Bennett would stop at nothing to ensure that her daughters were married off to some rich man. When Bingley showed up in the story it was difficult to determine exactly who was more in love with him, the daughters or Mrs. Bennett. I can imagine dozens of sidebar conversations going on between Mrs. Bennett and Bingley, with Mrs. Bennett going on and on about wonderful her daughters are and that Bingley should marry them. I feel like she stepped over the line at the point when she sent Jane over to Bingley's house, knowing that Jane would ultimately get stuck there and have to stay. And then refusing to send the carriage to pick her up.
Clearly Mrs. Bennett has no plans on changing the ways that women are treated or how marriage is looked at. Continuing to attempt to send off her daughters to other men. As annoying as I find Mrs. Bennett,how terrible the situation is for her daughters, I can still understand why she does the things she does. Mrs. Bennett is simply a product of her era. To her understanding sending her daughters off to marry wealthy men is the only way that her daughters can thrive and live in this world. Considering that they can not inherit property or business. So in a sense Mrs. Bennett's actions can be seen as acts of love and concern for her children. But unfortunetly continuing with this line of actions will never gain women any progress. It is probably for the best then that Mrs. Bennett's line of thoughts fall out of traditional thinking.
2 comments:
Philip, you make a good point about Mrs. Bennett being a product of her time, but I think it can be argued that there are matchmaking mamas still out in the world today. I mean, she may go to extremes to make sure her daughters gain their happiness and stability in life, but wouldn't you agree that this is a good thing? Some of her actions are a bit overboard, like you've stated, but it brings to mind the idea of success through whatever means necessary. I actually think Mrs. Bennett's actions are somewhat commendable. And like I said earlier, there are still parents out there today who go to great lengths and do whatever is necessary to ensure the best stuff for their children.
So I think you might be a little harsh on Mrs. Bennett. She had, in her viewpoint, the best of interests in her daughters' lives. I think it's too much to say that it is her fault that women were treated as nothing better than marriage property. The larger blame lies on men, I think.
Philip, I agree with your post and that picture is great! Austen's inclusion of Mrs. Bennet reveals her critique of women, not only men for the current state of the marriage system. I also liked when you argued that she is a product of her own era because this highlights that while some blame lies on the shoulders of women like Mrs. Bennet, the reader cannot help but feel sympathy for her because in the end she had her daughters best interest in mind even if she didn't care if they married for love.
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