Commentary Practice - Pride and Prejudice PDF

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Summary

Practice for the English HL Commentary exam...

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Passage 3 Introduction - Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen written in 1813 that tackles many themes, including marriage as a form of financial gain, propriety and reputation, and love - The chosen passage occurs when Elizabeth is visiting Jane, who has fallen ill, at Netherfield and while she is with Jane after dinner, Mr and Mrs Hurst along with Miss Bingley are gossiping about Elizabeth in front of Mr. Darcy. - The passage is significant in the novel as it is one of the first times get a hint of how Mr. Darcy truly feels about Elizabeth Bennet as he chooses to stand up for her when asked on his opinion of her - In the chosen passage, Austen discusses themes and ideas of propriety and the way a woman should act, the role of independent women in society, and the role of gossip - It is also a scene in the novel with a significant degree of character development as we begin to see that other girls are threatened by Elizabeth’s independence and courage as well as the way Darcy respects her for being different - Additionally, Austen begins her narrative on the way in which women act and shows readers the benefits of behaving more like Elizabeth as a woman through making readers feel repelled by Miss Bingley’s character - Due to her negative attitude towards Elizabeth, who the narrator has already made to look positive in the eyes of the reader, readers begin to distrust Caroline Bingley more and more and thus understand why women should focus on being independent and strong - Therefore this passage is used by Austen to develop her narrative on the role of women in society and how they should behave, as well as introducing some key relationship statuses that are essential to understand throughout the novel. Body 1: - Jane Austen uses the gossiping about Elizabeth in this passage to touch on the key theme of the importance of strong, independent women in society - Through the narrator’s use of a negative tone when describing Miss Bingley, her opinions are immediately discredited and ignored - Her mean comments towards Elizabeth serve only to make her appear snobby and unlikeable as opposed to what Caroline Bingley intends them to do, which is make those around her dislike Elizabeth - The narrator introduces her gossiping through saying, “Miss Bingley began abusing her as soon as she was out of the room” - Through the use of the word “abuse” which holds many aggressive and negative connotations it serves to discredit Miss Bingley’s opinion of Elizabeth - Furthermore, through use of the symbol of walking it makes Elizabeth appear strong and determined, contrasting the behavior of many of the other female characters in the novel - Mr. Darcy praising her for this action encourages the narrative Austen attempts to create surrounding the role of women in society and the idea of breaking the traditional mold a woman had to fit - When Caroline tells Mr Darcy that he must now be less fond of her he replies with, “Not at all, they were brightened by the exercise” - Austen uses Darcy’s praise to highlight the fact that men do not always search for

women who fit society’s mold of a perfect woman, but also those who are daring enough to step out of the mold -...