How Does Jane Austen Present The Hypocrisy In Pride And Prejudice
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Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is perhaps one of the greatest love stories ever told. Elizabeth
Bennett and Mr. Darcy overcome their own internal obstacles, such as pride, in order to be together.
However, it is the external factor of social class that almost keeps them apart; Jane Austen represents
the higher class in an unbecoming manner in order to show their hypocrisy and snobbery.
The first time the reader meets Mr. Darcy, he is shown to be the epitome of a pretentious
bachelor. Jane Austen does not give the reader an opportunity to judge Darcy; instead, she simply tells
them “his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be
proud; to be above his company, and above being…show more content… When Lady Catherine asks about the Bennett’s governess,
Elizabeth replies she never had a governess and Lady Catherine replies “No governess! How was that
possible? Five daughters brought up at home without a governess!-I never heard of such thing. Your
mother must been quite a slave to your education". Although Lady Catherine is the patron of Mr.
Collins, she has no sympathy for the people he is supposed to be helping. Lady Catherine’s rudeness
reaches its peak when she confronts Elizabeth on her engagement with Darcy. Lady Catherine is upset
because she and the late Mrs. Darcy had planned the marriage of Darcy and Lady Catherine’s daughter
since they were children. With the engagement of Darcy and Elizabeth, Lady Catherine says that “their
marriage,[is] to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world, and
wholly unallied to the family?" Lady Catherine is in no way subtle when she tells Elizabeth she is inferior
to Darcy and has no right to marry him. Lady Catherine is condescending, elitist, self-centered, and yet
people respect her just because of her social class and wealth.
Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen brings forth the flaws of the high class.