Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Bachelor of Arts in English
Advisor
Deborah Robinson, Ph.D.
Abstract
Jane Austen’s writing is more subversive than most people realize. It contains very specific social criticism on Regency society, including a realistic look at the failings of the aristocracy, a clear satire on patriarchal supremacy, and the difficulties that women faced when attempting to break gender codes in order to establish their own individuality. Pride and Prejudice establishes a happy resolution by conjoining the middle and upper classes via Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage. This essay argues that this marriage, a union between conflicts, constitutes what could be considered Austen’s utopia.
[Full title page and Abstract added in 2023 by Professor Case during the English Lit thesis digitization project.]
Recommended Citation
Saylor, Marsha S., "Austen's Commentary on the Patriarchal Society of Pride and Prejudice as Perceived Through her Character of Elizabeth Bennet" (1991). English Theses. 232.
https://docs.rwu.edu/english_theses/232
