Attitudes of Romanticism and Enlightenment in Pride and Prejudice

张文凯

Abstract：This research focuses on analyzing attitudes of Romanticism and Enlightenment in Pride and Prejudice through studying the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy and the marriage between Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas. Current research seems to have paid little attention on the contrast between attitudes Romanticism and Enlightenment in Pride and Prejudice. Therefore， this study is valuable in narrowing down the scope of research to the contrast between them. The research approach applied in this dissertation is documentary research method. This paper analyzes attitudes of Romanticism and Enlightenment from two aspects： one is the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy； the other is the marriage between Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas. The findings from this research provide evidence that attitudes of valuing individualism and feeling over reason are indicated in Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy clearly； besides， the attitudes of valuing reason and self-control are revealed in Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas successfully. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy think more highly of spiritual love in human relationship but Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas focus more on money and materials in marriage. This dissertation recommends that readers should develop their awareness of thinking about characters relationships critically in literature works； in addition， this study can be very useful if future researchers want to analyze Romanticism and Enlightenment in Jane Austens other works.

Key words：Romanticism；Enlightenment；Pride and Prejudice；Jane Austen

1. Introduction

Jane Austen has been praised for “a most perfect mastery of her weapons， a most faultless and precise adjustment of means to ends” （Anderson 367）. Among all the Jane Austens novels， Pride and Prejudice owns a significant place， which achieves an ideal relation between the individual and society （Morgan 54）. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature， selling over twenty million copies， and receives considerable attention from literary scholars. Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes.

Various scholars have studied Pride and Prejudice from different aspects， such as the article “Setting and Character in Pride and Prejudice” by McCann Charles， “Intelligence in Pride and Prejudice” by Morgan Susan， and “Pride and Prejudice： Power， Fantasy， and Subversion in Jane Austen” by Newton Judith. However， little attention so far has been paid on the contrast between attitudes Romanticism and Enlightenment through analyzing different characters in Pride and Prejudice.

This study aims to explore the attitudes of Romanticism and Enlightenment in Pride and Prejudice through studying the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy and the marriage between Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas. Through this study， the following questions will be answered： how are the attitudes of valuing individualism and feeling over reason showed in Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy？ How are the attitudes of valuing reason and self-control indicated in Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas？

This study can be valuable in filling the gap of analyzing contrast between attitudes Romanticism and Enlightenment in Pride and Prejudice. In addition， it will help readers to have a deeper understanding of Jane Austens works.

2. Discussion

In Pride and Prejudice， each one is “a recognizable emblem for a complex of social， economic， and intellectual realities” （McCann 65）. Through introducing a familiar distinction between the economic restrictions of middle class women and the economic privilege of middle class men by Jane Austen， the attitudes of Romanticism or Enlightenment are vividly manifested in characters.

How are the attitudes of valuing individualism and feeling over reason showed in Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy？ Mr. Darcy is one of the symbols of Romanticism figure. For much of the story Mr. Darcy cares for Elizabeth in spite of himself （Morgan 56）. Unquestionably， Mr. Darcy is an outstanding member of society， a landowner with power. He has a strong sense of pride； however， his love to Elizabeth becomes gradually obvious in the novel. In chapter VI， there is a paragraph illustrating Darcys feeling towards Elizabeth：

Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty； he had looked at her without admiration at the ball； and when they next met， he looked at her only to criticize. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face， than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes… he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing； and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world， he was caught by their playfulness. （Austen 15）

This paragraph shows that there is a soft and tender heart behind Darcys serious facial expression. Even though he is from high social class， he can also find beauty of others and appreciate them. In chapter XXXV， Darcy picks up the courage and proposed to Elizabeth bravely “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” （Austen 136）. However， his proposal is rejected by Elizabeth because Elizabeth hates his arrogance and pride. After he knows the reasons， he begins to rethink himself and change his behaviors. Afterwards， “Elizabeth saw an expression of general complaisance， and in all that he said she heard an accent so far removed from hauteur or distain of his companions” （Austen 180）， which shows that Mr. Darcy is not an extremely stubborn and strict man； instead， he is flexible and willing to change himself in face of true love. That is the manifestation of Romanticism attitudes. Furthermore， in chapter LVIII， Darcy confessed his love to Elizabeth again：

Such I was， from eight to eight and twenty； and such I might still have been but for you， dearest， loveliest Elizabeth！ … You taught me a lesson， hard indeed at first， but most advantageous. By you， I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You shewed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased. （Austen 255）

Those words show the romantic spirit of Mr. Darcy. Even though the woman he loves is not from high social class and his aunt， Lady Catherine， tries to ban the love between him and Elizabeth， Mr. Darcy sticks to follow his own heart and pursues Elizabeth bravely. In other words， he is rebellious and his feeling is over reason. In the light of those analyses， it can be seen that attitudes of Romanticism are indicated through the character of Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth Bennet also exemplifies the values of the Romantic era， which can be seen from her changing attitudes towards Mr. Darcy. Elizabeths attitudes towards Mr. Darcy have changed from dislike to hatred to gratitude and finally to love. At the beginning， Darcy， in Elizabeths eyes， was “only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere， and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with” （Austen 17）. When she knows that it is Darcys pride and caprice that separated Jane and Binley and ruined Janes happiness， her agitation and hatred for Darcy brings her a headache. Later on， when Darcy proposes to her， Elizabeth expresses her dissatisfaction and contempt to Darcy directly：

“From the very beginning， from the first moment， I may almost say， of my acquaintance with you， your manners， impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance， your conceit， and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others， were such as to form that groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike； and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.” （Austen 149）

Elizabeths rejection to Darcys proposal shows that her feeling is absolutely over reason. She is completely heart-broken and furious because of the suffering Darcy has caused on Jane. However， after she read Mrs. Gardiners letter， she has realized that in fact Mr. Darcy has done many things for her family， including marriage of Jane and Lydia. She feels “hurt and distressed to a most painful degree by a distinction so ill-applied” （Austen 230）. This kind of feeling conveys the message that Elizabeth is very grateful for what Darcy has done. Her attitude towards Darcy has changed from hatred and misunderstanding to sincere gratitude. Furthermore， Elizabeths love for Mr. Darcy is shown on her attitudes towards Lady Catherine. When Lady Catherine comes to Bennets family and warns Elizabeth to keep away from Mr. Darcy， Elizabeth becomes very angry and replies sharply that：

“If Mr. Darcy is neither by honor nor inclination confined to his cousin， why is not he to make another choice？ And if I am that choice， why may I not accept him？ How far your nephew might approve of your interference in his affairs I cannot tell； but you have certainly no right to concern yourself in mine. I must beg， therefore， to be importuned no farther on the subject.” （Austen 245-246）

This reply shows the individualism of Elizabeth. She does not like to be forced by other people. Even though Lady Catherine is from high social status， Elizabeth has the courage to argue strongly with her and shows true feeling in heart. In addition， those words imply Elizabeths love for Mr. Darcy. For example， the sentence “If I am that choice， why may I not accept him” means that she is indeed willing to accept Mr. Darcys love and proposal. In chapter LVIII， Elizabeth behaves very modestly and delivers her regret about her past misunderstanding to Darcy： “Mr. Darcy， I am a very selfish creature； and for the sake of giving relief to my own feelings， care not how much I may be wounding yours. I can no longer help thanking you for your unexampled kindness to my poor sister” （Austen 252）. Her apology conveys her shyness to Mr. Darcy and also shows that Elizabeth is very sincere and humble in front of true love. Therefore， it is can be concluded that Elizabeth Bennet symbolizes the values of the Romantic era.

How are the attitudes of valuing reason and self-control indicated in Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas？ Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas treat marriage as a pragmatic transaction rather than as a romantic attachment. There is no true love between them. Mr. Collins takes a two-week business trip to procure himself a wife because Lady Catherine thought it the proper thing to be done （Anderson 372）. He falls in love with Jane at the first sight of her， but he quickly turns from Jane to propose to Elizabeth when he knows that Jane is going to be engaged with Binley. He explains his reasons for marriage to Elizabeth：

“My reasons for marrying are， first， that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances （like myself） to set the example of matrimony in his parish. Secondly， that I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness； and thirdly -- which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier， that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honor of calling patroness. Choose a gentlewoman for my sake； and for your own， let her be an active， useful sort of person， not brought up high， but able to make a small income go a good way. This is my advice. Find such a woman as soon as you can， and I will visit her.” （Austen 74）