I read and loved PRIDE & PREJUDICE last year and it was a near perfect read if you forgave two things: firstly Darcy being a dickhead and not deserving of Elizabeth and secondly, Mrs Bennet not being heralded as the true hero of PRIDE & PREJUDICE. So! Here is why I think Darcy should've got pushed into into the nearest pond and stayed there and why Mrs Bennet is the true majestic hero of them all.
Mrs Bennet is considered a silly, vapid woman, nothing more than an irritating wife and interfering mother. Obsessed with nothing but marrying her daughters off to the richest men possible. When in fact she was really trying to make sure her daughters futures were better then what they would've been if they didn't get married. If Elizabeth and her sisters didn't marry, they would become spinsters and upon their fathers death, they would all - Mrs Bennet included - be at the mercy of their male cousin who would be Mr Bennet's heir. This man, who they had no idea how he'd treat them once their father was out of the picture, would be responsible for their livelihood and they would literally be at his mercy. So n Mrs Bennet's eyes, she sees that marrying her daughters would give them happiness, security, title, more social standing and money in society then they would've got otherwise but also STABILITY AND SECURITY which would not have been guaranteed at all if they remained unmarried.
Also take into consideration that Mrs Bennet had four daughters but no son. Considering the historical era and the importance of a) carrying on the male line and b) carrying male heirs often being seen as one of the requirements of women when it came to marriage, the fact Mrs Bennet had no sons, must've brought Mrs Bennett shame to some degree that she couldn't fulfill her societal expectations. That shame coupled with the worry of all the Bennet's wealth going to a distant male cousin that none of them know, is a diabolical mix. So although annoying, her scheming and her elaborate plans can't be faulted as silly or vapid. Ruthless ambition coupled with incredible determination, Mrs Bennet is a shrewd and fiercely clever businesswoman but also a loving mother who will do the upmost to protect and look out for her daughters in the best way she thinks she can/knows.
Let's take a moment to marvel at her brilliant plot for Jane to be caught in the rain and so has to seek shelter at Mr Bingley's house who will then be blinded by Jane's sweetness and beauty in such close quarters and thus fall more in love with Jane! And then Jane conveniently catching a chill and staying at his house while she recovers thus she spends even more time with him in close quarters...THIS IS THE CLEVEREST SCHEME OH MY GOD! Even the way Mrs Bennet sent the horses away so Jane HAD had no choice but to walk, THE CUNNING OF THAT WOMAN! I am in aware!
Is Mrs Bennet hungry for power? Of course! Mrs Bennet is the brightest Slytherin of her age. (I really want that on a t-shirt.) But to criticize her for it is sexist and weak. A man could fortune hunt back then and they did like it was a sport. It was actively encouraged if you had a title but you were poor or you had a lot of debt. And no one batted an eyelid at that. But for Mrs Bennet to try and better her daughters and herself in the process its considered a dirty thing to do. Not a means for independence. Not a means to survive.And I find that very interesting, don't you?
if you've read pride and prejudice, what do you think of mrs bennet??
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