Each of Jane Austen's heroines offers a unique perspective and reflection of what it meant to be a woman in her society. Elizabeth Bennet, frequently cited as Austen's most beloved heroine, and Emma Woodhouse, generally seen as the one she hated the most, have a similar narrative background in that they are both twenty years old, single at beginning of the story and are married. to rich men with beautiful and respectable estates by the conclusion of their respective novels. The independent and headstrong personalities of the two heroines mark a departure from the reserved and modest Dashwood sisters and the naive and immature Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey, giving Austen the freedom to question the traditional patriarchal authority of the domestic family unit and of society at large. Neither Elizabeth nor Emma adhered to the conventions set out in works such as James Fordyce's Sermons to Young Women (1765), read by Mr Collins, which insisted that any young woman hoping for a husband should sit quietly, repress one's mind and intelligence. - if she is unfortunate enough to have one or the other - and always obeys her parents and her superiors. Neither heroine conforms to such subservient positions, especially in light of the “defects of their closest relatives.” But perhaps that’s where their similarities end. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Elizabeth is very aware of her need to marry to secure her future. Her father, a man who willfully neglects his responsibility for his "stupid and ignorant" daughters, generally detaches himself from parental responsibility whenever possible. Thus, it serves as a warning to Austen about the high cost of neglecting her duty as a patriarch to educate her children morally and intellectually. This lack of authority is perhaps best illustrated in Lydia Bennet's invitation to Brighton, which Elizabeth perceives as "the death warrant of all possibility of sanity" for her sister and parents. However, Elizabeth's exhortation to Mr. Bennet to "take the trouble to check Lydia's exuberant spirit" is rejected, leading him to recognize how destructive his failure as a father is to his sisters and for herself. Therefore, for Elizabeth, marriage provides an escape from the corruption of her parents' home. Yet her first proposal comes from Mr. Collins, whom she rejects, even at the cost of failing to make Longbourne her long-term home. Remarkably, as Berglund argues, by ridiculing Mr. Collins as both the would-be provider and the dispossessed, the man who has the power both to provide shelter and to take one away, Austen makes him an embodiment of patriarchal power, further emphasized by the fact that it is ecclesiastical, thus also representing moral and spiritual authority. Furthermore, the fact that he is a “vain, pompous, narrow-minded and idiotic man” – in the words of Elizabeth Bennet – underlines the arbitrary nature of power. However, Elizabeth is saved from the fate of losing her home or marrying Mr. Collins by her marriage to Fitzwilliam Darcy, although Susan Fraiman suggests that Austen seems concerned to demonstrate that Elizabeth "pays a certain price for her freedom to manner” shown at the beginning. of the novel. Indeed, Fraiman argues that Elizabeth, although progressive in being blessed with an active mind and the capacity to make good judgments, declines into the normative, submissive feminine role of her literary predecessors upon her encounter with Mr. Darcy . Additionally, Alistair Duckworth argues that when it comes to educationof Elizabeth, Darcy's first letter encourages her to abandon her individualism "to the aid and control of authority." This argument resembles James Fordyce's view that accomplished women are “entirely contingent beings,” whose virtues include temperance, chastity, modesty, pity, and compassion; all mainly passive characteristics. On the other hand, however, Mr. Darcy embodies the gentlemanly qualities promoted by Austen; he is honorable and respected, but in addition, he is a prosperous landowner. Alistair Duckworth argues that, throughout Jane Austen's fiction, "estates function not only as sites of action but also as indices of the character and social responsibility of their owners." This motif of order and security – the management of the estate – is the most important metaphor in Austen's novels; the domain stands as an ordered physical structure and is a metonymy for other inherited structures – society as a whole, a code of morality, a set of manners, and a system of language. Therefore, the good aesthetic sense evident in Pemberley's landscape, "neither formal nor falsely ornamented", allows the reader and Elizabeth to infer the fundamental value of Darcy's social and ethical character, as well as the importance of the first Elizabeth's visit to Pemberley highlights the importance of the image of the house which appears in all of Austen's novels, primarily because it reflects the owner. Furthermore, Pride and Prejudice is perhaps Jane Austen's first novel to make extensive use of what Austen calls in Mansfield Park "the influence of place." According to Ann Banfield, "the influence of place" determines the development of individual characters, because the physical setting "interacts with consciousness and form." Thus, when Elizabeth visits Mr. Darcy's ancestral estate and interacts with the landscape, she realizes her feelings for him based on her observations of Pemberley, later stating to her sister Jane that "I believe I must date my love of my first sight of its magnificent gardens". at Pemberley'. As H. Elisabeth Ellington argues, Austen uses the landscape as a metaphor for Darcy, with references to Pemberley such as "great", "fair" and "handsome" being interchangeable between the house and its owner, and hence, the landscape of the novel. becomes a sign of desire. Thus, the stream that "swelled" may represent Darcy's pride and "natural importance", while the absence of "all artificial appearance" demonstrates his honest and sincere nature. Certainly, Elizabeth closely associates her rejection of Darcy with her sudden awareness of the concomitant loss of her chance to be mistress of a magnificent estate: “And of this place…I could have been mistress! ...I might have...welcomed...my uncle and my aunt as visitors. – But no, she remembers, that could never be the case: my uncle and my aunt would have been lost to me: I should not have been allowed to invite them. Austen frequently used landscape to present societal issues, and the love of Darcy and Elizabeth arguably challenges the societal expectations of the era in which she was writing. While Elizabeth declares to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy’s aunt, that Darcy “is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter; However, we are equal,” she is certainly aware of her social position. So when she visits Pemberley, her uncertainty about her aunt and uncle comes from the simple fact that her uncle, Mr. Gardiner, is a merchant, leading even Mr. Darcy to say that the Gardiners " must very significantly reduce the Bennet sisters' chances of marriage. men of all standing in the world.” Indeed, while bothmembers of polite society, the pompous Lady Catherine declares of an alliance between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy: "must the shadows of Pemberley be thus polluted?" ". The orderly house in Austen's novels was also a motif. of the moral value of its owner. Those who are not morally worthy are kicked out of their homes. Thus, Austen opens Persuasion with an unflattering description of "Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire"; “Vanity was the beginning and end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of the person and the situation. Because of his unworthiness as a gentleman, Austen assures that he becomes "distressed for money." He ignores the 'heavy bills from his traders' and his agent, Mr. Shepherd. The Kellynch property was good, but not up to the state apprehension Sir Walter demanded of its owner. While Lady Elliot lived, there had been method, moderation, and economy which had kept him within the limits of his income; but with it had died all this righteousness, and since that period he had constantly surpassed it... He had deigned to mortgage as much as he had the power, but he would never deign to sell. No; he would never disgrace his name until now. The Kellynch domain must be transmitted in full, as received. Unwilling to give up his heritage, but also unable to control and reform himself, Sir Walter is therefore morally undeserving to remain at Kellynch Hall and must "condescend" to rent to a naval family. Interestingly, Lady Elliot and Mrs. Woodhouse are both considered excellent...sensible and kind, while their husbands are weak and incompetent. Mr. Woodhouse's incompetence is demonstrated by letting his daughter manage her household alone. An invalid who rarely leaves Hartfield, LeRoy Smith argues that Mr. Woodhouse's demanding dependency is simply a form of male tyranny designed to demonstrate the prospect of women's inferior and unequal relationship with men. Mr. Knightley, meanwhile, manages both Emma and Donwell Abbey, with their "proper, proper, and characteristic situation", in a way that is praised by Austen. Like Sir Thomas's estate at Mansfield Park and Pemberley, Knightley House is a fitting expression of his firm sense of stewardship. Although Austen often pointed out the flaws in the treatment of women, she was realistic about the limitations of a woman's position and a necessary dependence on men. Even Emma, ​​who is, as Marilyn Butler suggests, unique among Austen's heroines in her domestic ascendancy, has difficulty managing her family. Indeed, she says: “You are the world's worst judge, Mr. Knightley, of the difficulties of addiction. You don't know what it means to have anger to deal with. » Referring to the careful management necessary to care for her father, a dependent valetarian, Marcia McClintock Folsom argues that in doing so, Emma must achieve early maturity by assuming the responsibility of running a household. Thus, Emma's accusation to Mr. Knightley, "who has always been his own master," that he does not understand her position, is based on experience beyond his years of managing those around him. On the other hand, as Gary Kelly argues, one's lack of self-knowledge and self-control, coupled with acquiring social power too early, inevitably leads to an abuse of that power. Because Emma is the true leader of the house of Hartfield and she is also the only one who is the natural female leader of her entire community. Butler argues that all other protagonists in Austen's novels are socially neglected or neglected; even Elizabeth, confident and energetic, sees herself,.