Pride, Prejudice, and the American Sentimental Tradition

 

The movie "Pride & Prejudice" reminded me of the narratives of romance and the economic motivations for them that we've seen in the books read this term. Because the Bennets are a family of daughters with an aging patriarch, they are about to lose their livelihood and home unless they find another source of income via marriage. Mrs. Bennet is characterized as somewhat neurotic at times in the film, but she is going a little crazy for a reason because she is the only one concerned about the futures of her daughters. Mr. Bennet is hardly seen throughout the film and seems to have little interest in the affairs of his daughters except when Mrs. Bennet drags him into an argument she has with Lizzie after she reject Mr. Collins' proposal. He is the one with the most influence among society and therefore in arranging good matches for his daughters, and yet he is idle. Mrs. Bennet doesn't have the luxury of worrying about love matches for her daughters, but rather a stable future where love could potentially blossom anyways; love is secondary to security because women have no standing in society until they are married.

In terms of the American Sentimental Tradition, perhaps Lizzie's desire is her wish to remain unmarried. At the beginning of the film, she is firmly uninterested in married or its institution and remains unmarried, even rejecting Mr. Darcy's proposal, until the very end of the film; following the Sentimentalist trope of resolving the dilemma in marriage. Catharine Beecher writes in her "A Treatise on Domestic Economy," which was written in the same Colonial-Romanticism transition period as Pride and Prejudice takes place, that "no woman is forced to obey any husband but the one she chooses for herself; nor is she obliged to take a husband, if she prefers to remain single." In the same argument though, she essentially explains how women only have power and influence through their husbands and children. The consolation for not having any sort of meaningful life unless you are married is that you can influence your children, and if you're lucky, sway your husband's vote! This was written during a time when women were starting to question this system of inequality, specifically financially and politically, and where people were trying to cling to patriarchal tradition. Perhaps part of this compulsion for women to defend this system was in fear of losing what little leverage they had. Getting back to the Pride & Prejudice of it all, Lizzie was being "seduced" by this idealism that could not yet be a reality. While there is a "choice" to be married, that choice is an illusion. It seems like she starts to realize this when her friend marries Mr. Collins, and her choice to reject his proposal stares her back in the face; she won't have her own life is she remains unmarried. The intense chemistry and romance hides what is actually at stake with their dalliance as well, since one wrong interaction could ruin Lizzie's reputation, just as Mr. Wickham almost ruins Kitty's. Furthermore, Lizzie faces a moral dilemma, another common aspect of the Sentimentalist Tradition, within herself as she falls in love with Mr. Darcy as she believes his character to be nefarious in relation to Mr. Wickham and her sister. Of course, this is resolved too as it must be in the Sentimental Tradition. So what is the overy use of emotional appeal asking for in this movie? I think this movie (I have not read the book eeek but I assume the book also) asks the audience to contemplate the privilege Lizzie has in marrying Mr. Darcy with the societal conditions which essentially forces her to marry him in the first place. Would she still have married him if she had the options women do today? 

 

Works Cited

Beecher, Catharine. "A Treatise on Domestic Economy For the Use of Young Ladies at Home 

    and at School." 1847.