Pride and Prejudice Ch. 1- 6

Quote: "Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love" (Austen 5).

In today's society, we don't see love as something that can be acquired by doing a certain deed. It naturally occurs, which makes love beautiful and very delicate. During this time period, everybody was to act in a certain manner. The meaning of love was used very loosely, especially when it came time for picking spouses. A woman's main goal was not to fall in love with a man, but to first woo him with her amazing looks in order to catch his attention. After this first goal was achieved, the man entangled in the woman's beauty would fall in love with her. Thus, "it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment" (19). This quote is an example of a social expectation for women. Women had to fill certain requirements before they engaged in courtly love. Marrying into a higher social status was a familial obligation, and in order for this to occur, love was a key requirement. Women simply used love to receive what was expected of them.

Quote: "His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never come there again" (7).

In this time period, character defined a person. It was what made a person respectable or repulsive. Judging somebody takes time and careful thought, instead of allowing one's pride and prejudice to interfere with their feelings. We only see the actions of man, not the moral process behind them. Mrs. Bennet and the other women of the neighboring households labeled Mr. Darcy as "a fine figure of a man" (6). They passed this judgment on their first impression of him. Their first impression of Mr. Darcy was eventually shot down when they discovered he was a man filled with pride and distasteful manners. Basing one's judgment on a first impression represented a major social critique. In reality, one must not be deceived by a first impression, but simply take it in with caution.