Comparing Societys Influence in Pride and Prejudice and The Edible Wom

Society's Influence in Pride and Prejudice and The Edible Woman      Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout history, society has played an important role in forming the value and attitudes of the population.   Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman are two novels which exemplify the negative effects of society's influence. Both Elizabeth Bennet and Marian McAlpin are strong women who rebel against society's influences in their lives.   They refuse to accept the pre-set roles and identities handed to them.   Both women realize that the individual's needs are not necessarily the same as what society imposes on them; they rebel against this very society in order to gain the independence necessary to discover what they want from life.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Society in the early 19th century world of Pride and Prejudice is represented through Mrs. Bennet and those like her, who are "of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper" (Austen 53).   From the beginning of the novel, society prominently displays its views on marriage.   When Mr. Bingly moves to town, Mrs. Bennet immediately entreats her husband to go introduce himself.   Mrs. Bennet describes Bingly as "a single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year.   What a fine thing for our girls!" (51).   Bingly is immediately acceptable due to his money and connections, and Mrs. Bennet is already dreaming that one of her children will marry him. In fact, "the business of her life was to get her daughters married" (53).  Ã‚   One of Elizabeth's close friends, Charlotte Lucas, feels "happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance" (69). She feels that marriage is a... ...o a role which proves to be very destructive.   She, too, takes the control of her life away from society and puts it back where it belongs, in her own hands.   Thus rebellion is necessary in both situations in order to fulfill the needs of the characters and restore them to their previously healthy, happy lives.       Works Cited    Atwood, Margaret. The Edible Woman. Toronto : McClelland-Bantam Inc, 1969.    Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Toronto : Penguin Books, 1972.    Harding, D. W. Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. Toronto: The MacMillan Press Ltd, 1976.    Keith, W. J. Introducing Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman. Toronto : ECW Press, 1989.    Litz, Walton A. Jane Austen a Study of her Artistic Development.   New York : Oxford University   Press, 1965 Comparing Society's Influence in Pride and Prejudice and The Edible Wom Society's Influence in Pride and Prejudice and The Edible Woman      Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout history, society has played an important role in forming the value and attitudes of the population.   Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman are two novels which exemplify the negative effects of society's influence. Both Elizabeth Bennet and Marian McAlpin are strong women who rebel against society's influences in their lives.   They refuse to accept the pre-set roles and identities handed to them.   Both women realize that the individual's needs are not necessarily the same as what society imposes on them; they rebel against this very society in order to gain the independence necessary to discover what they want from life.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Society in the early 19th century world of Pride and Prejudice is represented through Mrs. Bennet and those like her, who are "of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper" (Austen 53).   From the beginning of the novel, society prominently displays its views on marriage.   When Mr. Bingly moves to town, Mrs. Bennet immediately entreats her husband to go introduce himself.   Mrs. Bennet describes Bingly as "a single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year.   What a fine thing for our girls!" (51).   Bingly is immediately acceptable due to his money and connections, and Mrs. Bennet is already dreaming that one of her children will marry him. In fact, "the business of her life was to get her daughters married" (53).  Ã‚   One of Elizabeth's close friends, Charlotte Lucas, feels "happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance" (69). She feels that marriage is a... ...o a role which proves to be very destructive.   She, too, takes the control of her life away from society and puts it back where it belongs, in her own hands.   Thus rebellion is necessary in both situations in order to fulfill the needs of the characters and restore them to their previously healthy, happy lives.       Works Cited    Atwood, Margaret. The Edible Woman. Toronto : McClelland-Bantam Inc, 1969.    Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Toronto : Penguin Books, 1972.    Harding, D. W. Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. Toronto: The MacMillan Press Ltd, 1976.    Keith, W. J. Introducing Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman. Toronto : ECW Press, 1989.    Litz, Walton A. Jane Austen a Study of her Artistic Development.   New York : Oxford University   Press, 1965