A vindication of Jane Austen: Mary Wollstonecraft's feminist ideology embodied in 'Pride and Prejudice'

Jane Austen's novels center on courtship and marriage. Despite her use of irony and satire, Austen's focus on marriage has caused many leading feminists to undervalue or ignore her contribution to feminism. In response to Austen's diminished status in feminist criticism, I argue that Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice embodies Mary Wollstonecraft's ideology as set forth in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and that aligning Austen to Wollstonecraft situates Austen as a proto-feminist. In particular, Pride and Prejudice exemplifies Wollstonecraft's critique of marriage---namely that woman is socialized merely to please and obey man and that such an education leads to inequitable unions---and her vision of marriage based on friendship. Pride and Prejudice's embodiment of Wollstonecraftian ideology is apparent in the juxtaposition of Lydia Bennet's marriage to George Wickham and Elizabeth Bennet's marriage to Fitzwilliam Darcy. Ultimately, framing Austen within the milieu of proto-feminism argues for a contemporary feminism with broader and more extensive boundaries.