On Reading Pride And Prejudice--An Interpretation Of A Polyphonic World

Jane Austen (1775-1817) ranks as a supreme mistress of comedy. Her gradual and steady reputation has proven her value as a great novelist. All her six novels are concerned with courtship and marriages, which portray the middle class life of four or five families. Pride and Prejudice is her most popular novel, welcomed heartily by English readers as well as Chinese people. Compared with the work of her predecessor's, the novel is much lighter, brighter, more sparkling, and competent. But concerning Jane Austen the person and her works, there are similarities and sharp different opinions in comments. How to conceive an overall Jane Austen and her real attitudes towards the society she lived in is the task of this thesis.The first part of the thesis, the introduction opens up the author's question: it is easy to understand the story of Pride and Prejudice, then why pleasing voices are heard but meanwhile virulent attack is posed? And a brief introduction about Austenian criticism is given.The second part is the core of this thesis, divided into three chapters.The tirst chapter explores the conflicts between/among the characters in the novel, focusing on the attitudes and choices of various pairs towards value, love, money, morality and other aspects. The interplay of personal characteristics and social influence decides their lot. The deep psychology of various figures in the novel is discussed. With bubbling voices of the characters and sometimes the faint voice of Jane Austen herself, the reader sometimes feels it difficult to decide what exact attitude he should take, and which characters and to what degree he is bound to agree or disagree with. Furthermore, the multiple aspects within the characters, and various situations of the characters add complexity to the reader's understanding.The second chapter analyzes the nature of humanity from three aspects. It begins by probing into the internal world of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. The contradictions and complexity of the protagonists' personalities testify Jane Austen's belief that human is a mixture of goodness and flaws; and next, in the light of culture, the author deplores the social characters of marriage. Marriage, indicating obligation and responsibility, is the precondition of family and relatives. And as the corner stone of a society, the final aim of courting as well, marriage can basicallyreflect many problems in various layers of the society. It is not just a matter of whom you love or whom you choose to be wife or husband, it is, in fact, the ruler to judge sense of value, moral, and many other aspects of the existing society. And of course, it is closely related with politics, system, economy, culture and other aspects of the existing society. Loveless marriage, based upon wealth, status, prestige, need and such, is a peculiar social phenomenon; and last, the author discusses the forces that sustain the order of the society on the analysis of the reconciliation of the world in Pride and Prejudice. The complexity of humanity and problems reflected in marriages provide reader with rich resources for further study.The third chapter concentrates on the dramatic quality of the novel. The thesis probes into the specific technique - Austenian style of using dialogues to create theatrical effects and the creation of caricatures and fools with irony. Comic scenes, big ones and small ones appear frequently in the novel. And it is not merely the antagonists and fools who amuse the reader, even the protagonists create theatrical effect. Their conflicts strike bright sparks on one hand, and on the other hand, many connotations lay hidden in their remarks. Austen is so skillful creating characters, creating caricatures and fools in particular, that the reader's attention is highly focused on the comic scenes and effects; therefore, the depth of the meaning slips unnoticeably. To ihe auihor of ihis thesis, the serious content of the work, in fact, controls the pleasant outside form.The last part is conclusion. By closing reading, analysis and comparison the...