Heart of Darkness: Journey to Subconsciousness

The novel “Heart of Darkness” clearly shows the influence of psychology and psychiatry which were emerging as developed sciences in Conrad’s time. “Heart of Darkness” gives us vivid descriptions of Marlow’s outward experiences in the Congo and of the thoughts and ideas which crossed the mind during his stay in Congo. 

Marlow appears not only as a man of action but also as a thinker who reflects upon everything that he observes. He is a meditative man who always keeps examining his own thoughts arising in his mind. Thus the book is to be treated as Marlow’s exploration of his conscious and sub-conscious mind. The phrase “Heart of Darkness” means the interior of the Congo and also the inmost depths of the human mind.

The novel gives us the internals and the externals. The externals are the scenes, incidents and the persons with whom Marlow meets while the internals are Marlow own thoughts which rise in his sub-conscious. In the beginning, Marlow is described sitting in the pose of a Buddha. He tells that the city of Brussels made him think of a “whited sepulchre”. When speaking about his encounter with the two knitting-women, he also describes his mental reaction to them:

“Hail, old knitter of black wool. Those who are about to die salute you!”

After seeing the knitting-women and after meeting his aunt, Marlow feels as if, instead of going to the centre of a continent, he is starting for the centre of the earth. He describes his reactions to the doctor who examines him that during his travels through the Congo he really became a subject for a psychiatrist.

'The old doctor felt my pulse, evidently thinking of something else the while. "Good, good for there," 

he mumbled, and then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head.

Being a passenger on a steamer, Marlow had no duties to perform and he felt his isolation among the members of the crew. Then on seeing a warship firing into the forest aimlessly, he finds the action of the warship unintelligible and feels a touch of insanity in it. Later, he sees half a dozen black men linked together with a chain. This sight produces a deep effect on Marlow, giving rise to awful thoughts in his mind.

I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, 

and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.

Marlow’s encounter with the manager of the Central Station and the brick-maker also gives rise to many thoughts in his mind. The manager seems to be a man with nothing inside him, while the brick-maker appears to be cunning. He makes no bricks but acts as a spy for the manager. He further says that no man can convey to others a dream-sensation or the life-sensation of his existence. Marlow then adds:

“We live, as we dream – alone.”

Marlow continues to meditate upon whatever he sees and overhears. At the very outset he says that, in performing the daily duties, a man comes to know the surface reality of life. In command of a steamer on river Congo, Marlow feels like a blind-folded man driving a motor-van over a bad road. Then Marlow describes his reactions to the scenery which he witnesses. He says:

“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.”

Marlow discovers a book on the subject of seamanship in the deserted hut. Such a book being found in that hut was something wonderful, says Marlow; but still more surprising were the notes written in pencil in the margin. The notes seemed to be in cipher. Later, Marlow learns that the notes were written not in cipher but in the Russian language. Here Marlow also observes that no man in this world is safe from trouble at any stage in his life.

Marlow’s reflections upon his cannibal crew are also noteworthy. Marlow feels amazed to find that, in spite of their gnawing hunger, they did not kill the white men on board. Marlow looks at these cannibals with great curiosity. He asks whether it was superstition, patience, fear, or some kind of primitive honour, which prevented those cannibals from attacking the white men. Marlow says:

“It takes a man all his inborn strength to fight hunger properly.”

Then Marlow gives reflections upon the helmsman killed by a native. The gloomy and scary expression in the dead helmsman’s eyes haunts Marlow. He says that the helmsman had been lacking self-restraint. There are also Marlow’s reflections upon Mr. Kurtz. He has been told that Mr. Kurtz had collected, more ivory than all the other agents taken together. Mr. Kurtz was gifted with eloquence. 

Marlow also gives his own intriguing reactions in telling the facts about Mr. Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz has now become an embodiment of evil. To Marlow it seems that Mr. Kurtz has taken a high seat among the devils of the land. Mr. Kurtz's repute has begun to cast upon Marlow’s mind. Marlow later became a devoted friend of Mr. Kurtz and begins to admire him despite his demonic character. Mr. Kurtz was “the nightmare of his choice”. When Mr. Kurtz has slipped away from the ship into the forest, Marlow shows his loyalty by bringing him back. When Mr. Kurtz fiancée asks him what Mr. Kurtz's last words before death had been, Marlow tells her a lie and says:

"The last word he pronounced was – your name."

As Mr. Kurtz had done no favour to Marlow, this loyalty can only be taken as Marlow’s own response to the primitivism and barbarism. If Marlow had stayed for some time longer in the Congo, he too would have followed the same path which Mr. Kurtz had begun to tread. It is here that we really find Marlow’s subconscious mind working. Marlow has been able to convey to us indirectly and subtly the influence of Mr. Kurtz’s primitivism upon himself. In the last one-third of the novel Marlow tires to lay bare his sub-conscious mind.

Pride and Prejudice: Irony

Irony is the very soul of Jane Austen’s novels and “Pride and Prejudice” is steeped in irony of theme, situation, character and narration. Irony is the contrast between appearance and reality.

As one examines “Pride and Prejudice”, one is struck with the fact of the ironic significance that pride leads to prejudice and prejudice invites pride and both have their corresponding virtues bound up within them. Each has its virtues and each has its defects. They are contradictory and the supreme irony is that intricacy, which is much deeper, carries with it grave dangers unknown to simplicity. This type of thematic irony runs through all of Jane Austen’s novel.

In “Pride and Prejudice” there is much irony of situation too, which provides a twist to the story. Mr. Darcy remarks about Elizabeth that:

“tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me…”

We relish the ironical flavour of this statement much later when we reflect that the woman who was not handsome enough to dance with was really good enough to marry. He removes Bingley from Netherfield because he considers it imprudent to forge a marriage alliance with the Bennet Family, but himself ends up marrying the second Bennet sister. Collins proposes to Elizabeth when her heart is full of Wickham and Darcy proposes to her exactly at the moment when she hates him most. Elizabeth tells Mr. Collins that she is not the type to reject the first proposal and accept the second but does exactly this when Darcy proposes a second time. The departure of the militia from Meryton was expected to put an end to Lydia's flirtations, it brings about her elopement. The Lydia-Wickham episode may seem like an insurmountable barrier between Elizabeth and Darcy, but is actually instrumental in bringing them together. Lady Catherine, attempting to prevent their marriage only succeeds in hastening it.

Irony in character is even more prominent than irony of situation. It is ironical that Elizabeth who prides herself on her perception is quite blinded by her own prejudices and errs badly in judging intricate characters. Wickham appears suave and charming but is ironically unprincipled rouge. Darcy appears proud and haughty but ironically proves to be a true gentleman when he gets Wickham to marry Lydia by paying him. The Bingley Sisters hate the Bennets for their vulgarity but are themselves vulgar in their behaviour. Darcy is also critical of the ill-bred Bennet Family but ironically his Aunt Catherine is equally vulgar and ill-bed. Thus, the novel abounds in irony of characters.

The narrative of “Pride and Prejudice” too has an ironic tone which contributes much verbal irony. Jane Austen’s ironic tone is established in the very first sentence of the novel.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

As Dorothy Van Ghent remark, what we read in it is opposite – a single woman must be in want – of a man with a good fortune. There is much verbal irony in the witty utterances of Mrs. Bennet. He tells Elizabeth:

“Let Wickham be your man. He is pleasant fellow and would jilt you creditable …”

In the words ‘pleasant fellow’ is hidden a dramatic irony at the expense of Mr. Bennet, for Wickham is destined to make a considerable dent in Mr. Bennet's complacency.

Jane Austen did not show any cynicism or bitterness in using her irony to draw satirical portraits of whims and follies. Rather her irony can be termed comic. It implies on her side an acknowledgement of what is wrong with people and society. It is interesting to note that ironically, in “Pride and Prejudice”, it is the villainous character Wickham and lady Catherine – who are responsible for uniting Elizabeth and Darcy.

She uses irony to shake her major figures of their self-deception and to expose the hypocrisy and pretentiousness, absurdity and insanity of some of her minor figures. It is definitely possible to deduce from her works a scheme of moral values. Andrew II Wright rightly points out that irony in her hands is ‘the instrument of a moral vision’.

Pride and Prejudice: Title

Pride and Prejudice was first written in 1797 under the title “First Impressions”. It was later revised and published under the title“Pride and Prejudice” in 1813.

In the novel, first impressions do play an important part: Elizabeth is misled in her judgment and estimation of both Darcy and Wickham. Her regard and sympathy for Wickham and her hostility and prejudice against Darcy are due to the first impressions. But when we study the novel deeply andseriously we can easily see that the title “Pride and Prejudice” is more apt and more befitting to it. The first impressions which the character gets of each other take up only the first few chapters. The novel is more about the pride of Darcy and the prejudice of Elizabeth and the change of attitude in Darcy and Elizabeth’s correction of her first impression.

At the apparent level, we see that Darcy embodies pride – he is possessed by family pride. As Wickham tells Elizabeth that he has a “filial pride”, in his “father and brotherly pride in his sister Georgiana” Darcy himself says that his pride consists in caring for none beyond his own family circle, thinking mean of all the rest of the world.

There is no doubt that Darcy is a proud man. Nothing can excuse his remark about Elizabeth,

“… tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me”

nor, indeed, the statement that

“my good opinion once lost is lost for ever”.

His first appearance is insolent and we tend to agree with Mrs. Bennet’s complaint that

“He walked here and he walked there, fancying himself so very great”.

The set-down comes at Hansford personage, which is the climax of Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice. In this scene, Darcy lays his proud heart at her feet and learns what she thinks of him. He admits that he remained blind to the faults of Lady Catherine and Miss Bingley and was thinking mean of those beneath him in social standing.

Elizabeth feels that Darcy is all pride. Having been prejudiced against him by his refusal to dance with her, she willfully misinterprets all his utterances, all his actions. Her prejudice clouds her usually clear judgment and she listens to Wickham’s biased account of Darcy with complete belief and declares Darcy to be ‘abominable’ (thoroughly unpleasant). Blinded by prejudice she rejects his proposal.

It is at Rosings that their process of self-discovery starts. At Netherfield Park,Elizabeth’s family – her mother and her sisters have seemed vulgar and ill-bred. At Rosings, Darcy is embarrassed by the vulgarity of his aunt Lady Catharine and realizes that refinement of manners is not the monopoly of the elite. His lesson is complete by Elizabeth’s rejection of his proposal and her rejection makes him realize his misplaced pride. This excessive love for Elizabeth forces him to write an explanatory letter to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s moment of self-awakening comes on receiving of Darcy’s letter. Learning the truth about Wickham, she realizes her own blindness and prejudice in judging Darcy and Wickham on mere fist impressions. Now she is also able to see the validity of some of his objections to Jane and Bingley marriage. At Pemberely, she learns about Darcy’s austerity of manner. Now the Lydia-Wickham episode brings the final reconciliation. This overwhelms Elizabeth and she recognizes that Darcy is exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, will most suit her.

However, to say that Darcy is proud and Elizabeth is prejudiced is to tell but half the story. The fact is both Darcy and Elizabeth are proud as well as prejudiced. The novel makes clear the fact that Darcy’s pride leads to prejudice and Elizabeth’s prejudice stems superiority and refinement and this leads him to have a general prejudice against people beneath him in he social hierarchy. Elizabeth’s prejudice on the other hand stems from his pride. Both suffer from the faults of pride ad prejudice, but they are also the necessary defects of desirable merits: self-respect and intelligence.

It is true that Jane and Bingley are not the part of the theme of Pride and Prejudice but their love is an important link in the novel and without it the story cannot be complete. Jane is the specimen of faultless beauty and she is free from willing to see good in everyone. Similarly Bingley is easy going and friendly. Both Jane and Bingley are simple characters and are not sufficiently profound. It is the intricate characters of Darcy and Elizabeth that hold our interest and exemplify the title of the novel, “Pride and Prejudice”.

Darcy and Elizabeth are of course, the pivotal characters but the subsidiary characters also tend to demonstrate further aspects of the main themes. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a hilarious caricature (extremely funny) of the same faults of pride and prejudice. Mr. Collins is a mixture of obsequiousness and pride. He is a sycophant, and out and out flatterer of Lady Catherine. Mrs. Bennet has a pride in her daughters and in her stupidity develops a prejudice against Darcy. Miss Bingley herself and her sister Mrs. Hurst are the mixture of pride and impertinence.

The title Pride and Prejudice is thus, very apt and points to the theme of the novel. The novel goes beyond a mere statement of first impressions and explores in depth the abstract qualities of pride and prejudice. This theme is worked out not only through the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth but also through various minor characters. It is a title which does complete justice to the theme and subject of the novel.

Pride and Prejudice: Love and Marriage Theme

Though, marriage is the end of Jane Austen’s novel, yet it evolves more than the conclusion of a simple love story. There is a depth, variety and seriousness in Jane’s treatment of these topics.

Marriage was an important social concern in Jane Austen’s time and she was fully aware of the disadvantages of remaining single. In a letter to her niece, Fanny Knight, she wrote:

"Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor - which is a very strong argument in favour of matrimony."

The only option for unmarried woman in Jane Austen’s time was to care for someone else’s children as Jane Austen herself did; as there were no outlets for women.

The novels of Jane Austen’s – especially “Pride and Prejudice” – dramatize the economic inequality of women, showing how women had to marry undesirable mates in order to gain some financial security.

The theme of love and marriage is one of the major themes in “Pride and Prejudice”. Through five marriages, Jane Austen defines good and bad reasons for marriage. Charlotte – Collins, Lydia – Wickham, Jane – Bingley and Elizabeth – Darcy are the four newly-weds. The old marriage is that of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.

Mrs. and Mr. Bennet are poles apart in their natural attitude. Mr. Bennet is sharp and witty. Mrs. Bennet is vulgar and discreet. Together they constitute a very ill-matched couple.

“Her father, captivated by youth and beauty … had married a woman whose weak understanding 

and liberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her.”

Mr. Bennet married for beauty. Soon he realized that Mrs. Bennet, due to her intellectual bankruptcy and narrow vision, would not make him an ideal wife.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet never enjoyed the marital bliss of emotional and intellectual understanding. The gulf between them had widened. Mr. Bennet becomes lazy and irresponsible and an odd mixture of ‘sarcastic humour, and caprice’. He mocks Mrs. Bennet and exposes her to the scorn of their five daughters. The disadvantages of such marriage attend the daughters also. Elizabeth and Jane become what they are almost. Mary becomes a vain. Lydia grows into a selfish and deceitful flirt who elopes with a selfish and corrupt rake. The stupid and weak-spirited Kitty follows Lydia's example and flirts with the military officers.

Charlotte and Collins are the first to get married. Collins, after, having a very good house and very sufficient income, intends to marry. He visits the Bennets to choose a wife among the Bennet girls. He sets out in detail his reasons for marriage:

“First … it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances to set the example of matrimony 

in his parish. Secondly … it will add very greatly to my happiness, and thirdly … that is particular 

advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness”

Mr. Collins does not have any respect and affection for the girl he intends to marry. So, Elizabeth declines the proposal. Collins shifts contentedly to Charlotte who is herself eager to accept his proposal.

“Mr. Collins … was neither sensible nor agreeable … But still he would be her husband … marriage had always 

been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune.”

Obviously Charlotte also does not think of love. She accepts Mr. Collins under economic pressure, knowing that she is going to marry an ass. Elizabeth is shocked at Charlotte’s engagement. Charlotte defends herself by saying:

“I am not romantic you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home.”

The next to be married are Wickham and Lydia. They elope before they get married. Compatibility and understanding are once again absent. Lydia is captivated by the external glamour of Wickham’s personality. She thinks, she is in love with him but she is only infatuated.

“They were always moving from place to place in quest of a cheep situation, and always spending more 

then they ought. His affection for her soon sunk into indifference; hers lasted a little longer.”

Jane and Bingley are sincerely in love with each other. Between them exists a great emotional compatibility. By nature, both are sweet and gentle, free from malice, ill will, affectation and duplicity, calm, unsuspecting, simple and willing to forgive readily. There is every likelihood that they will lead a happy married life.

Still, their marriage is timidly weak. Bingley is too weak-willed that in spite of loving Jane deeply, he does not take any initiative. Their temperamental harmony lacks the strengthening support of intellectual understanding and maturity.

“Still they will be happy because Bingley is too good to offend consciously and Jane is too good not to forgive even any offense.”

Elizabeth marries last and most desirably. When Darcy makes his first proposal, he had no doubts of a favourable answer. He acted as if he was offering prize which no sensible woman can refuse.

All the other characters believe Darcy to be a prize and that Elizabeth is falling for his wealth. Elizabeth rejects his proposal but accepts it for the second time.

Elizabeth and Darcy begin with prejudices and gradually move towards understanding. Elizabeth helps Darcy to shed his pride and be really the gentleman. Darcy in turn acts nobly and generously to win her love. Mutual affection and regards developed between them that form the basis of a sound marriage. 

“It was a union that must have been to the advantage of both”

Elizabeth has to assure that she loves and respects Darcy. Love and respect count most in a marital union, and having secured both, Elizabeth does not make any false or exaggerated statement when she says half-mockingly:

“It is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”

Thus it is true that the chief preoccupation of Jane Austen’s heroines is getting married and life is a matrimonial game as women in her times had no other option of business or profession open to them. However, marriage is not treated merely as a romantic end. Rather it is dealt with a depth variety and seriousness to highlight ‘good’ marriage based on mutual understanding, love, good sense and respect.

Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen's Moral Vision

Jane Austen is not a proclaimed moralist. Unlike Fielding, her aim is not to propagate the morality. She believes in art for the sake of art. She is the pioneer of the novels. Therefore, her plots are well-knit. Her main interest lies in irony and there is a hidden significance of morality as we come across her moral vision in her novels through irony.

Jane Austen is in a favour of social prosperity than individual. She upholds the organic unity of society. She stresses that the duty of human beings owe to others, to society and maintains that individual desires have to be sub-ordinate to the large scale. Lydia-Wickham elopement is passionate and irresponsible. It shows that how society’s harmony is disrupted and how others lives are ruined by the selfish act of the individual. On the other hand the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley bring happiness and stability to everyone, not simply to themselves.

She discusses individuals ‘short comings’. Even the hero and heroine have no exception. Elizabeth blinds herself absurdly because of prejudice whereas Darcy is full of pride.

“... tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

But we can see that both learn and understand each other. Their pride and prejudice are vanished. But the shortcomings of the other characters are not changed. Mr. Bennet is careless and irresponsible man. Mrs. Bennet is vulgar and stupid. Charlotte is very much economic. Lydia is lusty and Wickham is a deceiver.

Society is divided into classes. “Pride and Prejudice” is an attempt to harmonize the two extremes of middle class – lower end and the top end – into one. Bingley’s marriage with Jane and Darcy’s with Elizabeth. It is her moral approach to rub the class distinction-line of society.

She also discusses the institution of family which is disturbed. The heads of Bennet family are not mentally bound. This is a matchless couple. Their role as a parent is not active. The disadvantages of such an unsuitable marriage attend the daughters also. On the other hand Bingley family is betraying because there is no head for them but only guided by Darcy.

Jane Austen is concerned with the growth of an individual’s moral personality measured by the most exacting standards of 18th century values. Popes dictum “know thyself” underlines the theme of her novel. The conclusion of her novel is always the achievement of self-respect and principal mean of such an achievement is a league of perfect sympathy with another, who is one’s spiritual counterpart. Jane Austen traces Elizabeth's prejudice and her anguished recognition of her own blind prejudice before she is united with Darcy in a marriage based on mutual respect, love and understanding. As she says,

“How despicable have I acted! I, who have pride myself on my discernment! – I who have valued myself on my abilities.”

In the end she says,

“There can be no doubt of that. It is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”

Main theme of her novel is marriage. She tries to define good reasons for marriage and bad reasons for marriage. Her moral concern though unobtrusive, is ever-present. The marriage of Lydia-Wickham, Charlotte-Collins and of the Bennets serves the show by their failure the prosperity of the Elizabeth-Darcy marriage.

There is corruption in landed class. Jane Austen reflects this problem in her novel also. The Bingley sisters hate the Bennet for their vulgarity but are themselves vulgar in their behaviour. Lady Catharine is equally vulgar and ill-bred.

Army men in her novel are only for flirtation. They come only for enjoyment. They have no love in them. Some of them are deceiver like Wickham who elopes with Lydia not for love bur for money.

Then she discusses the degeneracy of clergy. Mr. Collins is a clergyman. He comes at Neitherfield in search of life partner. But he is rejected by Bennet’s daughters. Then he turns towards Charlotte. He has some reason for marriage.

“My reasons for marriage are, I think it right thing for every clergy (like me) in easy circumstances to set the example of matrimony in parish …”

Jane Austen throws light on the materialism and economic concern of society. Charlotte is more concern with money than man. She is lusty. Her materialistic approach is judged by her remarks.

“I am not romantic, you know, I never was. I ask only for a comfortable home.”

Collins also has materialistic mind. Mr. Wickham is always thinking about money. He elopes with Lydia only for money.

Pride and prejudice, is in fact, corresponding virtue. Pride leads to prejudice and prejudice invites pride. Darcy is proud, at the beginning. As he says:

“… my good opinion once lost is lost forever”

His first appearance is appallingly insolent and we tend to agree with Mrs. Bennet’s complaint:

“He walked her and he walked there, fancying so very great”.

Darcy’s remarks prejudiced Elizabeth. At ball-party, when he firstly sees her, he says:

“... tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

Wickham’s biased account about Darcy increased the hatred of Elizabeth. But we can observe that both earn when they go through the process of self-realization. Then Elizabeth thinks that:

“…Darcy was exactly the man, who in disposition and talents; would suit for her.”

We may say that Jane Austen’s main concern was irony. She uses irony to shake the major figures of their self-deception and expose the hypocrisy and pretentiousness, absurdity and insanity of some of her minor figures. It is definitely possible to deduce from her work a scheme of moral value. Andrew H. Wright rightly points out that irony in her hand is the instrument of a moral vision. As Walter Allen comments:

“She is the most forthright moralist in English.”

Jane Austen's contribution to English novel

An objective and impartial estimation of Jane Austen’s contribution to the development of the English novel involve comparisons which are, also, likely to undermine her self-imposed limitations as an artist. 

Austen’s range is very narrow. The plots revolve around three or four families in the countryside, consisting mostly of a few typed characters. There is only one theme – the theme of love and marriage – repeated in every novel. Deep philosophy of life is conspicuously absent and there are no hidden meanings to be discovered. There are no adventures to thrill, no violent passions to ruffle, no sensations to tickle and tease. Yet she is one of our major novelists. Safely emerging through two centuries and severe criticism, today she enjoys secure reputation. 

Austen’s first important achievement is to bring to the English novel dramatic plots. She has the genius of a great dramatist. Baker successfully verified the plot of “Pride and Prejudice”, in its various stages of development, to the pattern of a five-act play. The unity of purposes, the complete inter-dependence of the main plot and the sub-plots, the perfect association of the action and the characters, dramatic irony and short, engaging dialogues render her plots highly dramatic. To this may be added the objectivity of narration, the complete withdrawal of the creator from the creation, for she hardly speak in her own person to give a direct comment. 

Jane Austen has given us a multitude of characters. All of them are commonplace such as we meet everybody. 

“Yet they are al perfectly discriminated from each other as if they were the most eccentric of human beings.”

Remarkably, no two villains are alike, nor two fools for even the greatest novelists are guilty of repetition. However, her real achievement in characterization is the ironic exposition of the ‘follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies’ of human conduct. She excels in the depiction of the ridiculous and of the hiatus between a reality and an appearance, between a purpose and a pretence that amuses and entertains, but also perplexes and exasperates. 

Another of her important preoccupations is the theme of self-education. Her protagonists are often self-deceived. They undergo a painful process of self-discovery but they have the humility and honesty to admit their earlier illusionment and the courage to give a new direction to their life.

Austen represents feminization of the English novels. She draws her men as they appear to women and not to men. Her Darcy and Bingley, Knightly and Frank Churchill are seen through the eyes of her women, Elizabeth, Jane and Emma. The men never appear alone; they are always in the company of women, engaged in such activities as women can participate in – balls, dinners, card sessions, or just walks. This accounts for the lack of masculinity in her novels. It imposes a serious limitation on her art as a novelist, but it need not be regretted; we praise it for its rarity.

The artistic excellence of Austen’s novels deserves high praise. The plots are contrived and executed with consummate skill. There are no digressions and no loose ends are left dangling. Among her characters, there are hardly any superfluous. The dialogues are natural, yet lively, they help in the development of plot as well as the evolution of character. Her style is balanced, even epigrammatic. Ruben A. Brower thinks that many pages of “Pride and Prejudice” can be read a sheer poetry of wit. Sir Walter Scott concedes that though her subjects are not often elegant and certainly never grand, they are finished up to Nature and with a precision. He further says:

“The young lady had a talent for describing the involvements, feelings and characters are ordinary life … but the exquisite touch which renders commonplace things and characters interesting from the worth of the depiction and the sentiment is denied to me.”

Jane Austen has often been called a pure novelist for her art is only for art’s sake and is a source of great aesthetic pleasure on account of its artistic exquisiteness. Besides, it is also the vehicle of her moral vision that being based on common sense is pretty sound. A. J. Wright comments:

“Working with materials extremely limited in themselves, she develops themes of the broadest significance; the novels go beyond social record, beneath the didactic, to moral concern, perplexity and commitment.”

At one level, her novels present an authentic record of the life of the upper middle classes in Southern England at the end of the eighteenth century, while at another level, her novels can be considered as broad allegories. “Pride and Prejudice” displays and illustrates the dangers of excessive Pride and overweening Prejudice. “Sense and Sensibility” vindicates Sense and exposes the dangers of Sensibility. Emma deals with self-deception. “Persuasions” describes the dangers of over-persuasion.

Her most important contribution to the English novels is her ironic world view. This view lies in the recognition of the fact that man is confronted with the choice of two things that are mutually exclusive. The two are equally attractive, equally desirable, but ironically, incompatible. Sense may be more desirable but Sensibility too is not without attraction or desirability and its claims. The irony is that the claims of “Sense and Sensibility” are conflicting.

Ironically, the theme of “Pride and Prejudice” is the contrast between Intricacy and Simplicity. Both the qualities have their own attractions and dangers in them. Darcy and Elizabeth are intricate and attractive but they are prone to the dangers that accompany such an intricacy. Jane and Bingley are simple, and they are free from such dangers but they are dull and lifeless. Perhaps one would like to be simple and intricate all at once, but that is not possible; which is the irony. Jane Austen projects this ironic world view practically in all her novels 

Pride and Prejudice: A Novel With Limited Range

Jane Austen confines her creative activity to the depiction of whatever fell within her range of personal experience. While her range of observation in life is not so wide her work has been variously called as the “Two inches of ivory” and “three or four families”. All these titles exhibit the excellence as well as the limitations of her craft and outlook.

Although she works on a very small canvas, yet she has widened the scope of fiction in almost all its directions. Her stories mostly have indoor actions where only family matters especially love and marriages are discussed. However, her plots are perfect and characterization is superb.

All of her six novels, including “Pride and Prejudice”, have been controversial since their publication, on account of Austen’s limited range. The critical view is divided in two groups – detractors and admires. The former group had criticized her on various points.

Critics object that her novels present a certain narrow physical setting. It was the period of American War of Independence and of Napoleonic Wars, but the characters of Austen are blissfully unaware of all these tumultuous events. Whole of the story of “Pride and Prejudice” revolves around Neitherfield Park, Longbourne, Hunsford Parsonage, Meryton and Pemberley.

Nature does not play any specific role in her novels. It seems to be an irony of the history of English literature that when writers like Wordsworth, Byron, Coleridge and others were discovering the beauties of nature / outer world, Austen confines her characters within the four walls of the drawing room or Hall. Edward Fitzgerald states:

“She never goes out of the Parlour.”

Austen avoids the sense of passions described by the romantics, because of her classical views of order and control. Bronte condemns her:

“… the passions art completely unknown to her.”

Critics have complained that her subject matters are very much the same in all her novels and she writes the same sort of story and also that she does not introduce any great variety in her characters.

All of her six novels deal with same theme of love and marriages. There are pretty girls waiting for eligible bachelors to be married to. The opening line of “Pride and Prejudice” is the theme of her six novels. She writes:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Another limitation of Jane Austen is the feminization of her novels. Men never appear except in the company of women. All the information about Darcy is proved through Elizabeth’s point of view. Hence, the reader looks at Darcy through Elizabeth’s eye.

Even in her limited world, Austen restricts herself to the depiction of a particular class of country gentry. She excludes the matters of lower class and hardly touches aristocracy. For instance she has discussed Lady Catherine only for the purpose of satire.

There is no terrible happening in her novels. Everything happens in a civilized manner. The extreme severity in “Pride and Prejudice” is elopement of Lydia with Wickham.

“Wickham may elope with Lydia.”

A famous critic, Charlotte Bronte believes that Austen has no concern with the morals and she is an author of the surface only:

“Her business is not half so much with the human heart as with the human eye, mouth, hands and feet.”

A. H. Wright remarks that there is very little religion in her novels. Politics is not mentioned too. There are no adventures found in her books, no abstract ideas and no discussion of spiritual or metaphysical issues.

The defence of Jane Austen’s limited range comes from the nature of her novels, the situation of her time and her physical surroundings. Austen’s novels are termed as “domestic novels”. She belongs to the era when neither the girls were allowed to be admitted to universities nor to be intermingled freely with men. So it is natural that her range is limited.

Austen was a daughter of a country clergyman. She has very less exposure to the world except her short visits to London and a few years study at Bath. Hence the world she experienced was very small. In a letter to her niece, Austen wrote:

“There are four families in a country village is the very thing to work on.”

Though Austen’s limitations are very self imposed yet within her deliberately restricted field, her art is perfect. Realization of one’s limitations is a positive virtue. The restricted social setting and purely interests, lend a sense of discipline to her art.

“Within the limits she is superb.”

She gains in depth, what she loses in broadness of canvas. Her characters stem from a class which she knows well and hence they are very realistic and life-like. Elizabeth Bennet is one of the most delightful heroines one could come across in literature. Wordsworth remarks:

“Her novels are an admirable copy of life.”

It would be wrong to say that her novels lack passion and profundity. Her themes are love, courtship and marriage and it is impossible to keep the feelings out from such a novel. Besides love, there are also significant emotions, like jealousy of Bingley’s, cunningness of Wickham, snobbery of Lady Catherine – all are depicted by Austen with perfect sincerity and conviction.

She also holds a definite moral concern in her novels. She laughs at the shortcomings of people to correct their behaviours. Beneath the theme of love and marriage, she deals with manners to correct the conduct of the middle class country gentry. She preaches the dictum of “know thyself”. Hence she aims at high morality. She also depicts the merits and strength of a marriage based on understanding through the wedding of Elizabeth and Darcy. The nature of her craft is defined by Austen herself as:

“With bit of irony on which I work with so fine brush to produce little effect after much labour.”

Within her theme and subject matter, Jane Austen is unparalleled in her skill and plot construction. The sub-plots of Jane-Bingley, Lydia-Wickham, Charlotte-Collins all are closely linked to the main Elizabeth-Darcy plot and highlight the theme of good marriage. Even in her limits, no two of her characters are repeated. G. H. Lewis remarks:

“Her circle may be restricted but it is complete. Her world is perfect orb and vital sphere.”

Thus it may be concluded that within her limited range Austen handles all the characters, events, dialogues and the plot of her novels in a very exquisite manner. Her art is fine, perfect and distinguishable. No doubt she is a fine flower of the expiring 18th century.