Sara Abbas 2018-10-10
Throughout literature history, female authors used female characters and situations to highlight
certain hardships that women went through during a given time and era. Highlighting a time
where women were inferior to men as well as exploring the development of women in a society
that suppressed females. This essay explores three female characters, Elizabeth Bennet of Pride
& Prejudice, Jane Eyre of Jane Eyre and Clarissa Dalloway of Mrs. Dalloway. Using their
actions, earning them the place of the heroine title due to their determination and wit.
Pride & Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet is the first female character exploring the field of feminine
determination and freedom in this literary essay. 20 years of age, the second oldest daughter of
five sisters and the possessor of high intelligence and her desire of knowledge is expressed when
she wishes: “When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent
library” (Austen 37). The story of Pride and Prejudice falls in an era in time, particularly in 1812,
where women were expected to be married and married well, become owners of a great home
and obtain a family. Austen hence insists on the topic of marriage with the aid of Elizabeth
Bennet as a mouthpiece to portray the nineteenth-century values for women and the hardships
they went through. The matrimony proposals by Mr. Collins are used to portray this, where
Elisabeth replies with “I am sensible of the honour of your compliment you are paying me, but it
is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them” (Austen 74) and continues with “If there
are such women who are daring as so risk their happiness” (Austen 74). Her sensibility in those
situations contradicts her mother’s big dreams of having Elisabeth marry and instead, thinking of
her happiness and future. Elizabeth presents an idea that is new to the era she grew up in. While
her mother thinks of the practicality of marriage rather than love, Elizabeth, on the contrary,
would instead marry for love and respect. The reader can immediately spot Elisabeth’s wit and
sensibility in the first few chapters of the novel. Firstly, when Mr. Darcy expressed that she is not
handsome enough and Jane not valuing one man’s opinion of her (Austen 7). The second
incident is when Elizabeth visits her ill sister Jane and instead of taking the carriage like women
usually did in the 18th century, and as she is not a horse-woman; she determinately decided to
walk the three miles to Netherfield (Austen 20). It is shown here that Elisabeth is not afraid of
wandering in petrichor weather and getting her dress dirty, not nearly as committed to society’s
idea of how a young gentlewoman should be.
The theme of women’s determination and decisiveness flows into Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre,
an orphan raised by a cruel aunt and around atrocious cousins. Jane grows up in a society that
also gives accountability to women upon marriageability; thus the dependence on a man. Similar
to Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte used Jane Eyre as a representative to challenge the dominant
Victorian culture codes that dictated the appropriate behavior of women (Bergström & Henry
138). Jane, thus, uses her education at Lowood to improve herself as a woman and gain self-
confidence. This also helps her enter the adult and independent life by applying for a job as a
governess upon finishing her education; this marks Jane’s maturity as a woman (Brontë 86).
Though similar in her outspokenness to Elizabeth Bennet, Jane does not have the support of a
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Throughout literature history, female authors used female characters and situations to highlight
certain hardships that women went through during a given time and era. Highlighting a time
where women were inferior to men as well as exploring the development of women in a society
that suppressed females. This essay explores three female characters, Elizabeth Bennet of Pride
& Prejudice, Jane Eyre of Jane Eyre and Clarissa Dalloway of Mrs. Dalloway. Using their
actions, earning them the place of the heroine title due to their determination and wit.
Pride & Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet is the first female character exploring the field of feminine
determination and freedom in this literary essay. 20 years of age, the second oldest daughter of
five sisters and the possessor of high intelligence and her desire of knowledge is expressed when
she wishes: “When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent
library” (Austen 37). The story of Pride and Prejudice falls in an era in time, particularly in 1812,
where women were expected to be married and married well, become owners of a great home
and obtain a family. Austen hence insists on the topic of marriage with the aid of Elizabeth
Bennet as a mouthpiece to portray the nineteenth-century values for women and the hardships
they went through. The matrimony proposals by Mr. Collins are used to portray this, where
Elisabeth replies with “I am sensible of the honour of your compliment you are paying me, but it
is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them” (Austen 74) and continues with “If there
are such women who are daring as so risk their happiness” (Austen 74). Her sensibility in those
situations contradicts her mother’s big dreams of having Elisabeth marry and instead, thinking of
her happiness and future. Elizabeth presents an idea that is new to the era she grew up in. While
her mother thinks of the practicality of marriage rather than love, Elizabeth, on the contrary,
would instead marry for love and respect. The reader can immediately spot Elisabeth’s wit and
sensibility in the first few chapters of the novel. Firstly, when Mr. Darcy expressed that she is not
handsome enough and Jane not valuing one man’s opinion of her (Austen 7). The second
incident is when Elizabeth visits her ill sister Jane and instead of taking the carriage like women
usually did in the 18th century, and as she is not a horse-woman; she determinately decided to
walk the three miles to Netherfield (Austen 20). It is shown here that Elisabeth is not afraid of
wandering in petrichor weather and getting her dress dirty, not nearly as committed to society’s
idea of how a young gentlewoman should be.
The theme of women’s determination and decisiveness flows into Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre,
an orphan raised by a cruel aunt and around atrocious cousins. Jane grows up in a society that
also gives accountability to women upon marriageability; thus the dependence on a man. Similar
to Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte used Jane Eyre as a representative to challenge the dominant
Victorian culture codes that dictated the appropriate behavior of women (Bergström & Henry
138). Jane, thus, uses her education at Lowood to improve herself as a woman and gain self-
confidence. This also helps her enter the adult and independent life by applying for a job as a
governess upon finishing her education; this marks Jane’s maturity as a woman (Brontë 86).
Though similar in her outspokenness to Elizabeth Bennet, Jane does not have the support of a
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