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Essay / Comparative analysis of Pride and Prejudice and Letters to Alice
The comparative study of texts and contexts demonstrates that composers wrote to reflect the dominant values and issues within their own society. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Fay Weldon's Letters to Alice present connections in terms of contrasting attitudes toward marriage and the divergent roles of composers. Austen's 19th century setting provides a framework dictating the strict social norms and values of her time. Weldon, in the postmodernist context of the 20th century, comments on Austen's text and communicates a different point of view on the issues of her time. By exploring the values and connections between texts, enhanced perspectives are presented that could not be understood in isolation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayMarriage was crucial to women's social and financial security in the patriarchal society of the English Regency. In the Georgian context of Austen's P&P, the tension between Enlightenment period rationalism and Romantic literature influenced conflicting attitudes toward marriage. Charlotte's practical view of marriage is highlighted by Austen's intrusion that "happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance." Her passion is tempered by her pragmatism toward financial security, conveying the unsentimental reality of courtship and marriage. In Austen's social context, a woman of limited income or beauty was dependent on marriage for financial security. Austen challenges the servility expected of women through Elizabeth's defiant tone: "I act in that manner which will constitute... my happiness." The use of narrative voice distinctly projects Elizabeth's assertion that Darcy is "exactly the man who, in terms of temperament and talents, would best suit her." Austen's vision of an ideal marriage, based on mutual affection, was quite novel in a society where women's pressing need to find a partner tended to dominate their lives. The "universally recognized truth" ironically undermines the institution of marriage with Elizabeth's rejection of society's traditional values. Although marriage confers social status on women in a conservative society, Austen supports greater independence for women in a world determined by social decorum. The postmodernist context presents a more liberal perception of marriage and women's autonomy, in comparison to the financial connotations of marriage. in the 19th century. Feminism and postmodernism seek to supplant the dominant ideologies of patriarchy and Enlightenment philosophy, respectively, by subverting social expectations and pitting the individual against society. In LTA, Weldon asserts a shift in attitude away from the absolute need for marriage for women. Unlike Austen, Weldon denigrates the importance of marriage by juxtaposing "the elements of our women's magazines...the elements of their lives." The shift in attitude towards a contemporary one reflects a society where marriage is relegated to the status of an insignificant obligation, denoted by the connotations of “stuff”. Weldon's sarcastic view of marriage as an "outdated institution" affirms her feminist view and suggests that it is socially acceptable for women in her society not to marry. Weldon's context differs from Austen's orthodox society as there are more idealistic connotations of marriage for "esteem and affection" and "expression of love", conveying the emotive views of society. Her feminist perspective is also evoked by her criticism..