Jane Austen s Pride And Prejudice - 1115 Words

The bicycle, the tin can, the steam locomotive, exercise, and the Bennet sisters: all of these were creations that came from Regency England. Each of these items have had a lasting effect on modern day society. While the Bennet sisters seem the least relevant in 2016, the story of their lives provides modern society with insight into how the upper class in Regency England lived. The Bennet sisters themselves are an eclectic group of girls; each one has her own distinct personality. In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the minor characters: Mary, Lydia, and Kitty, serve as literary foils to glorify the good traits of the major characters: Jane and Lizzy. Of the five Bennet sisters, three of them get engaged/married throughout the book.†¦show more content†¦But how little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than the virtue, she could easily conjecture† (Austen 266). A marriage created solely because of the idiotic endeavours of a teenage girl is not one that is bound to be happy. Especially when Wickham was paid to marry Lydia in order to try to save some sliver of the Bennets’ reputation. Lydia did not marry for true love, and while, during this time period, love is not the biggest concern, love is still important. Marriages that aren’t based on a mutual love end with both parties involved miserable, just like the Bennet parents. Lydia’s failure of a marriage highlights Jane and Lizzy’s happy, successful marriages. Lizzy also displays superiority over Lydia and Kitty through her intelligence. While the older Bennet sisters all show a great propensity for knowledge, Lydia and Kitty, the younger two, spend most of their time bouncing around town acting like bubbly officer-obsessed cretins. A majority of their days are devoted to trying to get any guy to notice them. Meanwhile, Lizzy spends her time less concerned with the pressures of marriage and more focused on other topics. Lizzy’s intelligence shows when she speaks, especially to Darcy. At one point during her conversation with Darcy, she said, â€Å"I have always seen great similarity in the turn of our minds.—We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition,