Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Being a 19th century love story, Pride and Prejudice was bound to feature a daughter resisting a forced marriage to the displeasure of her parents. However, Lizzy was much more efficient in avoiding her marriage with Mr. Collins who simply shifted his view elsewhere. Still, Mrs. Bennet's complaints characterize her as conceited, cunning, and callous [accidental alliteration (now assonance depending on accent)].
As the reader has already noticed, Mrs. Bennet's chief concern is the marrying off of her daughters to suitable (read: rich) gentlemen. Her pursuit of cash to offset the possibility of losing the estate to Mr. Collins after Mr. Bennet's death pushed her to push her daughter into rain and illness to snag Mr. Bingley. Now, after two marriage proposals have failed, her lamentations augment her self-centered attitude. To her sister, Mrs. Bennet reflects: "The consequence of it is that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before I have, and that Longbourn estate is just as much entailed as ever," (Austen, 110).
While earlier events could classify Mrs. Bennet as a conniving plotter, her reaction to unfortunate happenings adds a new dimension to her character. Because she can only think of lost wealth, her thoughts of exploiting her daughters are more habitual. Mrs. Bennet represents the status-crazed society which raised her and her daughters into viewing women as stepping stones to wealth.
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