Lamia Alafaireet's Literary Analysis

Lamia Alafaireet’s literary analysis essay, “Charlotte and Elizabeth: Guardians of the Female Mind in Pride and Prejudice,” primarily focuses on the concept of physical and mental privacy within Pride and Prejudice. She interprets these specific privacies as necessities for intelligent women “in order to remain independent, freethinking individuals within a patriarchal society.” She also connects Austen’s novel to the broader concept that is feminism in literature, mentioning Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Virginia Woolf as points of comparison due to their individual works with similar ties to women’s privacy. Compared to Gilman and Woolf, Austen’s commentary is seen as “early stage in the feminist examination of female privacy.” Nonetheless, …show more content…
I feel she holds only a pseudo space of physical privacy as Alafaireet says. Within Mr. Collins’ household, Charlotte is only able to claim a small space of autonomy both in the house and their relationship. The novel reasons that, contrary to Elizabeth’s expectation, Charlotte still holds independence to some degree and lives comfortably. However, considering the the size and purpose of the sitting room, which is to greet guests (Alafaireet), the extent of that degree is miniscule and her protection against Mr. Collins’ advances are fragile. In fact, the only reason the sitting room can be considered her area is that it’s the least pleasant area and Mr. Collins would loathe to approach it (Alafaireet). Granted Charlotte is a pragmatic person and knew their marriage would not run on passionate feelings, but I feel she settled for too little and consequently limited the happiness she sensibly pursues. Her social and monetary standings are stable, but her family life in the future is …show more content…
I agree that the novel is exceptionally keen on the ebb and flow of some characters’ privacies and the idea that Austen advocated self-reliance among women. On the surface, the novel’s conflict consists mostly of Elizabeth’s inherent prejudice against characters like Mr. Collins, whose impression on her never improved. But on a closer look, much of Elizabeth’s discomfort with Mr. Collins comes from an invasion of privacy (Alafaireet). Elizabeth, a character know well for her independent thoughts and actions, is especially perturbed by Mr. Collins’ overbearing actions and words. Correspondingly, the context of privacy that Alafaireet introduces to the story also better explains Elizabeth’s acceptance of Mr. Darcy. It may seem that Mr. Darcy spent hardly enough time with Elizabeth to create such a budding romance, but in actuality his absence was attributed to his consideration and awareness of Elizabeth’s intellect. Consideration and privacy in a relationship go a long way, and Mr. Darcy readily gave this to her even before he fell in love. In addition, Elizabeth did well to withstand Mr. Collins’ dictative disposition and encroachment on her privacy. Austen shows the different types of reaction women take when their privacies are violated: one is Charlotte’s compromise and the other