Class, Money, Pride and Happiness in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Auste

Happiness can be defined in a plethora of ways such as good fortune, a state of wellhead being, or a pleasurable, satisfying experience. William Thackerays Rebecca Sharp stated in the novel Vanity Fair that she could be a good wo macrocosm if she had quint thousand pounds and she could dawdle about in the nursery and count the apricots on the wall (VF 414). Marianne Dashwood of Jane Austens Sense and Sensibility says that she cannot be happy with a piece whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own (SS 15). Most importantly, Elizabeth Bennet of Austens Pride and Prejudice states that she would be happy with soul who has no improper pride and is perfectly amiable (PP 364). While all of these novels give a glimpse into the opinions of happiness, Pride and Prejudice delves into the nuances of happiness, showing the conflicts that have with these intertwining ideas of class, money, and pride. Ultimately, we come across an important question What constitutes happi ness and how do the ideas of class, money and pride coincide, bringing about conflicting moods in Austens novel, Pride and Prejudice? end-to-end Austens novel, Pride and Prejudice, we see many instances of the aforementioned conflicts that ensue. The first example of conflict comes out of the fictional mouths of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Right out of the gate, Mrs. Bennet speaks of the fact that a wealthy individual by the name of Charles Bingley is to arrive at the vacant estate of Netherfeld. Mrs. Bennet states that, Oh single, my dear to be sure A single man of large fortune four or five thousand a yr. What a fine thing for our girls (6). Edward Copeland writes in his article titled Class, Incomes of 4,000 pounds a year and above leave behind... ...n while reading Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? Or having it satisfied? (VF 680). Elizabeth Bennet exclaims, I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but no one wit h such justice. I am happier level off than Jane she only smiles, I laugh (PP 369).Works CitedAusten, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. New York Barnes and Noble Books, 2004. suckerCopeland, Edward. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge and New York Cambridge University Press, 1997. PrintThackeray, William M. Vanity Fair. New York Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. PrintWollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Ed. Carol H. Poston. W.W. Norton & Company Second Edition. New York Norton, 1975. PrintAusten, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. Print