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Pride and Prejudice. Revision. If we don’t care about the marriages of the characters, there isn’t much else to interest us in P&P. What would your line of argument be? Include both texts Anchor them both to genre Make a clear statement answering the question.
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Pride and Prejudice Revision
If we don’t care about the marriages of the characters, there isn’t much else to interest us in P&P • What would your line of argument be? • Include both texts • Anchor them both to genre • Make a clear statement answering the question
If we don’t care about the marriages of the characters, there isn’t much else to interest us in P&P • Pride and Prejudice is a romance so our interest as a reader follows the fortunes of those seeking love - structurally we expect a romance to conclude with marriage. However, as this is also a satire and comedy of manners, courtship and marriage is often more a vehicle for Austen’s attack on the follies of society. The Yellow Wallpaper, in contrast, is not a romance and is not driven by a narrative destined towards a wedding; instead it is a psychological horror story exploring the unhappy feelings experienced due to the restraints of marriage. Both Lizzie and the narrator in TYW both try to challenge society’s expectations but where this ends happily in P&P ‘Jane smiles, I laugh’ the narrator of YW has a far worse fate. So whilst both writers focus on marriage, this is far more than just a narrative outcome- but provides material for the social commentary of each writer.
Point 1 of 3 on P&P:Interest created by Lizzie’s character development and marriage AO2 devices I will refer to? Passages I will use?
Point 1 of 3 on P&P:Interest created by Lizzie’s character development and marriage • AO2 devices I will include: focaliser/ structure/ linear narrative / direct speech/ letter/ irony • It is not the marriage of L and D which interests us so much as Lizzie’s growth as a character and her changing attitude from resistance to acceptance of marriage. Austen uses the tripartite structure to reveal her focaliser’s development and changing attitude • tripartite structure: first impressions/ revised impressions/ fixed and final impressions
Point 2 of 3 on P&P:Interest provided by contrasting marriages AO2 devices I will focus on? Passages/quotes I will use?
Point 2 of 3 on P&P:Interest provided by contrasting marriages AO2 devices I will include: characterisation/ focaliser / foil/ satire/ caricature/ direct speech / sub-plots/ social realism novel– themes of money/dependency/ social decorum • Our interest in marriage is heightened by the use of contrast and foil where Austen offers a range of marriage models for our consideration – inviting us to share Elizabeth’s scorn and disapproval • Charlotte Lucas (convenience/ practicality/ use of EB as focaliser to invite us to reject CL’s expectations) • Lydia (infatuation/ lust)
Point 3 of 3 on P&P: narrative viewpoint on marriage & the novel as satire AO2 devices I will refer to? Passages/quotes I will use?
Point 3 of 3 on P&P: narrative viewpoint on marriage & the novel as satire • AO2 devices I will include: caricature/ direct speech/ satire/ fairy-tale/ narrative voice/ • Mrs Bennet – satirised for her devotion to the act of marrying off her daughters • Mr Collins – satirised for his assuming Lizzie’s gratitude for his proposal • Moral to this novel – love should be the foundation to a happy marriage (fairy tale element / Romantic influence)
Point 4: YW • AO2 devices I will refer to? • Passages/quotes I will use?
Point 4: YW • AO2 devices I will include: symbolism/ first person narrative viewpoint/ limited direct speech/ unreliable nvp/ • Is character development evident in the narrator like Lizzie? • Contrasting marriages and sub-plots used to explore the nature of marriage? • Satire / humour used to comment on marriage? • Happy ending – moral?
Conclusion • Marriage and the search for a husband is both catalyst and end point for the narrative in Pride and Prejudice and therefore has significant responsibility for engaging the reader’s interest , however, it also serves a thematic and satirical function acting as a vehicle for Austen to explore the nature of marriage particularly the constraints placed upon a woman at the time of writing. Marriage has less narrative function in YW because it is not a romance but a psychological thriller and character portrait – for CGP, marriage is the oppressive force which triggers the breakdown of the narrator. YWP’s first person nvp dramatises the impact of marriage whereas P&P’s 3rd person nvp offers a more intellectualised evaluation of marriage.