Pride and Prejudice: Themes (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)

Themes

Exam responses that are led by key themes and ideas are more likely to reach the highest levels of the mark scheme. Exploring the ideas of the text, specifically in relation to the question being asked, will help to increase your fluency and assurance in writing about the novel.

Below are some of the key themes that could be explored in Pride and Prejudice. This list is not exhaustive and you are encouraged to also explore any other ideas or themes you identify within the novel.

• Love and marriage

• Social class

• Gender roles

Love and marriage

This theme is central to the novel as much of the narrative is concerned with love and marriage and, in particular, the idea of marrying for love rather than for convenience, social status or financial stability. Austen explores the theme of love and marriage through a range of characters and suggests that those who have chosen love over fortune or status are ultimately the happiest at the end of the novel.

Knowledge and evidence:

• Throughout the novel, idealised notions of romantic love are frequently contrasted with more prudent or pragmatic ideas about marriage: 

  • Austen explores the social expectations of marriage in the early 19th century and conveys the stark realities of life for unmarried women who are forced to marry for social status and financial security

  • Charlotte Lucas accepts a proposal because of external pressures associated with her age and social standing, underlining the economic inequalities of women in Austen’s society  

  • She marries Mr Collins to secure her financial and domestic future

• The novel also emphasises the importance of personal choice when it comes to love:

  • Characters like Elizabeth and Jane pursue relationships based on genuine love and compatibility, despite their vulnerable financial status as daughters who can never inherit their father’s estate 

  • Love and marriage also offer redemption; Elizabeth and Mr Darcy grow to love each other and their love deepens as they come to understand each other’s flaws and true characters 

• The novel also highlights the difference between romantic love and the consequences for women of infatuation and imprudence:

  • Lydia Bennet is forced to marry Mr Wickham quickly to avoid a scandal after her impulsive decision to run away with him

  • Ultimately, they are forced to marry to save her reputation and that of her family 

What are Austen’s intentions?

• Austen seems to underline the importance of personal choice when it comes to love and marriage:

  • Characters like Jane and Elizabeth pursue relationships based on genuine affection and, as a result, their marriages are ultimately happy and successful

  • Lydia Bennet pursues an immoral, scandalous relationship and she faces the consequences of her rash decision in her unhappy, financially insecure marriage

  • Charlotte Lucas marries for convenience; she avoids her husband’s company and does not truly love him

• Characters who are self-interested or pragmatic in their marital choices, like Mr Collins, are presented as comic caricatures: 

  • His obsequious proposal to Elizabeth and his refusal to accept her rejection also highlights how women were objectified   

• Austen also highlights how initial impressions and judgements could prevent people from forming successful relationships:

  • Elizabeth’s initial pride stops her from seeing Mr Darcy as a potential partner and Mr Darcy’s prejudice prevents him from truly admitting his love for Elizabeth

Social class

Throughout the novel, Austen highlights the significance of social class in the 19th century and how it influences the relationships that the characters in the novel have. 

Knowledge and evidence:

• The novel explores the strict, hierarchical class structure in England during the 19th century:

  • While the central characters share the same class (the landed gentry), there are subtle distinctions between them in terms of their wealth and social status 

  • From the very beginning of the novel, it is clear that marriage choices are influenced by these class structures 

  • Mrs Bennet is especially concerned with her daughters’ prospects of marriage to upper-class and wealthy men

• Characters are also prejudiced because of social class and this can act as a barrier to true love:

  • Elizabeth’s lower social status and poor connections initially prevent Mr Darcy from accepting his feelings for her 

  • Mr Darcy’s prejudice and Elizabeth’s pride affect their judgement of each other and these issues stem from their differences in social class

• Social connections can also be advantageous:

  • Mr Collins seeks to improve his social standing by talking incessantly about his patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh 

  • He tries to befriend Mr Darcy to further elevate his social status 

  • Mr Wickham also hopes to find his fortune and move up the social ladder

• The education and refinement of characters are often linked to their social class:

  • Miss Bingley’s polished manners contrast with the less refined behaviour of characters like Mrs Bennet and Lydia Bennet

• The ending of the novel involves characters overlooking social barriers for the sake of love:

  • Despite her lower social status and lack of wealth, Elizabeth and Darcy’s happiness in marriage is contrasted with other characters’ marital unhappiness (Charlotte Lucas, Lydia, Mr Bennet)

What are Austen’s intentions?

• Through the characters and their interactions, Austen analyses and criticises the limitations and consequences of a rigid class system:

  • The novel challenges the idea that social class is an accurate measure of an individual's worth

• It could also be argued that Austen mocks those who are trying to climb the social ladder through characters such as Mr Collins, or those who try to maintain the social status quo, such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh 

• Austen attempts to show the shallow superficiality of the social class system through the central characters’ relationships:

  • Mr Darcy’s marriage to Elizabeth and Mr Bingley’s marriage to Jane show how true love can thrive and succeed if social prejudices are ignored 

Gender roles

Gender inequality is a significant theme in the novel. During 19th-century England, middle and upper-class female characters did not have the right to inherit property or to work and marriage was the sole opportunity a woman might have to secure her future. The novel reflects the traditional expectations of gender roles of the early 19th century and Austen explores how this context affects both characters’ actions and their relationships.

Knowledge and evidence:

• Women were generally limited in their roles in society, focusing on marriage, family and domestic responsibilities 

• Women were also economically dependent on men and lacked agency:

  • Mr and Mrs Bennet’s lack of a male heir leaves their daughters vulnerable as they cannot inherit their father’s property

• Charlotte Lucas’s decision to marry without love highlights the pressure to conform to traditional gender roles:

  • Charlotte marries Mr Collins for financial security, reflecting the limited options available to unmarried, older genteel women 

• Elizabeth Bennet challenges traditional gender roles with her independent spirit:

  • She refuses proposals that do not align with her personal values and seeks a marriage based on mutual respect and affection

  • Her rejection of Mr Collins’s proposal and her insistence on marrying for love highlights how she refuses to conform to expected gender roles

• While it could be argued that Lydia Bennet also possessed an independent spirit, her actions almost result in her (and her family’s) downfall:

  • A woman’s reputation is of utmost importance and women were expected to be chaste before marriage; Lydia’s reckless elopement almost ruins her sisters’ reputations too

  • It could be argued that while she flouts gender expectations, her immoral behaviour reminds the reader of the consequences of not conforming to social expectations of gender

• Male characters also faced traditional gender expectations but with fewer restrictions or obstacles:

  • For example, Mr Darcy has the freedom to choose his wife based on his personal preference 

What are Austen’s intentions?

• It could be argued that the novel has feminist undertones in the presentation of the character of Elizabeth:

  • Her desire for a meaningful connection with her future husband and her refusal to settle for anything less challenges the traditional gender roles and expectations of the period 

• Austen uses Mr Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship to show a change in gender roles as their relationship suggests a more equal partnership, built on mutual respect:

  • This challenges the traditional power dynamic between men and women 

• Austen also uses minor characters to reflect the lives of those who conform to expectations: 

  • Charlotte Lucas’s marriage of convenience is loveless and Mr Collins is presented as an absurd caricature whose insincere attempts at romance and flattery are ridiculed

• The writer tries to highlight how rigid gender roles are and how they could ultimately be a barrier to true happiness and mutual respect