Fraiman's essay unpacks the underlying themes of male gender domination in a novel that is seemingly feminine. She uses marriage as a way to help the reader understand that while Mr. Bennet may not seem like the traditional father, there is no denying that he is not thinking about what he can gain from the marriages of his daughters and what those connections bring him. Marriage is a time in a daughters life where she is handed to another man who then becomes the male that dictates her life. At the beginning of the novel, we see both Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth resist this tradition, when Collins proposes, and Elizabeth has to get the final word from her father, which is no. To Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collins is a silly man who can offer very little aside from security of their home. However, when Mr. Darcy asks consent for marriage, Mr. Bennet is quick to give consent, and impressed with the wealth of Mr. Darcy. Even before the proposal to his daughter, Mr. Bennet has been benefited by Mr. Darcy's wealth, when Darcy intervenes in the Lydia-Wickham elopement. This marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth ultimately benefit the males involved more than the females. Mr. Bennet will gain ties with an upperclass society, benefiting the Bennett name, and Darcy will benefit with a wife of his choosing that is much healthier than Miss De Bourgh. This also, in turn, negatively impacts the women of the novel. When Elizabeth agrees to marry Darcy, she is in fact marrying, literally, the reason for her sisters broken heart. That's sure to cause some tension at family gatherings.
Questions:
1). Did your impression of Mr. Bennet change throughout the novel? Or, if this essay hit you with the realization that Mr. Bennet is actually a very pragmatic father, did you change your opinion of him after?
2). After seeing such a strong female character in Elizabeth for the first two parts of the book, do you feel like her eventual nuptials to Mr. Darcy undermined what the beginning of the book set up?
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