Although Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice does not overtly show Marx's idea of ​​the oppressed and the oppressor, it clearly demonstrates Marx's ideas of society as a story of class struggle. Austen portrays class divisions and struggles through the relationships between the characters in the novel, primarily the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth. When subjected to a Marxist reading, Pride and Prejudice reflects the way relationships were determined by wealth and class status in pre-industrial England. Later the novel also shows the emergence of the bourgeoisie (the Gardiners) and how they influence class relations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayAlthough Pride and Prejudice was written before the bourgeoisie became the ruling class of the Western world, the industrial revolution had already begun and so had the emergence of this social class. Therefore the principle of personal value determined by “exchange value” (p. 82 of the Communist Manifesto) can still be read in the novel and Marx's criticism of the bourgeoisie can still be applied. From the orientation of the novel it was obvious that relationships were determined by the "exchange value" of the characters or, in other words, their wealth and social position. This was overtly present in relationships between men and women in 18th century England. The first lines of the novel establish the criteria for future relationships: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in search of a wife." This line implied two central concepts, first that Mr. Bingley is an acceptable husband only because of his fortune. Second, women were expected to marry a wealthy man who could provide for them until death. Mrs Bennet, with five eligible daughters of marriageable age, wanted all to marry as "highly" as possible because the girls would not inherit money from the family. When it first becomes clear that Mr Bingley has purchased the Netherfield Estate, he is immediately pegged as a potential husband for the Bennet girls. Mrs Bennet says of Bingley: 'A single man with a great fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a great thing for our girls. Clearly his value (at least initially) was monetary rather than based on honest personal traits or reputation. It is clear that a man's personal fortune largely determined how a community accepted him. The men of the town also considered Mr. Bingley a gentleman because of his wealth as they spoke highly of him. However, as soon as the richer Mr Darcy was introduced, he was paid praise and admiration: 'Mr Darcy soon attracted the attention of the room... by his noble appearance; and the news... that he was earning ten thousand pounds a year. year... the gentlemen declare him a fine figure of a man. From the first introduction of Mr Darcy to the other characters (and to the reader) he has been seen as the ideal man and husband because of his fortune denounced soon after this presentation (for lack of good manners), he was nevertheless judged primarily on his material possessions: "not all his large estates in Derbyshire could have saved him. However, in the novel it was "his vast estate in the Derbyshire" to save him. It was during Elizabeth's visit to Darcy's estate (after his rejection of his marriage proposal) that she began to change her mind about his character and their relationship, as she states "And of this place" she thought "I would could have been the lover!" ". It couldassume that Darcy and Elizabeth's union by the novel's conclusion reinforces the importance of his wealth and that his pride was not enough to alienate him from the rest of the community. Indeed his pride was the result of his great fortune and Elizabeth came to understand and forgive his pride. Of course, social standing was just as important as wealth and most of his pride.time the two came hand in hand. Darcy belonged to the aristocrats and therefore had considerable power and social influence while Elizabeth belonged to a lower class (landed nobility), resulting in conflict between the two characters. Darcy's rejection of Elizabeth at their first meeting (because of her class) was an example of the class struggle. Darcy had several reasons for rejecting Elizabeth, namely her social position, that her uncle earned money instead of inheriting it (an example of the emerging bourgeoisie), and that her family did not behave accordingly: "The situation of your mother's family , however, questionable, was nothing compared to the total lack of decorum... of your three younger sisters. In the context of the novel, English society did not believe in class transgression; born This was depicted in Pride and Prejudice through Miss Bingley's objection to the union of Jane and Bingley and Lady Catherine's objection to the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy. Lady Catherine's anger at this possible social misstep can be seen through his conversation with Elizabeth on page 365: 'Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never be mentioned by any [of Darcy's family and friends]'. Lady Catherine is not only angered by Darcy's love for Elizabeth but also by her cousin's subsequent rejection "You are lost in all feelings of propriety and delicacy...from [Darcy's] earliest hours he was destined for his cousin." This statement reinforces how class transition was frowned upon and therefore it was shameful to marry below their class. On the other hand, if one continues a Marxist reading, Darcy's acceptance of Elizabeth and her family demonstrates Marx's hypothesis that as the ruling class the class begins to lose its social dominance and must align itself with the emerging class; in this case the bourgeoisie. As Marx stated on page 91 of the Communist Manifesto: "A small part of the ruling class turns away and joins the revolutionary class...just as a part of the nobility passes over to the bourgeoisie." In Pride and Prejudice Darcy may represent the "sector of the nobility" passed over to the bourgeoisie, while the bourgeoisie is represented by the Gardiners. After Darcy's original dislike of the Gardiners, he comes to accept them: "his being now seeks the knowledge of some of those same people, against whom his pride rebels." Darcy's acceptance of the Gardiners can be read as an example of the bourgeois revolution discussed by Marx in The Communist Manifesto (p. 91). Darcy may also represent the disappearing nobility in pre-industrial England and the changes that occurred within that class to survive the industrial (and, as Marx saw it, bourgeois) revolution. Indeed this is demonstrated by his acceptance of Elizabeth's family and his willingness to marry for love rather than to consolidate his social position. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Although Pride and Prejudice was written before Marx's manifesto, one can clearly see evidence of his theories of class struggle as "the story of everything until/10.1080/02673039982902)