Reputation+in+Pride+and+Prejudice

Reputation in //Pride and Prejudice//

=
One of the main themes throughout the book is reputation. In Pride and Prejudice members of the upper class try to maintain their reputations of weath, culture, and powerful citizens of the realm. Members of middle class, like Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins, try to improve their reputations by marrying into money and status. Mrs. Bennet also tries to improve her reputation by making her daughters marry into money, but it backfires on her because of Mr. Darcy's intelligence. In a letter to Elizabeth Mr. Darcy states he didn't want Mr. Bingley to marry Jane because of their mother. He states, "The situation of your mother's family, though objectionable, was nothing in comparison of that total want of ropriety so frequently, so almost uniformly betrayed by herself, by your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father" (Austen 193). Darcy is telling Elizabeth that he knows Mrs. Bennet only wants her kids to marry for money instead of love in order to improve their family's name. In the book Lydia Bennet is one of the characters that ruins the family's reputation the most when she runs off with Mr. Wickham, a man in debt, out of wedlock. Mrs. Bennet is so obsessed with the idea of marriage and status that she is the only one who wants Lydia and Wickham to marry. Mrs. Bennet states, "Well! I am so happy. In a short time, I shall have a daughter married. Mrs. Wickham! How well it sounds. And she was only sixteen last June" (Austen 290). Mrs. Bennet is so excited for one of her daughters to marry that she oblivious to the fact that Wickham is in debt! She doesn't care about how Lydia feels as long as her reputation increases. by Lydia running away with Wickham out of wedlock, she also ruins the chances of her sisters marrying a respectable young man. Jane writes to Elizabeth stating, "Imprudent as a marriage between Mr. Wickham and our poor Lydia would be, we are now anxious to be assured it has taken place, for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to Scotland" (Austen 261). Jane hopes that the wedding has taken place because it looks worse that Lydia and Wickham ran off unmarried than it does for Lydia to marry someone not many people like.======

=
Connection to real world: after reading //Pride and Prejudice// one can see that reputation is still present in our world today. It is extremely obviously in the reality t.v. show //The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills//. //The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills// offers a glimpse inside the world of luxurious wealth and pampered privilege, where being seen and who you know is everything. These women are in the center of it all and they have the mansions, the cars, and the diamonds to prove it.======

=
// The Housewives of Beverly Hills and // //Pride and Prejudice// both show how reputation has played a role in their lives and how they both want to keep a high reputation. In the book Mrs. Bennet wants to increase her reputation by having her daughters marry into money and a higher status. In the television show the housewives try to improve or keep their reputation by buying the most expensive things. Another thing the book and the television show have in common is they both in some way want marriage. In the book Mrs. Bennet wanted Lydia and Wickham to marry otherwise their reputation would have gone down. In this show Camille does not want to divorce her husband because she wants to keep their family together. That might be one reason, but another reason is a divorce would decrease her reputation within the community. According to Stacey Rucas, "T hat reporting positive or negative information about other group members significantly predicts the rankings of attractiveness assigned to those group members"(Rucas). Rucas is stating that the more positive things said about you, the higher your reputation will be, and then the more attractive you will appear to others. This applies in both the book and the t.v. show. Rucas also states, " Several lines of evidence suggest that reputations are important to individuals living in social groups because they can mediate access to resources, determine reciprocal partners, and provide useful information to potential mates about health status, and sexual fidelity"(Rucas). Both Mrs. Bennet and Camille belong to "social groups" through their living community. Mrs. Bennet belongs to Longbourn with the rest of her family where Camille belongs to Beverly Hills with her family plus other people like her. Living in social groups makes it easier for information to be passed around so one's reputation must be higher in order to get a good spouse. ======