Examples of Realism in Pride and Prejudice

Realism in Pride and Prejudice and its examples

1. Pride and Prejudice reflect everyday life, observations, practical concerns, feelings, responses, and desires. Austen’s fictional world and her characters are believable and true to life. 

2. Similar to realist fiction, Austen highlights the issues of her contemporary society such as the socio-economic dynamics surrounding marriage and the unjust entailment law prevalent in Regency England.

3. Similar to realist novels, the tone of Pride and Prejudice is detached and objective. There is no overt sentimentalism or any sort of melodrama in Austen’s portrayal of characters and situations in Pride and Prejudice.

4. Restrained criticism of social mores is a hallmark of realist novels. This attribute is evident in Pride and Prejudice. The subtext or underlying theme of this novel is that every individual is a social animal. One cannot exist alone or in a vacuum. Therefore, for all the characters portrayed in the novel, happiness resides in forming an amicable compromise with societal expectations rather than completely defying societal conventions. 

5. , Unlike romantic novels, Darcy and Elizabeth’s love for each other is not incredibly passionate and all-consuming. Their love does not blind them to their respective social responsibilities. Both individuals seek social sanctity and approval from their respective social spheres and loved ones. For instance, Darcy is eager for Bingley’s and Georgiana’s consent whereas Elizabeth seeks her parents’ blessings. This concern for social repercussions exhibited by Elizabeth and Darcy is a prominent attribute of realist fiction. 

6. Darcy and Elizabeth are portrayed in a realistic manner and they experience relatable human emotions. The change in Elizabeth’s feelings after the first proposal is “justified in terms of the 'gratitude' she…feels toward Darcy” (Urquhart 85). 

7. The contradiction between the ideal of marriage based purely on intellectual harmony and a marital union dictated by pure material necessity is resolved at the end by an amicable union of both ideals manifested in Elizabeth’s marriage with Darcy. The novel places emphasis on the fact that both love and financial security are essential for a compatible marriage. This reinforcement of the pragmatic realities of life is another defining characteristic of realist fiction. 

8. Ian Watt in The Rise of the Novel makes an interesting observation regarding Jane Austen and states that Austen maintains a “harmonious unity” in her work and “her sense of social order…is not achieved at the expense of the individuality and autonomy of the characters” (338). 

9. One of the ways in which this harmonious unity is ensured is through the profound self-knowledge gained by Darcy and Elizabeth and their eventual marriage (Bush 99, 101). 

10. Although Pride and Prejudice has a fairy-tale ending and the lovers unite, the elements of realism are more prevalent in the novel. Hence, it can primarily be classified as a realist novel. 

Credit goes to Ma'am Saima Najib

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