Jane Austen's social novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) from the Patriarchal Regency England uses free indirect discourse to examine the idea that moral development can only be stimulated by individual interactions and that individual happiness can only be achieved by exceeding social expectations. The interviewee's understanding of context and these enduring values is deepened through Fay Weldon's epistolary novel, Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen (1984), in which the private nature of Weldon's epistolary form in an English contemporary post-feminist declares literature and success. external marriage as a modern means of achieving this goal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Austen explores the need for introspection, through one-on-one interactions, to stimulate an individual's moral development. In Pride and Prejudice, character traits are cultural constructs arising from class concerns. Darcy's pride initially manifests itself at the ball, where his refusal to dance with Elizabeth in the condescending tone of "In such an assembly as this would be unbearable" reflects the idea that social status equals prestige; although they are simply opposite extremes of the landed gentry. Prejudicial perceptions of Elizabeth are reinforced through her meeting with Wickham as the tripartite list describes that "his countenance, his voice, and his manners had established him at once in possession of every virtue." Elizabeth's attention to salient appearances derives from the Regency's concern with "results"; funny skills that determined a woman's worth. However, Elizabeth's introspective reading of Darcy's letter, illustrated by self-contemplative language as she "read and reread with utmost attention," facilitates a newfound understanding that "it had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd." . Likewise, Darcy's confession in empathetic language that "you Elizabeth have taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but very profitable!", reflects his developed humility in confronting his moral shortcomings. Through Darcy and Elizabeth, Austen reveals the value of individual interactions to catalyze introspection that results in appropriate modesty. Instead, Weldon reflects his context and advocates the pursuit of literature, and its potential to develop empathy, as the greatest source of moral development. The Education Act 1980 focused on increasing the accessibility of education to all, counteracting Regency England education. Weldon initially alludes to the necessary presence of literature to equip society with knowledge through the high modality in “We have to tell ourselves these things, you know. It's amazing how ignorant we are..." Literature is presented as a means of instruction to alter the perception of the world, through the extended metaphor of the "City of Invention" in "Good builders, take a vision out of the real world and transpose that reality itself has changed.”; echoing Darcy's sentiment that reading "adds something more substantial." Weldon links literary deprivation to an undeveloped emotional capacity through anaphora in “And Above All, Too Unread, Too Little Sympathetically Practiced.” Weldon then contextualizes Pride and Prejudice through statistical data that "only thirty percent married, so getting married was a big prize" to demonstrate that this knowledge confirms Mrs. Bennett's ridiculed maternal motive.
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