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positions of the whole family down. It is the class position of the family and Elizabeth that caused difficulties for Elizabeth to marry a wealthy aristocrat like Darcy.

The Lucases

The Lucases are at a comparable level of the social hierarchy with the Bennets and they are also close friends with each other. Sir William Lucas used to be a former Mayer and businessman but he got knighted and quite his business and started living as an aristocrat even though he does not actually have a lot of money. He is absolutely satisfied with his title and similarly to Bingley, he only wants to socialize and please people and hope for nothing much. He displays his title to Catherine when he met her at the dance and offered to introduce her at St. James’ Court. However Caroline got offended by it and disliked his arrogance which was out of his expectation and here the obvious differences and gaps between different social classes and are clearly shown.

Mr. Collins

Mr. Collins is at a slightly lower level than the Lucases. He is the son of Bennet’s younger brother and he symbolizes the lowest level of aristocracy. Collins has received some formal education but he does not really have money and had to work for a living until he married one of the daughters of Bennet. By marrying one of Bennet’s daughters he inherits the estate of Bennet. Acquired some education but no money, though he will one day inherit Bennetʼs estate. His own social status isn’t too much to be proud of but he tends to be happy to let everyone know that Lady Catherine is his patroness.

Gardiners and Philips

The Gardiners and Philips are relatives of Mrs. Bennet whose social position is below Mr. Collins that represent the middle class. Mr. Gardiner works for his living and is in a respectable business and the Gardiners are educated and cultured Londoners. Mrs. Philips is Mrs. Bennet’s sister and she has married a lawyer’s clerk who worked for her father.

Wickham

And finally there goes Wickham, the son of Pemberleyʼs former steward who seems to be at the lowest position of the social hierarchy in the novel. However, by getting one of the Bennet’s daughters Lydia to fall for him and get married it enables a rise in his social position.

Major findings and analysis from the novel

The lines of class are strictly drawn in the 19th century Regency England. Men and women at that time must be in want of a good marriage. Men tend to seek for women who match their background and women wish to seek for a man with a fairly wealthy background. The social environment of a man is more appreciated rather than the individual conditions, and this also seems to apply to women as well. A wealthy life was based upon a good marriage and therefore a good marriage was highly valued in the society. People treat each other in different ways depending on their social background. Although the Bennets who are middles class may have the chances to socialize with the upper class Bingleys and Darcys, they are still their social inferiors and they are also treated as such. One of the reasons for Ms. Bingley’s inordinate disdain towards Elizabeth is because of Elizabeth’s middle class background for Ms. Bingley is class-conscious from her wealthy background. Mr. Collins is an extreme example of having such class-consciousness for he spends most本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。