Comparative Study of Pride and Prejudice and Mrs. Dalloway from the Feminism Perspective

陆杭

1. The Comparison of Pride And Prejudices and Mrs. Dalloways Backgrounds

Jane Austen （1775-1817） was emphatically not a feminist； or we can say that she herself didnt have the profound understanding of feminism when she started to wrote Pride and Prejudice. Because of the evident influence of social conditions， Austens immature thoughts of feminism come up in the novel. Feminism sprouted in the western of the 15th century without any follow-up development. Before the 17th century， women were completely dependent on men for their low status in society. However， at the end of 18th century， west capitalist economy started to develop rapidly in British， and its correspondingly thoughts of freedom and democracy was displayed by many kinds of activities， people has more freedom and rights. Jane Austen lived in the age of changing which was influenced by the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment Movement， whereas the enlightenment thoughts seemed to be the origin of Feminism in the 18th century. But the problems of women status were far from solved in that era. At that time the social ideology thought that women are and should be less intelligent than men. “The best woman is less intelligent than the worst man，” said by Oscar Browning who lived in the same time with Austen. The girls didnt have the chance to go to school， and only some rich families would hire the governess or send their daughters to the boarding schools where just taught them how to be well-mannered. They were expected to be self-sacrifice for husband， the one who is all for the sake of others in the family. They were deprived of not only the rights to work and education， but also the right of inheritances. Under this serious condition of women discrimination， Austens insistence of writing itself contains the rebellious spirit of feminism.

Virginia Woolf （1882–1941） lived in Victorian Age， this was a special age that not only the science and technology， but also all the other parts of human civilization were changing from traditional types to modern ones. In her growth process， the supersession of different kinds of literary movements and thoughts led to the second climax of western modernist literature， while at the same time the Feminist Movement was in its first climax. Woolf， who was unfairly excluded from education and other aspects of life as a female since she was young， was influenced by the Feminist Movement； started to think about womens oppression； and her feminist consciousness was stimulated by the movement. Although， Woolf didnt accept the formal education， her academical and open family brought her a lot of literature knowledge. However， the contrast between her stern father who didnt allow his daughter accept the same education with his son and her gentle mother who was the model of “Angel Home” in Victorian Age also lead to the rebellious spirit of Woolf， then became one of the origins of Woolfs feminism thoughts. Mrs. Dalloway was written after the World War I. According to the social conditions， Woolf provided us a series of humanity and social problems about life and death， love and marriage， feminism， power and war. Professor Zhu reviewed that she had further analyzed feminism and feminist literature by grand historical angle of view and broad horizon of thoughts. The background of Mrs. Dalloway is settled in the time that the World War ends. The war obviously destroys the nature environment， but the injury in womens hearts is deeper and more permanent. The wives and mothers of the soldiers that Woolf creates to be the typical examples of the heartbroken women in the novel have miserable lives after war， not only are destroyed physically but also psychologically. The war is known as a symbol of patriarchal expression. Woolfs background setting criticizes the selfness of patriarchal power that leads to the war， and brings deep injuries to women.

Compared with Jane Austen， Virginia Woolfs age was more open and modern. Although the discrimination of women still remained， according to the setting of these two novels， the awakening of women was stronger and stronger. The women writer started connected women characters destinies with the nature and social environment， especially the social environment. Austen was influenced by the age； however， Woolf is in the age. Austens character is mainly controlled by the thoughts of herself or other people； however， Woolfs character is controlled by the big environment around her， and the activities of people around her.

2. The Comparison of Pride And Prejudices and Mrs. Dalloways Female Characters

Jane Austen moulds a lot of different female characters in Pride and Prejudice. They are vividly depicted with full-fledged personalities. Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters are the typical representatives of young women of British middle class. They should obey the normal secular etiquettes， their attitudes towards things and people base on the moral standards of society， although they actually have opposite viewpoints. Elizabeth and other young women in the novel all need to dress beautifully and go to parties in order to find favor in men of prime marriageable age who have particular actual strength and financial capacity. Women are considered to be accessory of men， the synonym of ignorance and vanity. However， Elizabeth is created to be an honest， clever， and independent woman who is filled with nuanced observations. Jane Austen doesnt use the old tradition to define woman. Through Elizabeth who is the “New Woman” in her mind， she expresses her urge of equality， and strikes back against the discrimination of women. A “New Woman”， like Elizabeth， should think independently， analyze independently， and stay clam. The feminist consciousness of Elizabeth is just the appeal from Austens heart and her expectation for women. She wants women to protect self-respect bravely， when they have to face to the unfairness； to strive for their own happiness， when they fall in love. When Darcys aunt Lady Catherine despises Elizabeth for her extraction and fortune， through Elizabeths refutation we can see her clever， brave and her thoughts of equality. Austen tells us that if a woman can respect herself， believe in herself， and dont be afraid of oppression， she will get the happiness she wants. Women should be equally treated as man.

But Woolf writes the rebellions of women. In Victorian Age， the public places belonged to man， and women could not go out alone， except a man could be the company. Mrs. Dalloway has no company， and when she faces to the question “Where are you off to？” from Hugh， the “perfect gentleman”， who is well-mannered but ignorance， she doesnt answer him directly. Thats a kind of self-protection against patriarchal fetter. The novel is developed based on Clarissas party which has important significance for her. For her， the party is a career， is a kind of privilege that only women can hold. Its a career that can manifest her value. She hopes to connect the people who have different status， then create the feminist value of equality and combination what is deviated from patriarchal ranks and oppressions. Mrs. Dalloway wants to exist as a hostess， display her talents， exercise her free rights， and build her self-consciousness. Her action is the expression of building feminist value system； it is no doubt that this expression is the rebellion against patriarchal society. When it comes to her marriage， although she is content with it， actually there is a kind of rebellion in her mind. The deep desire of love rights always stimulates her， no matter Peter or Sally， are the evidences of her love desire. Her rebellion is not thoroughgoing， with compromise， so that she cannot run through the barriers of patriarchy.

Austens female character is the representative of womens awakening； her rebellion of patriarchal moral standards is just about the thoughts of marriage， there is no material research of womens status and spirits. However， Woolfs female character is more spiritual， and what she wants is more than Austens， such as love， independent thoughts， and individual self-worth and so on. Since Austen we can see a women wake up and start to think who she is and what she wants， when it comes to Woolf， this woman gets up and asks for what she wants.

3.From Jane Austen to Virginia Woolf

Jane Austen， the most outstanding woman novelist at the end of 18th century. She was the first important woman writer in the history of English literature as well. As a woman， she proposed feminist consciousness by depicting series of woman issues. The heroines in her works were brand new at that time. Jane Austen seems to be the pioneer of literary feminism， her consciousness over the period defined by a major early and a major late novel. Placing Austen in her socio-economic and biographical context， Austen may be viewed as unequivocally feminist in orientation. So that Jane Austen is earlier than the first phase， and Woolf is just in the second phase. Virginia Woolf is deeply influenced by Jane Austen， and Jane is also one of her favorite writer. She compares Austen with Shakespeare， uses a lot of words to express her love and jealous of Jane Austen in her Common Reader. Woolf can understand Austens calm and ambition. It can not deny that no matter the writing style but also the primary awakening of Jane Austen deeply influenced Woolfs creation. However， comparatively， the thought in Austens novels had the unmistakable characteristic of the 18th century traditional society， while Woolfs adopted a wider historical perspective on the social and ethical problems of her time， exploring the inner anxieties of 19th century women. Woolf is the real forerunner of feminist literary theory； her theory influenced and enlightened all the feminists behind history. Woolf writes a lot of critics for women writers， and forms her theory through these critics. She asks women to achieve their value through writing， unfold an offensive against patriarchal culture. She finds the historical sources of feminist literature； she makes the females view which developed from the Enlightenment become the important approach of literature criticism.

4. Conclusion

The basic reason leads to the infertile life of the heroines in both Pride and Prejudice and Mrs. Dalloway is their independence. In the patriarchal society， the women just belong to kitchen and bedroom. The two women writers all cares about females status， females fates and females ways out， physically and mentally. They expressed that woman are no dependency to man. They shouldnt live in the shadow of patriarchy either. Females can achieve successes in society too-even open their vast futures. As the pioneer and the earliest founder of the feminist literature， they all use their works to advocate the women to find themselves and achieve their hopes.

Reference：

[1]Cadell & Davies.An Enquiry into the Duties of the Female Sex.London：The Macmillan Press.1997.

[2]Jane Austen.Pride and Prejudice.Beijing：Foreign Language Press.2008.

[3]Virginia Woolf.Mrs.Dalloway.London：Penguin Books Ltd.1996.