Student Essay on Elizabeth in 'Pride and Prejudice' and Jane Eyre in 'Jane Eyre'

Elizabeth in 'Pride and Prejudice' and Jane Eyre in 'Jane Eyre'

Summary:   Being published in the nineteenth century in England, the two famous novels Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte both focus on the issues of love and marriage. Especially, these novels reveal the two characters who are Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre and their significant features in dealing with the trials in their love.

Being published in the nineteenth century in England, the two famous novels Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte both focus on the issues of love and marriage. Especially, these novels reveal the two characters who are Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre and their significant features in dealing with the trials in their love.

Firstly, both of these characters have strength in their romantic love. They look for a real love in regardless of financial security or social status. Elizabeth herself has to overcome her prejudice against Darcy - an upper-class gentleman to love him. Jane Eyre falls in love with Mr. Rochester in her maturity. It seems so hard for the readers to weigh up these two protagonists because each of them has their own great impression on the readers about their strong character. We can just say that they are the representatives for typical English women in the nineteenth century who want to demonstrate their freedom in seeking for a true love which is not regarded as an important issue in their conventional society.

Secondly, these two characters show their significant features in strongly dealing with the obstacles to protect their love. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth has to encounter the disagreement of Lady Catherine De Bourgh on the love between Mr. Darcy - her nephew and Elizabeth. Her confrontation with Lady Catherine shows clearly her determined and independent viewpoint on her love: "I am only determined to do what in my opinion will bring me happiness, without reference to you." In fact, Elizabeth is self-conscious about the inferiority of her family's social position but she seems so strong to protect her true love against the interference of the external force. Likewise, Jane Eyre expresses her strength in love in her high self-esteem and independence. Though the love Jane Eyre gives to Mr. Rochester is great, she still forces herself to accept the situation that he is a married man. That fact causes her to make her decision that she must leave off him. It seems to be unbearable for her but Jane Eyre has to overcome herself " Leave Thornfield at once was so immediate, so dreadful,... I could not do it. But then a voice within me repeated that I could and must. I struggled with my own resolution. Conscience and passion fought...." Her inner struggle happens in her mind. She has to choose between her emotions and intellect. By having a relationship with Rochester, who is already married, she feels she would lose her self-respect along with her self-confidence. She also realizes that she can not do something morally wrong, just out of the weakness of will and emotional neediness. Her self-esteem and conscience finally triumph her inner struggle. How strong and admirable she is! As a young girl who grows up out of yearning and frustration, Jane Eyre deeply impresses the readers on the way she deals with her difficult trial in her love.

Thirdly, both Elizabeth and Jane Eyre's strong characters lead them to a happy marriage at the end. These two woman who devote themselves to their truly romantic love can find the true meaning of their lives. So, meaningful a true love is! Elizabeth learns from her true love the experience of removing her hasty misjudgments about the other. That means her character is improves much more in a good way. In Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester find their happiness at the end though it takes them time to come to a happy ending. Through their marriage, Jane Eyre once again shows her strength of love. That is the fact that she returns to Thorn field and gets married with Mr. Rochester though at that time he is a blind man without property. We believe that without her true love for him, she can not come to accept this situation. It means that her strength of love proves to be in triumph at the end.

To sum up, as Madam de Stael said that: " Love is the whole story of a man's life", we as the readers can learn about the true love story of the two strong characters- Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre through these two novels. It is evident that true love is a meaningful subject of our lives and ones who can be strong in the character perhaps can easily make their stories of love be meaningful and lasting forever in their whole lives .