Men in Pride and Prejudice

Men in Pride and Prejudice

While Pride and Prejudice was set in a time where women were quite often subjected to extreme objectification, in the novel men are quite set aside and are little more than plot devices used to tell the story. On the very first page of the novel, Austen says "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must in want of a good wife." While this is said ironically, there is a certain element of truth in it, at least in terms of the world Pride and Prejudice is set in. On the same page, men are referred to as "property", a theme that travels through the novel. While King Lear does not contain themes of men being "property" as such, some men are still under the control of women.

Arguably, this can be easily justified, as in our world where novels so often contain empty female characters, men should be subjected to the same rules. But perhaps putting men in the same position as women is not a step forward for female characters in literature, but rather a step back. Pride and Prejudice is a world dominated by women. All the men in the novel have some female figure that they must answer to, and perhaps Austen is trying to communicate that even in a world that was so obviously created for men, men themselves were not always as free as one might think. Mr. Bennet is managed by his wife and daughters, he is a quiet man who simply wants peace, yet still performs on the whims of a woman we are not encouraged to like. For example, when Lydia is invited to go to Brighton, an action considered improper in the time the novel is set, Mr. Bennet allows her to go, the only reason  being that the uproar of Mrs. Bennet and Lydia's reaction. Thus Mr. Bennet is controlled by the women around him.

This has a similar theme to King Lear where Lear, after he sheds himself of kingly responsibilities, is now in the mercy of his daughters, Goneril and Regan, who, somewhat like Lydia and Mrs. Bennet, the audience are not encouraged to feel anything akin to affection towards. Unlike Pride and Prejudice, Lear breaks free of his daughters' control, and it is them trying exercise control over him that is what prompts him to leave, and perhaps speeds up his fate. Perhaps this is divine justice stepping in to punish him for his behaviour towards Cordelia, who he rashly acted against. But is it justifiable to push an old, senile man into the midst of a storm, whatever his views?

Two characters that can be compared in both King Lear and Pride and Prejudice are Lord Albany and Mr. Darcy. For a large chunk of the book, Darcy is under the influence of Lady Catherine, who's opinions are cruel and irrational. She does not encourage his and Elizabeth's relationship, instead sticking with the rigid social rules of who and marry and why to marry. However, Darcy, filled with a sense of what is right, and understanding that what is right for Catherine may not necessarily right for him, breaks away from her influence and marries Elizabeth.
Like Darcy, Albany is under the control of Goneril for the majority of the play. He is first presumed to be a spineless, weak and cowardly character