Table of ContentsIntroductionRealism and romanticism in examples from Pride and PrejudiceConclusionIntroductionIn Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen demonstrates a genre flexibility in which realism and romanticism are balanced through the novel's socio-economic accuracy and Mr. Darcy's characterization, as well as Elizabeth Bennet's idealistic approach to marriage. Austen successfully justifies this duality by depicting Elizabeth's social mobility within the strict class hierarchy of Regency Britain. Although romance and realism are the main genres of Pride and Prejudice, the flexibility of the genre goes further, incorporating elements of Gothic literature. Critics have argued over the genre of Austen's novels. For William Dean Howells, his writings exemplify literary realism, which he considers a higher romanticism. In "Novel Writing and Novel Reading", Howells argues that "only the false in art is ugly" and classifies authors as "truthful" or "untruthful." Yet it leaves no room for Austen's gender fluidity, which is indeed a major source of interest in the story as a whole. Regardless, Pride and Prejudice includes the fundamental attributes of literary realism. No fantastic element is present, the characters finding themselves in realistic situations. Each character's social class is clearly defined, providing a nuanced portrayal of British nobility. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Examples of Realism and Romanticism in Pride and Prejudice Entire chapters of Pride and Prejudice involve the characters lounging around discussing letter writing and the type of books they read. . Much is revealed through letters rather than dialogue; a plot device of stoic functionality. In “Ventriloquized Opinions on Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma: The Critical Voice of Jane Austen,” Katie Gemmill discusses Austen's views on her own work. Her research suggests that Austen would consider herself a realist author. She cites Austen's letters to Anna which show how Austen was "opposed to characters who displayed virtue or vice in their absolute forms." She preferred a realistic portrayal of human fallibility" in her novels, achieving "what Mary Waldon described as a "blurring of moral direction" that "leaves the reader uncertain whether to approve or disapprove of the characters." In Pride and Prejudice, it is unclear whether Austen successfully achieves this goal. Few characters are portrayed as perfect, and that includes the more supportive characters such as Darcy. But others view Austen's characters as more simplistic. Toby R. Benis discusses the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice in "The Austen Effect: Remaking the Romantic Story as a Novel of Manners." Benis quotes Andrew Davies, the screenwriter, as saying that "no other 18th- or 19th-century novelist matches Austen's adaptability to the screen." Davies cites Austen's "ear for dialogue" and plots that "work". Benis mentions that Austen's novels contain "naturalistic and appropriate details", but he disagrees that her novels are entirely realistic in their depiction of social interactions. Despite Austen's opposition to describing vice and virtue in absolute terms, Benis explains how Pride and Prejudice is a "typical Austen novel" where the heroine must choose one of two suitors;“one virtuous and one less.” Between Darcy and Mr. Collins, however, there is no clear dichotomy between vice and virtue. Both characters have personality flaws, but neither of them were potentially shameful to the Bennets like Wickham. Benis argues that as a "novel of manners", Pride and Prejudice created "the Austen effect", since the "conventions historically associated with the novel...resurface in films depicting historical figures and controversies in Georgian .England, although there is little evidence to support this reading of history. This suggests that Austen is giving an inaccurate view of her times, discrediting the realism of her novels. But Austen shouldn't be blamed for directors who misinterpret her work. All of his novels, including Pride and Prejudice, depict a narrow segment of British society. The novel's opening statement: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a wealthy single man must be in want of a wife" is ironically idealistic. The narrator mocks this generalization by mentioning that the "feelings or opinions of such a man" are "little known." Yet the statement is again described as a "truth" believed by the Bennets and their "surrounding families." No character directly expresses this "truth", but if one did, it would certainly be Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet is one of the most realistic characters in the novel. She doesn't care about a potential suitor's compatibility with any of her daughters. When discussing Bingley with Mr. Bennet, she mentions that he is “a single man of great fortune; four or five thousand per year. His utilitarian approach to marriage is appropriate, given the inheritance laws described at the beginning of the novel. These laws would leave the Bennet sisters in a precarious situation, since the estate can only be left to Mr. Collins. But Mrs. Bennet is not entirely grounded in reality. Despite her family's social status, Mrs. Bennet is very optimistic. By placing too much emphasis on how Bingley's fortune would benefit his daughters, she never questions why Bingley might want to marry one of them. Yet she continues to believe that it is “very likely that he will fall in love with one of them.” She doesn't care if her daughters fall in love with Bingley. Bingley confirms this optimism when he meets the Bennets for the first time. He immediately tells Mrs. Bennet that he intends to marry one of her daughters, ignoring their social class and his lack of familiarity with the family. But Bingley's mother considers the willingness to marry under him so shameful that she lectures Darcy for his attraction to Elizabeth. She regards Elizabeth's decision to walk to their house as a "kind of pretentious independence" and an "indifference to decorum." Miss Bingley points out Elizabeth's dirty petticoat and reminds Darcy that he would not want his sisters to be like Elizabeth. Unlike Mrs. Bennet, Miss Darcy seeks to enforce social norms more strictly. This is not to say that Mrs. Bennet disregards social norms, but she lacks tact and displays shameless opportunism. Older and younger characters display a generational divide in their attitudes toward marriage. Elizabeth Bennet has a high view of marriage. She refuses to marry solely for money and rejects two marriage proposals. Like Bingley and Darcy, she is willing to ignore social class when considering marriage. This gives the novel a feeling of romance despite an otherwise realistic setting. Anxiety over class difference is presented less harshly than in Persuasion..