P+P #3

“If what I have hitherto said can appear to you in the form of encouragement, I know not how to express my refusal in such a way as may convince you of its being one” (75). Elizabeth’s continued refusal of marriage to Mr. Collins is an example of doing what she pleases; she does not care what other people think of her. Although the author died many years before the Victorian age, she demonstrates a Victorian quality in her characterizations of Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s attitude can even be distinguished as feministic for this era. There were not many key women figures during this time, but Austen gives Elizabeth the features needed to stand out as a significant main character. It is intriguing that Jane Austen, an ordinary woman, was a possible pioneer to the Victorian writers.