The Role of Passion and Desire in Pride and Prejudice

Introduction

Passion and desire are emotions that give life meaning, particularly love. Nevertheless, passion and desire are complicated feelings. In some instances, they lead to personal growth and success, while at other times, they generate turmoil and disputation. With regard to societal conventions, it seems that the pursuit of one’s desires can lead to complicated human behavior—people do awkward things to either seek or fend off love. Pride and Prejudice is primarily about passion and desire. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to examine how passion and desire are treated and seen as central to the story outline in Pride and Prejudice (for Translation & Literary Studies et al., 2020).

Passion and desire are at the heart of the storyline in Pride and Prejudice. For Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, the leading characters, love is not preordained but clashing. Austen’s characters either pursue their passions mischievously, like Mr. Wickham, or curtail them clumsily, like Mr. Collins. These comic scenes expose the absurdity of humanity’s efforts to tame or articulate its passion and desire in the face of the much-feared power of passion. Most significantly, what emerges through the tumult of comic desires is a way to negotiate the desires in a community that places constraints on them. Considering the relevance of analyzing how the passion and desire so often visible in Austen’s characters are successfully handled or otherwise curbed in a restrictive society, Austen’s world is closer to contemporary society than expected.

Background of Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice offers a witty critique of the marriage market in early 19th-century England while also delivering a heartwarming love story. As the opening words of the novel famously put it, It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. The pursuit of love, as it is depicted in the novel, exists within the practical constraints of need for food, property, social status and economic security. Accepting the social codes of Regency England, where the novel takes place, Austen’s young characters enact romantic desires smothered with social expectations relative to class distinction. Austen’s own life experiences seem to inform her treatment of love and desire. Having received a limited education from the local seminary, Austen returned home at the age of fourteen. The following years, when most of the novel’s action takes place, were spent in relative obscurity at the family cottage in a quiet Hampshire village. Though Austen was envied for her wealth, life was difficult for sisters as they neared thirty without marrying. Austen took to the pen and began writing tales of courtship, drawing inspiration from letters received, dances attended, and places visited. Eventually Austen found passion in writing and a kind of remedy against disappointment in love. After years of effort, it was in 1795 that Austen experienced the first taste of success with a completed manuscript. However, it would take nearly two decades before a novel would be published, and worries about the family’s financial hardships and the urgency of finding eligible husbands for Austen’s sisters must have complicated efforts. Though courtships emerged from great longing – and oftentimes hope – a concern for how to manage the outcomes persisted throughout Austen’s life. Complicated arrangements of classes seem to have tightened the grip on the characters’ considerations with courses of action. Now public, Austen’s artworks came to shape how lovers navigate through the pressures of classes and passions, producing either disastrous mismatches or happy unions. Setting them against a backdrop of Regency society’s rich and sometimes absurd manners, Austen’s fictions of emotion expose the characters’ inner lives and the standards of classes that determine the judgments on their courses. Inasmuch as writing became a way for Austen to ponder about courtships and matchmaking, it also necessitated the considerations of how to zestfully enact passions while prudently securing the most advantageous outcome. Pride and Prejudice depicts this very predicament in a world where matchmaking determines the characters’ fortunes as well as their emotional journeys. Considering the world of classes as the characters act out passions and desires, it becomes possible to scrutinize the disparities between the characters’ inner emotions and the manners exposed to the public eye. The importance of habit, manners and clubs to the characters’ emotional journeys is central to understanding Austen’s depiction of passions and desires. An unfolding web of emotions throughout the course of the novel creates a. all entangled within an initial misunderstanding concerning the first proposal and its acceptance that eventually brings about a happy union.

Defining Passion and Desire

To establish a baseline for the essay’s subsequent analysis of passion and desire, it is crucial to explicitly define and differentiate these terms. Passion is defined as an intense emotion that propels individuals towards the attainment of their desired objectives. Passion is typically characterized by fervor, urgency, and intensity, and it often engenders an overwhelming need to act in accordance with such emotion. However, passions can also elicit irrational behavior, leading individuals to act in misguided or misinformed ways. Indeed, passions are often deemed uncontrollable forces, spurring action outside the rational mind’s jurisdiction (Eileen Cicero-erkkila, 2014). In contrast to passion, desire is framed as a yearning or longing, a want or wish, to obtain or achieve something. A desire can be directed towards numerous aspirations that include ambitions and romantic interests. Scholarly thought poses an interesting dilemma in the nuances of the two terms: if something is desired, is it not inherently a passion? One literary theory states that passion is felt when it is made manifest through action, while desire is an internal feeling that is not explicitly expressed (Antonio Azevedo, 2018). It is through these social nuances that ideas of passion and desire are interpreted elements of literature, and arguably life, as people think, act, and react to one another’s passions and desires, often at cross purposes or misunderstanding intent.

To best interpret the characters, their actions, and the various layers of interpersonal dynamics in “Pride and Prejudice,” it is vital to dissect these concepts, as Austen does through her narrative. This exploration begins with a consideration of how passion, desire, and the various social conventions that accompany them interact with one another, and the potential for conflict therein. While the above definitions create the lens through which these concepts are explored, it is additionally important to convey a basic understanding of the words as they are used within this text. Grounded in these definitions, Austen’s characters either consciously or subconsciously explore the bounds and effects of passion and desire through their choices and relationships with one another. However, it is only through careful reading and attention to the text that such an analysis becomes possible. Thus, the concern becomes how to best engage with Austen’s thought and characterization. In “Pride and Prejudice,” passion and desire are at once simple concepts and complex social dilemmas, and as such, understanding and engagement with them renders deeper interpretation of the text possible. Throughout the text, passion and desire are fluid concepts; they take on different meanings as characters confront, reflect upon, and grapple with their own and one another’s passions and desires. But, at heart, these concepts are means by which characters either attain or fail to attain their wished-for outcomes. This narrative structure creates a tension between characters simply engaging with their passions and desires and the social conventions governing their actions.

Passion and Desire in Character Development

Passion and desire act as the motivating variables in character development. Elizabeth Bennet’s desire for independence drives the choices she makes and the path she follows. Careful not to imitate her mother’s approach to marriage, which centers on financial security, Elizabeth is determined to “choose for [her]self,” defying societal pressure. Similarly, Mr. Darcy’s confusion over Elizabeth’s initial refusal to accept his proposal stems from his desire to marry her social status, as he sees her family connections as a means of furthering his own social standing. Elizabeth’s discontent with the situation prompts her to reject Darcy’s suit. Over time, the characters’ prejudices transform into understanding and affection. In a letter, Darcy explains the account of Bingley’s abrupt departure, as well as Wickham’s true character, and Elizabeth realizes her prior judgments of him were flawed (P. (IREINE) RUGIAN, 2014). Thus, she gradually begins to acknowledge her love for him: “In vain I have struggled.

Conflict and Resolution in Pride and Prejudice

In Pride and Prejudice, conflict arises from the passion and desire of the characters and finds its resolution in those same elements. The misunderstandings that occur due to the passion and desire of the characters create the story's conflicts. These misunderstandings often create the greatest tension in the narrative. Most of the conflicts center on situations created by the characters' desires, highlighting societal pressure and personal views (Indra Praptomo et al., 2015). Because of these desires, the character's flawed judgments create a series of conflicts.

The desire for both wealth and love in a partner creates misunderstandings for characters such as Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, Mr. Bingley, and Jane. The characters’ desires create a series of misunderstandings that become the narrative’s central tension. Still, those same desires eventually resolve the conflicts. Passion and desire also create a series conflicts that must be resolved for the character's relationships to flourish. Still, these conflicts would not exist without the passion and desire in the first place. The passion and desire of the characters compel them to seek out one another, and in so doing, create several pivotal confrontations that challenge their perceptions of one another. These confrontations compel the characters to reconsider their emotions and the viability of their relationships. In particular, the letter from Darcy to Elizabeth and the confrontation directly afterward are pivotal moments in the narrative.

These moments force both characters to work through their feelings toward one another. Initially, each character misreads the other and the possible affection. Still, the resolution of the conflicts through these encounters illustrates the ability of love to transform the characters and bring about self-awareness. Characters such as Darcy and Elizabeth must learn to understand themselves to see the truth of the love between them. In Jane Austen’s narrative, characters must reconcile emotional outrage and societal constraint, and this balance is the narrative arc. Although Elizabeth is forced into a journey of personal self-discovery after the confrontation in the garden, her family and societal class continually shape her choices. Similarly, while Darcy’s letter spurs a journey inward, it is only through the mediation of a third party, Bingley, that he acts to resolve the conflict. Unlike the more visceral growings of affection depicted in the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy, that between Jane and Bingley grows relatively smoothly from the outset. However, even their relationship is nearly undone by outside interference, in the form of Darcy and Caroline Bingley. Thus, the resolution of desire is not simply an individual occurrence, and outside influences must also be accounted for. While internal reflection certainly brings resolutions, outside influence often drives initial action and choice. Conflicts arise from desire but have the characters act to resolve them through social negotiation as much as individual introspection.

Conclusion and Implications

Passion and desire are central to the action of “Pride and Prejudice,” and as such, they drive character development, conflict, and resolution. From the outset, these emotions propel the narrative forward, whether it be through the tumultuous yet comedic courtship of Darcy and Elizabeth or the more placid courtship of Bingley and Jane. However, passion and desire also underpin much of the novel’s social commentary. The characters navigate a world of class restrictions, gender expectations, and economic necessity, and understanding the way characters’ desires intersect with these issues illuminates the social critique. Furthermore, despite writing against a backdrop of passionate Romanticism, there remains skepticism of unchecked desires, arguing that they must be tempered and directed by reason to avoid social destruction (for Translation & Literary Studies et al., 2020). The implications of this analysis are twofold. Firstly, it offers the potential for contemporary readings to be more attuned to the exploration of passions and desires. While treatments of class and gender are frequently foregrounded, there is also an investment in examining how societal pressures shape and restrict personal passions. Secondly, it encourages modern readers to consider how their own emotional landscapes exist in relation to societal expectations. The world may be foreign in many ways, but insights into human desire and emotion connect the narratives with contemporary audiences.

Passion is presented as both a unifying force and a potential source of conflict throughout “Pride and Prejudice.” The examination of desire’s ability to connect individuals also grapples with its complexities. The courtship unfolds so effortlessly that it almost seems to happen outside of their control. One character is “captivated” by another’s “sweetness” and “gentleness,” while the other finds the first “so delightful.” Through this romance, it is shown how desire can bind two people together in love, but it is also acknowledged how such bindings can result in conflict. At various points, attachment is undermined by outside forces. Pride and interventions both conspire to keep the two lovers apart, demonstrating how desire can inspire both connection and conflict. This theme is central to another courtship, as misunderstandings arising from outside perspectives almost prevent their union. There is an acute awareness of the complexity of human desire: it can unite individuals but also drive them toward conflict, sometimes in unforeseen ways. Ultimately, passions become a path to reconciliation, but only after a series of trials.

References

• for Translation & Literary Studies, A. W. E. J., Alhasan, A., and Omar, N. "Empowerment of Love for Jane Austen’s Females: A Case of Creativity in Familiarity." 2020. osf.io
• Eileen Cicero-erkkila, E. "Womenu27s Control of Passion: Louisa May Alcottu27s Revision of Charlotte Bronteu27s Jane Eyre and Societal Restrictions of Passion in the Ninteenth-Century." 2014. [PDF]
• Antonio Azevedo, M. "We cannot be happy in solitude: Hume on pride, love and the desire of others’ happiness." 2018. [PDF]
• P. (IREINE) RUGIAN, I. "Pengaruh Keluarga Terhadap Perilaku Tuan Darcy Dan Elizabeth Bennet Dalam Novel Pride and Prejudice (Pendekatan Psikologi)." 2014. [PDF]
• Indra Praptomo, D., Abdillah Nugroho M.Hum., D., and Setyabudi S.S M.Hum., T. "Harmony and Conflict in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (1811): An Individual Psychological Approach." 2015. [PDF]