Verified Document

Life Of A Clergyman In Victorian Society Term Paper

¶ … life of a clergyman in Victorian society as presented in the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The paper explains how the society of those days perceived Church and focuses on the negative portrayal of clergymen by Austen. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: LIFE OF A CLERGYMAN

Pride and prejudice is undoubtedly the most important work of Jane Austen and one, which presents Victorian society in its true light. The novel sheds light on the society of those days and shows how various characters evolved under restriction posed by societal rules and regulations. This is probably one reason why we find Austen's clergymen to be repressed figures who were more inclined to serve themselves than others. The negative portrayal of the life of a clergyman in Pride and prejudice is closely linked with the fact that Victorian society was a highly class conscious society where people of humble professions were not given attention. Williams Collins is also shunned by the high society but instead of ignoring the elite, he makes use of flattery to be in their good books. In her lighthearted manner, Austen has tried to attack the clergymen of Victorian society as she felt they were not the holy figures they claimed to be. This shows that while Church itself played an important role in the affairs of the state, it was not seen in a positive light by many. This is clear from the way Jane Austen has portrayed Collins in Pride and prejudice.

In other words, while the Church was significant, its clergies were not respected by the nineteenth century society. People would either ridicule them or shun them completely as it appears from this novel. William Collins is made fun in almost every scene in which he makes an appearance. Anthony Trollope has this to say about Austen's art and her views on clergymen, "Miss Austen was surely a great novelist. What she did, she did perfectly....

Her work, as far as it goes, is faultless. She wrote of the times in which she lived, of the class of people with which she associated, and in the language, which was usual to her as an educated lady... The letters of Mr. Collins, a clergyman in Pride and Prejudice, would move laughter in a low-church archbishop." (Part of a lecture the novelist Anthony Trollope gave in 1870) From one of his letters to Mr. Bennett, Collins appears to be a highly conceited flatterer who can resort to all sorts of tactics to reach his end. He writes, "As a clergyman, moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within the reach of my influence; and on these grounds I flatter myself that my present overtures of good-will are highly commendable, and that the circumstance of my being next in the entail of Longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your side, and not lead you to reject the offered olive branch. I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologize for it, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends, -- but of this hereafter." (Chapter 13)
In Austen's novel we notice that characters are always very well crafted. This is the reason why we are able ot learn valuable things about the society of her times through closer study of her characters. The same holds true for Church and clergymen and we notice that through closer examination of Mr. Collins' character, we can learn a great deal about the way society perceived clergymen. It is true that author's own views on the subject may have been a little more negative than the general public opinion of her times, but still it is clear that Church in nineteenth century was not a respected institution. People were of the view that Church and its clergy were not sincere with the public and their actions…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Jesus' Teachings, Prayer, & Christian Life He
Words: 35411 Length: 109 Document Type: Dissertation

Jesus' Teachings, Prayer, & Christian Life "He (Jesus) Took the Bread. Giving Thanks Broke it. And gave it to his Disciples, saying, 'This is my Body, which is given to you.'" At Elevation time, during Catholic Mass, the priest establishes a mandate for Christian Living. Historically, at the Last Supper, Christ used bread and wine as a supreme metaphor for the rest of our lives. Jesus was in turmoil. He was

Neo-Confucianism Is a Philosophy Which Was Born TEST1
Words: 1693 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Dracula The novel "Dracula" was written by Irish author Bram Stoker in 1897. Set in nineteenth-century Victorian England and other countries of the same time, this novel is told in an epistolary format through a collection of letters, diary entries etc. The main characters include Count Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Dr. Van Helsing. Count Dracula is the antagonist character of the novel, and is

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many
Words: 1160 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands by Mary Seacole and Middlemarch by George Eliot may seem like strange texts to read in consort. The latter is one of the classic texts of 19th century literature, written by a Englishwoman brought up in a strict religious tradition who later exchanged her faith for that of secular humanism and Darwinism. Middlemarch is a sprawling, weighty novel, filled with overlapping

Van Gogh in Search of
Words: 6470 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Paper

On the contrary, if I had been able to be a clergyman or an art dealer, then perhaps I should not have been fit for drawing and painting, and I should neither have resigned nor accepted my dismissal as such. I cannot stop drawing because I really have a draughtsman's fist, and I ask you, have I ever doubted or hesitated or wavered since the day I began to

Charles Dickens the Nineteenth Century
Words: 3154 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

His clothes were untidy, but he had a commanding short-collar on." (Charles Dickens (1812-1870): (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/)Dora, David's first wife, expires and he marries Agnes. He seeks his vocation as a journalist and later as a novelist. (Charles Dickens (1812-1870): (www.kirjasto.sci.fi/) GREAT EXPECTATIONS in 1860-61 started as a serialized publication in Dickens's periodical All the Year Round on December 1, 1860. The story of Pip or Philip Pirrip was among Tolstoy's and

Aspect of Jane Eyre
Words: 1331 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Cultural Reflection of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre In Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, we are introduced to a timid, insecure orphan child who is set extraordinary odds to find happiness and eventually love in 19th Century England. Jane Eyre is the story of a reluctant and fairly plain woman who believes that she is unloved because of these physical traits, yet she is strong-principled, intelligent and possesses a desire to

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now