Pride and Prejudice discussion

It had been a question till I finished Chapter 50.
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When first Mr. Bennet had married, economy was held to be perfectly useless, for, of course, they were to have a son. The son was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should be of age, and the widow and younger children would by that means be provided for. Five daughters successively entered the world, but yet the son was to come; and Mrs. Bennet, for many years after Lydia’s birth, had been certain that he would. This event had at last been despaired of, but it was then too late to be saving.
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Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet had thought they were to have a son sooner or later. So for the first two children, it wasn’t a big deal they were daughters, and Mr. Bennet paid his attention to the first two daughters and educated them. But when the 3rd, the 4th and even the 5th were still daughters, Mr. Bennet gradually lost his hope and then didn’t pay much attention to them. He didn’t like the youngest daughter, so Mrs. Bennet had to compensate for it and spoiled Lydia, that’s why Lydia eventually became so wild.

How do you think?

I think that is why they wanted to have their daughters marry well so that they wouldn't have to worry about them.

I'm not sure if the latter girls were neglected by their father (maybe I'm forgetting something, though), but I do think the parents being so different largely accounts for the difference in the girls. It reminds me of Persuasion, how Anne, who takes after her mother, is so different from her sisters, especially Elizabeth, who is like their father.

I don't recall Mr. Bennet not paying equal attention to all his daughters, but he had to put up with a lot of his wife's histrionics, so he was a saint in my book. I liked Persuasion and how the heroine became transformed at the end of the book by the love of Captain Wentworth. And the letter!!!!!

Oh yes! The letter is swoon-worthy!

The movie adaptation is good with Ciarin Hinds and I can't remember the girl's name. I have a DVD of that one.

I never gave it much thought. To me the author just wished to show the different ways young ladies could be at the time and presenting them through the five sisters was the best way to offer the comparison without forcing it onto the reader.

Maybe yes...your theory is interesting! Mr Bennet, however, seemed generally to be a neglectful father, so it's believable that his neglect affected the younger girls negatively.

Children from one family are often very different.

I can understand Mr. Bennet's neglect after having put up with Mrs. Bennet's poor nerves for so long. Then you add how similar their personalities were, and I can see why he might find better things to do with his time. Plus he was older, there is at least a 5 year age difference between Lydia and Lizzy (not sure of Jane's age), so he might just not feel up to constantly trying to check his youngest daughters (and in a way his wife).

Shawn wrote: "Children from one family are often very different."

I understand, what's interested me is, among the 5 daughters, the younger, the worse, the youngest was the worst!
Generally, it would be (or we always hope so) the younger the better? When I was little, we had a neighbour family, they have 4 daughers, the youngest is the best. :)

Robin wrote: "The movie adaptation is good with Ciarin Hinds and I can't remember the girl's name. I have a DVD of that one."

I have that one. I really like it. Amanda Root portrays Anne.

Does anyone know anything about Austen's thoughts and views of America? Did she have any that she ever voiced publicly?

I've had this idle thought hanging around in the back of my mind for a while...

I wonder if the character of Mary was created, sort of like a spoofy portrayal of America as viewed by the Europeans of the time. I don't know why I think that, I don't see anything like that in the other sisters. But Mary, as so puritanical and pedantic in contrast to the others in her family, wanting so badly to be taken seriously by the people around her (of course, it's been a such long time since I read the book, I pretty much base my thoughts upon the 1995 BBC miniseries).

Anyway. Just a crazy thought that's been with me...

gertt wrote: "I have 3 sisters and we are all different...of course there are similarities, but overall, we are quite different. Different appearance, talents, lifestyles, hobbies, and personalities.

As for ..."

The Bennet sisters:
Jane =~ Elizabeth > Mary > Kitty > Lydia.

It interested me anyway. :)

Jane and Elizabeth are comparable; Mary was 'plain' and so she was forced to live her life a different way so that she could still have a husband; Kitty and Lydia are comparable as well.
In most families, parents are more lenient with younger children as compared to older ones, so Jane and Elizabeth grew up with a (for the most part) good set of rules to live by. By the time the Bennet's were raising Kitty and Lydia, their rules became more lenient and as children they were able to get away with more. These differences were reflected in their personalities.
Also, the girls were just different. Every human being on Earth has a distinct personality, and so do the Bennet girls. Underneath all the reasoning up there ^ the girls are just different.

I hadn't really thought about this, but I think Sandy and Cara have got something. It is true that parents tend to become more lenient with their later children, and combined with Mr. Bennett's increasing withdrawal from his family, it would explain why the the younger daughter's were so wild and, more importantly, unaware of the probable consequences of their behaviour.

Up to now I had just assumed the natural variation in families, but it is a logical conclusion of an education in Mrs. Bennett's values, without any corrective alternative.

The 5 daughters were so different because Austen wanted to make Elizabeth and Jane stand out otherwise the plot would have not made any sense. Mary was the contrast between the younger wilder sisters and was plain against Elizabeth and Jane's handsomeness. This was acceptable as siblings differ.

Cara wrote: "Jane and Elizabeth are comparable; Mary was 'plain' and so she was forced to live her life a different way so that she could still have a husband; Kitty and Lydia are comparable as well.
In most f..."

I agree. :)

Shawn wrote: "Children from one family are often very different."

True story. And I have four (half/step/natural) sisters, none of us are like each other. Don't forget that the first born often plays a role in teaching the next born, and so on down the list, so by the time you get to the last child, they've got far more influence on their lives than their older siblings. That will always make a difference.

Siobhan wrote: "Don't forget that the first born often plays a role in teaching the next born, and so on down the list, "

Interestingly, Kitty had been following Lydia.

I think Austen only wanted to build on the fact that even though people might have the same blood they might be different in so many ways.we all are unique.As the saying goes 'do not judge people based on their relative's character'. :-D