WOMAN’S STRUGGLE TO FIGHT THE OPPRESSION IN THE VICTORIAN ERA AS REVEALED IN JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Abstract

This thesis discusses about Woman’s Struggle to Fight the Oppression In Victorian Era as Revealed In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudiceby Jane Austen which is set in the England. At that time, there was a huge gap between the have and the have not influenced by patriarchal system. The novel tells the story of women in that era. Women in Victorian era were supposed to marry rich man in order to enhance their social status. If they do not marry rich man, their parent’s wealth would be queath to nearest brother of the their father. However, in Pride and Prejudice, there is a character named Elizabeth who has different ideas with other women. She had an idea women were able to get their rights as well as men though women were married with poor men. She thought that marriage is supposed to be based on love rather than material. This is for money where the equality between men and women can be achieved. An inductive method is used to make the discussion of the topic brief. It means that the analysis starts from the specific concept goes to general conclusion. The data used in this thesis are collected by library research and any printed materials, such as, dictionaries, books, articles and cybernetic sites. The theory of social feminism by Allison Jagar is applied in this thesis. It is to analyze Elizabeth as one of the main female character in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is a women having a thought that any kind of activities is not supposed to be classified as men’s or women’s. Elizabeth is keen on learning to read and write. This affection of reading and writing enables her to prove to men that she can do what man can do. Allison Jaggar employs the belief that equality should be shared in many aspects, the manifestation is not only based on the material production but also how the society determiner women patriarchy in social ability, thus women can gain consciousness. In the end of the story, Elizabeth marries a rich men. However, it does not mean that after all she agrees the oppression towards woman. Elizabeth’s reason in marrying a rich man is not based on his social status but because Elizabeth loves that man, and so does the man. Here, an equality between man and women can be achieved.