‘In what ways is “Pride and Prejudice” a Cinderella story?’ Essay

Cinderella stories, of one type or a nonher, devour remained enduringly popular for hundreds of years. There argon Cinderella tales originating from ein truth culture and every time distri exceptor point up to the present day. They reflect the rags to riches fantasies of storytellers from all around the world.But what constitutes a Cinderella story? level off though they exist in a vast variety of forms, just active turn over a very similar basic plot. Firstly, there is always a heroine, whose fortunes be to be the focal point of the tale. She is course innocent, kind, gentle and beautiful, and always has hardships to bear. For example, in the French version, upon which the Disney animated film is based, Cinderella plumps with her weak- bequeathed father and her evil stepmother and stepsisters who treat her appallingly she is forced to act as a handmaid to them and is dressed in rags.Very often in these stories, there are a number of magical animals that help Cinderella in some way, and along with Cinderellas Fairy Godmother, enable her to go to the screwball, which invariably she has been pr nonethelessted from attending by her cruel family. At the ball, Cinderella and Prince Charming go with and bead in love instantly, only if Cinderella forgets her Godmothers deadline, and has to rush off suddenly, unintentionally leaving nookie and one clue as to her accredited identity for the love-struck hero.After one final setback, normally resulting from Cinderellas interfering and vain stepsiblings, the Prince and his love are re-united and go back to the Palace to be conjoin immediately. Cinderella forgives her family, and they join the happy couple at court and all live happily ever after. This is the most come up kn sustain of the Cinderella plots, but as I have verbalize, other versions exist such as Katie Woodencloak and Cindermaid. hook and prepossession, Jane Austens classic novel, was first published in January 1813. It was designed to appeal to the voguish novel-reading public of the day, and it was an instant success for its author, and has remained consistently so. With the pretty and likable Elizabeth white avens weding the rich and handsome Mr Darcy at the end of the book, at first glance, Pride and Prejudice seems manage a typical Cinderella tale. In this essay, I will be investigating the similarities and differences it has to the Cinderella story I have outlined above.For me, Elizabeth is the first obvious Cinderella in Pride and Prejudice. She is one of basketball team Bennet sisters, intelligent, witty and impetuous with an independent streak in her, as we find out when she insists that she walk to Netherfield to visit her ill sister. Elizabeth, like Cinderella, has a family who can accomplish life very difficult for her at times. Her father is loving, but like Cinderellas father, is weak-willedHer father, contented with laughing at them, would never exert himself to restrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters. (Chapter 37.)This trait in her fathers disposition allows Lydia to elope with Mr Wickham from Brighton. Elizabeths mother and sisters too inhibit her, not by being spiteful or unkind, as with Cinderella, but by their rudeness and hysterical behaviourand in the unhappy defects of her family a subject of yet heavier chagrin. They were hopeless to remedy. (Chapter 37.)Her mother would talk of her views in the resembling intelligible tone. Elizabeth blushed and blushed again with violate and vexation. (Chapter 18.)These unattractive qualities in her relatives, as well as her familys tear down social status, prove to have an unfavourable effect on Mr Darcys feelings towards her, even though he admits he loves her. Mr Darcy believes Lizzys connections to be inferiorHe spoke well, but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailedHis whizz of her inferiorityof the family obstacles which judgement had always opposed to inclination were dwelt on w ith warmth. (Chapter 34.)Although Elizabeth does not suffer the deprivation that Cinderella does (dresses are no problem for Lizzy as they are for Cinderella), and in fact lives comfortably, the Bennets live under the threat that when Mr Bennet dies, they will lose their home Longbourn, because there is no male heir to the estate. So Cinderellas beggary situation could, theoretically affect Elizabeth at some point in the future. Therefore, it is very important for the five Bennet daughters to marry well, to ensure the familys future security and status. This fact differentiates Cinderella from Elizabeth, as she is fiercely discouraged from going to the ball by her by her jealous stepsisters, where as Elizabeth (and her sisters) are actively encouraged to savor for husbands with good fortunes by going to dances.Cinderella spontaneously falls in love with Prince Charming she had only urgently wanted to go to the ball, and nothing to a greater extent. But Elizabeth must be convince d of the true goodness of Mr Darcys personality before she will overcome her prejudices and dislike of him. Elizabeths sound judgement of Mr Darcy is changed by her hearing his housekeeper at Pemberley speak of how good and kind he authentically is, and in addition when Mr Darcy sends a letter to her explaining the misunderstandings about Mr Wickham and the Jane-Bingley affair. It is only after realising her actual feelings for him, and being attracted by his large estate, that Lizzy is prepared to love and marry Mr Darcy.Cinderella is a servant in her household, and although Elizabeth is certainly not a servant, she does aid and support her difficult family, along with her sister Jane, by use of her intelligence and sensibility.Of course, the main reason Elizabeth can be compared to Cinderella is that she is the disadvantaged heroine who marries her Prince and is taken off to his rook in a fairy tale endingGood gracious Lord bless me that think Dear me Mr Darcy Who would have thought it And is it really true? Oh My sweetest Lizzy How rich and how great you will be (Chapter 59.)Elizabeths family, like Cinderellas family, as well as benefit from this happy ending the Bennets often visit Lizzy at her new home, and Mr Darcys wealth means that they never need worry about losing their home or status again. Mrs Bennet is especially thrilled by the match.Another Bennet sister can be successfully compared with Cinderella Jane. She is the eldest daughter, and like Cinderella, is very kind, but also little naveWhat a slash this was for poor Jane Who could willingly have gone through the world without believing that so much nighttime existed in the whole race of mankindMost earnestly did she labour to prove the probability of error, and prove to clear one, without involving the other. (Chapter 40.)She also marries a Prince Charming with whom she is truly in love, Mr Bingley, who has a palace and holds a ball there early in the novel. One thing that makes Jane even more similar to Cinderella in my opinion is that she falls in love with Mr Bingley straight away, even though his meddlesome sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst, as well as Mr Darcy, savour to stop affections developing amidst them. This reminds me of the way Cinderella was prevented from stressful on the glass slider by her stepsisters.Unlike Mr Darcy, Mr Bingley has no qualms about Janes lower standing in society, and immediately allows himself to fall in love with her, like Prince Charming does with Cinderella at the ball. Similarly, it is at the Netherfield ball, held by Mr Bingley, where Jane and he first debunk a fondness for each other. Although Jane is like Cinderella in all these ways, she cannot be directly linked with her, as she is not the leading character in Pride and Prejudice, like Elizabeth.Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley are the two men who are most comparable to the Prince in Cinderella. They are both rich men with large estates and good do who marry below them selves. Mr Darcy is a proud and arrogant man, who we find out later in the book, truly has a compassionate and generous personality. At first, Mr Darcy does not feel it is appropriate for him to marry into a lower class, but he cannot contain his love for Elizabeth, and this love eventually conquers his pride as I have detailed above. This is unlike Prince Charming because in Cinderella, the Prince does not mind when he finds out that his unidentified Princess is really a poor servant girl Cinderellas status doesnt matter to him at all.Mr Bingley, on the other hand, is like Prince Charming in that he doesnt care about Janes background, and loves her anyway. Mr Bingleys character is summed up by this quoteHe is just what a young man ought to be, say she, sensible, good-humoured, lively and I never saw such happy manners so much ease, with such perfect good breedingHe is also handsome, replied Elizabeth, which is what a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His chara cter is thereby complete. (Chapter 4.)For Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy, as with Prince Charming, it is love at first sight with Jane and Elizabeth at the Meryton ball, even if Mr Darcy dare not admit his feelings for some time. When Mr Darcy does propose to Elizabeth, she turns him down, but he remains persistent in trying to assure Lizzy of his good nature, and in the same way as the Prince tracks down Cinderella, Mr Darcy proposes for a bit time and Lizzy accepts. It was the letter that Mr Darcy gave to Elizabeth at the Collins that revealed his true character to her and this enabled her to accept and love him. In the same way, Cinderellas glass slipper allows the Prince to find her. It could be concluded that these objects provide the key to identifying the suitors in their true light and make it possible for the characters to eventually marry.I think that there are several wad in Pride and Prejudice who could be considered either stepsisters or a stepmother to Lizzy or Jane. Eviden tly their own mother and sisters have some qualities similar to those in Cinderella. Mrs Bennet, though inadvertently, hinders any marriage betwixt her daughters and proficient men through her inappropriate and embarrassing manner she is chaotic and thoughtless and gives her family a bad reputation.Jane and Lizzys sisters, particularly Lydia and Kitty, are also shallow, selfish and silly young women, only interested in chasing after soldiers and visiting MerytonThe two youngest of the family, Catherine and Lydia, were particularly frequent in these attentions their minds were more vacant than their sistersThey could talk of nothing but officers. (Chapter 7.)Catherine, weak-spirited, irritableand Lydia, self-willed and careless. (Chapter 37.)Lydias disastrous elopement with Mr Wickham endangers the anticipated marriage between Jane and Mr Bingley because it disgraces the family. Through this, Lydia is unintentionally like Cinderellas stepsisters, as she causes a fit-minute hitch, which could ruin her sisters hopes of happiness. In Cinderella, this hitch is the stepsisters preventing Cinderella from trying on the glass slipper by hiding her from the Prince below stairs.Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst, Charles Bingleys sisters, are also like the evil stepsisters, only more so, in my estimation, than Mrs Bennet and her younger daughters, because they deliberately try to stop the marriages between the Bennet sisters, their brother and his friend taking place. It is revealed that Miss Bingley would like Mr Darcy for herself, and that she is jealous of Lizzy. They also try to persuade Mr Bingley that Jane does not love him in the hope he will forget about her when he is in London. Miss Bingley sends a letter to Jane, which convinces her that Mr Bingley does not care at all for her, which is not true. This, along with Miss Bingley and Mrs Hursts officious airs, make them stepsisters not only to the Misses Bennet but also to their brother.Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the c old and obnoxious aunt of Darcy, is also a stepmother to Elizabeth because she severely disapproves of the marriage between her and her nephew, Mr Darcy, and wherefore tries her hardest to thwart their plans. She believes that Lizzy is of a lower social class and not good enough for her nephew. Also, she wants to see Mr Darcy marry her daughter, the sickly Anne de BourghLet me be rightly understood. This match, to which you have the assumption to aspire, can never take place. No, never. Mr Darcy is assiduous to my daughterTrue, you are a gentlemans daughter. But who was your mother? Who are your uncles and aunts? Do not imagine me ignorant of their condition. (Chapter 56.)Even so, Lady Catherine does not successfully stop Elizabeth and Mr Darcy from marrying, and uncomplete do Lizzys family or Miss Bingley, just as the stepsisters fail to stop Cinderella from marrying her Prince in the end.It is not explicitly observable that there are any Fairy Godmothers in Pride and Prejudice , but I think that Mrs Gardiner, Elizabeths aunt, can be strikeed as aiding Lizzy throughout the novel. As well as the Gardiners help to the Bennets through their troubles with Lydia, Mr and Mrs Gardiner make it possible for Elizabeth to go to her palace (Pemberley) for the first time, by taking her with them to Derbyshire. (The Fairy godmother in Cinderella also enables Cinderella to go to the palace.)With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really love them and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them. (Chapter 61.)Perhaps Jane in her go on support of Lizzy and the Bennet family could also be seen as a Fairy Godmother to them all.Another similarity between Pride and Prejudice and Cinderella is that the heroines in both stories go to at least one ball where they chance on their future husbands. In Pride and Prejudice, ther e are two balls the Meryton Ball and the Netherfield Ball, but in contrast with Cinderella, the future spouses do not immediately get on as well as Cinderella and Prince Charming do At the Meryton Ball Lizzy overhears Mr Darcy snubbing her whilst talking to Mr BingleyWhich do you mean? and turning around, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.Both stories highlight the importance of the ball as a study social event very often it was the only opportunity for people to meet and socialise.At her ball, Cinderella has a curfew to comply with she must be home by midnight or else her magical clothes and coach will turn back into rags and a pumpkin. There is no literal deadline in Pride and Prejudice, but time is running out for the women in the novel, as they must marry well, while they are dummy up potentially desirable wives, if they want to be secure and assured of a futu re free from want. This tutelage is shown in the story by the plight of Charlotte Lucas, who marries the repellent Mr Collins because she knows it will probably be her last opportunity to gain a husband and therefore a house of her ownMr Collins was neither sensible nor agreeable his society was irksomeBut still he would be her husbandand at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt all the good luck of it. (Chapter 22.)An important component of the Cinderella fairy tale is magic, and magical animals, and as I have found neither one of these in Pride and Prejudice, it is almost certainly one of the biggest differences between the two stories. This shows us that Austens novel is not a fable but that the events in the book could have actually occurred in early 19th one C society.From examining the text of Pride and Prejudice and several Cinderella tales, I have found many similarities, and some differences between the two narratives. I conclude that althou gh Jane Austen did not intentionally design her novel to be like a fairy tale, there is a definite resemblance to Cinderella. The plot and subplots of the novel are clearly more complex than in Cinderella, but most of the individuals have counterparts in the other story.As I said at the beginning of this essay, the main heroine, whether you consider her to be Elizabeth or Jane, gets her guy. In both stories, the prone couple and their families are more happy and secure than at the start of the tale they all live happily ever after, with Lizzy moving to Pemberley, just as Cinderella moves to the palace. Some people may regard the ending of Pride and Prejudice as the most unrealistic and fairy story part of the book. In reality life was very hard, even for the rich, at this time.For example, Elizabeth, like many young women at that time, may have died in childbirth a year later, or perhaps Mr Bingley may have been badly injured a month after the novel finishes in a hunting acciden t. In my view, Pride and Prejudice is simply a daydream a world into which the reader can escape to neutralise the unpleasantries which no doubt occurred in the Georgian period, but which Jane Austen chose to ignore. By doing this, Austen created one of the best-loved and most interesting Cinderella stories to date.