Deflection of Standardization in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Abstract

This thesis presents Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of deflection of standardizationin the conceptual frame of the Marxist class. Considering the social and economic status of eighteenth-century Europe which had set the notion of categorization among the people and the division of the society in terms of economic standards and social class, this thesis interrogates a sense of dichotomy prevalent in eighteen century Europe and deflects the perpetual assumption of a distinguished class system. Significantly marking the economy as the guiding mechanism to regulate society, this thesis points out Austen’s presumptions in understanding the variation of society not in terms of monetary value but in terms of morality. Initially this novel presents the character traits of the people representing the aristocrats and middle-class people and their consciousness, with the development of the plot. The novel extends the idea in opposition to the conventional societal conceptions. Moreover, Austen, picturizing the union of characters from distinct classes and economic standards, prioritizes the destabilization of the standardized concept of class consciousness. This thesis, therefore, analyzing Austen’s craftsmanship that presents how it has deflected the standardization and assisted in the formation of a harmonious and nonhierarchical society. Keywords: Standardization, class consciousness, subversion, aristocrats