Monday, February 9, 2015
Jane and Elizabeth
Elizabeth forms fast and strong opinions about the people in her life. The relationships that she has seem to be strained; her love/hate relationship with Mr. Darcy, her friendship with Mrs. Collins (its falling apart and reconciliation), and her admiration of her father (and her admittance of his flaws). These are three characters in the book so far that Lizzy has felt compassion towards, and these relationships are rocky. This fact makes the relationship that Lizzy has with her sister Jane stand out to me. Elizabeth hold the highest respect for Jane, constantly admiring Jane's ability to hold judgement on people, remain indifferent in situations of conflict, and to keep her emotions (such as her admiration of Bingley and her sadness of his departure) hidden, for the most part. Elizabeth is nearly opposite from her sister. She is quick to judge the people she comes in contact with, she picks sides in conflicts (such as the conflict between Darcy and Wickham), and she speaks her mind, using her emotions as a basis for her opinions. The only things that Jane and Elizabeth seem to have in common are their admiration for each other, and their being the most likable members of the Bennett family. Elizabeth's love for her sister is obvious; when Darcy is stating his feelings for the Bennett family, Elizabeth can understand his stance on all of the members except for Jane. She defends her sister to Darcy, and states that Jane's sadness over Bingley is one of the two reasons for Elizabeth's refusal of his proposal. Jane and Elizabeth also confide in each other. After Elizabeth's ordeal of Darcy's proposal and letter, she relates this to Jane, exclaiming "Oh! how I wanted you!" (148). Jane also relates her letter of Mr. Bingley's departure to Elizabeth earlier in the book. It seems to me that Jane and Elizabeth realize that their family is remotely dysfunctional, and they have formed a bond to cope with this. I find that the bond between these two sisters is, so far, the strongest relationship in the book.
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Kristi, I like your observations about the relationship between Jane and Elizabeth. It is clear that they share a closeness with one another that is not evident in their relationship to the other sisters, particularly the youngest two. I agree that the relationship allows them to cope with the peculiarities of a largely dysfunctional family. To some extent, I think that Jane and Elizabeth wish they could be more like the other, but they cannot. There is a price to be paid by both of these young women for being who they are. I think, too, that Jane and Elizabeth compliment one another quite well.
ReplyDeleteI kind of got goosebumps after reading through this and seeing the final line. Maybe because I have a sister, but don't I really know why such a feeling came to me. Of course, we see these relationships forming and just how dysfunctional they are; however, we never really pay attention to the relationship between Jane and Lizzy, and I'm so glad you brought that up. Because the two are quite opposite, they attract. They basically use their strengths and weaknesses to work together and overcome their shared obstacles.
ReplyDeleteI find this post to be very relatable because, like Paige, I have a sister. Her and I are the complete opposites, like Elizabeth and Jane are, in a sense of how we handle situations. My sister is very emotional and it is easy to tell when she is upset, while I am pretty confined and I don't show emotions in public. We don't always see eye to eye, but at the end of the day I would do anything in the world for my sister and I admire her for numerous reasons. I feel as if it is normal for sisters or siblings to be different, and these two characters and their bond make this story that much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI found your post really intriguing since I, like many others, have a sister. I have an extremely rocky relationship with my sister and go long times without ever speaking to her. I am, on the other hand, extremely close to my soon to be step sister. The relationship you descriped really stuck out to me as a relationship like I have with my step-sister: that of a best friend. I think this relationship is as strong as it is because Lizzy acts as Jane's friend and not a sister.
ReplyDeleteI found your post really intriguing since I, like many others, have a sister. I have an extremely rocky relationship with my sister and go long times without ever speaking to her. I am, on the other hand, extremely close to my soon to be step sister. The relationship you descriped really stuck out to me as a relationship like I have with my step-sister: that of a best friend. I think this relationship is as strong as it is because Lizzy acts as Jane's friend and not a sister.
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