After reading Jessica's post about Miss Bingley, I realized that I had felt that she was a rather jealous character as well. However, the more I contemplated on her actions, I began to wonder if she was naturally jealous or just felt the need to be jealous to compete. Like we have discussed time and time again, this is a time in which women were expected to be married young and rely on the stability of male spouse. I am able to sympathize with Miss Bingley. If we as readers think about this with an "out of the box" approach, is she really doing much wrong, or just engaging in the competition society has set for her? She is not only marrying a man, she is attempting to pursue her future. I would argue that she is only fighting back so that she can, like the rest of the daughters, attempt to find a stable FUTURE. I think that her jealousy is FUELED by the competition her time period has created for her.
-Brittany Kief
Brittany, I definitely like this "out of the box" thinking and I will honestly admit that I never would have thought of Miss. Bingley in this way. I am ardently team Elizabeth so I think that makes me biased against Miss. Bingley, however, I can get behind the fact that she is possibly just attempting to compete in this society. I will hold by my dislike for her, however, simply because of her treatment of Jane. Her brother's marriage to her would have cost her nothing except to maybe have to call the rest of the Bennets family. Therefore, because of her false and ill treatment of Jane I can not bring myself to support her. Yet, I'm definitely interested in and willing to accept your argument of her jealousy (of Elizabeth and Darcy) as a result of her society.
ReplyDeleteI think that Miss Bingley is absolutely in competition with every woman around her, regardless of their social status, and particularly with Elizabeth. Miss Bingley reveals that she is intimidated/threatened by Elizabeth (and perhaps all of the Bennet girls, even if they are of "lower standing") because Miss Bingley is so pointedly dismissive of the girls in her commentary of them. Miss Bingley makes a point to insult the Bennet gals as often as opportunity allows, and her motivations are likely more than just being "bitchy." Instead she is trying to elevate herself from the rest of the crop so that she might be chosen for marriage first. I genuinely believe that Miss Bingley is most intimidated by Elizabeth because she senses early on, perhaps before Darcy himself, that he is interested in Elizabeth--Miss Bingley, in her own interest, wants to put an end to it, probably in the same way that Mr. Darcy wants to prevent Jane and Mr. Bingley. Recall the scene when Elizabeth is visiting Netherfield and Darcy is writing letters to his sister. Miss Bingley tries making small talk, which Darcy totally denies (and Elizabeth observes), and then Miss Bingley asks Elizabeth to take a turn around the room so that Darcy might admire them (39). While the exchanges pointed out in the text here do not explicitly point to this conclusion, a deeper examination of the scene could infer that Miss Bingley drug Eliza around the room to see if Darcy would look at Eliza -- or rather, observe how he did. In this way, Miss Bingley is testing out her competition.
ReplyDelete