In pride and prejudice extract we see how in this scene Austen presents Mrs Bennet as a very manipulative and devious character when Mrs Bennet says ‘’A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year, what a fine thing for our girls!’’. The words ‘’ large fortune’’ imply just how determined she is of marrying the girls to a prosperous man as she can’t afford to raise her daughters. This also could imply that she would now be able to almost boast about her daughters as they would be marrying well-known wealthy men. We also see how Mrs Bennet has no concern about her daughters’ thoughts about this as she is too eager about getting them married and only cares about the financial side of things.
This is different to Romeo and Juliet, as Lord Capulet always has Juliet’s best interest at heart when making decisions. However, Mrs Bennet is a much exaggerated character made by Austen. Austen created an almost comical mother character so she could show the modern readers just how over the top and preposterous mothers of this era were. Austen did this on purpose as she disapproved of the way mothers treated their daughters and wanted to show her view of this era. Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice to exemplify the negative effects of society’s influence. She rebels against that society in order to gain the independence life she always dreamt of living.
She tries to put her rebellious character into Elizabeth so readers could realise her thoughts and views about society. Furthermore, Austen uses a lot of commas when Mrs Bennet is talking which shows she thinks about what she will say next as she doesn’t want to sound too self-centred. The word ‘’fine’’ implies that her daughter would be looked after and healthy; which shows that Mrs Bennet does have a little concern for them. Mrs Bennet does want the best for her daughters and wants them to have everything that she didn’t have, so this may be an opportunity she can’t let go of. She has good intentions but however presents them in a negative way which makes her seem very inconsiderate and manipulative.
In Romeo and Juliet act 3 scene 5, this is where Lord Capulet changes and turns on Juliet. In this scene we know that Lord Capulet cannot contain his anger when Juliet rejects Paris to be with Romeo. Lord is baffled about Juliet’s decision as women in this era were supposed to follow the orders from their father as they were the authority of the house. However Lord Capulet feels like Juliet is rejecting his authority and turning her back on him. Lord Capulet shows his resentment of Juliet’s decision when he says ‘’Out, you green-sickness carrion, out you baggage!’’. The word ‘out’’ suggests that he does not want to come across or even see Juliet’s face again as he cannot bear the thought of her being in his life any longer.
Lord Capulet is mindful of the fact that Juliet relies on her parents for her safety and her wellbeing as she hasn’t ever been without her parents. He knows that she will struggle without them which is why he wants her ‘’out’’ so Juliet could have a taste of what it is like to be betrayed. Lord Capulet worked hard on finding the perfect suitor for Juliet; young, good-looking and very successful. So, when Juliet rejects Paris, he feels like this is an insult towards him as he sees this as meaning that he cannot choose a good husband for his daughter. Furthermore, Lord Capulet is good friends with Paris, and after promising that Juliet would marry him, this would make him look like a fool to Paris.
Moreover, Lord Capulet treats Juliet as an object as he refers to her ‘’you’’ because now he has absolutely no respect for her. This could also suggest that he cannot stand to even say her name once more; which shows just how much hatred he has for Juliet in this scene. The words ‘green-sickness carrion’’ imply that Juliet is a sickly corpse and is also suggesting that Juliet is practically dead to Lord Capulet. Also, she is a sickness that will spread which is why he repeats that he want her ‘’out’’. In this scene Lord Capulet doesn’t make much sense and uses words which are difficult to understand so this may show that he is not cognizant of anything he’s saying in this scene as he is furious with Juliet and says whatever comes to his mind.
