My name is Ally Cirruzzo, I’m a senior graduating in May, majoring in English with a minor in Creative Writing and Art Studio. My favorite author (and poet) as of late is Sylvia Plath, but JK Rowling will always hold a special place in my heart.

James Fordyce opens one of his sermons to young women with a list of the ways in which a girl can disappoint her parents. The list includes being “unruly, foolish, wanton”, or to “throw herself away on a man unruly of her” (395). He notes that the honor of a family lies heavily on its daughters, less so than its sons. Fordyce goes on to describe a woman’s ability to woo men, adding that there are “few young women who do not appear agreeable in the eyes of some men” (396). He describes women as generally alluring, attractive creatures with as significant hold over men.

Mrs. Bennet, the gossipy mother of Lizzy, the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice, might agree with Fordyce’s notion about women. She is very much concerned with marrying away her five young daughters, in particular to wealthy spouses. She would be the most proud of her daughters if they proved to be worthy potential wives to rich suitors.

Mrs. Bennet quite often makes a fool of herself in trying to incite a marriage between Mr. Bingley, a wealthy bachelor who has recently taken up in the nearby Netherfeld Park manor, and her daughter Jane. Lizzy is very much embarrassed by her mother’s antics.

When Mr. Collins, a clergyman who is slated to inherit the Bennet property, proposes to Lizzy, she turns him down, much to her mother’s dismay. Mr. Bennet, who is as unamused with his wife as Lizzy is, if not more, informs his daughter that “your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do” (142). Mrs. Bennet’s sole obsession is marrying her daughters off; she believes it is of upmost importance for her daughters to be appealing to men so that they can find a husband.