Zach Locascio’s First Blog

~ n02575800 ~ 1 Comment

Hello All! My name is Zach Locascio and I am an English major with a creative writing minor. I like to read Sci-Fi and horror. Some of my favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut, Sylvia Plath and Cormac McCarthy.

It is a danger for women to say indelicate things. Elizabeth will normally speak her mind and soul, doing and speaking as she pleases, full of witty remark and objections to things that women in her time were not supposed to object against. But she is an exception, not the rule and even she is forced to respect the way that things are in her time on occasion, for instance when she agrees to dance with Mr. Collins simply because it is not acceptable to say no to a dance offer at a ball.

When women say things that are indelicate, even when they’re honest, they are going against was is expected of them. As Fordyce writes in Sermons to Young Women, “[f]emale angel … never wrote, nor, as I have been told, was ever supposed to have said, in her whole life, an ill-natured or an indelicate thing.”  Fordyce is saying here that women can be smart but they should not be saying anything that may be considered rude or of poor manners to some people. Women should devote there time to adding to pious literature, not a literature world of their or speak up against what was being imposed on them in this time by religion. (I can imagine Jane Austen reading this and thinking “Well, I am going to do the exact opposite.”) Elizabeth rejects Mr.Collins’ marriage proposal and suffers for it. Mr.Collins has hardly known Elizabeth, certainly not well enough to propose to her, but it is Elizabeth who must suffer the wrath from her mother for rejecting the silly proposal. As her mother, who is more concerned with the things that she has been taught to be concerned with, refuses to see Elizabeth if she rejects the marriage offer because Mr. Collins will have land and is a nice enough character. Elizabeth does not love him and knows he will not love her, so she refuses, making the right decision but it is not the delicate decision so it is frowned upon.

 

Mrs. Bennet and the Potential for Marriage

~ Ally Cirruzzo ~ 1 Comment

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.

Kyle Hoehne’s First Post

~ Kyle Hoehne ~ 2 Comments

Hey everyone, I’m Kyle. I’m an English major with a minor in Creative Writing. It’s difficult for me to choose just one of my favorite authors, but I’ve been reading a lot of Junot Diaz recently so I’ll go with him, although this could change by tomorrow. Honorable mention would have to go to George R. R. Martin because I don’t think I’ve ever been more anxious about a book series than his.

On to Pride and Prejudice and Sermons to Young Women. I think that Jane Austen would probably butt heads with James Fordyce, especially about his thoughts on Wit. Fordyce writes, “Men who understand the science of domestic happiness, know that its very first principle is ease… But we cannot be easy, where we are not safe. We are never safe in the company of a critic; and almost every wit is a critic by profession.” (400) In the novel, Darcy’s character is almost the exact opposite of the men that Fordyce is speaking of. Darcy seems to find Elizabeth’s wittiness an attractive quality that separates her from the likes of Caroline and Jane. Austen writes about Darcy, “Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness.” (61) Elizabeth is so unlike the vision of women that Fordyce has that this distinction brings her into Darcy’s attention. She acts differently towards him than most women, most notably Caroline Bingley, whose attempts at conversation and manipulation are cringe inducing in comparison to Elizabeth’s playful demeanor.

All in all, by creating a main character that eschews the social norms, Austen generates drama. Elizabeth’s placement into any scene automatically creates turmoil, especially when Darcy is around, and her defiance of etiquette produces a much more compelling narrative as a result.

Introduction & Wit

~ Autumn H ~ 1 Comment

Hi, my name is Autumn Holladay. I am an English major with minors in Creative Writing and Film & Video Studies with a concentration in production. My favorite authors are T. S. Eliot, William Faulkner, Carson McCullers and Robert Penn Warren.

Pride and Prejudice mocks James Fordyce’s Sermons for Young Women, even though the text had some value to the principles of the time. First off, as a way of introducing the text in PAP, Mr. Collins picks out the Sermons to read to the Bennet family, yet, can only read three pages before Lydia interrupts him and offends him: “I have often observed how little ladies are interested by books of a serious stamp, though written solely for their benefit…there can be nothing so advantageous to them as instruction” (Austen 103). Austen comments on this belief through Mary Bennet: the only sister who reads such conduct books and, ironically, is the sister with the least amount of suitors. Both Mary and Mr. Collins study conduct books and apply them to the real world, in which the conduct codes ultimately fail. Mary has read that a lady should be accomplished in music and the arts. She applies this code by singing and playing the piano at Bingley’s ball, yet it does not work out. She takes it too far and the audience is bored; Mr. Bennet must tell her to stop. The code does not work in a real world setting.

James Fordyce was a clergy man like Mr. Collins who tried to seek fortune in London. The Sermons include an essay meant to dissuade women from making witty remarks since men would be less likely to marry because “every wit is a critic by profession” and thus would not make a peaceful marriage (400). As an argument against this, Elizabeth’s wit is what attracts Mr. Darcy to her first, rather than her looks or her accomplishments. In fact, out of all of the Bennet sisters, Elizabeth has three marriage proposals from: Mr. Collins, Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy and is the wittiest of the sisters. Her wit also leads her to decline all of them before agreeing to Mr. Darcy. From this point, it seems clear Pride and Prejudice works as an argument against such Lady Conduct books.

Wit & Propriety

~ wrightc7 ~ 1 Comment

Hello there, my name is Chelsea Wright.  I am a Creative Writing Major, with a psychology minor. My favorite authors are Jodi Picoult & Maggie Nelson.

Given that James Fordyce spent a great deal of his essay discussing wit, it seems necessary to blog on propriety. With this in mind, the reader of such an essay can not help but think of Elizabeth Bennet.

Now, as to whether James Fordyce’s ideas correlate directly with the ideas of Pride and Prejudice is questionable. I believe that the book mocks a great deal of the notions that Fordyce puts into question, while at the same time going along with these notions.

Continue reading →

Christine Fahnestock: Blog Post I

~ Christine Fahnestock ~ Leave a comment

Hey there, my name is Christine Fahnestock, and I am an English Major, with a minor in Creative Writing.  I don’t necessarily have a favorite author; there are so many wonderful people to choose from and it really changes from week to week.  The past week I’ve been reading a lot of Rudy Francisco’s poetry, if that counts. (If I absolutely must choose someone I’ll think wisely and edit this).

James Fordyce’s “Sermons for Young Women” sets an outline of sorts for the sort of behavior that is expected of women, especially during the time period of “Pride and Prejudice”. I’m leaning more towards the fact that “Pride and Prejudice” seems to sort of be mocking texts or ideals such as those spoken about in Fordyce’s piece—Fordyce advises against women being witty beings, and says “let me proceed to warn you against the affectation and the abuse of [wit]” (398).  Fordyce goes on to say that “[Wit] is especially, I think, dreaded in women” (400).

In Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” we see wit embodied and used quite frequently by one of the main characters—Elizabeth.  In several moments of dialogue between herself and Mr. Darcy, her wit shines through.  An early exchange between Elizabeth and Darcy in chapter XI is perhaps one of the best examples of her wit so far.  Elizabeth says “That is failing indeed! …. Implacable resentment is a shade in a character.  But you have chosen your fault well.—I really cannot laugh at it.  You are safe from me” (91) in response to Darcy discussing his faults, saying that they’re not funny.  Elizabeth’s retort to Darcy’s dialogue is full of wit and irony

It’s the aforementioned language and wit that Elizabeth uses that Fordyce argues against in “Sermons for Young Women”—language like that is believed to cause dread and bad images against women.  In conclusion, I do in fact believe that “Pride and Prejudice” is sort of mocking the ideas that Fordyce argues for.

Jordan Reeves Blog Post 1

~ reevesj2 ~ Leave a comment

My name is Jordan Reeves, and I am majoring in English. I like to read books on my free time but never get the time to read as much as I would like. I cannot say that I have a favorite author but one of my preferred ones is George R.R. Martin. His work on the A Song of Ice and Fire series is inspirational.
It is hard to say whether The Pride and the Prejudice agrees with the Sermons for Young Women or not. The way that I see it is that it takes the literal meaning of the book while mocking the gender stereotypes and social norms that are being taught. In Fordyce’s book, he comments on the effect that women have on the male etiquette: “Those who are most conversant with women of virtue and understanding will always be found the most amiable characters, other circumstances being supposed alike” (396). His theory is that a man’s character is shaped by the kind of women that he associates himself with. In a way this is true because people in general are shaped by the kind of people that with whom they associate. We are very social creatures and that reflects in the way that society is able to dictate what is or is not considered appropriate. The Pride and The Prejudice both supports and mocks this idea with the way that Elizabeth is able to chip away at Mr. Darcy’s frosty exterior and make him a more amiable presence. Elizabeth is not considered a virtuous woman by the standards set by Fordyce and yet she is the woman who is able to turn Mr. Darcy into a kinder gentleman. At the beginning of the novel when Darcy is first introduced he is considered standoffish and refuses to dance with women who he is not already affiliated with. However, the more that he converses with Elizabeth over the course of their chance meetings, he finds himself becoming too comfortable around her. His satisfaction towards her departure from Netherfield speaks volumes: “…Elizabeth had been at Netherfield long enough. She attracted him more than he liked…” (XII, 40). Elizabeth’s stay at the house meant that she and Darcy were constantly interacting. As he becomes more familiar with her and grows attached, his demeanor also begins to change. He even grows so attached that he asks Elizabeth to dance as a gentleman should where before he broke the social code by denying her when seeing that she was lonely.

First Blog Post: Introductions and Wit

~ philliph1 ~ 2 Comments

Hello everyone! I’m Hannah, and am a senior with an English major/Journalism minor. I love to read, listen to music, write, and look at houses. My favorite author is Cormac McCarthy, and his book Blood Meridian is awesome, especially if you’re into U.S. History and violent storylines.

This week’s excerpts from Fordyce’s “Sermons to Young Women” had marked comparisons to Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I’ve taken to analyzing Sermon V, which focuses on female virtue, friendship, and conversation. While reading Fordyce’s warning on woman’s ability in wit and taking wit over “dulness and insipidity, moroseness and rigour” (397), I immediately thought about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.

Continue reading →

Jennifer Fortuna Blog Post 1

~ martinej12 ~ 1 Comment

My name is Jennifer Fortuna.  I am an English major with a minor in Creative Writing.  My favorite author is J.D Salinger.

I think that Pride and Prejudice challenges the ideas in Fordyce’s sermon.  Elizabeth is a complete embodiment of all the attributes Fordyce warns against in his piece.  Fordyce states, “But when I speak on this subject, need I tell you, that men of the best sense have been usually averse to marrying a witty woman?” (400).  Elizabeth is quite witty and frequently criticizes Mr. Darcy which Fordyce specifically says not to do.  The entire sermon warns women against behaving in manners that he deems to not be agreeable.  I think that Austen critiques these sort of conduct books through creating the character of Elizabeth, who is by no means agreeable in accordance to Fordyce, but is such a wonderful character.  Fordyce claims that witty women will not be attractive to men of good sense, but Elizabeth has clearly caught the attention of not only Mr. Darcy, but Mr. Collins, and Mr. Wickham.

Jane’s character is in stark contrast to Elizabeth.  Jane fits into Fordyce’s depiction of how a woman should behave.  Jane’s agreeableness works for her throughout the novel thus far, but I think that her looks also have great influence over the way that she is treated.  Austen emphasizes Jane’s looks multiple times.  When Mr. Collins first meets Jane, he wishes to marry her and mentions how beautiful she is.  In contrast to Jane is Mary.  Mary tries to follow the rules of Victorian society, but is unsuccessful as she is not as attractive as Jane.

The novel rejects the ideas in the sermon because Elizabeth is just as successful as Jane in terms of winning the attention of men.  The only characters in the novel who seem to not like Elizabeth are Bingley’s sister, who have their own reasons for not like Elizabeth that have nothing to do with her behaving socially inappropriate.