“Time and space are small in Pride and Prejudice.” Discuss the significance of critic Dorothy Van Ghent's comment on the novel's setting.
“Time and space are small in Pride and Prejudice.” Discuss the significance of critic Dorothy Van Ghent's comment on the novel's setting.
Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, is one of the most famous literary works in the history of English literature. The novel has stood the test of time, and has intrigued the avid readers with its plot, setting and characters. However, the novel’s setting makes one ponder about the lack of outdoor milieus in the course of the story. The novel’s course of events mostly happens indoors. Interior spaces surround the novelist’s characters, and limit their world.
Austen never takes the avid readers to the busy streets of London in this novel. The actions of the story take place in places where only the characters are present. Also, the time portrayed in the novel is that of just a few months, with no mystery of shadows of the past at all. The space that has been portrayed in the course of the story can be very well traversed in a matter of sometime by a coach-ride. “Some critics have recently called attention to the novel as an ideological act, which seeks through formal means to resolve contradictions.” (Kaplan, 1992, p.200) However, these contradictions are those of the inner sphere of life. The author avoids delving deep into the social issues of the outer sphere of human life. She tries to look into the emotions and thoughts of the individuals.
The main settings that are present in the novel are the residence of the Bennets, Mr. Bingley’s place of living, Lady Catherine’s estate, the house of Lucas, the residence of Darcy, and likewise. The places which have been mentioned here establish the predominance of the indoor setting in the course of the story.
The world of Jane Austen is that of interiors. The descriptions of the author focus on the feelings of the characters, rather than the pictorial description of the milieu. As the author goes on to talk about Pemberley, Rosings, and Longbourn, the readers hardly get to know about the outside domain, and it is totally left to the imagination of the readers to think of the places.
The novel tends to point to the fact that the public space is quite a constraint for a person. The character of Elizabeth is stifled by the societal convention to get married with a well-placed person. Also, there are places like the library of Mr. Bennet and Charlotte’s parlor. These places serve as the haven for Mrs. Bennet, where she can be away from any intruder whatsoever.
The solace is found indoors, devoid of any other person around. However, indoor settings can be places of cacophony and disturbance. The dinners are noisy and busy, where people expose their true selves. All the people expose themselves to the ridicule of Miss Bingley.
The social spaces that are portrayed in the novel are of prime importance in the sphere of existence of the characters of the novel. These spaces construct the identities of the people and their masks. The interior spaces signify the fact that there are rules of existence in this society. If anyone does not abide by the accepted etiquettes, then the person would face the threat of losing his or her face and respect.
Thus, there are boundaries which define and regulate the actions of individuals in the novel. Characters like Darcy and Elizabeth are victims of these constrictions, and they fail to know each other properly or intimately. The characters of the novel acknowledge the importance of the physical space that they dwell in. The “space” of dancing makes the characters explore and it is through the activity that Lizzie endeavors to know more about Darcy.
It becomes very evident in the course of the novel that the author never takes into account the larger societal issues of the world around. The plot only revolves around the ambition of the young girls to get married to the best bridegrooms of their acquaintance. Also, every character is known to the other.
The world portrayed in the novel revolves round the lives of a few people, and never shows what exists beyond. The novel never evokes the reader to ponder about philosophical things, and it rather delves deep into the ways in which the ladies get married. The story focuses on the inner sphere of life- the domestic one.
The characters of the novel have a public life and a private one. While Darcy comes across as rude in his public domain, he is quite charming and polite when he writes a letter to Elizabeth. Similarly, Elizabeth falls in love with Darcy in complete privacy from the realm of cacophony and intrusion.
Elizabeth opts to go out for long solitary works. The time gives her the much needed privacy for reflection on her life. She reflects on the letter written to her by Darcy in solitude. Thus, the characters traverse the inner and outer spaces. It is this journey that lets the avid readers gauge the psyche of the characters.
The essence of this novel by Jane Austen lies in the domestic sphere, away from the humdrums of the city life. The novel portrays the importance of the nuptial bond in the lives of women in stark juxtaposition to the societal norms and institutions. The story shows how people are guided by the society’s expectations.
Marriage and the beliefs regarding the bond are explored with the lives of the various characters. Although the novel never traverses the path of the past, and is in a way constricted in the time frame of actions, it delves deep into the contemporary English society of the time. The famous literary critic, Jibesh Bhattacharyya opines in the book, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, “It is the subtle exploration of the deeper recesses of the human psyche and an artistic presentation of those rather than the depiction of the various political and social upheavals, that the real excellence of Jane Austen lies.” (Bhattacharyya, 2005, p.148) Thus, it can be opined that the constriction of spaces is the way to focus on the characters and their psyche in this novel.
The indoor spaces endeavor to keep the focus on the inner sphere of the lives of the characters, and succeed in doing so. Although the author talks of several outdoor milieus, she never goes on to describe the places in any detail.
Thus, although Dorothy Van Ghent is critical of the time and space of the novel, somehow it can be understood very well that beyond the perspective of Ghent lies the scope of the reader to truly comprehend the inner domain of these characters. The realization is only successful owing to the time and space portrayed by Jane Austen.
References
Austen, Jane. (2000). Pride and Prejudice. Manhattan: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Bhattacharyya, Jibesh. (2005). Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. New Delhi: Atlantic
Publishers & Distributors.
Gros, Emmeline. (2007). On and Off the Page: Mapping Space in Jane Austen's Pride and
Prejudice. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.
cgi?article=1029&context=english_conf_newvoice_2007
Kaplan, Deborah. (1992). Jane Austen Among Women. Baltimore: John Hopkins University
Press.
Van Ghent, Dorothy. On Pride and Prejudice. Retrieved from
