Literature as a Key to Understanding People, Society and Life

Abstract

This article uses Jane Austen’s 19th century novel Pride and Prejudice to illustrate the power of literature as a source of knowledge that transcends the insights of history, sociology, psychology, philosophy and conventional literary criticism. Pride and Prejudice shows how England avoided a French Revolution of its own. The story depicts the process of social integration that resulted in the harmonious integration of different classes in the country. Through every character and incident in the story, Austen depicts the rising aspiration among the lower classes, and the reluctant willingness of those above to accommodate this aspiration. The English aristocrats sacrificed their egoistic pride and prestige to save their heads. In the marriage of Mrs. and Mr. Bennet, in the friendship between Darcy and Bingley, in the rise of Collins, the fall of Lady Catherine and the exploits of Wickham, Austen portrays a society that is giving up the old world order and embracing change. Pride and Prejudice is also a profound study of human psychology. Austen portrays five very different characters in the five Bennet girls, all from the same stock, but at the same time shows us with mathematical precision how each of the girls is a unique combination of the various characteristics of Mrs. and Mr. Bennet. The story is full of profound insights into human nature that cannot be obtained from studies of psychology or biography. It shows how the constant altercations between Mrs. and Mr. Bennet are more than an expression of the underlying rivalry between the couple. They are also an outcome of a marriage between two different classes. The role of a well developed individual in spearheading a revolution or social movement is seen in the changes Darcy and Elizabeth are able to bring about with their strong individuality. Austen’s in-depth knowledge of human nature creates men and women with characteristics that are perfectly true to life. Pride and Prejudice goes beyond a study of the individual and the society. It is pervaded with a deeper knowledge of the character of life itself. Some or perhaps all of these great truths were known to the ancients but forgotten or rejected by the modern mind so preoccupied with the external appearances of things. But Austen has consciously or subconsciously exquisitely captured many of these truths of life with the apparent effortlessness of a true master. Do our words come true? Can our thoughts and attitudes determine the events in our lives? What is the science behind coincidence? Is there such a thing as chance? Through Pride and Prejudice, Austen gives us the answers and illustrates the precise laws according to which life works. She even possesses insights into life missed by the renowned Shakespearean critic A.C. Bradley. Literature entertains and educates us. It can teach us about the past, help us understand the present and empower us to create the future. Read with this insight, Pride and Prejudice, as all great works of literature, offers us all the knowledge required to promote individual accomplishment and human welfare. New canons of literary criticism need to be evolved that discover the knowledge of life in literature.