维多利亚时期文学 pride and prejudice.ppt

Mrs. Bennet is the mother figure whose sole interest is to see her daughters get married. Her actions are selfish. Shes only concerned with how she and her family look to others, rather than the true happiness of her daughters. Although shes essentially a comic character, she can also be seen as a destructive influence who negatively affects the future of her children. She has massive mood swings, from ecstasy to depression, depending on how her daughters relationships are progressing. Mrs Bennet is ignorant, and not very bright and embarrasses her family on several occasions with her overly direct, loud comments and behavior. What do you know about Mr. Bennet? Mr Bennet is a gentleman by birth, meaning he inherited his property. He wants an easy life and his children to be happy. He married his wife solely for her looks, and regrets doing so, although he tries to make the best of things. An intelligent man, in contrast to his wife, Hes witty and capable of interesting observations on life and relationships he often retreats to his library to read and to get some peace and quiet. Irony Irony is a figure of speech that achieves emphasis by saying the opposite of what is meant ,the intended meaning of the words being the opposite of the usual sense. Irony is the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. The Victoria Period I. Historical Background -- Victoria became Queen at the age of 18 in 1837. She ruled Britain 63 years. A period of growth, development and reform, urbanization, industrialization. -- England became the workshop of the world. II. The Rise of Critical Realism --It flourished in the forties and in the early fifties of the 19th century. The critical realists described with much vividness and great artistic skill the chief traits of the English society and criticized the capitalist system from a democratic viewpoint. They