Pride and Prejudice
By Jane Austen
This past summer I chose to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. In Pride and Prejudice there are many moments when the qualities of "an accomplished woman" are mentioned. Take this quote for example, "A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all of this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her dress and expressions, or the word will be half deserved" (27). Along with all of that, a family's status and their relations also play a major part in how they are viewed, and are another consideration for being accomplished.
I feel like this list is very unreasonable to expect from anyone, not just a woman. By saying that someone needs to be skilled in all of these subjects, will only make a person look less accomplished for the few things they aren't good at. Different people are good at different things, and everyone has their own interests or talent. A woman should be viewed as accomplished for doing something different from everybody else, or for something that they care about and have fun doing. If everyone woman had the same interests and skills, it would be a very boring life.
Some of these things, such as learning modern languages, or a knowledge of music, weren't possible for some, because they didn't have the access to a teacher, or a governess, to teach them. Someone should not be judged for a skill that they were unable to learn, or access. This can also be tied in with status and family not being able to afford the education.
Today there is still a certain image and character that is looked for in women, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are accomplished in life. To name a few things, women today are judged on their personalities and how they behave, what they wear, how they look, and who they associate themselves with.
Emma, excellent job pointing out the problems with expectations for women in the Georgian/Victorian time period! When we talk more about the nineteenth century, you'll get a better idea of what being "accomplished" really looks like. Believe it or not, but women *were* expected to be able to draw and sing and paint and dance and embroider. They were also responsible for the education of their family's children (especially if they, themselves, were married and had children). Great job discussing how unrealistic it is to be good at everything, and I was especially impressed by your point about how boring it would be if we were good at everything. Nice job!
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