Finishing the Essay Exams... What I wanted!!!

Well I left off talking about Austen’s perspectives in Pride and Prejudice; most of her analyses of human behaviors were developed from her personal experiences. Meaning that the focal points of the book were focused on the complexities of the female mind, which really all men agree that the female mind is a fortress they hope to one day enter. However this book uses all the characters a narrators, which allows the reader some insight into the connections these men and women are making when they interact with one another. Elizabeth in particular has shed a lot of light on the subject of marriage and her views of who should be a suitable companion for herself, however there are complications when she doesn’t look behind Mr. Darcy’s mask. Behind that mask he was the most perfect partner for Elizabeth but because she could not just look inside his head to know his truth thoughts she was lead astray.  Elizabeth’s first encounter with Darcy was not the best, however if she had the ability to read minds (like we all wish we could) there would not have been a conflict within the novel.
Between Montaigne and Austen, both writers have been able to demonstrate some complex ideas of social behaviors during their respective time periods. Montaigne talked of silly and accepted social behaviors and reactions that are common for men concerning how to behave when honor, status, or opinion is called into question. Which allows he describes in each essay why these men act the way they do, very similar to how Austen explains her thought on marriage though the thoughts of all the characters in the novel. Although Austen does not explicitly say this was her opinion of the courtship before marriage or marriage itself, it was apparent that these were he own thoughts perhaps when she herself was engaged. Elizabeth was a good way for Austen to express her true thoughts as woman without being scolded, while Montaigne had no such worries because in a patriarchal society why would he have to worry about expressing his opinion.
Together these writers accomplished a lot for their time and have become famous because of their progressive thoughts during such conservative times. However as we still try to understand the human mind just as Austen and Montaigne have captured these behaviors in their age, all human kind continues to evolve and change. So maybe one day we will understand what our interconnectedness means with the new technologies. Just are our minds are interconnected and fast, the global internet connects us and as our social behavior continue to adapt, we must remember to continue to write about our experiences and opinions for later generations. So maybe they can uncover the mysteries that Austen, Montaigne and Wallace see in the mind and society.

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