Romeo & Juliet essay-question 2

There are many ways in which "Romeo and Juliet" can be compared and contrasted with other idealistic love stories. In "Pride and Prejudice", by Jane Austen, the couple also faces pressures from society, and learns to overcome them throughout the novel. In both literary works there is an aspect of sacrifice, though I view them as being completely different; one is selfish and self-centered, the other altruistic and selfless.

In "Romeo and Juliet", the young couple's love was seen as forbidden, in that it was between two youth whose families were entangled in a feud lasting centuries. Society would not have expected a relationship to develop between the two. However, the lovers did not learn of each others identity until after they professed love at a party. Upon learning that a family conflict would come between them, they were apprehensive of pursuing the connection further. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet decided to defy the social pressures from Verona and their families, ending their love in tragic death.

The relationship between Darcy and Lizzy is very similar to Romeo and Juliet's when the situation is taken into consideration. Though there was no feud between their families, Darcy's high social status placed him in an elite group, making it unheard of that someone of a lower-middle class would one day marry him, inheriting his vast fortune. Darcy and Lizzy's personalities are also taken into consideration. From the beginning of the novel there is only tension between the two, which makes the match seem unlikely not only to the characters in the novel (especially Lizzy), but to the reader, also. They also conquered society's reservations about their relationship, and lived to enjoy their marriage.

Romeo and Juliet's sacrifice of love and life, when choosing to die rather than live without the other was not intended to better the world around them, but was due to their desire for passionate love. When that need could not be fulfilled, their dependence on each other was made evident. It was only a selfish act in that their love for one another only existed til the point when the other could not reciprocate it. When Romeo believed Juliet to be dead he decided to end his own life, and when Juliet awoke to find her lover deceased she stabbed herself. This was only to end their own sorrow, not taking into consideration what the other would want or how the families would react to their deaths. It was only upon their deaths that the families were brought together and realized their foolish feud was the cause of the tragedy. The betterment of the world depended on their catastrophic end, as it was the initial "wake up call" the Capulets and Montagues needed. Their sacrifice brings peace to a feud that had plagued Verona for ages.

Darcy uses his love for Lizzy to better the world, though does it knowingfully, the results able to be seen throughout the novel. He mainly does this by helping the Bennet family. The vessel he uses to show his love is in the way he secures her family's financial situation. The first major conflict in the novel is that fact that the family's estate will only pass to a man after Mr. Bennet's death. This meant that, though they weren't destitute, Mrs. Bennet and the four daughters would have to depend on the financial status of the husbands they would marry in order to have a comfortable life. To prove his love for Lizzy, Darcy pays Wickham the full amount he demanded to marry Lydia after their elopement. This not only saves the Bennet family from social calamity, but secures Lydia in an agreeable financial situation. Darcy also brings together Jane and his friend Bingley, who has a handsome sum to his name. He grants the family security by mending Lydia and Wickham's relationship as well as securing Jane's marriage to Bingley. It was because of his love for Lizzy that he made an effort to protect her family, but it did not cost him his life or make him sacrifice his love for her. His act of love was done unselfishly, his sacrifice being made without boasting and without Lizzy knowing it was him. In fact, he didn't want Lizzy to know that he was behind the "good fortune" coming to her family. In this way the act of sacrifice is different in "Pride and Prejudice", and both Darcy and Lizzy lived to see the betterment of society due to his love and sacrifice.