Reviewer takes issue with Austen example in book
James Ley reviews The Moral of the Story: An Anthology of Ethics through Literature, edited by Peter Singer and Renata Singer.
In his review, Mr. Ley rightly points out an error the editors made in their analysis of Pride and Prejudice.
The editors have the good taste to include, for example, the scene from Pride and Prejudice in which Lady Catherine de Bourgh demands Elizabeth Bennet give her word that she will never marry Mr Darcy. According to The Moral of the Story, this scene raises the question: “Is a difference in social position ever a reason against marriage?”
Now, there is nothing wrong with this question. It is a good question. It is just that in Pride and Prejudice it is not up for debate. Austen’s novels are romantically inclined, of course, but they are built on the assumption that the answer is yes. Elizabeth believes in marrying for love, and she resists the attempt to put her in her place, but even she would agree that social position is inextricably bound up with the institution of marriage. After all, no one ever suggests she might wed the gardener. The question, quite transparently, springs from a contemporary sensibility. Naturally, this does not invalidate it as a question, but it is outside the concerns of the novel.
Perhaps, if I may be so bold, I might suggest that this mistaken opinion is one of Prof. Singer’s more harmless ones.
