1 / 7

The Wonderfully Odious Mr. Collins

The Wonderfully Odious Mr. Collins. Satire. The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Chapter 15.

vidad
Télécharger la présentation

The Wonderfully Odious Mr. Collins

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Wonderfully OdiousMr. Collins

  2. Satire • The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

  3. Chapter 15 • “Mr. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society; the greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of an illiterate and miserly father; and though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without forming any useful acquaintance…A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he felt for her high rank, and his veneration for her as his patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman, and his rights as a rector, made him altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility.”

  4. The Facts • “Mr. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society; the greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of an illiterate and miserly father; and though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without forming any useful acquaintance…A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he felt for her high rank, and his veneration for her as his patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman, and his rights as a rector, made him altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility.”

  5. Mr. Collins is not Sensible Austin’s conclusion of this type of person is…

  6. Why else don’t we like him? “The two first dances, however, brought a return of distress; they were dances of mortification. Mr. Collins, awkward and solemn, apologizing instead of attending, and often moving wrong without being aware of it, gave her all the shame and misery which a disagreeable partner for a couple of dances can give.” (Ch.18) “I have the highest opinion in the world of your excellent judgment in all matters within the scope of your understanding, but permit me to say…” (Ch. 18). “On that head, therefore, I shall be uniformly silent; and you may assure yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when we are married.” (Ch. 19) “It does not appear to me that my had is unworthy your acceptance, or that the establishment I can offer would be any other than highly desirable (… and it) is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you.” (Ch. 19)

  7. Satirical Conclusions Through the character of Mr. Collins, Jane Austin is making fun of many elements of her society: the clergy, the ignorant inheritor, and the odd member of the family that every generation has had to deal with. He is described as “not a sensible man”, a man who is equal parts pride and obsequiousness, who recognizes how great the differences are between those who are placed above him and those whom he assumes are below him. As a result of this initial description, readers are left with a very low opinion of the man and many recoil at the thought of their beautiful and powerful heroine marrying such as him. Like the dance where he was found to be “often moving wrong without being aware of it”, Mr. Collins likewise moves throughout the story making all of the wrong steps and causing shame and humiliation for the Bennets. He gives flattery but always follows it up with a “but”, leaving the distinct impression in the readers mind that he must always be right. As indicated above, Austin has used this wonderfully odious man to poke fun of the people of her time. For the religious leaders, he is the mirror of themselves walking superiorly above the masses; while for the awkward family member, he is the living embodiment of those whom feel convinced of their own intelligence and social standing, but lacking in the common sense that everyone else so obviously sees. Thankfully, readers can take heart in these comical reflections and hopefully come away with a quick glance at their own oddities.

More Related