In the 19th century, reputation was everything; whether it had to do with marriage, money bills, or simply how they acted in public. Mainly in Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice, she focuses on social class, marriage, and how each character behaves in public. The book is set in 19th century England, everyone is dressed well and makes sure they always look good in public. They dress, speak and behave the way society tells them to; if they miss a step, then their whole family and themselves will always be a shame. Pride and Prejudice mainly reflects Marxism, deals with social class, social class issues and whose story is mostly told throughout the novel. The class structure between each social class was a very important key factor in the 19th century. People didn't just go and marry someone who was of a lower class than them, it just didn't happen. They would happily marry someone who is of the same social class as them or someone who wouldn't mind marrying someone of a lower social class than them. If society for Jane Austen is not in conflict with individuals as collected from them, she may be justified in overturning such an ingrained association (Sherry 612). Austen in her novel states that society is extremely important, each character is put in their place to make sure they are doing everything they need to do correctly. Society tells people how they should live their lives, Austen makes this clear in Pride and Prejudice, and one wrong move could send their families into disgrace forever. “It's tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no mood at present to give importance to young women who are despised by other men” (Austen 8). Darcy is telling Bingley about Elizabeth, but Elizabeth i...... middle of paper......, was a recurring event. The main thing in the story is first impressions. Just like what happened with Elizabeth and Darcy, they didn't have a good first impression, but eventually ended up falling in love with each other. Pride and Prejudice shows how class, social issues, and someone's point of view on history can change a simple thing. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and prejudice. New York: Bantam Bell, 1981. Print. Mckean, Richard. “Pride and Prejudice: Thought, Character, Argument, and Plot.” ChicagoJournals 5.3 (1979): 511-27. JSTOR. Network. March 26, 2014.Morgan, Susan. Intelligence in "Pride and Prejudice". vol. 73. 54-68: The University of Chicago Press, 1975. 54-68. JSTOR. Network. 11 April 2014.Sherry, James “Pride and Prejudice: The Limits of Society” Studies in English Literature 19.4(1979): 609-22. JSTOR. Network. March 26. 2014.