Pride and Prejudice...3

It seems to me that one of the ways the satire works in this novel is that the reader is made to dislike the three characters who are following the social norms: Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine.

Mrs. Bennet is made to seem a silly and, on occasion, hysterical woman. But in trying to find husbands for her daughters, she is doing her duty. It is Mr. Bennet and his apparent indifference who is the worse parent.  We do see that he is, in fact, concerned about the entail and his inability to make provisions for his family.  However, he enjoys taunting his wife. Of his two youngest daughters, he says: "From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time, but I am now convinced."

The silliness in females is another focus of Austen's satire: the lack of formal education for women who were not allowed to attend "public" schools or to go to university. If a woman could not have a career or be involved in politics, why should she have such an education?  According to one of the popular conduct books of the day, Sermons for Young Women, by James Fordyce (this is the book that Mr. Collins chooses to read out loud to the young ladies one day after tea): "As a small amount of knowledge enterains a woman, so from a woman a small expression of kindness delights, particularly if she has beauty....Be ever cautious in displaying your good sense. It will be thought you assume superiority over the rest of the company. But if you have any learning, keep it a profound secret especially from the men, who generally look with a jealous and malignant eye on a woman of great parts and a cultivated understanding."

Who in the novel disregards this advice?