Jane Austen uses the character of Mrs. Bennett to provide both humour and social commentary. Discuss.

As the first character to speak in Pride and Prejudice¸ Mrs. Bennett is established as a key character. Austen uses her to introduce the novels main themes of marriage and social status in a comic manner within the first page. The reader is thus informed that Mrs. Bennett can be counted upon to display a social climbing, pragmatic view towards marriage throughout the novel.The opposing characterisations of Mrs Bennett and Mr. Bennett are also established within the first page. Both dispositions are utilised to create a satirical tableau whereby Mr. Bennett’s cynical wit and teasing further highlight the realities of marriage as a key concern for young women.               “Netherfield Park is let at last ... how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”With a superficial humorous effect created by the sarcastic and ironic bantering, this passage suggests that a young woman’s life is fundamentally centred on securing an advantageous marriage. That Mrs Bennett’s immediate reaction to a young man of means entering the neighbourhood should be of marriage for her daughters conveys the pressure a young woman was under to establish herself in society through marriage.When Mrs Bennett learns of her eldest daughter Jane’s engagement to Bingley she exclaims;               “I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing!”Mrs Bennett’s ‘silliness’ is indisputable throughout the text, creating humour for the reader and embarrassment for her daughters. However the importance of marriage for a family in financial crisis is comedically conveyed as an underlying anxiety. Jane’s beauty has to be useful, and the use to which it is put it in securing a wealthy husband who will support her and, by extension, her family.Mrs. Bennett’s anxieties over her daughters’ marriages are an implicit social commentary on the way in which marriage was the only means through which a young woman could secure stability and financial security for herself and her family.This is especially visible in the case of Charlotte Lucas. Mrs Bennett consistently decries Charlotte Lucas as “very plain” and as a result she has greater struggles in securing a husband. When Mr. Collins offers to marry her after being rejected by Elizabeth she accepts, as “marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want.”Charlotte is fully aware that Mr. Collins does not love her, but a marriage to him will provide her security and a degree of social status. Her younger brothers had previously attempted to conceal anxieties that she would “die an old maid”. Mrs. Bennett’s open rudeness towards Charlotte Lucas is both humorous and a means through which Austen delivers a cutting social commentary. Mrs Bennett attempts to increase her daughters’ attractiveness by denouncing Charlotte, thereby removing Miss Lucas as a competitor for Bingley and Darcy’s attention. This is despite Charlotte being a “particular friend” of Jane and Elizabeth Bennett.To conclude, Mrs. Bennett is a considerable source of humour within Pride and Prejudice. Austen uses her ardent desire to see her daughters married off to wealthy gentlemen of social status as a means to deliver a satirical attack on the institution of marriage within its contemporary social context. In order to gain social standing and financial security, a young woman had to secure a good match by any means; even if she did not love him, or if he was a fool like Mr. Collins. As such, Mrs. Bennett is vital in providing humour and subtle social commentary within the text. 
THINGS TO CONSIDER : This is a character based question which asks you to provide evidence of how a character relates to central themes.Examiners will want to see in-depth analysis of small passages but also knowledge of the wider text. Use the PEE method - make a Point, use a quote as Evidence and then most importantly, Explain why this quote proves what you are trying to say. Even on short answer questions, examiners will expect a sentence or two for an introduction and then again for a conclusion. Consistently relate your answer back to the question, it may sound a bit basic to end a paragraph with "and this is why Mrs. Bennett provides both humour and social commentary." it is important to show the examiner that you are answering the question.