Pride and Prejudice

Summary:

The Bennet family is a middle class family living in the 1800's with daughters Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia. Mrs. Bennet is hoping to get her children married off to rich men, and got lucky when a rich handsome man moved into town. This man, Mr. Bingley, takes a liking to Jane, while his friend Mr. Darcy, who seems to be polar opposites with Mr. Bingley, gets into a heated verbal argument with Elizabeth. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy have an ongoing quarrel in which they insult each other or question each other's ethics and education. They slowly fall in love with each other, albeit the many complaints of Mr. Bingley's sister, Caroline. Just as things seem to be heading towards a positive direction, Mr. Wickham runs off with Lydia to marry her, which causes a stir in the family. Mr. Darcy had also made a mistake with the Bennet family, as he convinced Mr. Bingley that Mrs. Bennet (and thus Jane) was only after his wealth. While Mr. Darcy realized his mistake, Elizabeth was not readily forgiving. However, with Mr. Darcy's help, the family is able to reconcile with Wickham and Lydia's mistake, and Elizabeth and Darcy make up while Jane and Bingley reunite. All three sisters end up married, although some are better off than others.

Basics:

This novel was written by Jane Austen in the early 1800's, and can be considered a satire in some ways. It is set in the early 1800's in England, starting out at Netherfield house, as well as Pemberley and many other places.

Main Characters:

Elizabeth Bennet: A headstrong young woman who has strong opinions, and is quite knowledgeable for a woman of her day and age. She is witty and can stand her ground, and her father often supports her.

Jane Bennet: Elizabeth's older sister who is a perfect gentlewoman. She is quiet and polite, attracting the attention of Mr. Bingley. She represents the typical woman during that time period.

Mr. Darcy: Elizabeth's love interest, someone who is just as hard-headed and stubborn as she is. He has both pride and prejudice, but is a kind hearted man and doesn't mean to harm anyone. He is very well educated as well, and is quite honest with everyone.

Mr. Bingley: Jane's love interest, who is a wealthy gentleman. He is polite, like Jane, and is the opposite of Mr Darcy, as does not act rashly, and takes time to think things through before he acts.

Bennet Family: Consists of Mrs and Mr. Bennet, Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Mary, and Catherine. Lydia runs off (and scammed) with Mr Wickham to get married, while Mary does not marry. Catherine sees the faults of Lydia, and decides to be more careful before getting married. Mrs. Bennet is a materialistic woman, while Mr. Bennet is the voice of reason within this female dominated household.

Mr. Wickham: A scam of an officer who tells Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy treats him poorly, and manages to convince Lydia to run off with him to get married.

Narrative Voice:

The author's style is similar to many romantic novels. There is no specific point of view, although it does focus the most on Elizabeth's relationship to those around her, and also explores Jane's relationships. The tone is considerably lighthearted, as compared to the other novels and plays that we have read before. Austen also uses detailed imagery to explain the setting and inter-character relationships, but does not use imagery to delve into the more superficial elements, and instead relies on dialogue. There is not much symbolism in this novel, but the different settings do represent the different social classes and the complicated relationship between people of different classes.

Quotes:

"In society so superior to what she had generally known, her improvement was great. She was not of so ungovernable a temper as Lydia, and removed from the influence of Lydia's example, she became, by proper attention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid" (366).

This quote not only shows Kitty's maturation due to the hard times that the Bennet family had faced, it also shows that she is learning from the past, and she knows that mistakes made in the past should not be repeated, and should be looked upon as valuable lessons. This not only applies to Kitty, but also to society as a whole. Society should look upon past mistakes not just as a past event, but something to learn from to prevent in the future.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (3).

The first line of the novel, this quote is a good example of prejudice. Not every single man in possession of a fortune wants a wife, so it cannot be a universal truth. In the case of the Bennets, this is what Lydia and Mrs. Bennet seem to think, although Jane and Elizabeth do not seem to agree with this entirely. Also, it can represent the pride. It is not a universal truth, so to claim it as a universal truth would be pride in knowledge, thus explaining many of the motifs of this novel.

Theme:

To love is to overcome pride, prejudice and social class to see what is truly inside a person and to accept that person for who they really are.

Both Darcy and Elizabeth have pride and prejudice, which they do not want to admit to. However, when they overcome their differences, they fall in love, showing that what is truly underneath the facade is who they truly are, and that is what matters. They are also able to overcome the social class issue that is set upon them by society, showing that true love overcomes all adversities. Similarly, Jane and Mr. Bingley also overcome the social class issue when they fall in love.