4. Introduction
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most celebrated novels of Jane
Austen and it was also her personal favourite.
Pride and Prejudice, published in three volumes by Thomas Egerton
on 28 January 1813, was originally titled “First Impressions”.
It became an immediate success among the fashionable novel-
reading public.
It belongs to the genre of Realist Fiction.
The central themes of the novel are marriage, love, wealth, class
and reputation.
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5. Jane
Austen
Austen’s plots often explore the dependence of
women on marriage in the pursuit of
favourable social standing and economic
security.
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6. About Author
Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist
known for her six major novels [Sense and Sensibility (first published
novel); Pride and Prejudice; Mansfield Park; Emma; Persuasion;
Northanger Abbey].
She was the seventh child out of eight of George Austen and Cassandra
Leigh.
She was a great novelist of Romantic Age (Age of Wordsworth).
Her novels have inspired many films like Sense and Sensibility (1995),
Pride and Prejudice (2005) etc.
Marriage, love and domestic life were basic themes of her work.
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7. There is no charm equal to
tenderness of heart.
Jane Austen
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8. Main Characters
Mr. Bennet- sarcastic man, fond of his two eldest daughters
Mrs. Bennet- uncertain temper, little silly, favours Jane & Lydia
Jane Bennet- most beautiful Bennet daughter, good heart and gentle
nature
Elizabeth Bennet- bold, intelligent, witty sense of humour
Mary Bennet- plain personality, loves reading, singing and playing piano
Kitty Bennet- source of embarrassment to Bennet family, irritable
Lydia Bennet- youngest Bennet, attractive but reckless
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9. Bennet
Family
The Bennet family belongs to the middle class. The family consists of Mr. and
Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters. The family had wide varieties of
emotions such as calmness, boldness, confusion, excitement, sarcasm etc.
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10. Continued…
Charles Bingley- handsome, friendly, good natured, wealthy
Caroline Bingley- sister of Mr. Bingley
Mrs. Hurst- also sister of Mr. Bingley
Fitzwilliam Darcy- best friend of Bingley, tall, handsome, proud, wealthy
land owning Aristocrat
Georgiana Darcy- sister of Mr. Darcy
George Wickham- handsome military officer, fortune hunter
Charlotte Lucas- best friend of Elizabeth
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11. Jane
and
Bingley
They both have similarities like both are cheerful, friendly, good natured and
attractive. Despite the huge social and economic difference Bingley proposes
Jane and lives a very happy and prosperous life.
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12. Continued…
Mr. Collins- ridiculous cousin of Mr. Bennet who will be inheriting the
entire Bennet estate after Mr. Bennet’s death due to legal structure
Lady Catherine de Bourgh- Darcy’s arrogant aunt & patron of Mr. Collins
Anne de Bourgh- daughter of Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner- a happy couple with four children, brother and
sister-in-law of Mrs. Bennet
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13. Elizabeth
and
Darcy
Elizabeth and Darcy relationship dominates the novel. In the beginning she dislikes
Darcy but later she get to know that Mr. Darcy was not wrong and then she also
begins to love him. Then, they get married and lived a cheerful life.
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14. Short Summary
The novel begins with the very famous line, “Its is a truth universally
acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must
be in want of a wife”. Novel is set in rural England in early 19th century.
Mr. Bingley, a rich single man moves to the Netherfield Estate. Mrs.
Bennet hopes to marry one of her daughters to him. The Bennet sisters
meet Bingley and Darcy in a local ball. While Bingley is friendly, Darcy is
too proud to talk to the locals.
Elizabeth overhears Darcy refusing to dance with her which makes her
dislike him instantly. Mr. Bingley and Jane get attached to each other.
Later, Mr. Darcy also find himself getting attracted to Elizabeth because
of her charm and intelligence.
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15. Continued…
Elizabeth despises Darcy. She is attracted to George Wickham who tells
her that his father worked for Darcy’s father and Darcy cruelly cheated
him of an inheritance.
Mr. Collins visits Bennet family to inherit the Bennet estate after Mr.
Bennet’s death. He wants to marry Elizabeth but she refuses him. He
then proposes Charlotte Lucas and they get married.
Jane finds out that the Bingley’s have left for London. Elizabeth gets
angry and suspects that Bingley’s sisters and Darcy are trying to separate
him from Jane. Elizabeth visits Charlotte at her new home in Hunsford.
She meets Lady Catherine de Bourgh, aunt of Darcy and patron of
Collins.
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16. Continued…
Darcy visits his aunt soon after Elizabeth arrives there. He proposes her
but she refuses, believing that he is responsible for Jane’s separation
from Bingley and Wickham’s misfortune.
Darcy gives a letter to her explaining his role in keeping Bingley away
from Jane and also stating the facts of Wickham’s situation. She realises
that Darcy has never done anything wrong. She is shocked at her own
pride which resulted in her prejudice against Darcy.
Elizabeth goes on trip with Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner to Derbyshire where
they visit Darcy’s estate of Pemberley. They meet Darcy and are
surprised at how graciously he treats them. Elizabeth starts loving Mr.
Darcy. Later, she receives a letter from Jane stating that Lydia ran-away-
with Wickham.
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17. Continued…
Elizabeth and Gardiner’s leave for home, worrying about the disgrace of
the Bennet family. Finally they are found and married. Elizabeth
discovers that Darcy had played a significant role in finding them and
also in marriage, thereby saving the reputation of Bennet family.
Bingley returns to Netherfield and proposes Jane, which she accepts
gladly. Elizabeth happiness is interrupted by a visit from Lady Catherine
who has heard a rumour that Darcy and Elizabeth are engaged. She
lectures Elizabeth on the impossibility of such a match and demands her
to deny the proposal from Mr. Darcy but Elizabeth refuses to do so.
Later, Darcy proposes Elizabeth again and she happily accepts.
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18. Analysis
In this novel, Elizabeth is the main character and the major conflicts
revolves around her for finding a good husband. She encounters a
number of antagonists who create obstacles between her and a happy
marriage. These enemies can be classified into two groups. The first who
persuade her to marry the wrong man and the other who try to prevent
Elizabeth’s marriage to Darcy. The main plot of Elizabeth’s path to
marriage intersects closely with subplots focused on the lives of other
female characters.
The novel closes with a classic comedic ending in which three of
Bennet’s sisters are married and Jane, Elizabeth, Bingley, Darcy are
rewarded with prosperity and happiness while the Lydia and Wickham
faces more ups and downs and unsettled existence.
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19. Major Themes
Pride and Prejudice- Darcy and Elizabeth are represented as pride and
prejudice respectively. Pride is shown as a common human nature and
prejudice is the behaviour of the person who is prideful.
Marriage and Love- For two eldest Bennet daughters marriage is the
feelings of mutual respect and love. The other marriages in the novel
(Collins & Charlotte, Wickham & Lydia) are based on the external factors
such as society, money and security.
Money and Property- During the 19th century most of the women had no
means of income. The only way to get money was to marriage as
inheriting was not allowed for women then.
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20. Conclusion
This novel had been a very sheer enjoyment for me. Clearly, it is an
ironic novel of manners. It tells us the conditions of contemporary
women and their struggle for finding a good husband not only for
personal wealthy life but also for uplifting the family conditions through
marriages as then inheriting was not allowed to women. It teaches us
the consequences of hasty judgements which may later ought to be
proved wrong.
Author has also discussed the various aspects of love and marriage and
obstacles made by family members in a happy life. And also, the
deserving deserves, irrespective of various social status and obstacles. In
the end, life will be settle down and this is very sarcastically shown by
Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice.
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