PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Written by: Jane Austen

Published in January 28, 1813

Maegan McCane Block 2B

INTRODUCTION

This novel was written by Jane Austen and published in 1813. Set

in the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire near London, England, it

is about a young girl named Elizabeth Bennet and how she deals with her

society in her day. Her mother is insistent on marrying off all of her

daughters to suitable men. A man named Mr. Bingley moves in near the

Bennets and Mrs. Bennet wants to go see if he would be a suitor for one

of her children. Mr. Bingley throws a ball and invites the Bennets and his

friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. Darcy sees Elizabeth and decides that she is not

handsome enough to fit his tastes, Elizabeth finds out about this and

becomes disgusted with him

Elizabeth Bennet- She is a

young intelligent girl of about 20 years old.

While she is charming and lively, she judges

based upon first impression, and is normally

selective on what information she uses to do

her judging with. The “Prejudice” part of the

novel’s title comes from this character trait.

The novel is mainly told from her point of

view. She is the second oldest of the five

Bennet sisters.

Fitzwilliam Darcy- He is about 28

years old and has a heavy income. He is of a

higher social class than Elizabeth and is very

proud. He is so proud that he lets his pride

get in the way of his emotions and daily

actions. He makes a bitter first impression

with Elizabeth, and she at first despises him.

The “Pride” part of the novel’s title comes

from Darcy’s prideful personality.

CHARACTERS

Protagonist (Female) Protagonist (Male)

Lady Catherine de Bourgh- She is

Darcy’s aunt. In many ways she is

somewhat like him. She is prideful and

haughty and looks down on others. She

is very wealthy and has a very high social

standing. She does not like Elizabeth

because she thinks that her manners are

not correct and that she is too

outspoken.

Caroline Bingley- She is the younger sister of

the Mr. Bingley who moves in near the Bennets.

She has a crush on Darcy, and becomes jealous of

Elizabeth whenever Darcy is nice to her. She is

rude and scornful to Elizabeth whenever she is

around. She even tries to convince Darcy to get

away from Elizabeth. Her attempts to get Darcy

to love her and how she goes out of her way to

impress him (which fail) are indefinitely noticed

by everyone.

CHARACTERS (CONT.)

Antagonist Antagonist

CONFLICT

In the novel, Mr. Darcy begins to develop

feelings for Elizabeth. However, due to her first

impression of him, she is disgusted by the simple

thought of him. In a slew of events, they are

constantly thrown together again and again. Darcy

tries not to let it show that he likes Elizabeth, and

his pride sometimes gets in the way of how he feels

for her. Elizabeth on the other hand is a little unsure

of how she feels for him. She is even admired by a

clergyman named Mr. Collins.

MINOR CHARACTERS

Jane Bennet- She is Elizabeth’s older sister and best friend. Jane is

admired by Mr. Bingley and somewhat criticized by her mother a little

for not being married at 22.

Mr. Bennet- He is the Bennet sisters’ father. He is laid

back and witty. He and Elizabeth have a strong bond and relationship

Mrs. Bennet- She is the Bennet sisters’ mother. All she really wants is for

all of her daughters to be married to suitable men. And she criticizes them

sometimes for not finding suitors, then she’ll take it upon herself to do so.

WHAT DID THE CRITICS SAY?

Charlotte Bronte, who wrote Jane Eyre, said that the novel was"a carefully

fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers;

but ... no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck.“

Barbara Schultz said that the book was funny, had good characters, and a

good and complex plot. http://

www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/pride-and-prejudice

Mary C. Curtis of the Charlotte Observer said that she was hooked by the

plot and captivated by the way Darcy and Elizabeth struggle with their

emotions http://www.cmlibrary.org/readers_club/reviews/tresults.asp?id=1518

WHAT I SAY

I think that the book was very good. Austen is not

like Bronte in her writing style, but she’s a very good

writer. She is outspoken, and this novel is basically

her venting about things she didn’t necessarily agree

with during her time. Most female authors were full

of early feminism. She probably modeled Elizabeth

the way she would’ve liked women to be able to act

in her day.