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Introduction
One of the first novels written in the English language, and one of the wittiest, Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice has delighted readers for nearly two hundred years. ... Austen herself feared that Pride and Prejudice, for all its popular appeal, was "rather too light and bright, and sparkling," to be considered a serious novel. ...
Context
Jane Austen was born in Steventon, England, in 1775, where she lived for the first twenty-five years of her life. Her father, George Austen, was the rector of the local parish and taught her largely at home. ... A publisher rejected the manuscript, and it was not until 1809 that Austen began the revisions that would bring it to its final form. ... Austen published four more novels: Mansfield Park,Emma,Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. ... Additionally, Austen may have sought anonymity because of the more general atmosphere of repression pervading her era. ... In her work, Austen is often critical of the assumptions and prejudices of upper class England. ... Nevertheless, Austen was in many ways a realist, and the England she depicts is one in which social mobility is limited and class- consciousness is strong. ...
Even so, critics often accuse Austen of portraying a limited world. As a clergymans daughter, Austen would have done parish work and was certainly aware of the poor around her. ...
In general, Austen occupies a curious position between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. ... The Bennets have five unmarried daughters—from oldest to youngest, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia—and Mrs. ... He is taken with Jane and spends much of the evening dancing with her. ... Bingley also continues to burgeon, and Jane pays a visit to the Bingley mansion. ... In order to tend to Jane, Elizabeth hikes through muddy fields and arrives with a spattered dress, much to the disdain of the snobbish Miss Bingley, Charles Bingleys sister. ...
When Elizabeth and Jane return home, they find Mr. ... As winter progresses, Jane visits the city to see friends (hoping also that she might see Mr. ... She tells Darcy that she considers him arrogant and unpleasant, then scolds him for steering Bingley away from Jane and disinheriting Wickham. ... In this letter, he admits that he urged Bingley to distance himself from Jane, but claims he did so only because he thought their romance was not serious. ... Shortly thereafter, Bingley returns to Netherfield and resumes his courtship of Jane. ... Bingley, on the other hand, presses his suit and proposes to Jane, to the delight of everyone but Bingleys haughty sister. ... She tenderly accepts his proposal, and both Jane and Elizabeth are married. ...
Jane Bennet - The eldest and most beautiful Bennet sister. Jane is more reserved and gentler than Elizabeth. ...
Jane Bennet/Charles Bingley - Elizabeths beautiful elder sister and Darcys wealthy best friend, Jane and Bingley engage in a courtship that occupies a central place in the novel. ... Despite their centrality to the narrative, they are vague characters, sketched by Austen rather than carefully drawn. ... Jane and Bingley exhibit to the reader true love unhampered by either pride or prejudice, though in their simple goodness, they also demonstrate that such a love is mildly dull. ... Bennet and the father of Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Kitty, and Mary. ... Austen uses her continually to highlight the necessity of marriage for young women. ... Bennet proves such an unattractive figure, lacking redeeming characteristics of any kind, that some readers have accused Austen of unfairness in portraying her—as if Austen, like Mr. ... ) Austen, meanwhile, poses countless smaller obstacles to the realization of the love between Elizabeth and Darcy, including Lady Catherines attempt to control her nephew, Miss Bingleys snobbery, Mrs. ... Darcy and Elizabeths realization of a mutual and tender love seems to imply that Austen views love as something independent of these social forces, as something that can be captured if only an individual is able to escape the warping effects of hierarchical society. Austen does sound some more realist (or, one could say, cynical) notes about love, using the character of Charlotte Lucas, who marries the buffoon Mr. ... Yet with her central characters, Austen suggests that true love is a force separate from society and one that can conquer even the most difficult of circumstances. ... Austen pokes gentle fun at the snobs in these examples, but later in the novel, when Lydia elopes with Wickham and lives with him out of wedlock, the author treats reputation as a very serious matter. ... Austen satirizes this kind of class-consciousness, particularly in the character of Mr. ... Through the Darcy-Elizabeth and Bingley-Jane marriages, Austen shows the power of love and happiness to overcome class boundaries and prejudices, thereby implying that such prejudices are hollow, unfeeling, and unproductive. Of course, this whole discussion of class must be made with the understanding that Austen herself is often criticized as being a classist: she doesnt really represent anyone from the lower classes; those servants she does portray are generally happy with their lot. Austen does criticize class structure but only a limited slice of that structure. ...
Courtship - In a sense, Pride and Prejudice is the story of two courtships—those between Darcy and Elizabeth and between Bingley and Jane. ... Austen makes the connection explicit when she describes the stream that flows beside the mansion. ... [Explanation]
Key Facts
Full Title - Pride and Prejudice
Author - Jane Austen
Type of work - Novel
Genre - Comedy of manners
Language - English
Time and place written - England, between 1796 and 1813
Date of first publication - 1813
Publisher - Thomas Egerton of London
Narrator - Third-person omniscient
Climax - Mr. ...
Tone - Comic—or, in Jane Austens own words, "light and bright, and sparkling"
Themes - Love; Reputation; Class
Motifs - Courtship; Journeys
Symbols - The novel is light on symbolism, except on the visit to Pemberley, which is described as being "neither formal, nor falsely adorned," and is clearly meant to symbolize the character of Mr. ... Jane Austens original title for the novel was First Impressions. ... Analyze how Austen depicts Mr. ... Though Jane Austen satirizes snobs in her novels, some critics have accused her of being a snob herself. ... Compare and contrast the Bingley-Darcy relationship with the Jane-Elizabeth relationship. ... Bingley, when he attends the ball in Meryton, seems to be quite taken with
(A) Elizabeth
(B) Jane
(C) Lydia
(D) Charlotte Lucas
4. ...
(A) He insults her father
(B) He dances with Jane too often
(C) He slaps her
(D) He refuses to dance with her
5. ... Bennet forgets to send a carriage to bring her home
(D) Jane is hoping to make Mr. ...
(A) Elizabeth
(B) Jane
(C) Mary
(D) Lydia
10. ...
(A) Jane
(B) Lydia
(C) Miss Bingley
(D) Charlotte Lucas
11. ... Elizabeths feelings toward Darcy begin to change when he
(A) Sends her a letter explaining his actions
(B) Fights a duel with Wickham
(C) Sends money to Jane
(D) Marries Miss Bingley
18. ... Bingley
(A) Has just married Miss Darcy
(B) Pursues the priesthood
(C) Begins courting Elizabeth
(D) Resumes courting Jane
24. ... The novel ends with
(A) Darcy marrying Elizabeth, and Bingley marrying Miss Darcy
(B) Darcy marrying Elizabeth, and Wickham marrying Jane
(C) Bingley marrying Jane, and Elizabeth marrying Wickham
(D) Bingley marrying Jane, and Darcy marrying Elizabeth
Approximate Word count = 6606
Approximate Pages = 26.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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