Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin, 1813
2. One theme in the novel is that to love, one must overcome pride and prejudice. Pride and prejudice is what keeps Elizabeth and Darcy apart. Darcy has prejudice about Elizabeth and her family, and sees them as lower than him. Elizabeth prides herself in her judgement, and misjudges Darcy. When they see that they are wrong about each other, they see that they are actually very compatible and start to love each other. The characters have to gain humility before they can be together. Jane and Bingley do not have pride or prejudice and because of this, from the beginning of the novel, are able to love each other. Another theme is how mercenary marriage does not lead to any kind of true happiness. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have a mercenary marriage, and Mr. Bennet regrets it for the rest of his life. Charlotte marries Mr. Collins and leads a materially good life, with a nice house, but tries to avoid him as much as possible, because he is repulsive. Not only do Elizabeth and Darcy love each other, but they also have respect for each other. In the end it does not matter how much money you have, but how emotionally fulfilled you are.
3. Elizabeth Bennet- main character, story told from her perspective, overcomes her prejudice, sees the absurdity in the society she lives in
Mr. Darcy- Elizabeth’s love interest, overcomes prideful nature, shows how wrong Elizabeth can be when judging people
Jane Bennet- Elizabeth’s sister, shows what being a person without prejudice/pride looks like
Mr. Bingley- Jane’s love interest and Darcy’s best friend, shows how stoic Darcy looks in comparison to his more open demeanor, doesn’t care about class
Mr. Bennet- Elizabeth’s father, sarcastic to avoid thinking about the bad choice he made by having a mercenary marriage and to avoid his children (how badly the society can affect people), only close with Elizabeth, who is funny and smart like him
Mrs. Bennet- Elizabeth’s mother, grotesque, mercenary, lowers the family’s class by being so ridiculous
Wickham- part of love triangle with Elizabeth and Darcy, shows Elizabeth that she can’t read people that well, shows how good Darcy actually is
Lydia Bennet- Elizabeth’s sister, mercenary, brings shame to the family (lowers their class)
Mr. Collins- grotesque, absurd, pedantic, obsessed with Lady Catherine
Caroline Bingley- Mr. Bingly’s sister, love triangle with Darcy and Elizabeth, shows Darcy how much he likes Elizabeth in comparison to her, cares about class a lot
Lady Catherine de Bourgh- Darcy’s aunt, grotesque, cares about class a lot, doesn’t follow etiquette and shows that good manners/charm don’t come from class
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner- real parent figures for Elizabeth
Charlotte- Elizabeth’s best friend, spinster, much less romantic than Elizabeth, shows effect of mercenary society (she marries Collins who is so ridiculous)
Miss Darcy- Mr. Darcy’s sister, plot device to show how bad Wickham is, sweet, shy girl
Mary Bennet- Elizabeth’s sister, pedantic and conceited, contrasts Elizabeth, who is actually very smart and tasteful
Catherine Bennet- Elizabeth’s sister, similar to Lydia (mercenary)
4. The novel is in chronological order. Letters are used to interrupt the 3rd person limited narrative and give the thoughts of other characters than Elizabeth. There are also elements of suspense in the novel, like when Elizabeth and Darcy are sitting very far apart from each other at the dinner table and cannot talk, which show that there is tension in their relationship and almost acts as a way to foreshadow that they will eventually be together.
5. Longbourn- Bennet’s, will go to Mr. Collins after Mr. Bennet dies, provincial for Elizabeth (adds to that she must escape and do more with her life)
Netherfield- Mr. Bingly’s, place where contrast in shown between Mr. Darcy’s relationship with Elizabeth and Mr. Bingly’s with Jane
Meryton- where the soldiers usually are, Kitty and Lydia go to meet them w/out supervision, mercenary
Rosings- Lady Catherine’s, shows how wealthy she is but doesn’t impress Elizabeth, tasteless
Pemberley- Mr. Darcy’s, beautiful, tasteful, not fake, symbol for who Darcy really is, contrasts Lady Catherine and shows that she and Darcy are very different even if they are both proud
Hunsford- Charlotte and Mr. Collins, small, nice house apart from the fact that Collins lives there, shows material success in mercenary marriage, but not true happiness
Brighton- where the soldiers are, Lydia plans to go there (Brighton scheme) to get w/ a soldier and meets Wickham, mercenary
6. Bennets need to marry, no men in family = no inheritance of land, Mr. Bingley moves in = ball, Jane and Bingley meet and hit it off, Darcy and Elizabeth meet and don’t! but Darcy starts to like her.. Mr. Collins is gonna get the Bennet house, wants to marry Elizabeth to keep it in the family, she says no, so he marries Charlotte, Elizabeth meets Wickham, who has history with Darcy and tells her lies about him, Jane is having problems w/ Mr. Bingley + family, Elizabeth meets Lady Catherine when visiting Charlotte, Darcy proposes to her and she says no, gives her a letter saying what really happened w/ Wickham, she starts to like him,, Lydia goes to Brighton, meets Wickham, they elope, Elizabeth goes with Gardeners to Pemberley and sees Darcy in a new light, Lydia and Wickham get married to save reputation (Darcy paid to help Elizabeth), Bingley and Jane get back together and get married, Darcy doesn’t look like he likes Elizabeth, Lady Catherine says mean stuff to her about how she doesn’t want them together, Darcy still later proposes and shows he loves her and they get married
7. Darcy’s first proposal is an example of the theme that to love, one must overcome pride and prejudice. It shows how love without respect is unappealing and untrue. Darcy talks about how having him as her husband would be like winning a prize. He also insults her family for their poor etiquette and low class. His proposal is full of pride in himself, not just that he is a great man, but also that Elizabeth will accept him. He also has prejudice against her family and is very class-conscious. This proposal barely shows that he loves Elizabeth, and she does not accept him.
8. Pemberley Estate = Darcy, shows contrast between Darcy and Lady Catherine’s character (Rosings), Rosings = fancy but tasteless, Pemberly = fancy, taste!!! shows that they are not alike and Darcy is not as bad as Elizabeth may have thought
9. The novel is told from Elizabeth Bennet’s point of view in 3rd person limited. This is advantageous because it lets Elizabeth’s point of view be shown and helps to develop her character. Unlike the other characters, Elizabeth’s thoughts are shown without a need for her to speak. Many times in the novel through her third person narration, Elizabeth interjects her opinion on situations. Still, it can be bad because Elizabeth has prejudice so showing everything from her point of view can mask what is actually happening to the characters. For example, at the Netherfield Ball, although Mr. Darcy is actually just shy, she thinks that he is proud, and her prejudice seems like fact because there is no other point of view to argue with it.