Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice was written by Jane Austen in the years following 1796 before its original publication in 1813. It is Austen's second published novel, the first being Sense and Sensibility.

Plot[]

Mr. Bennet is the master of Longbourn, an estate entailed to the male line, and upon his death, it will pass to his cousin William Collins rather than any of his five daughters, who will be left with only their respective share of five thousand pounds. His wife Mrs. Bennet is desperate for their daughters to marry, and her hopes appear to be answered when nearby Netherfield Park is let to the wealthy Charles Bingley, who falls in love with their eldest daughter, Jane. Bingley's friend Fitzwilliam Darcy, who is even richer and better-born than his friend, insults Elizabeth, the second daughter, within her hearing, and Elizabeth dislikes him. The Longbourn and Netherfield parties meet frequently, during which time Darcy comes to admire Elizabeth and reveals this to Bingley's sister Caroline, who begins to treat Elizabeth as a rival for Darcy's affections. When Jane falls ill during a visit to Netherfield Park, Elizabeth joins her sister to nurse her and gets to know the Netherfield party even better. She hears Darcy boast of his own pride and remark on his high standards, particularly for educated young women. Jane recovers, and the sisters return home shortly before Mr. Collins arrives. Mr. Collins wishes to marry one of his cousins, and after Mrs. Bennet tells him Jane is will soon become engaged, he focuses his attentions on Elizabeth.

Elizabeth meets George Wickham, a lieutenant of the militia quartered in Meryton for the winter, and he claims that Darcy is the cause of his poverty because he ignored the will of the late Mr. Darcy (Darcy's father and Wickham's godfather). She fails to pick up on the hints of Wickham's duplicity, and her dislike of Darcy is cemented. Bingley hosts a ball, at which the Bennet family embarrasses themselves, and when Elizabeth is asked to dance by Darcy, she brings up his pride and supposed mistreatment of Wickham. Sir William Lucas interrupts the dance to remark on the expected engagement between Jane and Bingley, shocking Darcy. The Netherfield party leaves the next day, and though the Bennets expect Bingley to return and propose to Jane, he never does. Jane goes to London to stay with their uncle Mr. Gardiner and his wife, and when Caroline Bingley is rude to her, she ends their acquaintance. Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth and is rejected, though Mrs. Bennet tries to convince her otherwise. He then proposes to her friend Charlotte Lucas, who accepts. Elizabeth is shocked by the news, and she loses respect for Charlotte; however, she agrees to visit Charlotte at Easter.

Mr. Collins's patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh is Darcy's aunt and the mother of his cousin Anne De Bourgh, whom she considers engaged to Darcy, and he and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam visit Rosings Park at the same time. Colonel Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth that Darcy recently prevented his friend Bingley from proposing to an unsuitable young woman, unaware that Jane is the woman in question. Elizabeth is upset by the news and stays at Hunsford Parsonage while the others go to dinner at Rosings Park. Darcy arrives to propose to her, but so insultingly that it breaks into an argument where Elizabeth accuses him of impoverishing Wickham and breaking her sister's heart. The next day, Darcy hand-delivers a letter defending himself to Elizabeth before he leaves Rosings. He says he prevented Bingley from proposing to Jane because he believed Jane didn't love him, and he reveals that Wickham received his inheritance but spent it foolishly and when Darcy refused to give him more money he attempted to elope with Darcy's fifteen-year-old sister Georgiana for her thirty thousand pound dowry.

Elizabeth returns to Longbourn and learns that her youngest sister, Lydia, has been invited to stay in Brighton with Colonel Forster and his wife when the militia summers there. She advises her father to refuse the invitation, but Mr. Bennet thinks that would be too much trouble. Elizabeth's own plans to travel for the summer are curtailed when her uncle's business forces them to shorten their trip; rather than go to the Lake District, they go to Derbyshire where Elizabeth agrees to visit Darcy's estate Pemberley after hearing he isn't home. He arrives unexpectedly, however, and Elizabeth is impressed by the changes he has made to his character. He calls on Elizabeth alone at the inn on the same day she receives a letter from Jane revealing that Lydia has run away with Wickham; though Jane hopes they will be married, there is no evidence that they have traveled beyond London. Elizabeth confides in Darcy, knowing it will prevent him from ever renewing his addresses to her and she now realizes she wishes he would. Elizabeth and the Gardiners return to Longbourn, and Mr. Gardiner joins the search for Lydia. Mr. Bennet returns home and soon receives a letter announcing that Lydia and Wickham have been found and will be married; the Bennets believe Mr. Gardiner bribed Wickham into marrying Lydia. The Wickhams pay a visit to Longbourn. Lydia accidentally reveals that Darcy was at her wedding, and Elizabeth writes Mrs. Gardiner for more information; she tells Elizabeth that Darcy was the one who found Lydia and Wickham, purchased his debts, and bribed him into marrying Lydia.

Bingley returns to Longbourn with Darcy, and he soon proposes to Jane, who accepts. The neighborhood speculates which couple will become engaged next and land on Elizabeth and Darcy, speculation that is passed from the Lucases to the Collinses to Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Lady Catherine travels to Longbourn to confront Elizabeth about the supposed engagement, and Elizabeth defends herself from Lady Catherine's insults. Lady Catherine then confronts Darcy, carrying Elizabeth's defense of their unrealized relationship. Darcy realizes Elizabeth might love him. He proposes again, and this time she accepts. Mr. Bennet is shocked by the engagement, but Elizabeth reassures him that her feelings for Darcy are real. Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic that her daughter is marrying such a wealthy, aristocratic man, and Caroline Bingley reconciles with the Miss Bennets in order to retain her social position. Eventually Elizabeth convinces Darcy to reconcile with his aunt as well. The Darcys and Bingleys are plagued by the Wickhams' greed and dysfunction, but otherwise are happy.

Characters[]

• Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist and second child of the Bennet family.
• Mr. Bennet, the owner of Longbourn.
• Mrs. Bennet, his wife.
• Jane Bennet, oldest child of the Bennet family.
• Catherine Bennet
• Mary Bennet
• Lydia Bennet
• Fitzwilliam Darcy
• Charles Bingley

Supporting Characters[]

• Lady Catherine de Bourgh
• George Wickham
• William Collins
• Louisa Hurst
• Mr. Hurst
• Caroline Bingley
• Sir William Lucas
• Charlotte Lucas
• Lady Lucas
• Georgiana Darcy
• Colonel Fitzwilliam
• Mr. Gardiner
• Mrs. Gardiner

Places[]

• Hunsford Parsonage, home of Mr. Collins.
• Longbourn, where the Bennet family resides.
• Lucas Lodge, home of the Lucas family.
• Meryton, town where the Bennets like to go on outings.
• Netherfield Park, estate leased by Mr. Bingley.
• Pemberley, country estate owned by Mr. Darcy.
• Rosings Park, estate of the de Bourgh family.

Reception[]

Pride and Prejudice is one of the most well known and beloved novels. Many during Austen's time and afterward have praised it.^{[citation needed]}

Sir Walter Scott praised Pride and Prejudice in his journal, however, Charlotte Brontë's thoughts were very different.^[1]

Notes[]

Pride and Prejudice is written in a style of free, indirect speech like most of Jane Austen's works and has been the subject of many different film and television adaptations over the years. First Impressions^[2] is believed to be a first draft of the novel and was written before 1800. This is why many interpret the setting of the novel to be in the late 1790s, as opposed to the Regency period.^[3]

Written primarily from the perspective of the female protagonist, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, the reader follows her life and the lives of her sisters and the ever constant pursuit of marriage by nearly all of the female characters, excluding herself.

Even in the modern day, Pride and Prejudice is seen as an important book by many literary experts.^[4]

Adaptations[]

Films and television

• Pride and Prejudice (1938)
• Pride and Prejudice movie (1940)
• Pride and Prejudice (1952)
• Orgoglio e Pregiudizio
• Pride and Prejudice (1958)
• De vier Dochters Bennet
• Orgullo y Prejuicio
• Pride and Prejudice (1967)
• Pride and Prejudice movie (1980)
• Pride and Prejudice movie (1995)
• Pride and Prejudice movie (2005)
• Pride and Prejudice comic book (2009)

Reimaginations

• Bridget Jones (film series)
• Bride and Prejudice
• Pride and Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy
• Lost in Austen
• The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
• Austenland
• Before the Fall
• Unleashing Mr. Darcy
• Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
• Christmas at Pemberley Manor
• Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe
• An American in Austen
• Fire Island

Notes and references[]