Post by Daniel on Dec 5, 2009 7:09:04 GMT -5
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1818
She never married, despite receiving one offer of marriage in 1802 from a wealthy but unattractive man. She accepted his offer
at first due to his family connections and wealth but would later reject him due to her lack of affection for the man.
She lived her life with her family and sisters.Though Austen's novels were republished in Britain beginning in the 1830s and remained steady sellers, they were not bestsellers,because Austen's novels failed to conform to Romantic and Victorian
expectations that "powerful emotion [be] authenticated by an egregious display of sound and colour in the writing”, The publication of James Edward Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869 introduced Austen to a wider public as "dear aunt Jane".
Publication of the Memoir spurred the reissue of Austen's novels—the first popular editions were released in 1883.
Pride and Prejudice
First published on 28 January 1813, it was her second published novel. Its manuscript was initially written between 1796 and 1797
It’s original title was First Impressions.
It is one of those famous examples of a novel written using free indirect speech: a style of third-person narration that includes narrating a character’s own thoughts and speech.
It is both a novel of realism and a novel of satire.
Part 1
Mrs. Bennett – The Mother
Mr. Bennett – The Father
Jane Bennett – The Oldest Daughter
Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Bennett’ – The second oldest Daughter
Mary, Kitty, Lydia Bennett – The Other Sisters
Netherfield Park is purchased by Mr. Bingley, a wealthy young man, causing great excitement in the neighbourhood amongst mothers wanting to marry their daughters to him.
A dance is held in the local village and Mr. Bingley, his two sisters (Miss. Bingley, Mrs. Hurst), his brother-in-law (Mr. Hurst), and his friend, Mr. Darcy arrive
Whilst Mr. Bingley appears to the community to be a very friendly, welcoming man, the rest of the group are very pretentious and aloof. Mr. Darcy refuses to dance, especially when recommend to Lizzy. Bingley’s sisters mock the community and Mr. Hurst is bored. Mr. Bingley dances most with Jane.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a waith”
Part 1
A ball is given at Lucas Lodge, and Bingley and his friends are invited along with the Bennetts and the officers of a regiment newly arrived in the area lead by Colonel Forster. The younger sisters embarrass Lizzy and, whilst moving towards Lydia to stop her from exposing the family, she is pressed into dancing with Mr. Darcy, who seems to accept her. Lizzy declines and moves away.
Miss. Bingley tells Mr. Darcy how he must be thinking that spending nights like these in such a way is insupportable. Darcy says that he, on the contrary, is thinking about the fine eyes of Miss Elizabeth Bennett.
Jane is sent for my Miss. Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, and Mrs. Bennet insists on Jane taking a horse instead of a carriage so that she might be caught outside in the rain, catch a cold and thus have to stay the night at Netherfield.
Her plan works and Jane comes down with a terrible fever.
Lizzy goes to Jane by walking the three miles Netherfield through the fields.
There is heated conversation between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy
Mrs. Bennet and her daughters come to Netherfield to check on Jane.
Mrs. Bennett embarrasses the family by misunderstanding Mr. Darcy
Jane finally leaves Netherfield after recovering.
“My good opinion once lost, is lost forever” Mr. Darcy.
Part 2
Mr. Bennett informs his family that a relative, Mr.Collins, who will inherit the estate after his death, will be joining the family for a week.
An entail was a legal device used to prevent a landed property from being broken up, and/or from descending in a female line. This is a logical extension of the then-prevalent practice of leaving the bulk of one's wealth (particularly real estate) to one's eldest son or "heir" (thus Darcy has an income of £10,000 a year, representing a wealth of about £200,000, while his sister has £30,000; similarly, Bingley has £100,000, and his two sisters £20,000 apiece).
Mr. Collins is a clergyman who is a little stupid and relies very much on overt-politeness and decorum. He emphasis his patron Lady Catherine De Bourgh, and considers himself to be elevated by the association. His cousins do not like him, but this does not stop or occur to Mr. Collins, who intends to marry Jane, and then Lizzy.
Lizzy meets a handsome officer called Mr. Wickham. Mr. Wickham tells Lizzy more about Mr. Darcy, and how Mr. Darcy had abused him in childhood and denied him his future against his father’s final wishes.
Lizzy is shocked and thinks Mr. Darcy to be the most cruel, vengeful person.
Colonel Forster holds a ball for the officers and for the gentry.
Mr. Wickham avoids the ball, Mr. Collins attends and makes a fool of himself whilst dancing and Lizzy is forced to dance with Mr. Darcy, where they begin a heated discussion as to Mr. Darcy’s character.
Part 2
Sir William Lucas interrupts the dance to compliment the two, and draws attention to Jane and Mr.Bingley, implying that they will soon be married. Mr Darcy’s attention is drawn to this developing relationship, and realises the affection of his friend.
The Bennett sisters and the mother embarrass the family again.
Mr. Collins proposes to Lizzy. Lizzy rejects him. Mr. Collins insists and Lizzy insists on rejecting him.
Mrs. Bennett insists on Lizzy marrying Mr. Collins, but Lizzy does not love him and Mrs. Bennett applies to the father to convince her.
“from this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do” Mr. Bennett
Mr. Collins leaves.
Part 3
Charlotte Lucas becomes engaged to Mr. Collins, shocking the Bennett family. Lizzy is disappointed with Charlotte for marrying for material needs.
Mr. Bingley leaves for London, and the rest of the group follow him.
Miss Bingley writes a letter to Jane and tells her that her brother is indifferent to her and suggests Mr. Bingley will marry Darcy’s sister.
Mr and Mrs. Gardener(Mrs. Bennett’s sister) arrive at Longbourn, the Bennett’s house.
Elizabeth, who has been growing more attracted to Mr. Wickham, is disappointed to hear that Mr. Wickham is leaving Meryton in pursuit of a woman who has just inherited a fortune of £10,000. Lizzy understands that men need money to live on.
The Lucases invite Lizzy to join them on a visit to Charlotte and Mr. Collins, and the Gardeners take Jane back to London with her to try to meet with Mr. Bingley
Jane receives a cold welcome in London from Miss. Bingley, and never sees Mr. Bigley whilst she is there.
Lizzy visist Charlotte and is invited to Rosings, the residence of Lady Catherine De Burgh.
Charlotte talks to Lizzy about how she can manage to go most of a day without having to talk to Mr. Collins.
Part 3
On visiting Rosings, Lizzy encounters Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam who turn out to be the nephews of Lady Catherine.
Lizzy jokes with Colonel Fitwilliam in front of Mr. Darcy about how poorly he behaved during their first meeting, and how he neglected many women at the ball even though there were less men and many female dancers needed partners.
Colonel Fitzwilliam, not realising who he was talking to, tells Lizzy about how Mr. Darcy congratulates himself at interfering on behalf of a friend who was about to make a huge mistakes in marrying a poor choice in woman, and that there were problems with her family and her connections. He is talking about Jane and Lizzy’s family, but does not realise it.
Mr Darcy later proposes to Lizzy, who rejects him with very much anger. (Part 3, 46:30)
Part 4
Mr. Darcy writes a letter to Lizzy, explaining his part in the relationship between Mr. Bingley and Jane, and his history with Mr. Wickham.
He tells Lizzy that Mr. Wickham was the son of a gardener of his father, and his father liked him greatly. His father supported Mr. Wickham at school, and at Cambridge, but Mr. Wickham became wild and enjoyed life too much instead of studying. He was promised a career in the church but gave up on this in favour of a temporary sum of ten thousand pounds. After he had wasted this money, he petitioned Darcy for more, who refused. He then set about seducing Darcy’s sister, and with the help of an evil governess, Mrs. Young, almost succeeded in marrying Georgiana, Darcy’s sister.
Darcy stopped the marriage, and succeeded in paying Wickham to break off the engagement.
Lizzy is angry, and then ashamed of her family after realising that Darcy’s criticisms are just and fair.
Lizzy leaves Charlotte and Mr.Collins’ house and returns home.
Jane has returned from London, disappointed.
Lydia is invited to Brighton, and despite Lizzy asking her father to refuse, Lydia is allowed to go.
Part 4
The Gardeners, Lizzy’s aunt and uncle, invite Lizzy to tour the country with them.
She agrees, and they arrive in Derbyshire and decide to visit Pemberley, the home of Mr. Darcy, but only after Lizzy has confirmed that the family is not currently living the grand estate.
They visit and the housekeeper shows them around, praising Mr.Darcy as ‘the kindest man that ever lived and the best master’.
Mr. Darcy returns unexpectedly, and makes a good impression on Lizzy and her relatives by being polite, welcoming and friendly. Lizzy is astonished, and her opinion begins to change of Mr. Darcy.
Part 5
Mr. Darcy insists on Lizzy and the Gardeners waiting in Derbyshire and introducing them to his sister. They also meet with Mr. Bingley and his sisters.
Miss Bingley, jealous of Lizzy’s relationship with Mr. Darcy, tries to provoke her by mentioning Mr. Wickam. (Part 5, 6.00)
Mr Darcy and Lizzy are becoming closer, but a letter comes to Lizzy from Jane telling her that Mr. Wickham has set up with Lydia, bringing shame on the family. Whilst they think Mr.Wickham will marry her, it emerges that worse still, it appears he has no intention of marrying Lydia, thus disgracing her and the family.
Lizzy tells Mr. Darcy, who leaves quickly as soon as he hears the news. Lizzy is sure that Mr. Darcy no longer wants to associate with a family so disgraced.
Lizzy returns home, and her father admits he was wrong and should have listened to her.
Mr. Darcy arrives in London, and is seen to organise the marriage between Lydia and Wickham, secretly without the family knowing he is involved.
The Bennet family receive a letter from Mr. Gardener telling him that they are successfully married, and it has cost Mr. Bennet very little.
Part 6
Lydia and Mr. Wickham come to Longbourn, much against the displeasure of Mr. Bennett.
Lydia reveals that Mr. Darcy was at the wedding to Lizzy, who is shocked. She writes to her aunt asking to know the details, and her aunt tells her that Darcy insisted on doing everything, and paying everything to secure the marriage. Darcy believes it was his fault that Mr. Wickham’s character was not exposed and people didn’t know how bad he was.
Mr Bingley and Mr. Darcy return to Longbourn, and finally Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane after Mr. Darcy gives him his blessing, and admitting he was wrong to get in his way. (21.50)
Upon hearing a rumour of a marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth, Lady Catherine arrives at Longbourn to confront Lizzy. Darcy is meant to marry her daughter and she considers Lizzy to be too beneath Mr. Darcy to ever hope to marry him. She demands that she admit she will never marry him, but she refuses, despite there being no arrangement between the two. (32:00)
Mr. Darcy returns to Longbourn along with Mr. Bingley, and the two couples go for a walk to Meryton.
Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that after hearing his aunt’s actions and hearing that Lizzy would not refuse to ever marry him, he understand that there was still hope. (40.00)
The novel ends with a dual marriage.
Dances
Dances in early English society played an important role in bringing young men and women together.
Whilst the lower classes could meet in taverns and bars, middle class and upper class society was far too respectable to socialise with these kinds of people. Instead they would hold balls and dances whilst the peasantry would be excluded. (Part 1 – 17.15)
Dances in Pride and Prejudice can be seen as a method of choosing a wife or a lover, almost like the love-scenes of a film/movie: Bingley dances with many girls in his first dance in Meryton, but finally chooses Jane to dance with the most having decided to pursue her.
“You know perfectly well it would be a punishment for me to stand with any other women in the room” : Darcy has interest in choosing a wife from the country girls at the assembly, and so refuses to dance with them as it would imply he considered it possible to court a country woman of lower class and lower breeding.
Mr. Collins and Lizzy cannot dance together, highlighting their incompatibility as a couple (Part 2: 28.10)
Mr Darcy and Lizzy however dance perfectly, drawing admiration from Sir William Lucas, despite the fact that they are engaged in a heated discussion. It highlights their compatibility as a couple, despite what they are saying to each other (Part 2: 31:10)
Houses
Much of Pride and Prejudice is set in someone’s house, either for a dance, a meeting, an extended stay or some kind of conflict. Houses are ever-present in the novel, and so there is some importance to be attributed to them.
Houses are said to represent the psyche/mind of their owners. In Western society, houses are considered the cradle of the family and their life, and come to mirror the personality of the inhabitants. Houses therefore afford an insight the lives and the minds of the characters that reside in them.
Longbourn: The Estate of the Bennets
This house is disordered, separated and frantic.
Netherfield : Bingley’s Rented Estate
Often empty and then full
Pemberley : Mr. Darcy’s Estate
Stately. “In fronta stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance.” Darcy possesses a “natural importance” that is “swelled” by his arrogance, but which coexists with a genuine honesty and lack of “artificial appearance.”
Rosings : Lady Catherine’s Estate
Overbearing, antiquated and pretentious.
Journeys
Nearly every scene in Pride and Prejudice takes place indoors, and the action centers around the Bennet home in the small village of Longbourn. Nevertheless, journeys—even short ones—function repeatedly as catalysts for change in the novel. Elizabeth’s first journey, by which she intends simply to visit Charlotte and Mr. Collins, brings her into contact with Mr. Darcy, and leads to his first proposal. Her second journey takes her to Derby and Pemberley, where she fans the growing flame of her affection for Darcy. The third journey, meanwhile, sends various people in pursuit of Wickham and Lydia, and the journey ends with Darcy tracking them down and saving the Bennet family honor, in the process demonstrating his continued devotion to Elizabeth.
(Spartnotes)
Courtship
In a sense, Pride and Prejudice is the story of two courtships—those between Darcy and Elizabeth and between Bingley and Jane. Within this broad structure appear other, smaller courtships: Mr. Collins’s aborted wooing of Elizabeth, followed by his successful wooing of Charlotte Lucas; Miss Bingley’s unsuccessful attempt to attract Darcy; Wickham’s pursuit first of Elizabeth, then of the never-seen Miss King, and finally of Lydia. Courtship therefore takes on a profound, if often unspoken, importance in the novel. Marriage is the ultimate goal, courtship constitutes the real working-out of love. Courtship becomes a sort of forge of a person’s personality, and each courtship becomes an exploration of different sorts of love.
(Spartnotes)
Reputation
Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a woman’s reputation is of the utmost importance. A woman is expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social norms makes her vulnerable to ostracism. This theme appears in the novel, when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield and arrives with muddy skirts, to the shock of the reputation-conscious Miss Bingley and her friends. At other points, the ill-mannered, ridiculous behavior of Mrs. Bennet gives her a bad reputation with the more refined (and snobbish) Darcys and Bingleys. 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. By becoming Wickham’s lover without benefit of marriage, Lydia clearly places herself outside the social pale, and her disgrace threatens the entire Bennet family. Darcy’s intervention on the Bennets’ behalf thus becomes all the more generous.
The happy ending of Pride and Prejudice is certainly emotionally satisfying, but in many ways it leaves the theme of reputation, and the importance placed on reputation, unexplored. One can ask of Pride and Prejudice, to what extent does it critique social structures, and to what extent does it simply accept their inevitability?
(Spartnotes)
Class
The theme of class is related to reputation, in that both reflect the strictly regimented nature of life for the middle and upper classes in Regency England. The lines of class are strictly drawn. While the Bennets, who are middle class, may socialize with the upper-class Bingleys and Darcys, they are clearly their social inferiors and are treated as such. Austen satirizes this kind of class-consciousness, particularly in the character of Mr. Collins, who spends most of his time flattering his upper-class patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Though Mr. Collins offers an extreme example, he is not the only one to hold such views. His conception of the importance of class is shared, among others, by Mr. Darcy, who believes in the dignity of his lineage; Miss Bingley, who dislikes anyone not as socially accepted as she is; and Wickham, who will do anything he can to get enough money to raise himself into a higher station. Mr. Collins’s views are merely the most extreme and obvious. The satire directed at Mr. Collins is therefore also more subtly directed at the entire social hierarchy and the conception of all those within it at its correctness, in complete disregard of other, more worthy virtues. 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 doesn’t 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.
(Spartnotes)
Love
Pride and Prejudice contains one of the most cherished love stories in English literature: the courtship between Darcy and Elizabeth. As in any good love story, the lovers must elude and overcome numerous stumbling blocks, beginning with the tensions caused by the lovers’ own personal qualities. Elizabeth’s pride makes her misjudge Darcy on the basis of a poor first impression, while Darcy’s prejudice against Elizabeth’s poor social standing blinds him, for a time, to her many virtues. (Of course, one could also say that Elizabeth is guilty of prejudice and Darcy of pride—the title cuts both ways.) Austen, meanwhile, poses countless smaller obstacles to the realization of the love between Elizabeth and Darcy, including Lady Catherine’s attempt to control her nephew, Miss Bingley’s snobbery, Mrs. Bennet’s idiocy, and Wickham’s deceit. In each case, anxieties about social connections, or the desire for better social connections, interfere with the workings of love. Darcy and Elizabeth’s 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. Collins for his money, to demonstrate that the heart does not always dictate marriage. 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.
(Sparknotes)
Jane Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1818
She never married, despite receiving one offer of marriage in 1802 from a wealthy but unattractive man. She accepted his offer
at first due to his family connections and wealth but would later reject him due to her lack of affection for the man.
She lived her life with her family and sisters.Though Austen's novels were republished in Britain beginning in the 1830s and remained steady sellers, they were not bestsellers,because Austen's novels failed to conform to Romantic and Victorian
expectations that "powerful emotion [be] authenticated by an egregious display of sound and colour in the writing”, The publication of James Edward Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen in 1869 introduced Austen to a wider public as "dear aunt Jane".
Publication of the Memoir spurred the reissue of Austen's novels—the first popular editions were released in 1883.
Pride and Prejudice
First published on 28 January 1813, it was her second published novel. Its manuscript was initially written between 1796 and 1797
It’s original title was First Impressions.
It is one of those famous examples of a novel written using free indirect speech: a style of third-person narration that includes narrating a character’s own thoughts and speech.
It is both a novel of realism and a novel of satire.
Part 1
Mrs. Bennett – The Mother
Mr. Bennett – The Father
Jane Bennett – The Oldest Daughter
Elizabeth ‘Lizzy’ Bennett’ – The second oldest Daughter
Mary, Kitty, Lydia Bennett – The Other Sisters
Netherfield Park is purchased by Mr. Bingley, a wealthy young man, causing great excitement in the neighbourhood amongst mothers wanting to marry their daughters to him.
A dance is held in the local village and Mr. Bingley, his two sisters (Miss. Bingley, Mrs. Hurst), his brother-in-law (Mr. Hurst), and his friend, Mr. Darcy arrive
Whilst Mr. Bingley appears to the community to be a very friendly, welcoming man, the rest of the group are very pretentious and aloof. Mr. Darcy refuses to dance, especially when recommend to Lizzy. Bingley’s sisters mock the community and Mr. Hurst is bored. Mr. Bingley dances most with Jane.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a waith”
Part 1
A ball is given at Lucas Lodge, and Bingley and his friends are invited along with the Bennetts and the officers of a regiment newly arrived in the area lead by Colonel Forster. The younger sisters embarrass Lizzy and, whilst moving towards Lydia to stop her from exposing the family, she is pressed into dancing with Mr. Darcy, who seems to accept her. Lizzy declines and moves away.
Miss. Bingley tells Mr. Darcy how he must be thinking that spending nights like these in such a way is insupportable. Darcy says that he, on the contrary, is thinking about the fine eyes of Miss Elizabeth Bennett.
Jane is sent for my Miss. Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, and Mrs. Bennet insists on Jane taking a horse instead of a carriage so that she might be caught outside in the rain, catch a cold and thus have to stay the night at Netherfield.
Her plan works and Jane comes down with a terrible fever.
Lizzy goes to Jane by walking the three miles Netherfield through the fields.
There is heated conversation between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy
Mrs. Bennet and her daughters come to Netherfield to check on Jane.
Mrs. Bennett embarrasses the family by misunderstanding Mr. Darcy
Jane finally leaves Netherfield after recovering.
“My good opinion once lost, is lost forever” Mr. Darcy.
Part 2
Mr. Bennett informs his family that a relative, Mr.Collins, who will inherit the estate after his death, will be joining the family for a week.
An entail was a legal device used to prevent a landed property from being broken up, and/or from descending in a female line. This is a logical extension of the then-prevalent practice of leaving the bulk of one's wealth (particularly real estate) to one's eldest son or "heir" (thus Darcy has an income of £10,000 a year, representing a wealth of about £200,000, while his sister has £30,000; similarly, Bingley has £100,000, and his two sisters £20,000 apiece).
Mr. Collins is a clergyman who is a little stupid and relies very much on overt-politeness and decorum. He emphasis his patron Lady Catherine De Bourgh, and considers himself to be elevated by the association. His cousins do not like him, but this does not stop or occur to Mr. Collins, who intends to marry Jane, and then Lizzy.
Lizzy meets a handsome officer called Mr. Wickham. Mr. Wickham tells Lizzy more about Mr. Darcy, and how Mr. Darcy had abused him in childhood and denied him his future against his father’s final wishes.
Lizzy is shocked and thinks Mr. Darcy to be the most cruel, vengeful person.
Colonel Forster holds a ball for the officers and for the gentry.
Mr. Wickham avoids the ball, Mr. Collins attends and makes a fool of himself whilst dancing and Lizzy is forced to dance with Mr. Darcy, where they begin a heated discussion as to Mr. Darcy’s character.
Part 2
Sir William Lucas interrupts the dance to compliment the two, and draws attention to Jane and Mr.Bingley, implying that they will soon be married. Mr Darcy’s attention is drawn to this developing relationship, and realises the affection of his friend.
The Bennett sisters and the mother embarrass the family again.
Mr. Collins proposes to Lizzy. Lizzy rejects him. Mr. Collins insists and Lizzy insists on rejecting him.
Mrs. Bennett insists on Lizzy marrying Mr. Collins, but Lizzy does not love him and Mrs. Bennett applies to the father to convince her.
“from this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do” Mr. Bennett
Mr. Collins leaves.
Part 3
Charlotte Lucas becomes engaged to Mr. Collins, shocking the Bennett family. Lizzy is disappointed with Charlotte for marrying for material needs.
Mr. Bingley leaves for London, and the rest of the group follow him.
Miss Bingley writes a letter to Jane and tells her that her brother is indifferent to her and suggests Mr. Bingley will marry Darcy’s sister.
Mr and Mrs. Gardener(Mrs. Bennett’s sister) arrive at Longbourn, the Bennett’s house.
Elizabeth, who has been growing more attracted to Mr. Wickham, is disappointed to hear that Mr. Wickham is leaving Meryton in pursuit of a woman who has just inherited a fortune of £10,000. Lizzy understands that men need money to live on.
The Lucases invite Lizzy to join them on a visit to Charlotte and Mr. Collins, and the Gardeners take Jane back to London with her to try to meet with Mr. Bingley
Jane receives a cold welcome in London from Miss. Bingley, and never sees Mr. Bigley whilst she is there.
Lizzy visist Charlotte and is invited to Rosings, the residence of Lady Catherine De Burgh.
Charlotte talks to Lizzy about how she can manage to go most of a day without having to talk to Mr. Collins.
Part 3
On visiting Rosings, Lizzy encounters Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam who turn out to be the nephews of Lady Catherine.
Lizzy jokes with Colonel Fitwilliam in front of Mr. Darcy about how poorly he behaved during their first meeting, and how he neglected many women at the ball even though there were less men and many female dancers needed partners.
Colonel Fitzwilliam, not realising who he was talking to, tells Lizzy about how Mr. Darcy congratulates himself at interfering on behalf of a friend who was about to make a huge mistakes in marrying a poor choice in woman, and that there were problems with her family and her connections. He is talking about Jane and Lizzy’s family, but does not realise it.
Mr Darcy later proposes to Lizzy, who rejects him with very much anger. (Part 3, 46:30)
Part 4
Mr. Darcy writes a letter to Lizzy, explaining his part in the relationship between Mr. Bingley and Jane, and his history with Mr. Wickham.
He tells Lizzy that Mr. Wickham was the son of a gardener of his father, and his father liked him greatly. His father supported Mr. Wickham at school, and at Cambridge, but Mr. Wickham became wild and enjoyed life too much instead of studying. He was promised a career in the church but gave up on this in favour of a temporary sum of ten thousand pounds. After he had wasted this money, he petitioned Darcy for more, who refused. He then set about seducing Darcy’s sister, and with the help of an evil governess, Mrs. Young, almost succeeded in marrying Georgiana, Darcy’s sister.
Darcy stopped the marriage, and succeeded in paying Wickham to break off the engagement.
Lizzy is angry, and then ashamed of her family after realising that Darcy’s criticisms are just and fair.
Lizzy leaves Charlotte and Mr.Collins’ house and returns home.
Jane has returned from London, disappointed.
Lydia is invited to Brighton, and despite Lizzy asking her father to refuse, Lydia is allowed to go.
Part 4
The Gardeners, Lizzy’s aunt and uncle, invite Lizzy to tour the country with them.
She agrees, and they arrive in Derbyshire and decide to visit Pemberley, the home of Mr. Darcy, but only after Lizzy has confirmed that the family is not currently living the grand estate.
They visit and the housekeeper shows them around, praising Mr.Darcy as ‘the kindest man that ever lived and the best master’.
Mr. Darcy returns unexpectedly, and makes a good impression on Lizzy and her relatives by being polite, welcoming and friendly. Lizzy is astonished, and her opinion begins to change of Mr. Darcy.
Part 5
Mr. Darcy insists on Lizzy and the Gardeners waiting in Derbyshire and introducing them to his sister. They also meet with Mr. Bingley and his sisters.
Miss Bingley, jealous of Lizzy’s relationship with Mr. Darcy, tries to provoke her by mentioning Mr. Wickam. (Part 5, 6.00)
Mr Darcy and Lizzy are becoming closer, but a letter comes to Lizzy from Jane telling her that Mr. Wickham has set up with Lydia, bringing shame on the family. Whilst they think Mr.Wickham will marry her, it emerges that worse still, it appears he has no intention of marrying Lydia, thus disgracing her and the family.
Lizzy tells Mr. Darcy, who leaves quickly as soon as he hears the news. Lizzy is sure that Mr. Darcy no longer wants to associate with a family so disgraced.
Lizzy returns home, and her father admits he was wrong and should have listened to her.
Mr. Darcy arrives in London, and is seen to organise the marriage between Lydia and Wickham, secretly without the family knowing he is involved.
The Bennet family receive a letter from Mr. Gardener telling him that they are successfully married, and it has cost Mr. Bennet very little.
Part 6
Lydia and Mr. Wickham come to Longbourn, much against the displeasure of Mr. Bennett.
Lydia reveals that Mr. Darcy was at the wedding to Lizzy, who is shocked. She writes to her aunt asking to know the details, and her aunt tells her that Darcy insisted on doing everything, and paying everything to secure the marriage. Darcy believes it was his fault that Mr. Wickham’s character was not exposed and people didn’t know how bad he was.
Mr Bingley and Mr. Darcy return to Longbourn, and finally Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane after Mr. Darcy gives him his blessing, and admitting he was wrong to get in his way. (21.50)
Upon hearing a rumour of a marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth, Lady Catherine arrives at Longbourn to confront Lizzy. Darcy is meant to marry her daughter and she considers Lizzy to be too beneath Mr. Darcy to ever hope to marry him. She demands that she admit she will never marry him, but she refuses, despite there being no arrangement between the two. (32:00)
Mr. Darcy returns to Longbourn along with Mr. Bingley, and the two couples go for a walk to Meryton.
Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that after hearing his aunt’s actions and hearing that Lizzy would not refuse to ever marry him, he understand that there was still hope. (40.00)
The novel ends with a dual marriage.
Dances
Dances in early English society played an important role in bringing young men and women together.
Whilst the lower classes could meet in taverns and bars, middle class and upper class society was far too respectable to socialise with these kinds of people. Instead they would hold balls and dances whilst the peasantry would be excluded. (Part 1 – 17.15)
Dances in Pride and Prejudice can be seen as a method of choosing a wife or a lover, almost like the love-scenes of a film/movie: Bingley dances with many girls in his first dance in Meryton, but finally chooses Jane to dance with the most having decided to pursue her.
“You know perfectly well it would be a punishment for me to stand with any other women in the room” : Darcy has interest in choosing a wife from the country girls at the assembly, and so refuses to dance with them as it would imply he considered it possible to court a country woman of lower class and lower breeding.
Mr. Collins and Lizzy cannot dance together, highlighting their incompatibility as a couple (Part 2: 28.10)
Mr Darcy and Lizzy however dance perfectly, drawing admiration from Sir William Lucas, despite the fact that they are engaged in a heated discussion. It highlights their compatibility as a couple, despite what they are saying to each other (Part 2: 31:10)
Houses
Much of Pride and Prejudice is set in someone’s house, either for a dance, a meeting, an extended stay or some kind of conflict. Houses are ever-present in the novel, and so there is some importance to be attributed to them.
Houses are said to represent the psyche/mind of their owners. In Western society, houses are considered the cradle of the family and their life, and come to mirror the personality of the inhabitants. Houses therefore afford an insight the lives and the minds of the characters that reside in them.
Longbourn: The Estate of the Bennets
This house is disordered, separated and frantic.
Netherfield : Bingley’s Rented Estate
Often empty and then full
Pemberley : Mr. Darcy’s Estate
Stately. “In fronta stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance.” Darcy possesses a “natural importance” that is “swelled” by his arrogance, but which coexists with a genuine honesty and lack of “artificial appearance.”
Rosings : Lady Catherine’s Estate
Overbearing, antiquated and pretentious.
Journeys
Nearly every scene in Pride and Prejudice takes place indoors, and the action centers around the Bennet home in the small village of Longbourn. Nevertheless, journeys—even short ones—function repeatedly as catalysts for change in the novel. Elizabeth’s first journey, by which she intends simply to visit Charlotte and Mr. Collins, brings her into contact with Mr. Darcy, and leads to his first proposal. Her second journey takes her to Derby and Pemberley, where she fans the growing flame of her affection for Darcy. The third journey, meanwhile, sends various people in pursuit of Wickham and Lydia, and the journey ends with Darcy tracking them down and saving the Bennet family honor, in the process demonstrating his continued devotion to Elizabeth.
(Spartnotes)
Courtship
In a sense, Pride and Prejudice is the story of two courtships—those between Darcy and Elizabeth and between Bingley and Jane. Within this broad structure appear other, smaller courtships: Mr. Collins’s aborted wooing of Elizabeth, followed by his successful wooing of Charlotte Lucas; Miss Bingley’s unsuccessful attempt to attract Darcy; Wickham’s pursuit first of Elizabeth, then of the never-seen Miss King, and finally of Lydia. Courtship therefore takes on a profound, if often unspoken, importance in the novel. Marriage is the ultimate goal, courtship constitutes the real working-out of love. Courtship becomes a sort of forge of a person’s personality, and each courtship becomes an exploration of different sorts of love.
(Spartnotes)
Reputation
Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a woman’s reputation is of the utmost importance. A woman is expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social norms makes her vulnerable to ostracism. This theme appears in the novel, when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield and arrives with muddy skirts, to the shock of the reputation-conscious Miss Bingley and her friends. At other points, the ill-mannered, ridiculous behavior of Mrs. Bennet gives her a bad reputation with the more refined (and snobbish) Darcys and Bingleys. 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. By becoming Wickham’s lover without benefit of marriage, Lydia clearly places herself outside the social pale, and her disgrace threatens the entire Bennet family. Darcy’s intervention on the Bennets’ behalf thus becomes all the more generous.
The happy ending of Pride and Prejudice is certainly emotionally satisfying, but in many ways it leaves the theme of reputation, and the importance placed on reputation, unexplored. One can ask of Pride and Prejudice, to what extent does it critique social structures, and to what extent does it simply accept their inevitability?
(Spartnotes)
Class
The theme of class is related to reputation, in that both reflect the strictly regimented nature of life for the middle and upper classes in Regency England. The lines of class are strictly drawn. While the Bennets, who are middle class, may socialize with the upper-class Bingleys and Darcys, they are clearly their social inferiors and are treated as such. Austen satirizes this kind of class-consciousness, particularly in the character of Mr. Collins, who spends most of his time flattering his upper-class patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Though Mr. Collins offers an extreme example, he is not the only one to hold such views. His conception of the importance of class is shared, among others, by Mr. Darcy, who believes in the dignity of his lineage; Miss Bingley, who dislikes anyone not as socially accepted as she is; and Wickham, who will do anything he can to get enough money to raise himself into a higher station. Mr. Collins’s views are merely the most extreme and obvious. The satire directed at Mr. Collins is therefore also more subtly directed at the entire social hierarchy and the conception of all those within it at its correctness, in complete disregard of other, more worthy virtues. 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 doesn’t 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.
(Spartnotes)
Love
Pride and Prejudice contains one of the most cherished love stories in English literature: the courtship between Darcy and Elizabeth. As in any good love story, the lovers must elude and overcome numerous stumbling blocks, beginning with the tensions caused by the lovers’ own personal qualities. Elizabeth’s pride makes her misjudge Darcy on the basis of a poor first impression, while Darcy’s prejudice against Elizabeth’s poor social standing blinds him, for a time, to her many virtues. (Of course, one could also say that Elizabeth is guilty of prejudice and Darcy of pride—the title cuts both ways.) Austen, meanwhile, poses countless smaller obstacles to the realization of the love between Elizabeth and Darcy, including Lady Catherine’s attempt to control her nephew, Miss Bingley’s snobbery, Mrs. Bennet’s idiocy, and Wickham’s deceit. In each case, anxieties about social connections, or the desire for better social connections, interfere with the workings of love. Darcy and Elizabeth’s 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. Collins for his money, to demonstrate that the heart does not always dictate marriage. 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.
(Sparknotes)