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Book beginning: page 3

Introduction to the novel

• It is a story strictly concerning the rich part of society, we do not hear anything from or about servants, and although the Bennets often refer to themselves as poor, the novel never deals with any actual poor characters.
• The novel is a lesson not to place future plans on something you have no control over, such as having (male) children.
• Mary observed that “Vanity and pride are different things […] Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us” (p19).

Criticism within the novel

• The general opinion on females appears to be that they are prone to silliness. It is Mr Bennet who clearly says so about his daughters: “They are all silly and ignorant like other girls” (p4) and you can see he believes the same about his wife by the way he talks to her.
• Even though it is a Romantic novel, the characters criticize the conventions of love, for example when Elizabeth says: “I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!” (p41)
• In general, society is shown to be weak: Everyone praised Wickham until they found out about his wicked ways and then soon backtracked any comments they had made: “Everybody began to find out, that they had always distrusted the appearance of [Wickham’s] goodness” (p244).
  
  Also, people were always gossiping about the latest scandals (Lydia eloping), people’s comings and goings (Mr Darcy’s and Mr Bingley’s / the regiment), and comparing themselves to their neighbours (mainly the Bennets and Lucas / Collins family).
  
  Overall, between the collective chatter and the individual accounts (such as the many people Elizabeth individually talks to about Mr Darcy), this behaviour takes up much of the story, showing how heavily dependant the non-working classes are on gossip for daily amusement.

Defining characteristics in the novel

• Mrs Bennet’s nerves.
• Mr Bennet’s sarcastic interaction with his wife.
• Everything is measured in half-hours.
• There are many witty points which are sometimes intentionally made by the character, for example, a lot of what Mr Bennet says, and other moments which are unintentionally amusing such as Mr Collins’ compliments.
• There was an extremely efficient letter service, where only one letter went astray and that was due to the terrible handwriting (p227).
  
  Almost all of the important events came through letters: A letter came to Jane about Bingley leaving, which sealed Elizabeth’s dislike for Darcy. Darcy then gave Elizabeth a letter containing the truth about Wickham, but when she finally cared for him she got a letter from Jane about Lydia eloping. The family disruption from the elopement was then resolved through letters (not the wedding and payment itself), and one last letter from Mrs Gardiner to Elizabeth told her everything Darcy had done to resolve the elopement issues.

• The main daily concerns expressed throughout the novel, aside from the latest gossip, are fashion and marriage. Once a couple is married, the problem is substituted for the worry of the size of their house and how it is to be decorated, whilst being updated on the latest fashions each time someone visits from London.
• Mr Darcy was thought to be such a serious character because he had never been taught to laugh at himself, unlike the Bennet girls (p311).
• There was a distinct worry to marry off daughters at this time, especially as families were so big, women took advantage of every opportunity presented to them.

Moments of Pride

Pride: a sense of your own worth / too high an opinion of said worth

• Mr Bingley's sisters' manner, the way they talk of others and carry themselves.
• Mr Darcy's character always seemed to look down on others, whether in fashion, beauty (p16), or manners. Although Miss Lucas does defend him saying that with so much in his favour, he has a right to be proud (p19).
• Elizabeth admits her pride was hurt when Mr Darcy said he could not be tempted by her (p19)
• The pride of performing, usually playing the piano or singing, or hurt pride from not being well received.
• Miss Bingley's pride is hurt repeatedly by Mr Darcy's compliments about Elizabeth.
• Sometimes characters are proud of their defects because they think they make them interesting (p43). Although Mr Bingley denies this.
• Mr Collins took great pride in being chosen by Lady de Bourgh for their parish (p55), which gave him an air of self-importance (p56).
• Although it is stated that Mr Collins was brought up to be humble by his father, the feeling of prosperity he possessed in adulthood, turned him conceited (p61).
• Mrs Bennet's pride was hurt when Mr Collins thought one of her daughters had cooked the dinner, asuming they could not afford a cook (p57).
• When Mary proclaims her interest in Mr Bingley's ball, she notes that although the mornings are important for studies and accomplishments, she is part of society as is everyone else, and she does not reject the idea of "intervals of recreation" on the odd evening (p75).
• Although shocked, Elizabeth was also somewhat proud when Mr Darcy asked her to dance at Mr Bingley's ball. It even gave her the confidence to point out similarities between the two (p79/80).
• Mr Collins regarding the clerical office on par with people of the highest rank, made him overlook a social norm of waiting to be introduced to somebody. And instead, introduced himself to Mr Darcy (p85).
• Mrs Bennet's pride got the best of her when she thought it didn't matter if Mr Darcy was not happy with her boasts (p86). Not realising the influence he had on Mr Bingley, and that he could dissuade him from marrying Jane.
• Mr Collins' pride makes it hard for him to realise Elizabeth is serious in her rejection of his proposal. He lists all the reasons she should find him an acceptable husband, from money to status and societal connections, but fails to mention anything relating to connection between the two of them. In the process, he also offends her pride by pointing out her lack of fortune, and that no other is knocking on the door to propose, making it the first unromantic proposal of the novel (p92-4).
• Lady de Bourgh was filled with so much esteem for herself that she always gave her opinion as the correct one, whether it was how the Collinses should arrange their home, how the Bennet girls should have had a governess, or social norms on how to present girls into society.
• Elizabeth's pride made her reject Mr Darcy's first proposal as he offended her.
• Also, Elizabeth's pride wouldn't let her accept marriage proposals based on economical reasons.
• Mr Darcy's pride didn't allow him to previously consider Elizabeth could reject his proposal.
• Mr Darcy was particularly wounded when Elizabeth accused him of behaving in an ungentleman-like manner (p166).
• Elizabeth's pride turned to humiliation when she found out the truth about Mr Darcy and Mr Wickham, realising she had never stopped to examine Mr Wickham's contradictory actions (p176-7).
• The multitude of incounters between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, where they found themselves mortified, actually helped soften the pride of the other, making each other better people (p308).
• Elizabeth was eventually proud of Mr Darcy, which in turn humbled her (p271).

Moments of Prejudice

Prejudice: a preconceived opinion without any good reason

• The famous opening line shows how people are prejudice (positively or negatively), towards a man of good fortune, and how he must need a wife.
• The town becomes prejudice against Mr Darcy as he comes off as haughty and proud, but he is in fact an introvert, preferring not to engage in things such as small talk.
• At the first ball, Mr Darcy says he is in no mood to entertain a woman ignored by other men (p13), thinking the reason for her sitting down is because no one would want to ask her to dance.
• When Jane describes Mr Bingley and says "he is just what a young man ought to be" (p14), it is her own preconceived notion of what would make a good husband.
• A young woman's romantic affection should manifest itself clearly, othwise it may go unnoticed (p20).
• There is a prejudice against young ladies from poorer families being able to make a good marriage, or being given preference over a lady from a wealthier family.
• The notion that country physicians would be of no use, and the town doctor should be sent for (p37).
• Mr Collins stating that "he never read novels" and instead chose a sermon to share (p59), shows a prejudice against the prestige of the genre.
• Given everyone's disgust by Mr Darcy's pride, it was very easy for Elizabeth to be prejudice and believe Mr Wickham's story about Darcy. Even though it was a lie, it played on Darcy's weakness, and so became believable (p70-1).
• There is a prejudice that if a story is told rationally, and it leaves the hearer satisfied, then it must be true (p73), regardless of whether it is the case.
• When Miss Bingley tries to warn Elizabeth of Mr Wickham's questionable nature, she says "considering his descent, one could not expect much better" (p83). Prejudice against poorer classes being less virtuous, even though old Wickham was so well loved and respected.
• Elizabeth is prejudice towards Charlotte's choice of husband, not being able to see beyond how absurd Mr Collins is, to see it was a good fit for Charlotte (p108).
• Also, this one questionable choice, although an important one made by Charlotte to marry such an absurd man, made Elizabeth feel she could never regain her respect for her friend and her good opinion(p110).
• Jane's idea of family is very innocent, and where she believes Mr Bingley's sisters would never come in the way of his happiness, Elizabeth points out that they might have different objectives for his marriage other than love (p117).
• The disgrace of one sister (in this case Lydia), would bring disgrace upon all the sisters, at least the unmarried ones, and the prejudice against their family would make it hard to find good matches (p245).

Marriage

• There was a shortage of men for husbands, especially eligible ones, which meant everyone was pursuing the same few.
• Women did not only worry about their own daughters marrying but it was something that also extended to nieces, as seen by Mrs Philips’ ongoing concern and the reference made to Mrs Long in chapter two (p6).
• Everyone completely overlooks the possibility of Mary marrying Mr Collins, even though she showed interest and they would have made a good match. It would have solved the entail problem but as she wasn’t pretty and had two unmarried older sisters, she was not thought of by Mrs Bennet until it was too late. “Mary might have been prevailed on to accept him. She rated his abilities much higher than any of the others” (p106).
• Mrs Hurst, Mr Bingley’s older sister, made a terrible match marriage wise but no one really voiced their opinion on the matter due to their wealth.
• Maybe the reason Mr Bennet's favourite child is Elizabeth is because he married his wife for beauty, and it became a tiersome match. Whereas his preference for Elizabeth comes from her quickness of mind (p4), realising that a good long term marriage would benefit from intellect.
• Anyone can easily see why Darcy wouldn’t want to marry Miss de Bourgh, it is as obvious as Elizabeth not wanting to marry Mr Collins. Although it makes sense in economical terms and rank, you need no explanation as to why they would prefer not to.
• At this time, a husband and wife each had clear roles to perform (which were slightly different if you were particularly rich). Both Mr Bennet and Elizabeth admitted that Mr Bennet neither carried out his husbandry duties, or fatherly, and that this greatly affected the girls. (p201 & 256).
• This novel shows the values and customs from a time when eloping could mean disinheritance. By Wickham and Lydia living together before they were married, they only received a quick wedding ceremony with a couple of guests, and were quickly shipped off to the north out of sight.

Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s love

• Although Elizabeth finally settles on her reciprocated love for Darcy, he was by no means her first love interest, preceding him, we see both Wickham (p127) and Colonel Fitzwilliam (p158) spark feelings in her. But given her ease to laugh things off, the reader gets the impression that she is less interested in marriage than most. However, this clearly isn’t the case, she simply appears to have a more unique method, where others wanted Wickham for his handsome ways for example, Elizabeth “honoured him for such feelings” (p70).
• As questionable as their love may be, it should be assumed that its foundation can be found in the mutual epiphany of self-recognition that they produce in one another. After receiving Darcy’s letter, Elizabeth says “till this moment, I never knew myself” (p177), having formally always believed in her “discernment”. She is taught the reality of her flaws much in the same way Darcy learns of his through Elizabeth’s refusal of his first proposal (p308), and admiring the way they better each other, they form a strong bond.

The young in love

Mr Darcy, Elizabeth, and Miss Bingley

• Miss Bingley: “I am afraid, Mr Darcy […] that this adventure has rather affected your admiration of [Elizabeth’s] fine eyes.” Mr Darcy: “Not at all, […] they were brightened by the exercise” (p33).
  
  Here we can see how Miss Bingley is not only trying to dissuade Mr Darcy from his affection for Elizabeth, but is also trying to discover just how deep it goes. Mr Darcy on the other hand, is showing signs for a love that can do no wrong whilst also belittling Miss Bingley’s efforts.

• “Miss Bingley saw, or suspected enough to be jealous; and her great anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend Jane, received some assistance from her desire of getting rid of Elizabeth” (p47).
  
  Miss Bingley reacts as would any typical person in love, not only showing jealousy but acting on it, however, she reached the point where it overtook the common decency one should have for a sick friend.

• Mr Darcy: “[Elizabeth] attracted him more than he liked […] He wisely resolved to be particularly careful that no sign of admiration should now escape him, nothing that could elevate her with the hope of influencing his felicity” (p53).
  
  This demonstrates a classic reaction to a person’s budding romantic feelings, whether they are welcome or not, one always wants to start out with casual indifference.

• “Elizabeth awoke the next morning to the same thoughts and meditation which had at length closed her eyes” (p167).
  
  A usual occurrence in this type of situation is that a love interest soon takes over your life, and what is your last thought at night, quickly consumes your life the following day.

• “Colonel Fitzwilliam was no longer an object. She could think only of her letter” (p178).
  
  How quickly one object of admiration can be forgotten and replaced with another, the question is what provokes this? Is it the shallowness of the affection, the lack of a possible future, or taking love where one can find it?

• “[Darcy] spoke to Elizabeth, if not in terms of perfect composure, at least of perfect civility” (p210).
  
  Darcy’s finding it hard to keep “perfect composure” upon seeing Elizabeth after she refused his proposal, shows perhaps more love for her than the proposal itself. When he proposed it was a formal interaction, devoid of feeling, but here we can not only see a rupture in his normally level-headed behaviour, but also the horror of unrequited love.

• “[Elizabeth] longed to know what at that moment was passing in [Mr Darcy’s] mind; in what manner he thought of her, and whether, in defiance of everything, she was still dear to him” (p212).
  
  Here, Elizabeth embodies two common factors for a situation of this sort, as she not only expresses a wish to know what Darcy was thinking but also wonders if her own rash behaviour hasn’t cost her her future happiness.

• Never had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him, as now, when all love must be vain” (p231).
  
  They shared that crucial moment when you realise how much you want something but believe it is too late to have it.

• When looking at the detailed thoughts of Elizabeth, one can see a realistic love pursuit, she says “I will think no more about him” (p281) but the next line says she does it “involuntarily” because her sister interrupts her.
• Darcy: “I hoped to obtain your forgiveness, to lessen your ill opinion, by letting you see that your reproofs had been attended to” (p310).
  
  This demonstrates the typical changes someone will make to be with the one they love, as though a person can simply “attend” to flaws.

• Elizabeth: “Why, especially, when you called, did you look as if you did not care about me?”
  
  Darcy: “Because you were grave and silent, and gave me no encouragement.”
  
  Elizabeth: “But I was embarrassed.”
  
  Darcy: “And so was I.” (p318).

                        Mr Bingley and Jane

• “Even Elizabeth began to fear – not that Bingley was indifferent – but that his sisters would be successful in keeping him away” (p113).
• Jane about Mr Bingley: “He will be forgot, and we shall all be as we were before. […] You doubt me,” cried Jane, slightly colouring” (p115).
  
  Again we see a character trying to shield their feelings from onlookers, however, this was a slightly less successful attempt than Darcy’s, as it would seem not even Jane believed it.

• Mrs Gardiner: “I am sorry it went off. But these things happen so often! A young man, such as you describe Mr Bingley, so easily falls in love with a pretty girl for a few weeks, and when accident separates them, so easily forgets her” (p119).
•  “So fervently did [Jane] value [Bingley’s] remembrance, and prefer him to every other man, that all her good sense, and all her attention to the feelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence of those regrets, which must have been injurious to her own health” (p192).
• Bingley (to Elizabeth): We have not met since the 26^th of November, when we were all dancing together at Netherfield” (p219).
  
  The fact that Bingley can remember the exact date of the last time he saw Jane is a marvellous indication of his feelings for her. It is also fitting that it is such a jolly memory, as his character is always so upbeat, bearing in mind that the parting moods between Darcy and Elizabeth tend to be more sombre.

• “I am certainly the most fortunate creature that ever existed!” cried Jane. “Oh! Lizzy, why am I thus singled from my family, and blessed above them all!” (p292).

                      Other love interests

• “It was the last of the regiment’s stay in Meryton, and all the young ladies in the neighbourhood were drooping apace” (p194).
  
  After all of the excitement that the regiment had brought to the area, their departure was not only going to bring quieter times but also a loss of so many potential suitors.

• Lydia: “There is but one man in the world I love, and he is an angel. I should never be happy without him” (p241/2).
  
  It sounds as though Lydia is trying to romanticise her very extreme way of getting a husband, as she in fact knows nothing about Wickham, especially anything that grants him to be called “an angel”. She may not have known about his antics when she said this, but neither had he done anything to merit such high appraisal other than feign an interest in marriage.

• Mr Bennet: “These violent young lovers carry everything their own way. I shall offer to pay him tomorrow; he will rant and storm about his love for you, and there will be an end of the matter” (p315).
  
  The most interesting thing about this quote is how predictable it makes young lovers sound, it is as if the older generations have seen so many matches being made that they are not only wise to its workings but can also take advantage of them, as in this situation of Mr Bennet talking about Mr Darcy.

Respectability

• Mr Bennet was warned by Elizabeth that all the other daughters would pay for Lydia’s trip to Brighton, suffering the humiliations of her flirting (p195).
• In chapter 42, we can see Mr Bennet’s feelings towards his wife from Elizabeth’s point of view, and how they have affected the respectability of his daughters (p201).

The sisters

• There was a very close relationship between the five girls, even during the scandal of Lydia eloping. More individually, the older two (Jane and Elizabeth) were the closest and most alike, the younger two (Kitty and Lydia) were always together but their relationship lead wherever Lydia took it, and Mary was usually left alone to study or practise the piano.
  
  Having said that, there is also a lot of friction between their personalities and choices:

1. Elizabeth and Jane vs. the three youngest: Elizabeth and Jane become increasingly embarrassed by the younger sisters’ behaviour in public as Lydia and Kitty are too flirtatious and Mary has no sense of social surroundings (p87).
2. Lydia and Mary: the youngest sister can not bring herself to respect Mary’s “boring” ways and therefore never listens when she speaks (p189).
3. Kitty and Lydia: their conflict arises from Kitty always coming second to Lydia, whether it be with their parents, friends or suitors. Kitty’s inconsequence is never so apparent as when she not only doesn’t receive an invitation to Brighton from Mrs Forster, but is also not allowed to go by her father, with her mother making no appeal on her behalf as she did with Lydia. To make matters worse, Kitty is then the one to feel the consequences of Lydia’s elopement, as their father becomes stricter. However, in the end, it would seem Kitty triumphs over her younger sister as she is then guided in higher society by the older ones leading to better prospects.

• It may be possible to see where Mr Bennet started to give up hope in his home life (and for a son) as his first two daughters were very well bred, the third a little less so, and the youngest two were very wild indeed, appearing to have been brought up solely by their mother.
• When Elizabeth is thinking about why Lydia wants to go to Brighton for the summer, she starts the description with: “In Lydia’s imagination” (p198) and then continues with a list of things that are in keeping with what we know about Lydia thus far. However, when we later find that Lydia’s intensions were to elope with Wickham, this description transforms into nothing more than Elizabeth’s fancy for what she understood about her sister. It turns out she had grossly underestimated Lydia, never realising that she would actually concoct a plan, but believing she was mainly trying to enjoy the attention of all the young men.
• Lydia’s mentality, and by consequence Kitty’s, at this time, can be summed up by how they behaved when surprising Jane and Elizabeth on their journey home from London. Lydia presents them with a table of cold meats saying: “we mean to treat you all but you must lend us the money, for we have just spent ours at the [bonnet] shop out there.” (p186). Then later, upon arriving home, Lydia went on to boast to Mary how she had treated her two older sisters to such a lovely surprise (p189).
  
  The fact that they had not done anything kind at all doesn’t enter the equation, and no one corrects the mistake either. Therefore, what Lydia says is what becomes reality, a way of life she uses not only to make everyday conversation seem more exciting but also her marriage.

• Upon reading the story the reader automatically feels sorry for Mary and her awkward ways, however, it would seem that Kitty is far more deserving of our sympathy as there is not much to her character. All the other sisters have defining qualities:
1. Jane is the beautiful one (p4).
2. Elizabeth is the sharp one (p4).
3. Mary is the accomplished one (p13).
4. Lydia is the good-humoured one (p4).

But all that is really said about Kitty is that she follows wherever Lydia goes.

Parenthood

• This novel really shows the struggles that parents faced at this time, especially if there was no male heir to inherit the home. The desperation to marry at least most of the girls off well, ensured that not only would those ones be looked after, but any unmarried ones would not be left destitute.
• Mrs Bennet's misfortune to have such a vivacious youngest daughter, would probably be one of the worst things that could happen at this time. If her marriage was not sorted properly, she would have brought shame on the family and marred her sisters' prospects of good marriages. This would all be added stress on the mother, who is looking to place blame anywhere which isn't herself. She says that if the Forsters had looked after Lydia properly, she never would have eloped (p239); or if the whole family had gone to Brighton, Lydia would have been "well looked after", meaning the mother could have been on top of Lydia always, but Mr Bennet refused (p189/90). However, Lydia's plan was already in place when she convinced her parents to let her go to Brighton (p227), being none the wiser to her antics. So there really is no telling if the blame could actually be put on the Forsters' care.
• The constant daily care children require really takes a toll. These families had help, both maids and cooks, and even then events escaped them. It may explain some characters' disinterest in the family as the years went by, most prominently by Mr Bennet.
• There is also the case of Mr Darcy, who had parenthood thrust upon him, when he became the sole guardian of his younger sister. The trials he lived through her attempted elopement with Mr Wickham, must have been all the more complicated and confusing for him to process.

Characters’ philosophies

• Lady de Bourgh on more than one occasion tells other characters that they should be accomplished and practise regularly to become better. However, neither she nor her daughter (who she makes excuses for with her health) have ever learnt how to play an instrument (p148). Given that in Darcy’s opinion an accomplished woman must have quite a few qualities (p35), this is probably another reason why he was never interested in the daughter.
• Mary could be proof that perfection does not come from practise because no matter how much she played all week, Elizabeth “had been listened to with much more pleasure, though not playing half so well” (p22).
• Mr Bennet is very accepting in life: firstly, when he talks of Lydia’s bad marriage he admits: “let me once in my life feel how much I have been to blame. […] It will pass away soon enough.” (p248). And secondly, how Darcy will refuse his money because of his love for Elizabeth, and Mr Bennet will simply let him have his own way (p315). He contrasts Darcy quite a bit, who insists on paying all his debts, but then we suppose it is because he can.
• An idea that is played with: when you are rich, you have the option of having morals.
• They often talk about when something is lost it is lost forever: Darcy says so about his “good opinion” (p52), and Mary says so about the loss of female virtue (p240).
• The novel frequently mentions the kindness of mankind and the lack thereof.
• Lady de Bourgh thinks it improper for ladies to travel unattended (p179), but even when she made Georgiana go accompanied by two man servants to Ramsgate, it still did not keep her out of trouble (with Wickham) (p180).

Character development or revealing

• Although you see the characters change, they never copy one another’s thoughts and speeches. Each one has their own personality to the end (with the slight exception of the time Kitty spends following Lydia).
• Jane finally learns not to be so forgiving, as pointed out by Elizabeth near the end of the novel: “that is the most unforgiving speech that I ever heard you utter” (p292).
• All Mr Wickham’s lies can be seen to be covered up by more lies, however, it does not seem he lied as such but told only half truths, and as time went by filled in the inconsistencies.
• Mr Collins says to Elizabeth: “you see how continually we are engaged [at Rosings]” (p183), but given that they are only invited when there is no better company to be had “for while there were visitors [at Rosings], they could not be necessary” (p147), means that Lady de Bourgh must be lonely on a regular basis, and as high as the society is in the area, she never benefits from it.
• Although it’s not supposed to be her main characteristic, Elizabeth reveals herself to be rather a self-interested person. For example, when Colonel Fitzwilliam is waiting above an hour for her return to say good-bye before his journey, she can only rejoice in not seeing him as he was “no longer an object” of her affection (p178), showing no sentiment now he was of no use to her.

How the tables turn

• In the beginning, Darcy was only comfortable around Mr Bingley and his sisters, rejecting all other acquaintances and being rather rude. But where Darcy and Miss Bingley had started out on the same page, and she fancied she had a good chance at them being married, she soon became fearful of his growing fondness for Elizabeth. As the story continued, Miss Bingley tried to bring down Elizabeth by repeating unflattering notions Darcy had said and adding some of her own, but only to find that the dislike he now held was towards her alone (p226).
• The Gardiners had originally gone to Pemberley with awe and respect for the Darcy family’s importance, however, soon afterwards, Darcy is visiting them on private matters (p267).

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Wordsworth Editions Limited, 2007.