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Book beginning: page 3

Marriage

• The unhappy marriages saw no sons, whereas the happy ones did: the Bennets had all girls; Lady de Bourgh had one sickly girl (although her property isn’t entailed) we don’t know if she was in an unhappy marriage as such, but she is however, a widow. Although it does not specify exactly how many of the Lucases’ children were boys, they did have some and the Gardiners had two of each.
• Part of what keeps society turning is the fact that women need to marry, otherwise men like Mr Collins wouldn’t have been able to find a wife. He found one in a very desperate Charlotte.
• It would seem that no one knew the role others played when in need of help: Mrs Bennet (and a few others) did not know what role Darcy played in Lydia’s marriage; Jane was unaware of Elizabeth help to recoup Mr Bingley.
• The novel gives the impression that it is always the women who ruin the marriage and/or family: Wickham’s mother (p171); Mrs Bennet; and as bad as Wickham is, we get the impression that they were unhappily married mainly due to Lydia’s big personality.
• Darcy: “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment” (p25).
• Elizabeth says to Lydia: “I do not particularly like your way of getting husbands.” This line shows a certain amount of ruthlessness in procuring a husband, indicating just how important it is for a woman to be married at this time.
• Is it possible that Mr Bennet lost interest in his wife as the reason why he married her was due to her beauty (p201) and in the first chapter she states “when a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty” (p4). Given she has thought of nothing else since Jane turned sixteen (p257), it is reasonable to say he lost what remaining interest he had in her, causing the final neglect of his younger daughters.

Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s love

• Darcy intervened in the match between Mr Bingley and Jane because she did not express enough emotion and affection towards him, but he always kept calm and collected towards Elizabeth and proposed when she had shown no interest whatsoever. Although some of the adults did see some affection towards her over time, no one would have guessed he had proposed, so why did he take this attitude towards his own marriage if it was not good enough for his friend?
• If Darcy had not proposed, Elizabeth would never have realised she loved him, as it was only after his proposal that she went in pursuit of the truth and reasons to love him.
• Charlotte’s comment on how women should not be too reserved when pursuing an object of affection (p20) is also true for men, demonstrated by Darcy’s sudden decision to show “no sign of admiration” towards Elizabeth so that Miss Bingley would cease teasing him as much (p53). Consequentially, Elizabeth is clueless of his intentions when he proposes for the first time (p161), where had she been aware of his feelings, she may have already looked into his history with Wickham, and saved Darcy from her blunt refusal.
• It is hard for the reader to make out if Elizabeth is completely materialistic or in actual fact truly in love. In the conversation at the end about how Darcy fell in love with her, it seems she already knows: “did you admire me for my impertinence?” (p318). Had she intentionally behaved differently to all the other ladies in order to gain his affection?
• Is it a coincidence that the really awful events take place before Bingley and Darcy agree to marriage? Would Darcy, in particular, have reacted in the same way to Lydia’s elopement if they were already married, or would his actions have been more to protect himself than Elizabeth?

Contrasting characters

• Mrs Bennet is quite over the top as a character, and it is not clear if it is just for attention or to get her own way. She was supposedly a lot like Lydia when she was younger, so it is most likely that Mrs Bennet was always loud and attention-seeking. But with time, this is how the characteristic progresses, as obviously she can no longer go around frivolous and flirting, so she is most likely how Lydia will end up, as both women were said to be in unhappy marriages.
• A big difference between Lydia and her mother is in their decision making. Both of them loved soldiers but when they left, Mrs Bennet stayed home and cried for two days (p194), whereas Lydia followed them to Brighton.
  
  Mrs Bennet later stated that Lydia would never have eloped if she had been properly taken care of by the Forsters (p239), a comment most likely originating from the fact that she would never have done it herself, no matter how silly she was. But Lydia possessed a slightly different character, and although they ended up in the same type of marriage, the mother’s was at least dignified.

• Is it a coincidence that Darcy and his friend Mr Bingley marry the two respectable girls in the Bennet family, and Wickham marries the flirtatious one?
• In general, all the characters are silly and although some are more so than others, it seems to be the general opinion between them. Then there is the polar opposite which the story refers to as “proud”, mainly referring to Mr Darcy as a serious character. However, even then they all seem ridiculous, especially Miss Bingley who on most occasions creates her own downfall.
  
  The less we know a character, the more sensible they seem to be. Charlotte and the Gardiners are mainly proof of this, however, Lady de Bourgh is shown even less than Charlotte, and we get a clear sense of her silliness in pride.

• The way Jane thinks well of everyone contrasts everyone else’s thinking patterns. We see all the characters, except Jane, go through a whirlwind of opinions as they are so quick to judge people and believe stories. But Jane’s good faith in people allows her to think well of others until irrevocable proof is found otherwise, giving her more constant opinions, the most notable example is how she did not condemn Darcy after Wickham’s story.
• The Bingley sisters mirror the two youngest Bennets, Kitty and Lydia, due to the fact that you know one through the other. Lydia influences Kitty, and everything we know about her comes from what they do together, else we do not hear about Kitty. The same with the Bingley sisters: Mrs Hurst (the married elder sister) has no great importance or personality other than what her sister gives her.
• A difference between the Lucas family and the Bennets: the end of the story shows how even with Mr Bingley’s good temperament, he and his wife had to move further from the family so they could avoid frequent visits, and Elizabeth much the same, stayed at Pemberley (p322). But Charlotte was perfectly happy to be near her family (p321).

The Future

• In the arrangements for Lydia’s marriage a sum of money was asked for each year (p251) which appeared to be based on what it cost for her to live at home with her parents (p256). Therefore the sum required gives reason to believe she is just thinking of continuing the same life, not realising the real world expenses.
• Jane and Elizabeth will most likely live their days much like the Gardiners who seemed to lead a calm and happy life. This is evident from the ending which states Darcy and Elizabeth still frequently keep company with the Gardiners (p325).
• Looking to the future, if Mr and Mrs Collins were to move into Longbourn when they inherit it, what would become of his character? His foundation is in the respect he has for Lady de Bourgh, so what would he do without her? He is not going to praise his own home, as it is not in his nature to do so.
  
  Also, what would happen to their marriage? Charlotte only endures him because he is always so busy, she encourages him to work and visit Lady de Bourgh (p134), if you take these occupations away, how would she cope with him? Are children supposed to occupy her time away from her husband and living near her family again?

Manipulation

• Elizabeth knew how to manipulate men, especially predictable ones like Mr Collins. The only real truth we have of her not being interested in money over love and happiness is when she turns down Darcy which was mainly from the surprise of being proposed to (p161). But afterwards, she spends a lot of time trying to find a reason to love him and succeeds. She also admits that if her aunt didn’t give her the information she wanted, then she would be left to manipulate the answer out of someone else (p266). Something her aunt didn’t seem to doubt as she wrote her a speedy reply.
• Charlotte also had the power to know what her husband “wanted” and arranged the house in a manner that favoured him to have the better room (p143), also in turn meaning he wouldn’t bother her when she was in hers. She also knew how to “encourage” him in his work and pastimes, so as to be out of the house as much as possible. Elizabeth was very perceptive of these factors, which leads to question if this is a required quality to procure a decent husband?
• As is common in daughters, Lydia knew how to manipulate her father into getting her own way, although it is not something that all daughters are capable of, given that Kitty was left behind on the trip to Brighton (p195). However, on Kitty’s part, she may not have been allowed to go because she was not formally invited by Mrs Forster.

Family relations

• Mr Bennet parted ways with his brother the same way Lydia was made to with her family, although Lydia still maintains contact with hers. As we do not know why the brothers no longer spoke or whose fault it was, we can only assume it was over a family matter, and maybe Lydia’s circumstances were an insight into it. Darcy’s conflict with Wickham could also shed some light on the matter, showing that only a serious family feud could part them forever. On another note, all of these incidents show how common scandals were, spreading throughout each generation.
• As theatrical as Mrs Bennet’s ways were, there is a lot of truth in them, especially in the following quote about her and her husband: “At our time of life, it is not so pleasant I can tell you, to be making new acquaintance every day; but for your sakes, we would do anything” (p8).

 Character discrepancies

• When Wickham sought after a lady for his various interests, he looked for a specific attribute, namely them being young and inexperienced in age. Whether he was interested in their fortune (Miss King and Miss Darcy), revenge (Miss Darcy) or a travel companion (Lydia), we suppose he targeted them as they would be fooled more easily into love. So why then was there a short time upon first meeting Elizabeth, who was already twenty-one, that he feigned romantic interest? He knew he was never going to marry her due to her lack of fortune and age, so is it possible that during their meeting in Meryton (p63), Wickham saw something in Darcy’s countenance that revealed his interest in Elizabeth? If we presume Darcy was right about Wickham seeking revenge (p172), could Wickham have seen this as a second opportunity for revenge after failing so miserably with Miss Darcy?
  
  To further support this idea is the fact that Wickham is the one to raise the subject of Darcy when Elizabeth “dared not even mention” it (p66) and then goes on to say he knows him “too well” (p68) to express an opinion. It is quite plausible therefore, that Wickham, from knowing Darcy so well, can in fact read his expressions (pointed out many times by other characters that they could not), and in some sort of boyish revenge tries to come between them. The alternative could be that Wickham sensed the possible threat of Elizabeth unveiling the truth and tried a pre-emptive strike to distance her from Darcy, as he wanted to keep is options open, even seeing a potential use for her sisters.

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