4emme Unit 1

Pride and Prejudice Novel

Pride and Prejudice Introduction

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a romantic novel was originally titled as
‘First Impressions’ and published as three volumes, it throws light upon the
character progress of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Pride and
Prejudice by Jane Austen is a romantic novel of manners written in 1813. It is a
classical piece of Literature with a detailed description of characters, and their
manners, in 19th century rural (country side) England.

 Main Themes
Class difference or distinction
The theme of class reflects strictly the 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
Darcy, they are clearly their social inferiors and are treated as such.
Austen mocks this kind of class perception, particularly in the character of Mr.
Collins, who spends most of his time fawning to his upper-class patron, especially
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 family;
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 (irony) directed at Mr. Collins is therefore also more slightly directed at
the entire social hierarchy (order) 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

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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.

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 (escape) 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 notes about love, using the character of Charlotte Lucas, who
marries the buffoon (fool) 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.

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Pride
Everyone's guilty of pride and being proud with maybe the exception of Jane and
Bingley. From obvious candidate Darcy to Mr. Collins, who totally doesn't deserve
to be proud about anything, to Mr. Darcy's servant, everyone we meet takes pride
in something. The question for Lizzy and for us, as we all learn to be better judges
of characters, is when is that pride deserved, and when is it just plain ego?

Prejudice
Prejudice is having a preconception against someone.
The theme of Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice refers to the tendency of the
characters to judge one another based on presumptions. The theme is displayed
mostly through the character of Elizabeth, who is quick to judge others upon
meeting them. These judgements turn into prejudice, even though they are often
incorrect. This is shown especially through Wickham and Darcy. Elizabeth’s early
judgements of each character are wrong. She sees Wickham as charming and
handsome. She finds out over time that he is despicable and he is not what he
seems. Elizabeth sees Darcy as rude and superior. Although he is prideful, he is
more caring than he appears. He usually has the best intentions in his deeds.
Darcy is not trying to be rude when she first meets him. He is simply a shy man
who does not see the value in dealing with strangers. Jane Austen presents
Prejudice in the novel as a stage in a person's moral development, something that
can be overcome through reason and compassion.

Theme of Deception
The Theme of Deception is carried by some cheaters such as Mr. Wickham and
Mr. Collins.
Wickham deceived Elizabeth by telling her lies about Darcy.

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He told her that Darcy was jealous of him because his late father used to love
Wickham and support him financially.
Also, Wickham tried to deceive Georgiana Darcy who was only fifteen years old,
and convinced her to elope with him and get married away from Darcy.
Wickham wanted to take Georgiana's fortune and take is revenge from Darcy.
He also deceived Lydia and convinced her to run away with him to Scotland
where they could get married without her parent's approval.
This shows that Mr. Wickham was not a gentleman, a deceiver and dishonest
person.
Mr. Collins suffers from a different kind of deception. It was self-deception and
pride.
He believed that he is important because of his position and connection to Lady
Catherine. He thought that he was a chance and no lady could refuse him.
He deceived himself by thinking that his marriage was a happy one.

Main Characters:

Jane Bennet: The eldest of the Bennet sisters and is modest and kind.
Elizabeth Bennet: The female protagonist (narrator) of the novel.
Mary Bennet: She is the third daughter of Mr. Bennet. She is bookish, pompous
(snobbish), and plain.

Lydia and Kitty Bennet: The youngest daughters of Mr. Bennet. They are slightly
immature and flighty.
Mr. Bennet: The patriarch of the family. He loves his eldest daughters Elizabeth
and Jane.
Mrs. Bennet: The matriarch of the family. She is shown to have high ambitions for
her daughters’ marriage.
Charles Bingley: Jane’s suitor and love interest. A wealthy man from Netherfield
estate. He is seen as a gentle and kind man who has a pleasant countenance.
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Fitzwilliam Darcy: He is the male protagonist of the story. He is perceptive and

yet arrogant in nature. Lord Wickham: He is one of the suitors of Elizabeth and is
seen as an attractive and charming gentleman.
We have other supporting characters such as: Charlotte Lucas, her parents,
Edward Gardiner, Georgina who is Darcy’s sister, Carolina and Louisa Hurst, etc.

 The Plot:
The novel basically opens with the arrival of Mr. Bingley who is in the country to
look for a bride. Mrs. Bennet is pretty thrilled at the idea of one of her daughters
marrying the wealthy man. In a ball arranged by Mr. Bingley in his estate, Jane
and Mr. Bingley have an immediate liking for each other. However, Elizabeth and
Darcy don’t meet in a very cordial manner. Although Austen is able to portray the
intrigue that both the characters feel for each other, the conventions of
impressions are reversed in the play. Elizabeth’s pride and her self-respect are
astonished at the snobbish nature of Darcy. The arrival of Collins in hopes of
marrying one of the daughters of Mr. Bennet further complicates things. Mrs.
Bennet sees the opportunity and proposes the hand of Elizabeth, who strongly
rejects his offer. This is when Mr. Collins gets married to Charlotte, Elizabeth’s
best friend. During this time, Elizabeth has an encounter with Wickham who
charms her. After the abrupt departure of Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth becomes
convinced that Mr. Darcy had a role to play in that, which further fuels her
contempt for the man. Students can learn more about the play from Pride and
Prejudice 1995 TV series. During her visit to Charlotte and Collins home,
Elizabeth runs into Mr. Darcy and is shocked to hear him confess his love for her.
When she rejects his proposal and he asks her the reason, he makes accusations
against him for breaking the heart of her sister, Jane. Darcy then writes a letter to
Elizabeth telling her that his intention for such an act was just concern for his
friend, who he thought would be rejected by Jane. Also, he informs her of

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Wickham’s evil intentions when he tried to marry his 15-year-old sister for her
inheritance. Shortly after that, Lydia, the youngest Bennet runs away and marries
Wickham. The news alarms Elizabeth, who knows that the affair could lead to a
scandal and ruin her sister’s reputation. Hence, he conveys this news to Darcy
and he persuades Wickham to propose to Lydia for marriage. He even offers his
money to him. When Elizabeth learns what he did, she agrees to reciprocate his
feelings.

Chapter 1

1.Discuss the theme of class difference in chapter 1.

2.Mrs. Bennet was a curious character. Elaborate.
3.Compare between Darcy & Bingely. Support your answer with evidence.
4.Explain why was Caroline Bingely jealous.
5.Although Mr. Darcy thought Elizabeth was only an unfashionable village
girl, he tried to listen and watch her closely. Explain the reasons.

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