Settings in Pride and Prejudice

Lady Catherine and her home at Rosings are representative of all that
is controlling and prideful. In “Setting and Character in Pride and
Prejudice,” Charles J. McCann says that the pretentiousness of
Rosings reveals the character of Lady Catherine, herself (88). There is
little description of the landscape, as is common throughout the
novel, but the importance of the setting and the landscape is still
apparent; Rosings Park serves as one of the most important settings
in the novel, serving to bring Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy into closer
contact, as well as acting as a setting for the introduction of the
generational differences. The 1995 BBC version of the film
acknowledges the importance of the landscape at Rosings, and so
takes great pains to create a landscape that matches Lady Catherine
and the sense of landscape given in the novel. This landscape is of
the utmost importance in serving as a representation of Lady
Catherine’s old-fashioned beliefs and unwillingness to change.

The story, however, starts in the home of the main heroine and so
the central setting of P&P, the Longbourn estate. This setting
represents a country gentry family with rather low standards . Mr
Bennett a gentleman is not a man of great fortune He owns a
carriage, but is not wealthy enough to keep carriage horses Above all
since the parents do not have a son, the long born estate and all the
property are entailed. Mr Bennett’s cousin, Mr Collins. All of these
characters however at one point, enter the setting of longborn and
brings here a notion of their wealthier world. According to Jessica P
Morrell, This is a function of a central setting to be “ A place where
the main characters are forced together, where the drama simmers,
Sometimes sputters, and often boils over”. . Mr. Bingley and later Mr.
Darcy both enter this setting and express their desire for becoming
connected with Jane and Elizabeth, thus also with Longbourn. Even
the character of the highest rank and power in the story, Lady
Settings in Pride and Prejudice
Catherine once degrades herself and comes in order to prevent her
nephew from marrying Elizabeth. The novel opens with an
introduction of a country family, who is united by the walls of this
house and suffers from financial insecurity, and closes at the same
place with the same family, now intertwined with two wealthy men
of higher status who ensure its bright future. Longbourn, the least
noble country estate of P&P, stands as a bridge between different
social statuses and highlights the power of love, which overcomes
them.

One of these two men, Mr. Bingley and his country seat – Netherfield
are introduced at the beginning of the whole story and set its
atmosphere. When the Bennet women find out about Netherfield
being inhabited, a hunt for a potential groom with very good means
can start. As J. McCan points out, Bingley and his character, is partly
revealed by the non-descriptiveness of his estate (70). He is a nice,
honest man who symbolically offers a ticket for a better and secured
life. His personality and intentions are not as mysterious as Darcy’s,
and therefore he is naturally appreciated and likeable just as his
estate, which is not well described, but surely symbolizes a gate into
the wealthier world of P&P. Thanks to Jane, whose visit becomes one
of these activities for Bingley’s sisters, Netherfield is entered by the
Bennet family - country people of lower social position. As Elizabeth
comes here to her ill sister and reveals this setting, she creates
distinctive contrast with “her petticoat six inches deep in mud”.
During her stay, she is constantly reminded of her lower social status
and pressured by lofty atmosphere, which this setting creates. When
her mother and other sisters come, it is strongly implied that the
worlds of country people and wealthy Londoners are hard to coexist
in.
Settings in Pride and Prejudice
Further in the story this demonstration continues by presenting the
only aristocratic setting of the novel. On the account of the character
of Mr. Collins, who marries Elizabeth’s best friend, Charlotte,
Elizabeth travels to Kent and visits, Rosings park – the seat of Darcy’s
aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Long before it is revealed, this setting
is being referred to in Mr. Collins’ constant praises on his beloved
patroness. Further in the story this demonstration continues by
presenting the only aristocratic setting of the novel. On the account
of the character of Mr. Collins, who marries Elizabeth’s best friend,
Charlotte, Elizabeth travels to Kent and visits, Rosings park – the seat
of Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Long before it is revealed,
this setting is being referred to in Mr. Collins’ constant praises on his
beloved patroness. Further in the story this demonstration continues
by presenting the only aristocratic setting of the novel. On the
account of the character of Mr. Collins, who marries Elizabeth’s best
friend, Charlotte, Elizabeth travels to Kent and visits, Rosings park –
the seat of Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Long before it is
revealed, this setting is being referred to in Mr. Collins’ constant
praises on his beloved patroness

This lastly revealed country seat setting of Darcy’s home is

undoubtedly the most interesting of all. It is mentioned along with
Darcy’s character throughout the whole novel and serves for pointing
on his origin, social status and somewhat mysterious behaviour. J.
McCann gives a special focus on the role of Pemberley in the story
and says that “structured as the novel is, the reader cannot have a
true picture of Darcy until he sees him at Pemberley. For if we are to
follow the logic of the novel we must see Darcy's setting before we
truly see him” As Rosings serves for displaying Darcy in the worst
light, Pemberley located in Derbyshire, which is very far away, allows
him to stand on his own and not being compared with his family and
their characteristics.
Settings in Pride and Prejudice
This lastly revealed setting symbolizes a climax of the whole novel
because it completely reveals Darcy and enables Elizabeth to finally
open her heart and loose prejudice. Later she tells Jane that she first
learnt to love Darcy on “first seeing his beautiful grounds at
Pemberley” (202). According to J. McCann “Pemberley does not
signify Darcy's whole personality in a one-for-one relationship, as
setting does for the lesser characters where economy of
characterization is necessary” (9). Contrarily, it reveals a degree of
complexity in his character and so makes him very special and worthy
of Elizabeth’s and reader’s eventual sympathy (McCann 9). As
mentioned before, in order to understand and properly value a
landed gentleman, we must do more than see him interact in
leisured society. He must be judged through his estate (Graham n.
pag.). Revealing Pemberley at almost the end of the novel enables
Darcy’s character to stay mysterious and not fully understood and
therefore makes his relationship with Elizabeth, so the whole story,
dramatic and gripping