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Pride and Prejudice A* notes Charlotte Lucas
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Pride and Prejudice Author/ContextJane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 to the Reverend George Austen and his
wife in Hampshire, England. The sixth child of seven, Jane was educated mostly at her
home although she and her sister, Cassandra, were sent away to school for several years
when they were young. Austen wrote several works when she was in her teens, but her
major works were written later in her life.
Although she wrote novels of romance, Austen never married. In fact, her life is
considered rather dull. She had a few romantic attachments, but the one man she
deemed worthy of commitment died before they could become engaged. She and her
sister, also a spinster, lived with their parents the duration of their lives.
Jane Austen knew firsthand what it was like to live with a meager income because after
her father died, she, Cassandra, and their mother were forced to live on a small income
and the charity of her wealthy brother. For the five years after her love interest died and
her father died, Austen did not write.
Once she and her family were settled at Chawton Cottage in 1809, she began writing
again. Sense and Sensibility was published in 1811, followed by Pride and Prejudice in
1813. Her other major novels include: Northanger
Abbey (1818), Emma (1816), Mansfield Park (1814), and Persuasion (1818). The latter
three of her novels were written in rapid succession in the years just before her death.
Austen's novels were met with success during her lifetime, but she published
anonymously, so she had no real fame. On July 18, 1817 Jane Austen succombed to
Addison's disease and died in her sister's arms.
Austen is regarded as one of the finest woman writers of her time. Her work is most well-
known for the way she makes her characters seem so realistic, the way she explores the
nuances of relationships, and the way she makes fun of the trends and attitudes of her
era.
World Literature Criticism declares that "for all their wit and good humor, Austen's works
are deeply concerned with the moral values in life, and her satire is at its finest when
aimed at the snobbish and presumptuous."
As for Pride and Prejudice, it remains one of Austen's best-loved and best-known works.
Elizabeth Jenkins said, "The celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even
in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in which some
people would have seen nothing but tedium and emptiness, she stepped forth as an
author, breathing gaiety and youth, robed in dazzling light."
It was her gift for making the everyday things seem interesting that made Jane Austen
the highly-esteemed author that she is more than a century after her death.
Pride and Prejudice Plot Summary
Elizabeth Bennet is a country gentleman's daughter in 19th Century England. She is one
of five daughters, a plight that her father bears as best he can with common sense and a
general disinterest in the silliness of his daughters. Elizabeth is his favorite because of
her level-headed approach to life when his own wife's greatest concern is getting her
daughters married off to well-established gentlemen. Only Jane, Elizabeth's older sister,
is nearly as sensible and practical as Elizabeth, but Jane is also the beauty of the family,
and therefore, Mrs. Bennet's highest hope for a good match.
When Mr. Bingley, a young gentleman of London, takes a country estate near to the
Bennet's home, Mrs. Bennet begins her match-making schemes without any trace of
subtlety or dignity. Despite Mrs. Bennet's embarassing interference, Mr. Bingley and Jane
,become fond of one another. Mr. Darcy, who has accompanied Bingley to the country,
begins his acquaintance with Elizabeth, her family, and their neighbors with smug
condescension and proud distaste for the all of the country people. Elizabeth, learning of
his dislike, makes it a point to match his disgust with her own venom. She also hears
from a soldier that she has a fondness for that Darcy has misused the man. Without
thinking through the story, Elizabeth immediately seizes upon it as another, more
concrete reason to hate Mr. Darcy. She contradicts and argues with Darcy each time they
meet, but somewhere along the way he begins to like Elizabeth.
When Bingley leaves the countryside suddenly and makes no attempts to contact Jane
anymore, the young woman is heartbroken. Elizabeth, who had thought well of Bingley,
believes that there is something amiss in the way that he left Jane in the lurch. Only
when Elizabeth goes to visit her friend at the estate of Darcy's aunt does the mystery
begin to unfold. After several encounters with Mr. Darcy while visiting her friend,
Elizabeth is shocked when Darcy proposes to her. Elizabeth refuses him and questions
him about the way that he misused her soldier friend and his undoubted role in the way
that Bingley abandoned Jane. Darcy writes a letter to explain himself, and Elizabeth is
embarrassed to learn that she had been mislead about Darcy's character. Had she known
the truth, she would have loved Darcy as he loved her. Darcy leaves that part of the
country before she can sort out her feelings and make amends with him. Then she meets
him again when she is touring the gardens of his estate with her aunt and uncle. Darcy
treats her with kindness and she believes he may still love her, but before anything can
be done about it, she learns that one of her younger sisters has shacked up with the very
soldier who mislead Elizabeth and the rest of her family about Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth
returns home immediately.
When the indignity of her sister's shot-gun wedding is straightened out, Elizabeth is
surprised that Darcy returns to the country with Bingley. She expected that the shame of
her sister's actions had ruined any chances of a relationship with Mr. Darcy, or Jane and
Bingley. Elizabeth learns from her aunt that Darcy did a great part to help get her
younger sister properly married to the infamous soldier. Jane and Bingley sort out the
misunderstanding that drove him away before and get engaged. Then Elizabeth and
Darcy work out their misunderstandings and agree to marry.
Pride and Prejudice Major Characters
Elizabeth Bennet: Elizabeth Bennet is the second of the five daughters of Mr. and Mrs.
Bennet. Elizabeth is the most logical and level-headed of the Bennet daughters, and that
makes her her father's favorite. Although Elizabeth is thoughtful, intelligent, and
practical, she comes to realize that she is just as capable of letting her own feelings get
in the way of her good sense as her feather-brained sisters. Elizabeth realizes her grave
mistake when she understands that she has greatly misjudged both Mr. Darcy and Mr.
Wickham.
Mrs. Bennet: Mrs. Bennet is Elizabeth Bennet's pushy, ignorant, and embarrassing
mother whose greatest aspiration is to have her five daughters married off. Mrs. Bennet
does not approve of Elizabeth's logic and practicality, and Elizabeth is her least favorite
daughter.
Mr. Bennet: Mr. Bennet is a country gentleman and Elizabeth Bennet's father. He has
very little interest in the duties of polite society or in raising his daughters. He finds his
wife and his three youngest daughters to be unbearably frivilous and silly, but Elizabeth
and Jane (the oldest daughter) make him proud.
Mr. Bingley: Mr. Bingley is a wealthy, young bachelor who moves into the Bennet's
neighborhood and triggers Mrs. Bennet's schemes to marry Jane off to Bingley. Bingley is
fashionable, charming, and kind, but he and Jane don't get together right away because
of a misunderstanding.
, Lydia Bennet/Wickham: Lydia is the youngest Bennet girl, and she is the biggest flirt
as well. Lydia chases the soldiers quartered in Meryton and follows along when they
move to Brighton. She and Mr. Wickham are forced to marry after Lydia runs away with
him expecting to become his wife although Wickham has no such plan before Darcy pays
him off.
Mr. Darcy: Mr. Darcy is Bingley's best friend as well as a very wealthy, handsome, and
proud bachelor. Darcy is viewed as rude and conceited by all the inhabitants of Meryton
as well as Elizabeth Bennet. But through a strange course of events, Elizabeth comes to
learn that she was wrong about Darcy, and they fall in love with each other.
Jane Bennet: Jane is the Bennets' oldest daughter. She is practical like Elizabeth, but
she is kinder and more understanding. Jane is greatly hurt when Bingley rejects her, but
she overcomes her pain and the two of them end up together.
Mr. Collins: Mr. Collins is Mr. Bennet's cousin who will inherit Mr. Bennet's estate when
Mr. Bennet dies. Collins is a pastor for Darcy's aunt's parish, and he is a pushy,
obnoxious man. He considers himself more important than he really is because he works
for Darcy's wealthy aunt, but the Bennet family dislikes him because he is long-winded
and boring.
Wickham: Wickham is a charming con-man who convinces Elizabeth that he was greatly
wronged by Mr. Darcy, although things are actually the other way around. Elizabeth
initially likes Wickham, but the more she learns of his true character, the more she
realizes that she has been wrong. Wickham ends up marrying Lydia after they run away
together and Darcy pays Wickham off to marry Lydia to save her family from disgrace.
Mrs. Gardiner: Mrs. Gardiner is Elizabeth Bennet's aunt. She and Elizabeth are quite
close because Elizabeth's own mother is silly while Mrs. Gardiner is more thoughtful and
practical like Elizabeth. Mrs. Gardiner suspects that Elizabeth and Darcy are falling in love
with one another before the rest of Elizabeth's family has any idea. Because Elizabeth
went on a vacation with the Gardiners, she meets up with Darcy again at his own estate
and their relationship is renewed.
Mr. Gardiner: Mr. Gardiner is Elizabeth's uncle who takes care to try to find Lydia and
Wickham when they have run away together and hidden themselves in London. Darcy
works with Mr. Gardiner to anonymously arrange Lydia and Wickham's wedding so that
none of Elizabeth's family will know what Darcy has done.
Minor Characters
Miss Bingley: Miss Bingley is Mr. Bingley's younger sister. She pretends to be Jane's
friend, but when she sees that Mr. Darcy is developing interest in Jane's sister
(Elizabeth), Miss Bingley does everything she can to separate her brother and Jane so
that Darcy and Elizabeth will not see each other. Miss Bingley is kind to Jane's face, but
she makes fun of the Bennet family behind Jane's back as a way to make Darcy more
interested in her and less in Elizabeth.
Mrs. Hurst: Mrs. Hurst is Bingley's older, married sister who is just as two-faced as Miss
Bingley.
Charlotte Lucas/Collins: Charlotte is Elizabeth's friend. After Elizabeth turns down Mr.
Collins' marriage offer, Charlotte snaps him up because she wants a simple life and can't
imagine that a better offer will come her way. She and Elizabeth remain friends despite
Charlotte's marriage to the awful Mr. Collins.
Mary Bennet: Mary Bennet is the middle child in the Bennet family, and she is odd. She
is a prudish homebody who spends her time reading scripture. She is the only one of the
Bennet girls who remains unmarried.
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