Pride and Prejudice

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Jane Austen

In 1775, Jane Austen was born at a rectory in Steventon, Hampshire, one of two daughters of the Rev. George Austen (17311805) and his wife Cassandra (ne Leigh) (17391827). In 1783, she was educated briefly by a relative in Oxford, then in Southampton, and finally in 17851786 attended the Reading Ladies boarding school in the Abbey gatehouse in Reading, Berkshire. This uncommonly advanced level of education may have contributed to her early proclivity towards writing, and she began her first novel in 1789. Her family life was also conducive to writing; the Austen family often enacted plays, which gave Jane an opportunity to present her stories. They also borrowed novels from the local library, which influenced Austen's writing. She was encouraged to write especially by her brother Henry, who wrote a little himself.
Austen's best-known work is Pride and Prejudice, which is viewed as an exemplar of her socially astute comedies of manners. Austen also wrote a satire of the popular Gothic novels of Ann Radcliff, Northanger Abbey, which was published posthumously. Austen's comedies of manners, especially Emma, are often cited for their perfection of form.
Pride and Prejudice has been the most reproduced of her works, with six films, the most recent being the 2005 adaptation directed by Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Bennet), Donald Sutherland (Mr. Bennet), Matthew Macfadyen (Mr. Darcy), and Dame Judi Dench (Lady Catherine de Bourgh).

Novels

 Sense and Sensibility (published 1811)
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Mansfield Park (1814)
Emma (1816)
Persuasion (1818) posthumous
Northanger Abbey (1818) posthumous

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Shorter works

 Lady Susan (novella)
 The Watsons (incomplete novel; Austen's niece, Catherine Hubback, completed The Watsons and published it under the title The Younger Sister in the mid-nineteenth century.)
 Sanditon (incomplete novel)

Juvenilia

 The Three Sisters
 Love and Friendships [sic; the misspelling of "friendship" in the title is famous]
 The History of England
 Catharine, or the Bower
 The Beautifull Cassandra

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Pride and Prejudice
"Characters"

Elizabeth Bennet:

is the protagonist of the novel. Elizabeth is the second of Mr and Mrs Bennet's five daughters, and is an attractive twenty year old when the story begins. She is her father's favourite and inherits his intelligence and wit. Initially misled by first impressions, she is wise and mature enough to eventually overcome her prejudices.

Fitzwilliam Darcy:

is the central male character and Elizabeth's second love interest in the novel. He is an intelligent, wealthy and reserved man, who often appears haughty or proud to strangers but possesses an honest and kind nature underneath. Initially his assumptions regarding the respect due to wealth and power convince him that Elizabeth, his social inferior, is unworthy of his attention; but gradually both Elizabeth's chidings and his own better nature enable him to overcome his pride and marry her.

Mr. Bennet:

is the father of Elizabeth Bennet and head of the Bennet family. An English gentleman with an estate in Hertfordshire, he is married to Mrs Bennet and has five daughters. Unfortunately, his property is entailed to a male descendant, meaning it can only be inherited by his closest male heir (Mr Collins). Mr Bennet is a somewhat gentle and eccentric man who can only derive amusement from his "nervous" wife and three "silly" daughters--Mary, Kitty and Lydia. He is closer to Jane and especially Elizabeth, his two eldest and most sensible offspring. He prefers the solitude of his study, neglecting the raising of his children, which leads to near-disaster.

Mrs. Bennet:

is the querulous, excitable and ill-bred wife of Mr Bennet and mother of Elizabeth and her sisters. Her main concern in life is seeing her daughters married well to wealthy men, so that they will be taken care of following Mr Bennet's death. However, her foolish nature and frequent social faux pas often impede her efforts towards this end.




Jane Bennet:

is the eldest Bennet sister. She is twenty-two years old at the start of the novel, and is generally considered to be the most beautiful amongst her sisters. The depth of her feelings is difficult to discern by those who do not know her well, due to her reserved manner and pleasantness to all. She is incapable of suspecting the worst of people, seeing only the good. She falls in love with Charles Bingley, and is devastated when he abruptly breaks off their developing relationship without explanation. Eventually however, the misunderstanding on his part is cleared up and she accepts his hand in marriage.

Charles Bingley:

is the closest friend of Mr Darcy, despite the differences in their personalities. He is an outgoing, extremely good-natured, and wealthy young man who leases property near the Bennets' estate at the beginning of the novel. Unlike many of those in his circle, he is approachable and mingles easily in company the others consider beneath them. He is attracted to Jane Bennet, who reciprocates his feelings but is too shy and reserved to fully express them.

Lydia Bennet:

is the youngest of the Bennet sisters. Fifteen years old when the narrative begins, Lydia is extremely flirtatious, naive, headstrong and reckless. She is described as being idle and indulging in frivolous pursuits, especially chasing after the officers stationed at Meryton. She is seduced by Mr Wickham and runs away with him without much thought for the consequences to her family, but Mr Wickham is convinced to marry her by Mr Darcy.

George Wickham:

is the enemy of Mr Darcy. He is a dashing, charming and handsome young soldier who attracts the attention of Elizabeth Bennet. His father was the manager of the Darcy estate, so he grew up with Mr Darcy and his sister and was a favourite of Darcy's since-deceased father. Wickham's charm and outward pleasantness skillfully conceals a more conniving and dishonorable nature, and there is bitter enmity between him and Darcy due to his attempt to elope with Georgiana Darcy for her substantial inheritance. He later runs off with Lydia Bennet, but is tracked down by Darcy and bribed into marrying her.