Background Information Pride and Prejudice Background Information

Literary & narrative techniques

Satire Ideas, customs, behaviors, or institutions are ridiculed in order to criticize human folly and to improve society Listen closely to Elizabeth!

Irony DRAMATIC = the audience is aware of something the audience/readers are not VERBAL = a speaker says one thing but means another (sarcasm) SITUATIONAL = a difference between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen

Free Indirect Discourse The practice of embedding a character’s speech or thoughts into an otherwise third-person narrative. The narrative moves back and forth between the narrator telling us what the character is thinking and showing us the character’s conscious thoughts, without denoting which thought belongs to whom. a character's thoughts or spoken words are reported without quotation marks (or some other kind of indication, like the phrase "she thought" or "he said").  The result is a story that reads almost like it shares two “brains”: one belonging to the narrator, the other belonging to the character. Elizabeth

Literary genre

Comedy of Manners Uses elements of satire to ridicule or expose the behaviors, manners, flaws, and morals of the middle or upper classes Love affairs, witty & comical exchanges, humorous revelation of societal scandals

Comedy of Manners Examples The characters’ searches for love & financial stability Social scandals of the Meryton community Witty banter between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy or Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

Themes

Social Class & Lack of Mobility By the 19th century, 3 distinct groups made up the social class system: working, middle & upper classes Mr. Darcy = hereditary aristocracy Mr. Bingley = landed gentry The Bennets = middle class

Marriage and Family Acknowledges that marriage was a necessity for women in the 18th and 19th centuries Also expresses Austen’s disillusionment with the fact that women were often forced into marriage out of financial necessity Through Elizabeth, Austen advocates for marriage based on mutual respect and love

Pride and Prejudice Originally planned to title the novel First Impressions First impressions and premature preconceptions complicate the relationships between the characters Pride and prejudice influence these perceptions

The characters

Mr. Bennet Patriarch of the family Belongs to the minor gentry; gets a small income from the land attached to his estate (Longbourn) Very fond of Elizabeth No sons, so estate will pass to Mr. Collins

Mrs. Bennet Married to Mr. Bennet for 23 years Her main goal in life is to find husbands for her daughters Fond of Lydia; not as fond of Elizabeth

Jane Bennet Eldest daughter Close to Elizabeth Befriended by the Bingley sisters Known for her beauty and good nature

Elizabeth Bennet Second eldest daughter 20 years old Bright and independent Tends to speak her mind

Mary Bennet Third daughter The intellectual of the family Busies herself with reading and music

Catherine (Kitty) Bennet Fourth daughter 18 years old Close to Lydia

Lydia Bennet Youngest daughter 15 years old Mrs. Bennet’s favorite Very prone to flirting, especially with the officers in Meryton

Fitzwilliam Darcy Owner of a country estate called Pemberley Income of 10,000 pounds per year Reputation as a proud and ill-mannered man Close friend of Charles Bingley

Charles Bingley Inherits the fortune his father built through manufacturing and trade Leases Netherfield Park Falls in love with Jane Bennet

Caroline Bingley & Louisa Hurst Charles Bingley’s sisters Each command a fortune of 20,000 pounds Join Bingley in Netherfield, but live in London Louisa is married to Mr. Hurst; Caroline wants to marry Mr. Darcy

Charlotte Lucas Eldest child of Sir William and Lady Lucas Elizabeth’s closest friend

Mr. Collins Mr. Bennet’s cousin The Bennet’s closest male relative According to the laws of entail, he stands to inherit Longbourn

Mr. Wickham Member of militia regimen posted to Meryton Son of the late Mr. Darcy’s steward Known Fitzwilliam Darcy since childhood

Lady Catherine de Bourgh Wealthy widow of high social standing Lives with her daughter Anne at Rosings Park Sister of Darcy’s late mother and intends for him to marry Anne

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner Mr. Gardiner is Mrs. Bennet’s brother; he is a businessman in trade in London Mrs. Gardiner is close to Jane and Elizabeth

Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy’s cousin Develops a friendship with Elizabeth

Georgiana Darcy 16 years old Darcy’s sister Rumored that she is intended to marry Charles Bingley Was previously involved with Wickham

Common questions

Cousins Marrying?? Yes, Mr. Collins and the Bennet girls are cousins (distant). Remember, the priority during that time period was keeping property within the family – that was much more important than love

What do the “---”s mean? Austen used "-----" a lot in her writing. Example "------ shire" or "lord/lady -----". She did this to avoid insulting or annoying the aristocracy. She sometimes used real people/events and didn't want any confusion in her books. If she used a real shire like Oxfordshire (real place) then someone could argue her book could never have taken place there be of x y or z. So she just omitted real names of people and places to keep her writing credible.