PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Written by: Jane Austen Published in January 28, 1813 Maegan McCane Block 2B

INTRODUCTION This novel was written by Jane Austen and published in Set in the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire near London, England, it is about a young girl named Elizabeth Bennet and how she deals with her society in her day. Her mother is insistent on marrying off all of her daughters to suitable men. A man named Mr. Bingley moves in near the Bennets and Mrs. Bennet wants to go see if he would be a suitor for one of her children. Mr. Bingley throws a ball and invites the Bennets and his friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. Darcy sees Elizabeth and decides that she is not handsome enough to fit his tastes, Elizabeth finds out about this and becomes disgusted with him

 Elizabeth Bennet- She is a young intelligent girl of about 20 years old. While she is charming and lively, she judges based upon first impression, and is normally selective on what information she uses to do her judging with. The “Prejudice” part of the novel’s title comes from this character trait. The novel is mainly told from her point of view. She is the second oldest of the five Bennet sisters.  Fitzwilliam Darcy- He is about 28 years old and has a heavy income. He is of a higher social class than Elizabeth and is very proud. He is so proud that he lets his pride get in the way of his emotions and daily actions. He makes a bitter first impression with Elizabeth, and she at first despises him. The “Pride” part of the novel’s title comes from Darcy’s prideful personality. CHARACTERS Protagonist (Female) Protagonist (Male)

 Lady Catherine de Bourgh- She is Darcy’s aunt. In many ways she is somewhat like him. She is prideful and haughty and looks down on others. She is very wealthy and has a very high social standing. She does not like Elizabeth because she thinks that her manners are not correct and that she is too outspoken.  Caroline Bingley- She is the younger sister of the Mr. Bingley who moves in near the Bennets. She has a crush on Darcy, and becomes jealous of Elizabeth whenever Darcy is nice to her. She is rude and scornful to Elizabeth whenever she is around. She even tries to convince Darcy to get away from Elizabeth. Her attempts to get Darcy to love her and how she goes out of her way to impress him (which fail) are indefinitely noticed by everyone. CHARACTERS (CONT.) Antagonist

CONFLICT In the novel, Mr. Darcy begins to develop feelings for Elizabeth. However, due to her first impression of him, she is disgusted by the simple thought of him. In a slew of events, they are constantly thrown together again and again. Darcy tries not to let it show that he likes Elizabeth, and his pride sometimes gets in the way of how he feels for her. Elizabeth on the other hand is a little unsure of how she feels for him. She is even admired by a clergyman named Mr. Collins.

MINOR CHARACTERS  Jane Bennet- She is Elizabeth’s older sister and best friend. Jane is admired by Mr. Bingley and somewhat criticized by her mother a little for not being married at 22.  Mr. Bennet- He is the Bennet sisters’ father. He is laid back and witty. He and Elizabeth have a strong bond and relationship  Mrs. Bennet- She is the Bennet sisters’ mother. All she really wants is for all of her daughters to be married to suitable men. And she criticizes them sometimes for not finding suitors, then she’ll take it upon herself to do so.

WHAT DID THE CRITICS SAY?  Charlotte Bronte, who wrote Jane Eyre, said that the novel was"a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers; but... no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck.“  Barbara Schultz said that the book was funny, had good characters, and a good and complex plot.  Mary C. Curtis of the Charlotte Observer said that she was hooked by the plot and captivated by the way Darcy and Elizabeth struggle with their emotions

WHAT I SAY  I think that the book was very good. Austen is not like Bronte in her writing style, but she’s a very good writer. She is outspoken, and this novel is basically her venting about things she didn’t necessarily agree with during her time. Most female authors were full of early feminism. She probably modeled Elizabeth the way she would’ve liked women to be able to act in her day.