Pride+and+Prejudice

=**Title of the Work**= __Pride and Prejudice__

=Author= Jane Austen

=Nationality/Ethnic Background= English = = = = =Genre and Sub-genres= Realistic Fiction Comedy of Manners Satire =Pertinent Biographical Information= = = = = = =
 * Born December 16, 1775 in Steventon, England
 * The seventh of eight children, (six boys, two girls)
 * Father, George Austen, was a clergyman; Wife, Cassandra
 * Middle class family
 * Wrote for pleasure; only her immediate family and close friends knew about her manuscripts

=Literary Historical Period/Movement and Pertinent Background= = =
 * Napoleonic Wars (1800-1815) - a lot of censorship in literature
 * Romanticism - Austen's works, however, focused on dialogue more than description of nature

=Major Characters, Their Relationships, Their Conflicts=


 * Elizabeth Bennet - (protagonist) Elizabeth Bennet is the second of five sisters. She is intelligent, witty and reasonable. She has a tendency to judge on first impressions, and she is one for speaking her mind which she does with Mr. Darcy. Her best friend is Charlotte Lucas however, she is closest with her sister, Jane and her father, Mr. Bennet. After abandoning her initial prejudice against Mr. Darcy, he wins her affection. The romance between this couple becomes a main point of interest in the story.


 * Fitzwilliam Darcy - A wealthy man who owns the Pemberley estate. His excessively prideful, and somewhat snobby nature causes him to be widely disliked among townspeople. He, like Elizabeth has a tendency to judge people to quickly. His wealth and social class have him being overly proud and for majority of the novel that keeps him at bay with Elizabeth.He's soon overcome by Elizabeth's charm and wit and finds himself attracted to her. As the novel progresses, his true, honest and sincere nature is revealed, and his relationship with Elizabeth is deepened.


 * Jane Bennet- The eldest Bennet sister who, like Elizabeth is intelligent and reasonable but more beautiful which causes her to be favored by her mother out of all five of the girls. She is quieter and more soft spoken than Elizabeth, but still her best friend. She, unlike Elizabeth, sees the good in people and isn't as quick to judge which causes her and Mr. Bingley to be a perfect match for one another since he's the same way. Her relationship with Mr. Bingley helps to illustrate the differences between her and her younger sisters.


 * Mr. Bingley- Mr. Darcy ’s best friend. Like Mr. Darcy, he is substantially wealthy but is more carefree and oblivious of social rankings. His purchase of Netherfield, an estate near the Bennet’s Longbourn initiates the action within the novel and prompts the development of many relationships between the characters, such as Jane to whom he feels an immediate attraction to at the ball in Meryton. His eager friendliness draws the other characters to like him and find him approachable despite his upper class, social ranking.


 * Mrs. Bennet- The mother of the Bennet children. She favors Jane because she is the oldest and the prettiest of the Bennet girls. She is very rude and obnoxious at times, and tends to scare away more high class men seeking her daughters. When something doens't go the way she plans, or would like, she is very dramatic and becomes emotional. She makes it her personal mission to see all of her daughters married to well-to-do gentleman, and often does more damage than good.

= =
 * Mr. Bennet- The father of the Bennet children and owner of the Longbourn estate. Unlike his wife, he chooses to remove himself from his daughters social affairs. He's got a charm and wit not unlike Elizabeth's and he doesn't worry about what's going to happen to his family if his girls don't marry off well as much as his wife does.

=Brief Plot Summary= = =

Mrs. Bennet is eager to see her five daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, married off to eligible bachelors. The new man in town, Mr. Bingley, seems like an excellent candidate, but his pompous friend Mr. Darcy is the opposite. The arrogant man appears to look down upon the middle class of Longbourn, until Elizabeth’s intelligence, charm and wit draws him closer to her. Meanwhile, Jane strikes up a romance with Bingley, much to Mrs. Bennet’s delight. Meanwhile, Mr. Collins, a clergyman, is forced upon Elizabeth, but is unsuccessfull when proposes to her. A group of militia comes into town, including Mr. Wickham, a handsome young bachelor who shows a special interest in Elizabeth and tells her about his dislike for Mr. Darcy. As seasons pass, Bingley and Darcy go back to the city, and news arrives of Mr. Collins’ engagement to Elizabeth’s best friend, Charlotte Lucas. Jane visits London, hoping to run into Mr. Bingley, but only sees his sister, who is extraordinarily rude towards her. When spring arrives, Elizabeth goes to pay Charlotte a visit in her new home, which is conveniently located near the home of Mr. Darcy’s aunt. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy run into each other, and after many visits, he proposes, but Elizabeth declines because of his arrogance and treatment of Wickham. Darcy leaves, but writes a letter explaining that Wickham is a liar and dislikes Darcy because he once tried to elope with Darcy’s sister without Mr. Darcy's knowledge. Elizabeth thus reconsiders her feelings for Darcy. Back in Longbourn, the militia prepares to leave, much to the dismay of Lydia Bennet, causing her to spend the summer with an old couple in Brighton, in order to be close to Wickham. Elizabeth also travels, and ends up visiting Mr. Darcy’s estate, Pemberley, when she thought he was away. Darcy returns, acts politely towards Elizabeth, and introduces her to his sister. It is soon revealed that Lydia has eloped with Wickham, and the two are most likely living together out of wedlock, a situation that would bring disgrace to the Bennet family. The family is outraged and feel like such a disgrace. None feel as heavily toward this than Mrs. Bennet though. The couple is soon found, and it is known that Wickham agreed to marry Lydia only in exchange for money, which was given to him by Darcy who didn't want to see the Bennet family brought down by this scandal because his feelings for Elizabeth had grown stronger. Following this incident, Bingley returns to town and proposes to Jane, who accepts happily. Darcy also returns to town, but makes no mention of a proposal until after his aunt corners Elizabeth and demands that she refuse Darcy’s hand in marriage, should he ask again. Elizabeth instead refuses the woman’s request, and when Darcy proposes a second time, she accepts.

=Motifs (Recurring Images, Ideas, Figures of Speech, Symbols, Colors) & Their Thematic Significance=
 * __Journeys -__** ** Whenever the Bennet sisters wish to travel, they are forced to embark on a journey, either on horseback or on foot. The instances in which the sisters take extended trips, their journey to their destination serves as a motif indicating the change within themselves that they will experience before they return home. For example, at the beginning of the novel when Jane travels to visit Mr. Bingley, she leaves with the intentions of staying a few hours and participating in lively small talk. She instead ends up staying throughout her illness and returning with strong feelings of both love for Mr. Bingley and intimidation towards his family. **

= = =Other Significant Thematic Elements (Significant Character's Names, Significant Quotations, Significant Actions/Events)=
 * __Dating-__** The various attempts at relationships throughout the novel is an reoccurring concept that often results in somewhat of a battle between the characters. With marriage as the final goal, it's precursor (courtship) often reveals the true nature of the characters and their true intentions within a marriage.

= = =Major Themes=
 * __Pemberley__** - The manor of Mr. Darcy is one of the only symbols present in the novel. The house represents it's owner and his excessive pride. When Elizabeth visits Mr. Darcy at Pemberley her true feelings begin to show for the first time as she crosses the bridge to meet him. This symbolically represents the couple crossing the lines that the social structure had outlined and disregarding their differences due to their new love.
 * **Pride** harms relationships by encouraging arrogance and increasing social tension.
 * Initial **prejudices** against others often prove to be wrong.
 * The **examples that parents or guardians set for children**greatly affects their behavior, both positively and negatively.
 * The **expectations of women in marriage** during the time period affects women negatively, making them more likely to marry due to social class or money rather than love.