Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen

Setting: England early 1800's in a rural town

Key Characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, Mrs. Bennet, Jane Bennet, Mr. Wickham

Plot Summary: A story of love, lust and feminist critique? Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice transforms past a simply love story and becomes an icon for feminist critiquing for the rest of the 1800s. The story begins centering on the Bennet family. They are a lower middle-class family with five daughters who seek social mobility through marriage. The main protagonist is Elizabeth Bennet, a proud and independent female. Throughout the novel she is the icon of feminism. She is smart, independent and unapologetic. Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr. Darcy at a dance and instantly dislikes his snobbish attitude. Her pride and class prejudice causes them to part separate ways. In a sub-plot, Jane Bennet, a traditional and beautiful foil to Elizabeth, falls for Mr. Bingley, a wealthy businessman. During many social encounters the most influential character is Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet tries to manipulate the social setting to create a favorable marriage. However, her actions do quite the opposite. By far the most influential scene is the cobra dance. Through a lot of useless plot developments the end result is by far Jane Austen’s greatest statement. The marriages describe Jane Austen’s views. The strong independent woman ends up the richest and happiest. Followed by the traditional woman Jane. Thus promoting individuality and intelligence, but not over love and marriage.

Theme: The promotion of female individuality and intelligence, but not over romance and marriage.

Jane Austen is an interesting writer. She in many ways was like an 1800's Stephenie Meyer. She wrote a relatively simply book with no real meat, but the story itself is the message. It's very plot driven. The actions and results of the story are what really shape the message, as opposed to intricate symbolism. Jane Austen's ability to us flowing  sentences and exciting plot has led to her fame in the writing community.


"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
This instatntly materializes marriage. Women are a possession that are to be good at music, sewing, cooking and good grace. This sets the tone of independence and idolizing of Elizabeth.


"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment."-Darcy
Darcy shows his misogynic tone and his opinion of the fragility of women and their desire to fall in love. However, this differs greatly form Elizabeth. This difference leads to their love.