Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Summary, Characters and Themes

The novel also sheds light on the social and economic conditions in England at the time, emphasizing the importance of wealth and social status.

Pride and Prejudice of the Setting: The cultural and historical setting of the story

Pride and Prejudice Book Characters

The story begins with Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, who had five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia. They live in Longbourn near the town of Meryton. Jane is the oldest and most beautiful of the five sisters. She fell in love with a man named Charles Bingley who had just arrived in the area. Elizabeth is the second daughter and is the main character in this novel. She fell in love with a man named Fitzwilliam Darcy who had also recently arrived in the area. Mary was the third daughter and was very interested in science and classical music. Catherine is the fourth daughter and loves sports and working out very much. Lydia is the last princess and really likes to date the young boys in the area. In addition to the five Bennett sisters, the novel also tells of several of their friends who play important roles in the text: Charlotte Lucas, a close friend of Elizabeth’s; George Wickham, an ex-soldier who tries to get close to Lydia; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy’s cousin; Mr Collins, Mr Bennet’s cousin; and Mr Bingley’s sisters and brother-in-law (Mr Hurst).

main character

and caught Bingley’s attention. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. is the most complex. They both have strong personalities, and they attract each other. Even though they don’t like each other at first, they eventually fall in love after a lot of struggles.

he doesn’t give up easily. Darcy is a wealthy man who comes from an aristocratic family. He is arrogant and stiff, but also has a soft heart. Their relationship develops over time, with Elizabeth teaching Darcy about love and tolerance, and Darcy teaching Elizabeth about nobility and dignity.

Chapter 20. “Although his attitude varies, however, his determination never does”

By marrying William, Charlotte could gain financial security and better social status. This is another thing that stands in the way of Elizabeth and Darcy reuniting.

Secondary Character

Mr Bennett. They also have different attitudes towards their children. He values ​​the intelligence and intellectual acumen of his daughters, Jane and Elizabeth, and respects them for being good parents. However, he cared little for the other three princesses, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia. He thought of them as stupid and useless children.

He tries to prevent Elizabeth and Darcy from getting married, because he doesn’t want to see his daughter compete with Elizabeth.

Aunt and Uncle Gardiner also became a safe place for the girls to talk about their problems. They provide wise and reliable advice, which helps girls to find solutions to their problems.

Mary also taught Georgiana that a woman can have an opinion and must have the courage to voice it.

A full summary of how a love story in pride and prejudice unfolds

Elizabeth and Darcy spend a lot of time together at balls, and Elizabeth begins to realize that Darcy isn’t the cold, arrogant person she thought he was. He also realized that he had fallen in love with her. However, the Bingley brothers decide to return to London without telling Jane or Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard about this she was furious with Darcy as she felt that she was one of the reasons they left. Later, Elizabeth takes a walk around the area and meets her friend Charlotte Lucas, who has accepted an offer to marry Mr. Collins – a man she doesn’t like. Elizabeth was very surprised by this and tried to convince Charlotte not to accept it. Finally, Charlotte still decided to accept it for economic reasons. Several months later, Darcy returns to the county and apologizes to Elizabeth for her previous bad behavior. He also expressed his love for her and asked her to marry him. After some deliberation, Elizabeth finally agreed to marry Darcy even though her father didn’t agree with it. They ended up getting married in the local church in the presence of all their friends and relatives.

Sister Bingley realized that Darcy was the right person for Elizabeth. They both share the same interests, and they also share the same views on life. Sister Bingley also realized that Darcy was a kind person and would never hurt Elizabeth. Ultimately, the Bingley sisters accepted the relationship between the two and supported them.

The next day, Darcy writes a long letter to Elizabeth regretting and admitting that she had done wrong in getting in the way of Jane and Mr. Bingley’s relationship. He also admits that the stories of Mr. Wickham about himself is a lie. In the letter, Darcy also expressed his love for Elizabeth and apologized for his previous bad behavior. Elizabeth was very surprised by the contents of the letter, but she did not immediately tell Darcy about her change in attitude. He decided to see how Darcy behaved at the Pemberley Estate when they saw each other again. When Lizzy arrived at Pemberley, people there talked about how kind Darcy was and how well he took care of his employees. This made Elizabeth start to see Darcy in a different light. One day, when Lizzy is visiting Pemberley, she hears bad news about her younger sister Lydia who has run away with officers from Wickham. When Lizzy started to shed tears, Darcy came over to give her some sort of comfort and listened to Lizzy’s story about the matter. After that, Elizabeth finally found out that Darcy had paid off Wickham’s debt to marry Lydia and save her family’s good name. After this, Elizabeth finally realized that she was wrong about Darcy and started to see her in a different light. They were finally able to continue their relationship and finally married each other after a few months.

Everyone involved in this story is united and enjoying a happy life.

Pride and prejudice theme

Pride

This shows that, while pride is a major theme in the story, it doesn’t have to be a barrier to building strong relationships.

Prejudice

He valued Elizabeth because he liked her, not because of her social status. Prejudice is an obstacle that must be overcome in order to build a loving relationship.

Family

Finally, we see how the Bennetts find happiness and safety by marrying the right people. This is an example of how the family theme can be explained in this novel.

Woman

“My father, with great wisdom, allowed me to make my own decisions.” (Chapter 13). While Elisabeth doesn’t have much choice in this regard, she still has some control over her future. It’s an example of how women of that era might have had a little more control over their future if they were lucky. In addition, women also have to face social pressure to marry. Even though Elisabeth didn’t want to marry Mr. Collins, he has to deal with the pressure from those around him who want to see him married: “I know that you will all be happy if I accept Mr. Collins.” (Chapter 13). Women in that era were often forced into marriage and had little choice.

Chapter 20. “From today you must be a stranger to either of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you don’t marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.”

No, Elizabeth didn’t have to spend the rest of her life with a man she didn’t respect or like. Even though mother wanted the marriage to happen, Elizabeth still had the right to refuse and choose her own path in life. He should talk to his dad about this and try to convince him that he’s not going to do something he hates. If father persisted, Elizabeth would have to stand firm and take the necessary measures to protect her rights.

Love and marriage

“When I got married, I didn’t expect to be happy; I just hoped to make the best of the situation.” Marriages in the 18th century were also often based on economic agreements. Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage is an example of this. Darcy has a lot of money and social status, while Elizabeth has nothing but her beauty and intelligence. By marrying Elizabeth, Darcy would have good children and would increase his reputation in society. This marriage also gave Elizabeth the opportunity to rise in social class and become more financially secure. Although 18th century marriages were often based on practical reasons, there was still room for romantic love. Elizabeth and Darcy fell in love after they got to know each other better, although they didn’t like each other at first. Lydia is also very happy with her marriage to Wickham even though the reason is not love but because Wickham makes her feel special. So while 18th-century marriages were often based on practical reasons, there was still room for romantic love between well-matched couples.

Chapter 6 “Happiness in marriage is wholly a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties were well known to one another or similar beforehand, it did not advance their separation. They always continue to grow sufficiently like afterwards to have their vexations; And it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the one who you pass your life”

Class

Class is also an important factor in the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. Even though they like each other, Darcy can’t get over Elizabeth’s lower social class. He refused to marry her because he felt that it would make him humiliated by his friends. Finally, after several events made him realize that he had been wrong about Elizabeth, he accepted her love and the two of them married. This is an example of how social class could affect relationships between people in the past.