Pride and Prejudice Overview

“Pride and Prejudice”, written in 1797 and first published in 1813 by Jane Austen, is known to many, as one of the greatest love stories of all time. It portrays the story of the beautiful, brilliant, and clever Elizabeth Bennet and the super wealthy, handsome, and prideful Fitzwilliam Darcy. The novel revolves around the idea of marrying for love, not only for riches, regardless of social pressure.

Set in the country village of Longbourn in Hertfordshire, England, the Bennet family, more specifically, Mrs. Bennet, becomes desperate about the idea of marrying off at least one their five daughters. Finding her daughters’ partners became more of a “business” to her. She was really specific with what she wanted for her daughters since the Bennet girls couldn’t choose any random guy. It had to be a wealthy, powerful one, in order for their family to keep their social economic status intact and to gain pride among others.

Characters

Elizabeth Bennet- She is the main female character in this novel. She is beautiful, clever and knowledgeable. During the plot of the story, she finds herself overcoming her prejudice and falls in love with Mr. Darcy.

Fitzwilliam Darcy- He is the main male character in the novel. He is egocentric, arrogant, handsome and extremely wealthy. During the novel, he manages to defeat his pride as he falls deeply in love with Elizabeth.

Georgiana Darcy- She is Mr. Darcy’s youngest sister. She’s shy, charming, beautiful and full of skills. She idolizes and loves her brother Mr. Darcy.

Jane Bennet- She is Elizabeth’s eldest sister. She’s the most beautiful of all the Bennet sisters. Jane finds herself falling in love with the handsome Mr. Bingley.

Charles Bingley- He is Mr. Darcy’s best friend. He is humble and doesn’t pay much attention to social class differences. He falls in love with Jane Bennet.

Caroline Bingley- She is Mr. Bingley’s sister. She had her own plans to get Mr. Darcy as her partner. As she senses the attraction between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, she tries her best to try and tear them apart.

Mr. Bennet- He is the father of Elizabeth and the rest of her sisters. He has a sarcastic sense of humor which he uses to irritate his wife.

Mrs. Bennet- She is the mother of the Bennet girls. She tries her best to get at least one of her daughters married. She’s got an absurd and annoying personality.

George Wickham- A really handsome, gold-digger soldier. Some secrets about him get exposed to Elizabeth by Mr. Darcy. He then marries Lydia Bennet.

Lydia Bennet- She is the youngest of the Bennet sisters. She represents the image of a classic teenager by her gossipy, selfish and immature personality. Later on the story he weds George Wickham.

Mr. Collins- He is a not so smart, submissive and foolish church minister. Lady Catherine is his godmother. He intends to inherit the Bennet property unless he marries one of their daughters. Later on the story, as Elizabeth rejects him, he marries Charlotte Lucas.

Charlotte Lucas- She is Elizabeth’s best friend. In marriage, she doesn’t seek for love as a primary source. She wants to finally get away from her parents home. She marries Mr. Collins.

Lady Catherine De Bourgh- A rich duchess with an extremely arrogant and cocky personality. She Is Mr. Darcy’s aunt and Mr. Collins’ godmother. She attempts to order Elizabeth to deny Mr. Darcy’s proposal.

Mr and Mrs. Gardiner- Mrs. Bennet’s brother and his wife. They both have a caring, lovable and empathic personality.

Mary Bennet- She is the middle Bennet sister. She is really serious, intelligent and studious.

Catherine Bennet- During the whole book she is mostly known as “kitty”. She is the fourth Bennet daughter. She is envious of Lydia and is often described as a childish and irresponsible girl.

Book Story

The book opens with Mr. Bennet hearing a rumor that a super wealthy and powerful man, named Charles Bingley was arriving in town, and renting a well- known mansion known to everyone around as the Netherfield Park. This action stirred every single family around, but especially the Bennet’s. Mrs. Bennet’s desire to get to visit Mr. Bingley was growing, she kept insisting to her husband to go and do so.
Mr. Bennet went behind his wife’s back and visited the gentleman.

After the visit, he told his wife and daughters. To his surprise, they were all extremely excited. Later on, they invited him for dinner, but he was called away to London. Thereafter, Mr. Bingley returned to his manor, but he didn’t go back all alone. He was accompanied by a super handsome man named Darcy and his siblings.

A huge ball was taking place in the town of Meryton. Darcy, Bingley and his siblings attended the event as well as the Bennet family. There, they met and Bingley danced with Jane, the eldest of the sisters. Bingley seemed to be under a spell; as he was talking to Mr. Darcy, he was praising her beauty by telling him that she was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen and suggested to Mr. Darcy to request a dance to Elizabeth.

Darcy, with his ego, said she was not appealing enough for him to get allured. Elizabeth heard what he said and because of his judgmental comments, she loathed him. Darcy had a reputation of being arrogant and wealthier than Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth could clearly see that after his judgment regarding her beauty. Instead of getting mad, she found it very amusing. During the rest of the ball, she made Darcy look like a fool in front of her friends by joking about his remark.

Caroline, Mr. Bingley’s sister, kindly invited Jane to visit them. Jane on her way to the Bingley’s property was caught in a cloudburst and became ill. Elizabeth heard the news and went to Netherfield to visit her sick sister. There, Darcy’s attraction towards Elizabeth began. Although, no one said it would be an easy path. Without him knowing, Caroline Bingley had her own personal plans with Darcy.

Soon enough, Elizabeth obtained a marriage proposal from the heir to the Longbourn estate, and minister of a church, known as Mr. Collins. She refused his marriage offer and ran out of the Bennet property. Mrs. Bennet didn’t take the news very well and demanded that Elizabeth marry him. Otherwise, she would never address a word to her daughter for the rest of her life. Mrs. Bennet demanded her husband to order their Elizabeth to wed Mr. Collins. Mr. Bennet agreed with Elizabeth’s decision. He told Elizabeth not to marry the man and made sure she understood she had his approval and support of her choice.

Elizabeth’s loathing for Mr. Darcy was confirmed when she and her family were introduced to the handsome and captivating George Wickham. He told Elizabeth he wanted to have a conversation with her, and she became aware of Darcy’s past choices. These were not good. He related how Mr. Darcy’s father treated him like a son until he died and how Darcy became jealous of his father’s relationship with Wickham.

Furthermore, Mr. Darcy took away the property that Wickham was to inherit, thereby depriving him of a good and successful life.
In honor of Jane Bennet, Mr. Bingley threw a ball in the Netherfield manor. Mr. Darcy asked Elizabeth to dance. Although shocked, she agreed. Mrs. Bennet implied to everyone at the ball that Bingley would soon to be engaged to Jane. Days after the event, the Bennet family, received the shocking news that the Bingley’s are called away to London without expecting to ever return. Jane, appalled because of the information received, goes to London to visit her aunt and uncle; she soon gets a letter from Mrs. Bingley regarding their friendship.

Not long after Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Collins’ marriage proposal, her good friend Charlotte Lucas, greeted Lizzy excitedly, with the news of her engagement. Elizabeth was shocked to hear whom she was engaged to and, as a result, didn’t take the news well. Charlotte lets Elizabeth know she’s grateful to receive a proposal which will give her a comfortable and safe home.

Charlotte asked Elizabeth to go and visit her at her new house in Kent. Elizabeth, Mr. Collins, and Charlotte are invited to Catherine de Bourgh’s magnificent house in Rosings Park. Mrs. Bourgh is Darcy’s and Collin’s very prosperous aunt. In fact, she expects Mr. Darcy to marry her daughter. There they meet with Mr. Darcy and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam, who was also visiting Mrs. Bourgh’s Rosings Park manor.

On a visit to the church, Elizabeth shares a seat next to Mr. Fitzwilliam, while having a conversation; she’s been told the story of how Darcy managed to save a friend from a bad marriage. Of course, Elizabeth’s first thought was that it had to be her sister Jane’s marriage he was talking about.

Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy had fallen in love with Elizabeth and proposed. Furious, she rejected him. She explained why. Mr. Darcy, not pleased with Elizabeth’s words, complained about how he had been nicer to Bingley than himself; they both left without saying a word. Later, Mr. Darcy dropped by Charlotte’s house, delivering Elizabeth a letter explaining everything. Meaning, what happened with Mr. Wickham, and what happened with Jane and Mr. Bingley. He apologized to Jane and Elizabeth, which caused Elizabeth to change her mind when it comes or Mr. Darcy.

Months later, Elizabeth went and visited Mr. Darcy’s property with her aunt and uncle. A maid gave them a tour around the house and described Darcy as a kind and generous man. As they met with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth was surprised by how kind he was acting. Elizabeth met Darcy’s sister Georgiana, she loved Elizabeth and Elizabeth loved her. Lizzy got a letter from home which informed that her sister Lydia was married to Mr. Wickham. She informed Mr. Darcy and quickly left. Lydia visited her family and told Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy was at her wedding.

On the other hand, they let her know that Darcy was the one who made the wedding happen, but no one knew what the reason for his actions was.

Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley returned to the Netherfield manor. Thereafter, both men showed up at the Bennet property. Mr. Bingley asked to speak with Jane alone. He proposed and she accepted. Moreover, furthermore, Lady Catherine showed up at Elizabeth’s house because of a rumor which said Elizabeth had intentions of marrying Mr. Darcy; she demanded her to promise not to do such a thing. She did no such promise and makes Lady Catherine exit her house.

Mr. Darcy told Elizabeth he loves her, deeply, and proposed once again. Elizabeth confessed her love to Darcy and accepted. Mr. Darcy visited Longbourn and asked Mr. Bennet for his consent. Elizabeth had a small chat with her father, making him understand she was not marrying for money but for love. The members of the Bennet family never expected that to happen. They were shaking. Furthermore, she let them know how much Darcy was excited about their wedding.

My thoughts about this book are that it is great for romance lovers. This book makes us look at some realities this world faces. This book takes place a long time ago; the world has changed immensely. However, some of the things we see in the book, are still seen it today’s world. Arranged marriages, judging a book by its cover, and marrying for money, are some examples. This makes us look at the bright side of what love can turn into.

As well, it portrays the moral that class and reputation do not define a person. In the book, we can take a great example on how Mr. Darcy’s love for Elizabeth changed him to be a better person. He overcomes his reserved nature and narcissism in order to win Elizabeth’s hand in marriage. As for Elizabeth, the book set in a society where marrying for wealth and social status is more common than marrying for love and aptness, Elizabeth makes the strong choice to wait for love, even knowing it may never come.

“Pride and Prejudice” display many kinds of marriages, but personally, I believe the reader is left with the idea that marriages of love, stability, and appropriateness are the kinds of marriages to be wished for. It exhibits how true love can fight the arrogance and discrimination which exists in our society and particularly between the members of diverse social classes.

I enjoyed this book overall and totally recommend it. The plotline was perfect, interesting and pleasing. In general, the story exhibits many emotions and genres. Romance, tragedy, drama, and fiction are some of the genres displayed in the book. Personally, during the whole novel, the reader’s interest is kept and it manages to keep the reader hooked. On the whole, I loved “Pride and Prejudice.”