Romance, Wit, and Social Commentary: What Makes Pride and Prejudice (1813) a Must-Read

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has captivated readers for over two centuries, solidifying its place as one of the most beloved novels in English literature. 

This timeless tale, first published in 1813, masterfully blends romance, humor, and keen social commentary, making it a must-read for literary enthusiasts. The novel’s protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, is a sharp-witted and independent young woman whose encounters with the enigmatic Mr. Darcy challenge her views on love, class, and personal integrity. 

Through their evolving relationship, Austen critiques the rigid societal structures of Regency-era England, exploring themes of marriage, morality, and personal growth that remain relevant today.

What sets Pride and Prejudice apart is Austen’s deft use of wit and irony to expose the absurdities of social pretensions and the limitations placed upon women of her time. The novel’s memorable characters, from the vain Mr. Collins to the snobbish Lady Catherine de Bourgh, provide a rich tapestry of human folly, each serving to highlight the virtues and flaws of the central characters.

As readers navigate the twists and turns of Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship, they are treated to a narrative that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Austen’s sharp observations and eloquent prose invite readers to reflect on the nature of pride, prejudice, and the enduring quest for authentic human connection.

This blend of romance, wit, and social insight makes Pride and Prejudice not just a story, but a profound exploration of the human experience.

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INTRODUCTION

Pride and Prejudice is a love story that is both humorous and deeply serious.

The novel is primarily concerned with the Bennets, a family with five daughters ranging in age from 15 to 22. The family lives well but the daughters know that when their father dies they will lose their home and property to their cousin Mr Collins, simply because the family has no male heir.

Mrs Bennet, a comically deluded woman, believes that her main business is to arrange for her children to marry rich or, at worst, reputable gentlemen. Her husband, a genial wit, refuses to support her schemes but rarely hinders them.

As a result, when experiences with bachelors of varying worth lead to problems and new emotions, the daughters must struggle on their own, without parental guidance.

The novel portrays two remarkable characters with whom generations of readers have fallen in love: Elizabeth Bennet, the talented, independent second daughter, and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, a haughty aristocrat who sees through Mrs Bennet’s manipulations and believes the Bennet family to be beneath him. In turn, Elizabeth develops a blinding prejudice against Darcy and puts him down as no one has dared to before. Their relationship—a combination of attraction and contempt—is one of the most exciting in literature.

Through its vivid characters, Pride and Prejudice contrasts many human qualities: depth and superficiality; honesty and dishonesty; pride and humility; independence and servile compliance; and selfishness and generosity. Most importantly, Austen contrasts weak, dense people with those who have the maturity to recognize their own foibles. It is the latter group that the writer sees as the moral leaders of her society.

SETTING

The story begins in the autumn of 1811 when Charles Bingley, accompanied by his two sisters and Darcy, takes up residence at Netherfield, close to the Bennets’ home at Longbourn.

Both homes are located in a rural area of Hertfordshire, in south-east England. Other scenes take place in nearby Rosings in Kent, where Mr Collins occupies a clergyman’s seat, and in Derbyshire, where Darcy lives.

The novel also describes but does not show, events that occur in London (located 24 miles from Longbourn) and in the popular seaside resort town of Brighton.

Pride and Prejudice reveals distinctions of social class that may seem strange to modern readers.

Darcy and his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, are members of the aristocracy. The Bennet family and the clergyman Mr Collins—like Jane Austen herself—fall into the category of landed gentry, which means that they own property in the country, are well-bred, and hold a good social position. The Bennets are ‘poor’ only in comparison with others of the gentry.

Historically, the aristocracy and gentry mixed freely but tended not to cross lines in marriage. Both maintained business but not social dealings with people of ‘inferior’ status, such as small merchants, tenant farmers, and servants.

The members of the Bingley family, from the north of England, are neither gentry nor aristocracy, but their wealth and cultivation earn them immediate prestige in Hertfordshire and make Charles an attractive bachelor. Finally, the officer corps of the militia contains men of diverse status, ranging from aristocrats such as Colonel Fitzwilliam to men of more ordinary background, such as Lieutenant George Wickham, whose father once managed the property of Darcy’s father.

Wickham’s rank as an officer allows him to visit the Bennet family, but his lack of money or property renders him a poor choice for marriage, as Mrs Gardiner reminds her niece Elizabeth.

Austen considers rural communities, like the Bennets’, places of comfort and havens for traditional values. Families know each other well and care very much about how they appear to their neighbours.

Unlike London, which values change, fashion, and commerce, Austen’s country towns preserve pleasures considered more genteel: social graces, family living, and honourable courtship.

In this world, marriage is a complex institution; teenage women are considered ‘out’ (or eligible for suitors) after they have attended their first dance, and most of a young woman’s life consists of preparing for marriage.

For most women, the choice of a spouse is the most significant decision they will make. Because few women hold jobs, those who do not marry may live lonely, idle existences. Many couples—like Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins—wed not for love but to gain property or achieve a desired social rank.

Austen’s novels show such arrangements, but they do not approve of them; her heroes and heroines never marry coldly.

THEMES AND CHARACTERS

Jane Austen is a keen observer of human behaviour.

She shows that while men and women often think too highly of themselves, deceive or flatter others, and act stupidly, they are also capable of love, kindness, and moral growth.

With this mingling of positive and negative traits, her heroes and heroines seem deeply human.

The novelist is reputed to have considered Elizabeth Bennet her favourite creation. Indeed, the 20-year-old possesses brains, beauty, musical talent, confidence, and—for the era—rare independence. At every turn Elizabeth displays the latter trait: she walks several miles alone to visit her ailing sister Jane at Netherfield; she declines Mr Collins’s marriage offer despite her mother’s outrage; she angrily rejects Darcy’s condescending proposal.

But this independence—perhaps inherited from her mother—leads her to make mistakes: she judges Wickham, Darcy, and others too hastily, and then clings stubbornly to her prejudices.

Fitzwilliam Darcy first appears as an exceedingly self-important figure. Early in the novel, as he rudely refrains from dancing at a ball, Elizabeth overhears him talking derogatorily about her and the other women. At the next dance, he ‘must’ admit to himself, although he still considers himself superior, that Elizabeth’s intelligent expression is ‘beautiful’.

He falls in love with her against his wishes—despite detesting her bumptious mother, despite erroneously distrusting her older sister Jane, despite disdaining her family’s modest means, and despite detecting Elizabeth’s thinly veiled hostility.

Darcy’s attempts to approach Elizabeth succeed only in offending her more, and, to complicate matters, his arrogant Aunt Catherine expects him to marry within the aristocracy.

Pride and Prejudice develops other characters skilfully if less fully. Charles Bingley and Jane Bennet fall in love quickly and tastefully at the novel’s outset. Both respect social form and refuse to write or visit the other improperly. Bingley’s intrusive sisters and Darcy remove him to London in an attempt to break up their relationship.

The sisters believe that their brother should marry someone of equal wealth, while Darcy believes that Jane, like her mother, favours Charles only for his money. Jane, a thoughtful, self-denying woman—the opposite of Mrs Bennet—tries to hide her heartbreak and humiliation from her family, particularly her mother, for whom their engagement had been a certainty.

Meanwhile, the youngest Bennet, Lydia, whose shallowness points to her parents’ deficiencies, rushes into an ill-advised romance with Wickham, an officer who at first appears charming and trustworthy. Wickham recounts—to Elizabeth’s satisfaction—how Darcy unjustly kept him from receiving the large inheritance Darcy’s father had left for him. Later, after this is exposed as a lie by Darcy, Wickham fails in a ruthless attempt to marry a rich northern woman and impulsively elopes with the naive Lydia.

The 16-year-old girl speaks recklessly, acts offensively, and must gratify her impulses instantly. Lydia fails to see that running off with Wickham scandalizes her family.

Pride and Prejudice depicts a leadership crisis in the Bennet family and in the community as a whole.

Mrs Bennet’s tactless meddling in Jane’s affairs creates the appearance that her daughter is hunting Bingley’s fortune.

Mrs Bennet also fails to anticipate the disastrous possibilities of her young daughter’s flirtations with militiamen. Her hunger for attention damages the family reputation at every public occasion. Meanwhile, as likeable as her husband may seem, he has no stomach for disciplining his children. He is not seriously engaged in their lives except when Lydia’s flight jeopardizes the family.

Then he reluctantly assumes his paternal duties and makes for London to reclaim his daughter, only to return in failure.

Several memorable minor characters also contribute to this leadership void. Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy’s aunt, is a rich, domineering woman who stifles others’ spirits at every social gathering and considers Elizabeth a poor match for her nephew.

Sir William Lucas, Charlotte’s ’empty-headed’ father, lives inconsequentially, overly concerned with his own importance.

Mr Collins, the young clergyman, does not strive for any role of substance in the community, instead considering his only urgent duty to follow Lady Catherine’s orders quickly and precisely.

Pride and Prejudice shows the Bennet family—and by inference the country life that Austen loved—to be in a state of crisis. With no strong adult influences, the best young people step forward.

Darcy shows his true mettle by secretly helping Charles return to Jane, by ensuring that Wickham and Lydia return to Longbourn as a married couple with an income, and by proposing again to Elizabeth with new humility. Shamed, Elizabeth recognizes many of her misjudgments and accepts Darcy’s proposal. Their personalities soften and blend beautifully.

Like any moralist, Austen shows that foolish or evil actions do have adverse consequences. Although Jane ends up happily married to Bingley, the scheming of her mother and Bingley’s sisters causes her real pain. More severely, Lydia ends up living joylessly with her indifferent husband, always moving about and never financially secure.

Darcy’s intervention preserves her reputation, but her life amounts to little.

The novel ends on the hopeful note of two Christmas-time weddings for the eldest Bennet daughters. Elizabeth builds a friendship with Darcy’s sister Georgiana, occasionally sends money to Lydia, and gradually moves her husband to reconcile with his aunt. By their actions and their shared sense of duty, Elizabeth and Darcy—a union of the gentry and the aristocracy—show themselves to have become leaders in their society.

Feminism in Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet, the spirited heroine of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, has long been celebrated as a feminist icon.

With her sharp wit, independence, and refusal to conform to societal expectations, Elizabeth stands out as a liberal character in the world of early 19th-century literature. At a time when women were often expected to marry for financial security rather than love, Elizabeth defies convention by valuing personal integrity and mutual respect over social status and wealth.

Her determination to marry for love and her courage to speak her mind make her a role model for readers seeking strong, authentic female characters.

What makes Elizabeth Bennet a timeless feminist icon is her unwavering commitment to self-respect and her belief in equality within relationships.

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Elizabeth is not swayed by the pressures of society or the allure of wealth and social standing. Her interactions with Mr. Darcy, especially her refusal of his initial proposal, showcase her strength of character and her desire for a partnership based on genuine affection and mutual respect. Elizabeth’s intelligence, humour, and independence challenge the traditional roles of women in her era, making her a character who continues to inspire readers with her boldness and resilience.

In a world that often tried to silence women, Elizabeth Bennet’s voice remains as vibrant and influential as ever.

LITERARY TECHNIQUE

Austen writes succinctly and structures a tight plot, making for a suspenseful narrative.

The story is based on a series of conflicts: the central one between Elizabeth and Darcy, and smaller ones concerning the other characters.

Every chapter builds towards the novel’s climax, Elizabeth’s visit to Darcy’s home in Derbyshire, and the resolution is both plausible and satisfying.

Pride and Prejudice is worth rereading because of its foreshadowing—subtle hints of upcoming events. Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth, Lydia’s elopement, and Charlotte’s marriage are among the novel’s many foreshadowed occurrences.

Austen also uses language superbly, but not in exaggerated or ostentatious ways.

Rather, she writes with great clarity and precision and employs irony for comic effect. Irony allows a writer to communicate more than the literal or expected meanings of his or her language. For instance, upon Darcy’s entrance to a dance in Chapter 3, Austen writes that ‘the report was in general circulation within five minutes… of his having ten thousand a year’. Here Austen pokes fun at the gossipy nature of the people and shows why Darcy might be justified in feeling out of place.

Austen also fills the novel’s dialogue with irony, making people such as Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins reveal their foolishness to the reader through their ridiculous comments.

Many critics consider the novel a satire, which, in general terms, is a literary work that uses irony and humour to expose human or social faults. Thus, Lydia embodies vanity, Wickham dishonesty, Mr Collins obsequiousness, and Mrs Bennet a multitude of follies.

Austen does not tear down country life or folk; rather, she directs the reader’s gaze to some of the human imperfections that threaten the virtues of her culture.

Pride and Prejudice possesses other literary qualities.

Austen renders splendid characters, showing how their errors result from their flaws. She uses symbolism sparingly but successfully; for example, the ordered, austere beauty of Darcy’s grounds and home at Pemberly represents his real nature.

Finally, Austen employs an omniscient point of view, which means that her all-knowing narrator has complete knowledge of the story and can reveal any character’s thoughts and feelings to the reader. Most of the time, the narrator shows the world as Elizabeth sees it.

SOCIAL CONTEXT

Pride and Prejudice depicts a society governed by a class system that imposes unwritten rules on who may marry or socialize with whom.

The inferior position allotted to women in early 19th-century country life is plain for all to see.

Mr Bennet’s daughters cannot inherit his property, and they receive less schooling than do males of the landed gentry.

Twenty-seven-year-olds such as Charlotte Lucas marry lesser men for fear of wearing the label ‘spinster’ at 30. Women cannot work and thus are economically dependent upon men. For women, ‘success’ is defined solely in terms of marriage and domestic affairs—in short, in terms of what they provide for men. But even in the home—Mr Bennet’s weakness notwithstanding—the father controls the money and holds ultimate authority. Elizabeth has been called a pioneer for sexual equality—she tells Mrs Gardiner that she will marry Wickham or whomever else she pleases.

However, the fact that Elizabeth is considered ‘rebellious’ is a further measure of the restriction of women at the time; her actions surely would not earn her that label today.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

Reread the first two sentences of Chapter 1. Does the novel demonstrate those sentences to be true? Why do families vigorously compete for single men such as Charles Bingley?

Discuss Bingley’s character. He is rich, friendly, and sociable, but he deserts Jane rather easily. How do you judge his treatment of her? Why does he not more strongly resist his sisters’ efforts to separate him from Jane?

Look back at the dance scenes in Chapters 3 and 5. How do the townspeople change in their opinion of Darcy? What do these scenes show you about the way people make judgements?

Why do the Bingley sisters form lasting judgements of the Bennets based on the events following Jane’s visit to Netherfield? What scheme does Mrs Bennet devise? What prevents Jane from returning home? How do the Bingleys interpret her stay at their home? How do they view Elizabeth’s walking from Longbourn to Netherfield?

What kind of person is Mary Bennet, the middle daughter? What makes her unique in the family? Can she be considered a satirical character? Why or why not?

What is Mr Collins’s main motivation for getting married? Why does he decide to propose to one of the Bennet daughters? Why does Elizabeth turn him down, and why does this rejection anger her mother? Is Mrs Bennet wrong?

When Charlotte accepts Mr Collins’s proposal, Elizabeth is shocked and angry. Why does Charlotte choose to marry the unimpressive clergyman? Is Elizabeth’s harsh judgement of Charlotte correct?

When he first proposes to Elizabeth, Darcy admits that he loves her. Why, then, is she offended? What attitudes does he reveal through his marriage offer?

Besides disliking Darcy’s general demeanour, Elizabeth resents him for two acts—wronging Wickham and influencing Bingley to reject her sister Jane. It turns out that Darcy actually treated Wickham better than he deserved. But what about his manipulation of Bingley? Why should Elizabeth forgive him for contributing to her sister’s pain?

Why does Elizabeth feel it is inappropriate for Lydia to spend two months in Brighton with Colonel Forster’s wife? Why does Lydia want to go? Mr Bennet listens to Elizabeth’s objections but allows Lydia to go. Why? Why does the elopement bring disgrace to the family?

What kind of woman is Lady Catherine de Bourgh? How would you describe her relationships with others? Which of her traits surface in her nephew Darcy? In her daughter Anne? Clearly she seeks to control others’ lives, but she ends up inadvertently promoting the marriage she is trying to prevent. How? Why do you think Elizabeth urges Darcy to make peace with her, even though she has insulted Elizabeth greatly?

Jane and Elizabeth marry happily, but Lydia’s life seems dreary at best. Do you think the ending is cruel? Does it appear that the narrator is almost enjoying Lydia’s misfortune?

QUESTIONS

A moralist attempts to educate readers about the principles of right and wrong that he or she feels should govern human life. What principles does Pride and Prejudice espouse? Which specific incidents and characters bring out these principles?

Analyse Mr and Mrs Bennet as parents. What seem to be their strengths and weaknesses? How do their personalities and habits appear in their five children? What do you think the novel shows about parenthood?

Analyse the novel’s title. Who else besides Darcy and Elizabeth displays prejudice and pride? In what incidents? What makes the hero and heroine different from these other characters? What does the novel show the reader about pride and prejudice?

What distinguishes characters who are portrayed favourably from characters who are portrayed unfavourably? Elizabeth from Lydia? Darcy from Wickham and Collins? Jane from Mrs Bennet and the Bingley sisters?

Etiquette—the distinction between good and bad manners—plays a major role in the world of the novel. Which characters are rude or socially inept? In what specific ways? How does the behaviour of polite characters differ? Why do you think social form and appearance are so important in this culture?

Examine the condition of women in Jane Austen’s era. Did urban women live differently than those in the country? What factors led to the expansion of opportunities for women?

Among Jane Austen’s other novels, Sense and Sensibility deals with the fortunes in the romance of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, daughters who could not inherit their father’s property and thus are left in difficult circumstances.

The novel contains the unscrupulous Willoughby, a Wickham-like figure. Mansfield Park centres around Fanny Price, a timid girl given up at the age of nine by her weak, overwhelmed parents to her kind uncle Sir Thomas.

While being raised in his troubled household, she suffers frequent abuses by empty, snobbish, or spiteful people but ends up becoming the strongest member of the family.

Emma, often regarded as Austen’s finest work, shows the smug title character’s maturation as her failed efforts to control others and the wisdom of Mr John Knightley gradually deflate her ego.

Northanger Abbey, possibly the first of Austen’s completed works, contrasts the melodrama of popular Gothic novels with reality. In it Catherine Moreland, a likeable girl who has read a few too many ghost stories, imagines on scant evidence that the father of the man she loves is engaged in criminal behaviour.

Persuasion, the writer’s last completed work, is a more tender, less satirical novel than its predecessors. The story concerns the quiet pain of Anne Eliot, unmarried at 27, who through circumstance becomes reacquainted with her now-prosperous ex-fiancé, a man she still loves—Frederick Wentworth. Years before she had broken off their engagement on the advice of a trusted friend. Avid Austen readers will also enjoy Austen’s letters, juvenile writings, and unfinished works.

Readers may also be interested in the 1940 film version of Pride and Prejudice. The lavish production, which stars Sir Laurence Olivier as Darcy and Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet, also features Edmund Gwenn and Maureen O’Sullivan in supporting roles. Aldous Huxley co-authored the screenplay, which retains the wit and verve of Austen’s novel.

Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice, first published in 1813, has inspired countless adaptations across a variety of media, solidifying its status as a cultural icon. The 2003 version features Kam Heskin, Orlando Seale and Lucila Solá.

From classic film and television interpretations to modern reimaginings, the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy has been brought to life in ways that continue to captivate audiences worldwide.

The enduring appeal of this narrative lies in its timeless themes of love, societal expectations, and personal growth, which resonate just as powerfully today as they did in Austen’s time. Each adaptation offers a fresh perspective on the characters and story, reflecting the values and aesthetics of its era while remaining true to the novel’s core essence.

The many screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice showcase the versatility and enduring charm of Austen’s work. From the iconic 1995 BBC miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, which set the standard for period drama, to the 2005 film adaptation featuring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, each version brings its own unique interpretation to the timeless romance.

Beyond these, modern retellings like Bridget Jones’s Diary and the Bollywood-inspired Bride and Prejudice have introduced the story to new generations, proving that Austen’s exploration of love, identity, and societal norms transcends time and cultural boundaries. These adaptations not only pay homage to the original novel but also reinvent it, ensuring that Pride and Prejudice remains a beloved story in the hearts of audiences around the globe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jane Austen, one of England’s most cherished and frequently read novelists, was born into the landed gentry in the town of Steventon on December 16, 1775. She was the sixth of seven children raised by strong parents: Cassandra, the daughter of an Oxford University scholar, and George, an Oxford-educated country clergyman.

Austen never married. She lived comfortably with her family in Steventon until 1800, and thereafter in Bath, Southampton, and Chawton.

According to Austen’s biographers, her life lacked dramatic or noteworthy incidents.

She and her older sister Cassandra were educated primarily at home by their father. As a youth Austen read literature avidly, wrote fragments of novels and histories, and took part in standard social activities such as visits and formal dances. In adulthood, her daily life included assisting her parents at home and looking after her many nieces and nephews.

Two adult experiences do stand out: in 1801 a mysterious romantic interest of hers died, and in 1802 she accepted and then declined an offer of marriage from a man she did not love.

 Otherwise, Austen seems to have lived happily and uneventfully. During her mature years, when she was an author of solid repute, she remained at home, preferring rural domesticity to the London literary scene. She died in Winchester of Addison’s disease on July 18, 1817.

In her early 20s, Austen wrote in earnest, completing Lady SusanElinor and Marianne, and First Impressions, and drafting other works. Her father sent the novels to a publisher, but all were rejected; another novel Susan was bought by a publisher in 1803 but never printed. In 1804 she began The Watsons but abandoned it after her father’s death. Perhaps because of these disappointments, Austen’s interest in writing waned until 1809-1811, when she revised Elinor and Marianne and won it an anonymous printing as Sense and Sensibility.

In 1812 she greatly revised First Impressions and saw it published, also anonymously, as Pride and Prejudice. Working intensely in a busy parlour in her Chawton home from 1813 to 1816, she composed Mansfield ParkEmma, and Persuasion, and revised Susan as Northanger Abbey, a spoof of the popular romance and horror novels of the era. At the time of her death, she was working on a manuscript entitled Sanditon.

All of these works deal with the lives of young, marriageable men and women in England’s 19th-century rural land-owning and aristocratic classes. Readers have long admired Austen’s endearing, if imperfect, heroes and heroines, whose struggles to find the right partner are complex, moving, and often humorous.

Austen’s work is also known for its finely crafted plots, masterful language, and subtle irony, and for its vivid and sometimes satirical presentation of the society in which the author lived.

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