I. Introduction
a. As written in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “there’s only one story,” but each one is unique in how it’s put together. This can be seen as one reads Pride and Prejudice and the cruel treatment in society and the love that drifts through seems like a cliché, but the story is still its own book.
b. Summary: With news of a wealthy family coming to town, the Bennet family sets their minds to get at least one of their five daughters married. Upon going to visit the wealthy Bingleys, Jane, the eldest daughter, gets sick in the rain and must stay at their house in Netherfield under the care of her family’s second oldest daughter, Elizabeth. The true personalities of the Bingley family then come out to be snobby and rude, except for Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy. As real and fake love fills the air, the Bennet’s youngest daughter gets
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Elizabeth then forms prejudices against both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham. She immediately looks poorly upon Mr. Darcy, but very highly on Mr. Wickham, who she believes to be too handsome and trustworthy-looking to lie. With this, she also looks down on Charlotte for marrying for money, but believes it’s okay for Mr. Wickham to as “a man in distressed circumstances has not time for all those elegant decorums which other people may observe” (Austen 115). This is not only evidence of her prejudice, but shows the difference on how males and females are viewed, for what is okay for one to do may not be for the other.
d. Towards the end, the happy mood starts to come out as love is formed. After their fight when Mr. Darcy proposed, Elizabeth notices how he has fixed the quirks she pointed out, which Austen uses as a way to lighten the tone of the novel and end it on a happier note.
e. Although their views may have been very harsh and negative in the beginning, both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy leave the novel with very little prejudice and only good pride, but the reader has the same feelings when they close the
This immediately raised a red flag to Ms. Elizabeth. Father into the evening, Ms. Elizabeth had the ‘pleasure’ of hearing Mr. Darcy’s feeling towards her. “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me….” (Page 8) Upon hearing such words spoken about her, she began to feel prejudice towards the fine Mr. Darcy.
His sense of her inferiority–of its being a degradation of–the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclinations were dwelt on...” (Austen 12). These words reflect Mr. Darcy’s excessive pride and heightened awareness of social status, while inducing him to recount all the ways in which he and Elizabeth are an illogical union, rather than relaying anything complimentary. In response to this insult-ridden proposal, Elizabeth proclaims that if he had acted in a more “gentlemanlike manner,” she would have been more inclined to express sympathy following her rejection of his advances. Despite Elizabeth’s clear message that she will not observe his insensitive words in submission, Mr. Darcy endures in the conviction that his prideful manners toward Elizabeth are well-justified and merely detail the truthful, adverse nature of her inferior social standing with the utmost sincerity.
or other, and we can never expect her to do it with so little expense
Darcy as a proud, arrogant man based upon his actions at the assembly where she first sees him. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy first meet at a ball where she instantly believes him to be a rude individual as she watches him only dance with women he knows and hears him call her tolerable. Elizabeth is offended by Mr. Darcy’s actions at the ball, and uses this knowledge to instantly form a negative opinion of his character. Mr. Darcy’s good nature and kind heart is therefore overlooked by Elizabeth as they continue to see each other, and she does not let go of her original prejudice of him until the end of the novel when she eventually realizes her love for him and marries him. Elizabeth’s poor and unchanging opinion of Darcy led to her initially saying no to Darcy’s first marriage proposal. Had Elizabeth not held a grudge on Mr. Darcy for his original actions at the ball, she could have realized her love for him sooner. Her mistrust of Darcy also led to repercussions that negatively affected her and her family’s lives. She would not have been deceived by Mr. Wickham and she would have saved her family from shame and embarrassment if she would have waited longer to form an opinion of Mr.
It also reveals that Elizabeth's prejudice towards Mr. Darcy kept her from seeing that there was another side to the story. Making Mr. Darcy sound like the one at fault for all of Mr. Wickham’s troubles. Elizabeth also realizes that she may not be the best judgement of character that she once that herself as. She now knows that she misjudged Mr. Darcy and that he’s had nothing but good intentions. This is a common
By observing the interactions between characters, readers are more likely to understand the theme of the novel. One of the many troubles shown is that of Mr. Darcy and his pride, which alters the way he views others. When he first sees Elizabeth Bennet he calls her “FIND THE EXACT QUOTE AND MAKE IT LONG” . He is too prideful to think of Lizzie as anything except a poor young girl who would never be good enough to marry a man worth anything, especially a man like himself. As the story progresses, and Mr. Darcy spends more time with her, he is forced to rebuke his previous assumptions and look at Lizzie in the way that she deserves. He falls in love with her and must overcome the challenges that came with his earlier prideful remarks. This is an important moment, because it shows how love is subject to the tough trials that characters face with difficult decisions and uncomfortable interactions as they learn what is best for them. Due to the false accusations that Mr. Darcy made towards Lizzie, she was less likely to return his love. This was a challenge that the two characters had to face throughout the novel, as it was a pivotal moment in their relationship. Lizzie was too upset with Mr. Darcy to accept his marriage proposal at first. She says QUOTE THAT SHE SAYS ABOUT THIS PROPOSAL. Mr. Darcy takes this as just another of love’s obstacles, and he decides to remain considerate towards Lizzie.
Bennet is also an impediment to love; her only concern is to marry off her five girls. She never really cares about their happiness. Mrs. Bennet only cares about her outlook. At the time, having an unmarried daughter was a disgrace. People considered an unmarried daughter a pariah. Mrs. Bennet embedded one core message in all of her children: A man’s approval determines a woman’s “worth.” For instance, after Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane, a relieved Mrs. Bennett comments, “I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing” (Austen 337) asserting that beauty tops all. Mrs. Bennet considers wealth the most important attribute when looking at a suitor for her daughters. She clearly explains that “a single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year” (Austen 6) is the best thing for her girls. Mrs. Bennet’s indifference when considering a suitor is the ultimate impediment to love. The girls adopt their mother’s prejudice and constantly judge others based on their wealth. Elizabeth ironically calls Darcy “the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world” (Austen 12) while failing to swallow her own pride and admit she has feelings for Mr. Darcy. Of the two, Elizabeth is judgmental and bases her opinion completely on wealth and status rather than Darcy’s emotions, actions, and
Beginning with Mr. Darcy's failed proposal and his later letter of explanation, Elizabeth's proud and judgemental nature is altered by the pressure placed on her to decide if she wishes to marry Mr. Darcy or not. Introspection and her eventual acceptance of her romantic feelings for Mr. Darcy demonstrate that strenuous emotional situations can lead to a change in character, by allowing her to open up her prejudiced mind and see that the opinions she has are not always correct. Prior to her relations with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth is a young woman who sees little point in marrying if she does not find a man whom will bring her happiness in life. This provides a foundation from which she can change, placing her in an ideal position to change in response to the
The ending of the novel and the two filmic clips are considered happy and full of emotional excitement; however, it is not because of the fortuitous marriages, but the audience’s realization that Elizabeth has grown into a better understanding of herself and those people around her. She shows strength and courage when she admits to herself that she loves Darcy as she confesses this in Simon Langton’s (1995) miniseries clip. In this clip, Elizabeth had to justify to her Mr. Bennet why she wanted to marry Darcy. She expresses the love she has for Darcy by stipulating “that he does not have improper pride,” has a generous nature, and at first she didn’t like him, but later realized that she truly has fallen in love him. Mr. Bennet seals his blessing with kiss and approves her marriage to Darcy. The clip pans into the wedding event in which the minister is discussing the ordaining of matrimony, and the audience sees the relation of these vows as the problems with the marriages within the two families. The majority of the cast members appear to be happy and celebrating the joy of Jane and Elizabeth’s double wedding ceremony.
An attempted assault leaves Miss Elizabeth Bennet seeking tender comfort from the man she had, at one time, abhorred. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy's gentle compassion fosters a budding affection as the couple grows to acknowledge each other's weaknesses and failings while recognizing their own. As our heroine struggles with the aftermath of that life-changing event, we discover a strength of character we can admire and emulate. Not even the vile Mr. Wickham can keep Elizabeth Bennet from her happily-ever-after with the man of her dreams--Mr. Darcy.
When Elizabeth flatly turns down his marriage proposal, it startles Darcy into realizing just how arrogant and assuming he has been. Soon, there is reconciliation between Darcy and Elizabeth where each admits how much they have changed as a result of their earlier encounters. An example of this is when Lady Catherine visits to insure the marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth. She came in order to prevent it, but when Darcy hears the manner in which Elizabeth answered Lady Catherine, he realizes that Elizabeth regards him differently. He saw that her attitude of him had changed which prompted him to make his marriage proposal. Thus, we can now see that Darcy and Elizabeth both have balance in their relationship because they are able to reflect against each other and each is capable of undergoing a change. In the end, Darcy is willing to marry into a family with three silly daughters, an embarrassing mother and is willing to make Wickham his brother-in-law .It may be that he is more easygoing about other people's faults because he is now aware of his own.
Pride & Prejudice starts off with Darcy being evaluated as a stuck up, evil man. However, the readers are only seeing Elizabeth’s perception of Darcy by gathering information from her outside community. The climax of Pride &
Elizabeth thinks of Darcy as being “the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world” (15). After Darcy discomfits Elizabeth, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me” (13), she herself becomes prideful and prejudiced against him. Prejudice also is an issue for Darcy because he dislikes Elizabeth in the beginning for her low social status, for being impecunious and socially inept family: “Their struggle is as much as against each other as it is against the pressure of society or family. The novel presents a balance of power not only between two characters but between two conflicting modes of judgment” (Bloom 50), but Darcy is forced to deal with his pride and prejudice when he falls in love with Elizabeth. Elizabeth rejects Darcy’s first proposal based mostly on his pride and condescension.
Austen has also guided the reader to have the same opinions, as Elizabeth and this is the point in the reader realises that they too have formed inaccurate opinions and prejudices against characters. At the beginning of the novel the reader is intended to dislike Darcy. Austen creates this through the use of language by the omniscient narrator. Without realising it the reader has been forced to form a certain opinion of each character by the narrator, which is later reversed.
Elizabeth’s pride causes her to be reserved and drives her to prove that she is different from her boisterous younger sisters who take any opportunity to dance with a male (Austen, 26). Elizabeth’s aloofness further hinders her from developing a relationship with Darcy. Darcy continues to be enamored by Elizabeth’s charm and he does not stop pursuing her even though excessive pride causes Elizabeth to discourage him from her. In response to Elizabeth’s conceit Darcy who is generally polite does however become rude and haughty to Elizabeth as a defense mechanism. As a result of Elizabeth’s haughtiness, Darcy’s positive character is stymied and can only reveal itself in the middle of the novel (Nardin, 6).