Pride and Prejudice (1813) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

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• Elizabeth Bennet: The second of the Bennet girls after Jane and is 20 years old. She is an intelligent and spirited young woman who possesses a keen wit and enjoys studying people. She dislikes Mr. Darcy due to his pride and some prejudism.
• Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Male protagonist. Rich, handsome, and very proud. His good opinion "once lost is lost forever." Very judgmental.
• Jane Bennet: The eldest, as well as the most beautiful and amiable of the Bennet sisters. When the author uses 'Miss Bennet' without specifying which of the five daughters, it is Jane, the oldest, being referred to.
• Mrs. Bennet: The ridiculous mother of the five Bennet girls whose main purpose in life is to ensure prosperous marriages for each of her daughters.
• Mr. Bennet: Plain spoken father of the five Bennet girls. His hobbies include hunting, and teasing Mrs. Bennet to her nerve's ends.
• Lydia Bennet: The youngest of the Bennet girls. A flirtatious, impulsive, and outspoken 15 year-old.
• Catherine 'Kitty' Bennet: The second youngest Bennet. Most often called "Kitty". She follows wherever her younger sister, Lydia, goes.
• Mary Bennet: The middle Bennet sister. She is described as the only unattractive Bennet daughter and tries to compensate by being very accomplished. Her manner negates many of her better qualities, though.
• Charlotte Lucas: Very close friend and neighbor to Elizabeth.
• Mr. Charles Bingley: A good-natured man with charming manners, Mr. Bingley is the master of Netherfield Park and the longtime friend of Mr. Darcy. He is easily swayed by those around him and trusts the judgment of others over his own desires. He has two sisters.
• George Wickham: A young soldier in the militia. A childhood friend of Darcy's until they fell out after Darcy's father's death.
• Caroline Bingley: Snotty and proud sister to Mr. Bingley. She joins him at Netherfield, and is disgusted with the lack of sophistication of Hertfordshire.
• Georgiana Darcy: Younger sister to Mr. Darcy. Shy, but pretty and very accomplished.
• Mr. William Collins: Cousin to the Bennet girls. As Mr. Bennet's heir, he is to inherit their house, and therefore thinks it best that he marries one of his cousins. He is a minister and enjoys the patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
• Sir William Lucas: The father of Charlotte Lucas.
• Maria Lucas: Add a description of this character.
• Colonel Fitzwilliam: Mr Darcy's cousin, very charming with easy manners.
• Lady Catherine de Bourgh: Darcy's aunt, Mr. Collins' patroness. She is sister to Mr. Darcy's mother. She is a snobby rich woman who is very rude to Elizabeth. She is also very much admired by Mr. Collins, Elizabeth's cousin.
• Anne de Bourgh: Frail daughter of Lady Catherine. Engaged since birth to Mr. Darcy.
• Mr. Gardiner: Mrs. Bennet's brother and uncle to the Bennet girls.
• Mrs. Gardiner: Mr. Gardiner's wife and aunt by marriage to the Bennet girls.
• Mrs. Louisa Hurst: Bingley's married sister.
• Mr. Hurst: Married to Louisa, one of Bingley's sisters, he is Bingley's brother-in-law.
• Mrs. Phillips: Mrs. Bennet's sister; she is equal to her sister in both manners and sensibility.
• Mrs. Hill: The Bennets' housekeeper
• Sir Lewis de Bourgh: The late husband of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
• Lady Anne Darcy: Fitzwilliam Darcy's mother and sister of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Has died prior to the events of the novel.
• Mr. Denny: Friend of Wickham
• Mr. Phillips: Uncle of the Miss Bennets; an attorney.
• Miss Mary King: Reasonably rich; briefly courted by Mr. Wickham.
• Mrs. Jenkinson: Anne de Bourgh's governess.
• Mrs. Younge: Was once Miss Georgiana Darcy's governess.
• Mrs. Harriet Forster: Wife of Colonel Forster. Lydia's particular friend, who invites her to Brighton.
• Pratt: The one who accompanied Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham along with a few others to the party at Mrs. Forster's.
• Mrs. Reynolds: Housekeeper at the Pemberley House. Thinks very highly of Mr. Darcy, whom she has known since he was only a little boy.
• Mrs. Annesley: The lady with whom Miss Bingley lived in London.
• John: The servant at the Derbyshire Inn.
• Sarah: Housemaid to the Bennets.
• Mr. Jones: The apothecary of Meryton
• Mr. Robinson: A resident of Meryton.
• Mrs. Long: The Bennets' neighbor. Mrs. Bennett is convinced she is scheming to marry her nieces before the Bennett sisters.
• Captain Carter
• Louisa
• Jane Austen
• Miss de Bourgh
• William Lucas
• Forster
• Charlotte Lucas
• Harriet Forster
• Miss King
• Lady Lucas

Quotes edit see section history

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• “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”

  Mary Bennet

• “There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil - a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “"Oh, single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune: four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!"”

  Mrs. Bennet

• “Nothing is more deceitful ... than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine, but which I have never acknowledged.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “To yield readily - easily - to the persuasion of a friend is no merit... To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little yielding - certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of other so soon as I ought, nor their offenses against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

• “It is happy for you that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy. May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment, or are the result of previous study?”

  Mr. Bennet

• “There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel, as well as I do, that the woman who married him cannot have a proper way of thinking.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “My fingers ... do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women's do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault- because I would not take the trouble of practising.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”

  Mr. Bennet

• “Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but no one with such justice. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do."”

  Mr. Bennet

• “"What are men to rocks and mountains?"”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “"Is it not general incivility the very essence of love?"”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “I thank you for my share of the favour, but I do not particularly like your way of getting husbands.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “Vanity, not love, has been my folly”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement”

  Charlotte

• “A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “I am the happiest creature in theworld. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not onewith such justice. I am happier even than Jane; she onlysmiles, I laugh. Mr. Darcy sends you all the love in the worldthat he can spare from me.”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “He listened to her with perfect indifference while she chose to entertain herself in this manner, and as his composure convinced her that all was safe, her wit flowed long.”

• “The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters”

  Elizabeth Bennet

• “An unhappy alternative lies before you, Elizabeth. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.”

  Mr. Bennett

• “I have not the pleasure of understanding you.”

  Mr. Bennett

• “It may perhaps be pleasant to be able to impose on the public in such a case; bit it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely-a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten a woman had better show more affection than she feels.”

  Charlotte

• “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.”

  Charlotte

• “If you will thank me, let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. my affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “It taught me to hope, as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before. I knew enough of your disposition to be certain that, had you been absolutely, irrevocably decided against me, you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine, frankly and openly.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “A man who had felt less, might.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “My real purpose was to see you, and to judge, if I could, whether I might ever hope to make you love me. My avowed one, or what I avowed to myself, was to see whether your sister were still partial to Bingley, and if she were, to make the confession to him which I have since made.”

  Fitzwilliam Darcy

• “There is no bird or beast that does not naturally seek out its other half, that is to say female.”

  Narrator

• “"may i have this dance," "you may"”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• England
• Longbourn: Home of the Bennet Family
• Netherfield: Mr. Bingley's Home
• Lucas Lodge: Home to neighbors of the Bennetts
• Hunsford, near Westerham, Kent: Home to Mr. and Mrs. Collins
• Rosings: Home of Lady Cathering de Bourgh
• Hertfordshire, England: A county north of London where Longburn, Lucas Lodge and Netherfield are located.
• Pemberly: Home of Fitzwilliam Darcy and his sister, Georgiana.
• Meryton: Home to Elizabeth's uncle who was an attorney.
• Gracechurch Street: The street on which the Gardiner's reside in London, near the Tower of London.
• Grosvenor Street: The place where Miss. Jane Bennet meets Miss. Bingley while her stay at Mrs. Gardiner's.
• London
• Derbyshire: The place where Elizabeth goes for a holiday along with the Gardiners. Location of Darcy's home Pemberley.
• Parsonage: A church house; Home to Mr. & Mrs. Collins in the neighborhood of Rosings.
• Ramsgate: The place to which Miss. Georgiana Darcy goes.
• Bromley: The place where Lady Catherine suggests Miss. Elizabeth Bennet and Miss. Maria Lucas to change their horses while on their journey back home from Hunsford to Hertfordshire.
• Brighton: The place where the Bennets plan to go for a summer holiday.
• Liverpool: The place where Miss. Mary King's uncle lived.
• Lambton: Mrs. Gardiner's prior residence.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Chaise and four: A lightweight carriage pulled by four horses.
• Michaelmas: The feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September.
• Vingt-un: A card game, similar to the American game twenty-one.
• tête-à-tête: A French phrase for a private conversation between two people.
• panegyric: a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing.
• probity: having integrity or strong moral convictions.
• se'nnight: an archaic term meaning "week", referring to a length of time spanning seven days and seven nights.
• Laity: individuals who are not members of any specific profession or specialized field; laypeople - commonly used by clergy in reference to their respective congregations.
• Entailment: Part of English Common Law where the inheritance of land is strictly limited. Once land is set up as entailed, it may not be sold or willed. The entailed land is considered not owned by the residing individual, but held for the extended family over the generations. Once the owner dies, there is a strict set of rules on how the land will pass to the next generation. The estate that Elizabeth Bennett lives with her family is ‘entailed’ meaning that Elizabeth’s father cannot bequeath his estate to his daughters. It must, by law, be bequeathed to the next closest male relative, Mr. Collins, Elizabeth’s cousin. While Elizabeth’s family enjoys a upper-middle class existence, Mr. Bennett cannot leave his estate to his wife or any of his daughters. It is therefore important that the daughters marry into wealth.
• shoe-roses: A "shoe-rose" is a piece of shoelace or ribbon tied in a rosette pattern, and worn on one's shoe-front.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Love: This novel is the declaration of independence of true romance in an unjust society. The costitution that promises people may not be judged without due process. This will forever prevent us from entering into an unromantic union. May we never be too poor to be romantic.
• Social mobility: In the novel if you are of lower wealth then therefore you are of lower rank in society. The rich overlook the poor and see them as unimportant enough to converse with. Much as you see Mr. Collins trying to get on the good side of Mr.Darcy only because of his high stature you see the true humility of the social classes at this time. If you were not rich you basically were kept to but a minimal life with few social interaction and little adventure. Luckily for Miss Elizabeth Bennet she proves that true class is not obtained from the clothes you wear or the materrialistic objects you possess but by wearing your heart on your sleeve and treating everyone as equal. This is why she misconceives Mr. Darcy at first impression. Her rich person stereotypes forever spoiled their realtionship at first glance. But as you see his true benevolence you the reader, as well as Elizabeth begin to understand that only the true rich people are willing to share the wealth and not change their demeanor just because of an unbearable pride. Love emerges from the irony of social mobility at the time. We see Jane and Bingley's union is in jeopardy as is the theme of social mobility and class.
• Marriage: " Some of us cannot afford to be romantic" I'm not sure if this is a quote from the book exactly but this is how Charlotte Lucas's character says this in the movie but I have read the book mind you. This statement here proves to be true for the relationship of Lucas and Collins. But Collins as we all know is a conceited, pompous man who looks only to get social mobility in the most humilious nature. Lydia and Wickham was another untrue marriage. Because he was in the military and had a sort of fame in societ this attrated Lydia. Yet she has no idea of the man inside the uniform. He is just paying his debt to society because he was not so very moral in his younger hours. Lydia is a fool and accepts a man she has no real understanding of and just wishes to boast of how she was the first sister to marry. Marriage should not be so sudden. Especially as you hardly understand your partner. And this union also puts the Bennets in a compromising position. " We are all fools in love" Another quote that explains the relationship that erupt from this novel. The only true union happens to be the one were the two parties had a boiling dislike for another at first glance. How ironic? It was always supposed to be Elizabeth and Darcy. But their minds were soiled with the idea that truel love didn't exist and that the rich were too selish and arrogant to even know love. The idea that the less wealthy were too modest and refined to look for the one who stands out among the rest. Marriage should be an equal passion on both sides and formed when both paties have learned to love each other, accept each other's flaws, and blend together to rectify these flaws. True love is out there and Darcy and Elizabeth have proved it.
• The Title: "Pride and Prejudice". This title in of it self, is Jane Austen's hint to the reader about the characteristics of her two main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth, "Pride" and Mr. Darcy, "Prejudice". Elizabeth is extremely proud throughout the story which at times makes her seem conceited; though this mistaken characteristic is just really her overconfidence in herself. On the other hand when tried by Mr. Bingley's sisters Elizabeth's quick tongue is what causes a strong resentment between them. While Mr. Darcy is always prejudice against everything. Its this stuborness, for lack of a better word, that stops him from ever experiencing different things. It also hurts him when he starts to realize he might be in love, and in his cowardence that is masqueraded by a pigheadedness that really hurts his realtionships with others.
• Coming of Age: Describe this theme.
• Women and marriage: Austen is critical of the gender injustices present in 19th century English society. The novel demonstrates how money such as Charlotte need to marry men they are not in love with simply in order to gain financial security. The entailment of the Longbourn estate is an extreme hardship on the Bennet family, and is quite obviously unjust. The entailment of Mr. Bennet's estate leaves his daughters in a poor financial situation which both requires them to marry and makes it more difficult to marry well. Clearly, Austen believes that woman are at least as intelligent and capable as men, and considers their inferior status in society to be unjust. She herself went against convention by remaining single and earning a living through her novels. In her personal letters Austen advises friends only to marry for love. Through the plot of the novel it is clear that Austen wants to show how Elizabeth is able to be happy by refusing to marry for financial purposes and only marrying a man whom she truly loves and esteems.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Jane Austen (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Donald Gray
2. Joseph Pearce
3. Maria Francisca Ferreira de Lima (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Copyright Status: Public Domain
• Library of Congress: PR4034.P720
• Dewey: 823.7

Notes for Parents edit see section history

May be a bit challenging for some young adults; it is advised to become familiar with the book's time period beforehand.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › British › Classics › Austen, Jane
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( A ) › Austen, Jane
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Women's Fiction › Sisters
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• The Pride and Prejudice Wiki
• Pemberley's Pride and Prejudice: An excellent website with cross-reference links within the etext.
• Sparknotes for Pride and Prejudice: A good source for formulating questions for reading groups.
• Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen: The book in fulltext provided by Project Gutenberg.

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Pride and Prejudice (1995 tv series) (IMDb)
• Pride & Prejudice (IMDb): 2005 film directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfayden, Carey Mulligan, Rosamund Pike and Donald Sutherland.
• Pride and Prejudice (1940) (IMDb): 1940 release starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson and costumes from Gone With The Wind.
• Pride and Prejudice (1980) (IMDb): 1980 miniseries of five episodes.
• Bride & Prejudice (IMDb): Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice gets a Bollywood treatment in this 2004 film.
• Pride and Prejudice (1967 tv series) (IMDb)
• Pride and Prejudice (2003) (IMDb)
• Pride and Prejudice (IMDb): 1938 Movie.
• Pride and Prejudice (IMDb): 1952 miniseries of six episodes.
• Pride and Prejudice (IMDb): 1958 Movie.
• The Lizzie Bennett Diaries (IMDb)

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history