pride and prejudice written by: jane austen published in january 28, 1813 maegan mccane block 2b
TRANSCRIPT
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Written by: Jane Austen
Published in January 28, 1813
Maegan McCane Block 2B
INTRODUCTION
This novel was written by Jane Austen and published in 1813. Set
in the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire near London, England, it
is about a young girl named Elizabeth Bennet and how she deals with her
society in her day. Her mother is insistent on marrying off all of her
daughters to suitable men. A man named Mr. Bingley moves in near the
Bennets and Mrs. Bennet wants to go see if he would be a suitor for one
of her children. Mr. Bingley throws a ball and invites the Bennets and his
friend Fitzwilliam Darcy. Darcy sees Elizabeth and decides that she is not
handsome enough to fit his tastes, Elizabeth finds out about this and
becomes disgusted with him
Elizabeth Bennet- She is a
young intelligent girl of about 20 years old.
While she is charming and lively, she judges
based upon first impression, and is normally
selective on what information she uses to do
her judging with. The “Prejudice” part of the
novel’s title comes from this character trait.
The novel is mainly told from her point of
view. She is the second oldest of the five
Bennet sisters.
Fitzwilliam Darcy- He is about 28
years old and has a heavy income. He is of a
higher social class than Elizabeth and is very
proud. He is so proud that he lets his pride
get in the way of his emotions and daily
actions. He makes a bitter first impression
with Elizabeth, and she at first despises him.
The “Pride” part of the novel’s title comes
from Darcy’s prideful personality.
CHARACTERS
Protagonist (Female) Protagonist (Male)
Lady Catherine de Bourgh- She is
Darcy’s aunt. In many ways she is
somewhat like him. She is prideful and
haughty and looks down on others. She
is very wealthy and has a very high social
standing. She does not like Elizabeth
because she thinks that her manners are
not correct and that she is too
outspoken.
Caroline Bingley- She is the younger sister of
the Mr. Bingley who moves in near the Bennets.
She has a crush on Darcy, and becomes jealous of
Elizabeth whenever Darcy is nice to her. She is
rude and scornful to Elizabeth whenever she is
around. She even tries to convince Darcy to get
away from Elizabeth. Her attempts to get Darcy
to love her and how she goes out of her way to
impress him (which fail) are indefinitely noticed
by everyone.
CHARACTERS (CONT.)
Antagonist Antagonist
CONFLICT
In the novel, Mr. Darcy begins to develop
feelings for Elizabeth. However, due to her first
impression of him, she is disgusted by the simple
thought of him. In a slew of events, they are
constantly thrown together again and again. Darcy
tries not to let it show that he likes Elizabeth, and
his pride sometimes gets in the way of how he feels
for her. Elizabeth on the other hand is a little unsure
of how she feels for him. She is even admired by a
clergyman named Mr. Collins.
MINOR CHARACTERS
Jane Bennet- She is Elizabeth’s older sister and best friend. Jane is
admired by Mr. Bingley and somewhat criticized by her mother a little
for not being married at 22.
Mr. Bennet- He is the Bennet sisters’ father. He is laid
back and witty. He and Elizabeth have a strong bond and relationship
Mrs. Bennet- She is the Bennet sisters’ mother. All she really wants is for
all of her daughters to be married to suitable men. And she criticizes them
sometimes for not finding suitors, then she’ll take it upon herself to do so.
WHAT DID THE CRITICS SAY?
Charlotte Bronte, who wrote Jane Eyre, said that the novel was"a carefully
fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers;
but ... no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck.“
Barbara Schultz said that the book was funny, had good characters, and a
good and complex plot. http://
www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/pride-and-prejudice
Mary C. Curtis of the Charlotte Observer said that she was hooked by the
plot and captivated by the way Darcy and Elizabeth struggle with their
emotions http://www.cmlibrary.org/readers_club/reviews/tresults.asp?id=1518
WHAT I SAY
I think that the book was very good. Austen is not
like Bronte in her writing style, but she’s a very good
writer. She is outspoken, and this novel is basically
her venting about things she didn’t necessarily agree
with during her time. Most female authors were full
of early feminism. She probably modeled Elizabeth
the way she would’ve liked women to be able to act
in her day.