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Pride and Prejudice (Characters (Lizzy (A main character. Seen as…
Pride and Prejudice
Characters
Lizzy
A main character. Seen as introspective, out-of-the-ordinary, and feisty. Is also a romantic and sensitive girl, who enjoys studying books as well as people.Serves as the love interest of Mr. Darcy and an example of an anomaly of her time, possible Jane Austen's image of the ideal woman?
Jane
A major character. Seen as gentle, beautiful, and womanly. Is also sensitive but not a doormat. Serves as the 'better' sister of the Bennets and helps disguise the love between Darcy and Lizzy. Also a confidant for Lizzy and a distraction during unsure times.
Mary
A minor character. Bookworm, awkward, and young. Serves as the casualty of the affairs of the Bennets and comic relief (through her wonderful singing skills and social etiquette)
Mr. Bennet
A major character. Sarcastic, intelligent, and a decent father. Serves as the instigator of all relationships in the book unwillingly and is the final approval of Elizabeth marrying Mr. Darcy. Also comic relief when he disagrees with his wife.
Mrs. Bennet
A major character. Doting, anxious, and of a one-track mind. Serves as the mastermind of each relationship (even Lydia+Wickham once they were found) and comic relief due to her motherly "charm."
Mr. Darcy
A main character. Seen as proud, introverted, and selfish. Is giving (especially to his loved ones), loving, and poorly raised (to hold such prejudices). Serves as the love interest to Elizabeth and a picture of what breeding in snobbish class can produce but an affirmation that such downfalls can be overcome.
Mr. Collins
A major character. Seen as bookish, religious, and awkward. Is very much so. Serves as a plot piece for the inheritance of the Bennet estate as well as a character of the average man and the "love interest" of Elizabeth and Charlotte.
Charlotte Lucas
A major character. Nearing middle age, kind, but evidently looking out for herself. Elizabeth's best friend and Mr. Collins' eventual wife. She takes one for the team and marries Mr. Collins to save her from the embarrassment of multiple proposals. Serves as an example of the woman who will marry someone she does not feel for simply to stabilize herself.
Mrs. Gardiner
A minor character. The loving and sage-like aunt to the Bennet girls. Serves as a welcome 'commoner-type' relative who does not have any major downfalls.She gives warnings about Wickham and Darcy both, encourage their visit to Pemberley which restarts Elizabeth into finding the whole truth about Darcy, and helps capture Wickham and Lydia.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
A major character. Pompous, rich, and widowed. Very prejudiced. Serves as the other 'villain' of the story, trying to halt the love of Elizabeth and Darcy and insulting everyone she meets along the way.
Lydia
A minor character (though her role is important, she does not do much on her own.) Boy-crazy, uninhibited, a classic teenager. Serves as the eventual wife of Mr. Wickham and adds drama when she runs away with him to elope. Also comic relief due to her adoration of men in uniform.
Colonel Fitzwilliam
A minor character. Jovial, agreeable, and the cousin of the Darcy siblings. Serves as a minor plot piece to reaffirm the idea that Mr. Darcy impeded Bingley and to be a companion.
Mr. Wickham
A major character. Seen as charming, well-to-do, and put together. Is a lying, thirsty, conniving gambler. Serves as the villain of the story in a sense and a momentary love interest. Furthers the story against Mr. Darcy, instilling a sense that he wronged his loved ones.
Themes
Roles of Women
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Education
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School is not expected - learn from others and, maybe, from books (though reading is frowned upon for women)
Marriage
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Jane and Bingley are happy but practical, and the Darcys are defiant and violently in love, proof that true love CAN succeed in the face of heavy opposition from society and even fate
Societal Expectations
Social Classes
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clear class divisions (upper, middle, and lower) with divisions in between (upper-middle, lower-middle, etc)
Darcy/Lizzy represent the struggle of class-wars and strict division as it influences conversation and relation
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Impact on Marriage
each woman marries up in class but near enough so as to not disgrace their husbands EXCEPT for Darcy/Lizzy
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dance with multiple partners at balls, dress to impress BUT not better than your host, the richer the better
if one elopes/has an affair/loses class, all the family is shamed
Austen laughs in the face of these expectations by making the couples who "followed the rules" miserable and the ones who were unconventional the happiest in the end
Marriage
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Specific Relationships
Mr. Wickham and Lydia
An example of a lusty, hasty, unloving marriage that goes sour fast - Austen is commenting on such marriages and their being commonplace despite the societal backlash
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Devices
Irony
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The army men leave and Lydia is heartbroken that she will not be able to flirt with soldiers anymore - until she marries one!
Mr. Collins accuses Lizzy of refusing the first proposal and accepting the second, which she denies BUT then does to Mr. Darcy!
Lady Catherine is critical of the inappropriate and rude behavior of the Bennets but herself is even ruder!
Satire
The book is overall a satire of 19th century high class society (landed gentry), using characters and their ironic and sardonic relationships to enhance the failings of their supposedly refined and perfected way of living.
Comments/Questions/Other
How old was Georgiana Darcy when Elizabeth met her? I know she was about fifteen when Mr. Wickham tried to marry her, right?