Pride and Prejudice
Characters
Jane Bennet- The sister of Elizabeth. She is claimed to be the most beautiful and she is also the oldest. Jane marries Mr. Bingley. She is more humble than Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Bennet- One of the biggest main characters. She marries Mr. Darcy. She is in the story to show how being where she was, it was not hard to be persuaded that marriage is ideal. She was often told what to think.
Mr. Bennet- Father of the five daughters and husband of Mrs. Bennet. He is often sarcastic and rude to Mrs. Bennet even if she cannot see it. However, he is more rational.
Mrs. Bennet- The mother of the five daughters and wife of Mr. Bennet. She is set on marrying her daughters off to rich men, even tho this is not how things turn out. She is not as intelligent as others and things tend to fly right past her. Austen puts her in to show what was traditional in those days for marriage.
Mr. Darcy- A man who has lots of money and does not like to interact with people who are less than he is. Darcy ends up with Elizabeth. Austen puts him in as a character with high standards and pride.
Mr. Collins- He marries Charlotte Lucas after proposing to Elizabeth and failing.
Charlotte Lucas- An older woman who has not yet married. She ends up marrying Mr. Collins. She is in the story to show how hard it was for her being an older woman who has not yet married
Lady Catherine de Bourgh- She is the patroness of Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy's aunt.
Lydia Bennet- Yet another daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. She is favored by Mrs. Bennet and is most like her mother. She is not the brightest of the daughters. She ends up marrying Mr. Wickham.
Themes
Role of women
Success- For a woman to be successful, she must marry a man who can support her and her family.
Education- Education is not the main focus for women in this novel. Girls did not go to school for as long as they do now.
Marriage- Women are expected to marry as their "job". Marriage is their main area of focus here.
Marriage
Social expectation
Proposals- There are many proposals in the story. Some are successful and some are not.
Specific relationships/marriages- The person a woman marries is important because he must have money and a good status. Most of the time, marriages were not actually for love but instead for money.
Social classes- Social classes were big in these days simply because you were seen to be less if you were in a lower social class.
Impact on marriages- It was uncommon if someone were to marry outside of their social class.
Devices
Satire- Mr. Bennet is constantly sarcastic throughout the story. He is mostly sarcastic to Mrs. Bennet.
Irony- It is ironic that Mrs. Bennet favors Lydia and she also wants her daughters to marry someone with lots of money but her favorite ends up marrying someone who does not have much money.