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Pride and Prejudice

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Novels

   CAPTION: Title Pride and Prejudice

     Author    Jane Austen (originally published anonymously)
     Country   United Kingdom
    Language   English
    Genre(s)   Novel
    Publisher  T. Egerton, Whitehall
    Released   28 January 1813
   Media type  Print ( Hardback & Paperback)
      ISBN     NA
   Preceded by Sense and Sensibility
   Followed by Mansfield Park

   Pride and Prejudice, first published on 28 January 1813, is the most
   famous of Jane Austen's novels. It is one of the first romantic
   comedies in the history of the novel and its opening is one of the most
   famous lines in English literature—"It is a truth universally
   acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must
   be in want of a wife."

   Its manuscript was first written between 1796 and 1797, and was
   initially called First Impressions, but was never published under that
   title. Following revisions, it was first published on 28 January 1813.
   Like both its predecessor and Northanger Abbey, it was written at
   Steventon Rectory.

Plot summary

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   Mrs Bennet is greatly excited by news of the arrival of a single man
   "of considerable fortune" in the neighbourhood. Mr Bingley has leased
   the Netherfield estate where he plans to temporarily settle with his
   two sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst, and his sister's husband, Mr.
   Hurst. Soon afterwards, Bingley and his party, which now includes his
   close friend Fitzwilliam Darcy, attend a public ball in the village of
   Meryton. At first, Darcy is admired for his fine figure and income of
   £10,000 a year. However, he is soon regarded contemptuously as the
   villagers become disgusted with his pride. This is brought home to the
   Bennet family when Elizabeth Bennet overhears Darcy decline Bingley's
   suggestion that he dance with her. Bingley, on the other hand, proves
   highly agreeable, dancing with many of the eligible ladies in
   attendance and showing his decided admiration for Jane Bennet. Eager to
   encourage this highly advantageous match, Mrs Bennet attempts to push
   Jane and Bingley together at every opportunity.

   Shortly after the ball, Mr Collins, a cousin who will inherit the
   Bennet estate because of an entail, visits the family. Collins, a
   pompous buffoon of a clergyman whose idea of a pleasant evening is
   reading to his female cousins from Fordyce's Sermons, delights in
   dropping the name of his great patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh,
   with great frequency. Following Lady Catherine's imperious suggestion
   that he marry, Collins has decided to make amends for his role in his
   cousins' future impoverishment by marrying one of them. Mr Collins
   proposes to Elizabeth but she refuses him pointblank. Although Mrs
   Bennet tries to promote the marriage, Elizabeth, advocated by her
   father, will not have him. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is introduced to Mr.
   Wickham, a pleasing, amiable officer in the regiment. Wickham informs
   her that he had known Mr Darcy his entire life, but was dealt a serious
   wrong after the death of Darcy's father. After the tale is told,
   Elizabeth begins to harbour a strong prejudice against Mr Darcy.

   After Elizabeth rejects Mr Collins, he hurriedly marries her best
   friend, Charlotte Lucas, and Elizabeth is invited to visit the
   newlyweds. While she is staying with them, Darcy visits his aunt, Lady
   Catherine de Bourgh, at the adjoining estate, Rosings. Elizabeth and
   Darcy are therefore thrown daily into each other's company. Elizabeth's
   charms eventually entrance Mr Darcy, leading him to finally declare his
   love for her "against his own will" and his desire to marry her in
   spite of her objectionable family. Surprised and insulted by Darcy's
   high-handed method of proposing, as well as having recently learnt that
   Darcy convinced Bingley to sever ties with Jane and still contemptuous
   of Darcy's supposed wrongs against Wickham, Elizabeth refuses him in no
   uncertain terms, saying that he is "the last man in the world whom
   [she] could ever be prevailed on to marry." The next day, Darcy
   intercepts Elizabeth on her morning walk and hands her a letter before
   coldly taking his leave. In the letter, Darcy justifies his actions
   regarding his interference in Bingley and Jane's relationship, and
   reveals his history concerning Mr Wickham and Wickham's true nature.
   The letter sheds a new light on Darcy's personality for Elizabeth and
   she begins to reconsider her opinion of him, particularly in the case
   of Wickham.

   Later, while on holiday with her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners,
   Elizabeth is persuaded to visit nearby Pemberley, Darcy's estate, while
   he is away. She is therefore mortified when she bumps into him
   unexpectedly while on a tour of the grounds. However, his altered
   behaviour towards her - distinctly warmer from their last meeting - and
   his polite and friendly manner towards her aunt and uncle begins to
   persuade Elizabeth that underneath his pride lies a true and generous
   nature. Her revised opinion of Darcy is supported through meeting his
   younger sister Georgiana, a gentle-natured and shy girl whom Darcy
   lovingly dotes upon.

   Just as her relationship with Darcy starts to thaw, Elizabeth is
   horrified by news that, in her absence, her headstrong younger sister
   Lydia has attracted Wickham's attentions and eloped with him. When the
   family investigates, they learn that Wickham resigned his commission to
   evade gambling debts. When told of this by Elizabeth, Darcy takes it
   upon himself to find Wickham and bribe him into marrying Lydia, but
   keeps this secret from Elizabeth and her family. Elizabeth accidentally
   learns of Darcy's involvement from Lydia's careless remarks, later
   confirmed by Mrs Gardiner. This final act completes a reversal in
   Elizabeth's sentiments, and she begins to regret having turned down
   Darcy's earlier proposal of marriage.

   Lady Catherine discovers Darcy's feelings for Elizabeth, threatening
   her long cherished ambition for him to marry her own daughter. She pays
   Elizabeth an unannounced visit and brusquely tries to intimidate her
   into refusing such an engagement. Unfortunately, Catherine's visit
   serves to consolidate Elizabeth's intentions. Furthermore, Lady
   Catherine visits Darcy later, and relates the entire conversation to
   him, leading Darcy to the conviction that marrying Elizabeth is
   possible.

   The book ends with two marriages: Jane and Bingley, as well as Darcy
   and Elizabeth. While the Bennets go their separate ways, both couples
   live happily ever after.

Characters in Pride and Prejudice

   The following is a listing of the more significant characters of the
   novel.

Elizabeth Bennet

   Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist of the novel. Elizabeth is the
   second of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's five daughters, and is an attractive
   twenty year old when the story begins. In addition to being her
   father's favourite, Elizabeth is characterized as a sensible,
   intelligent woman. Misled by Darcy's cold outward behaviour, Elizabeth
   originally holds Darcy in contempt. However, she finds that Darcy
   improves on acquaintance, more so than she would expect.

Fitzwilliam Darcy

   Fitzwilliam Darcy is the central male character and Elizabeth's second
   love interest in the novel. He is an intelligent, wealthy, extremely
   handsome and reserved 28-year-old man, who often appears haughty or
   proud to strangers but possesses an honest and kind nature underneath.
   Initially, he considers Elizabeth his social inferior, unworthy of his
   attention; but he finds that, despite his inclinations, he cannot deny
   his feelings for Elizabeth. His initial proposal of marriage is
   rejected because of his pride and Elizabeth's prejudice against him.
   However, at the end of the novel, he finds himself sharing his home,
   Pemberley of Derbyshire, with his beloved new wife, Lizzy.

Mr. Bennet

   Mr. Bennet is the father of Elizabeth Bennet and head of the Bennet
   family. An English gentleman with an estate in Hertfordshire, he is
   married to Mrs. Bennet and has five daughters. Unfortunately, his
   property is entailed to a male descendant, meaning it can only be
   inherited by his closest male heir (Mr. Collins). Mr. Bennet is a
   somewhat gentle and eccentric man who can only derive amusement from
   his "nervous" wife and three "silly" daughters--Mary, Kitty and Lydia.
   He is closer to Jane and especially Elizabeth, his two eldest and most
   sensible offspring. He prefers the solitude of his study, neglecting
   the raising of his children, which leads to near-disaster.

Mrs Bennet

   Mrs. Bennet is the querulous, excitable and ill-bred wife of Mr. Bennet
   and mother of Elizabeth and her sisters. Her main concern in life is
   seeing her daughters married well to wealthy men, so that they will be
   taken care of following Mr. Bennet's death. However, her foolish nature
   and frequent social faux pas often impede her efforts towards this end.

Jane Bennet

   Jane Bennet is the eldest Bennet sister. She is twenty-two years old at
   the start of the novel, and is generally considered to be the most
   beautiful amongst her sisters. The depth of her feelings is difficult
   to discern by those who do not know her well, due to her reserved
   manner and pleasantness to all. She is incapable of suspecting the
   worst of people, seeing only the good. She falls in love with Charles
   Bingley, and is devastated when he abruptly breaks off their developing
   relationship without explanation. Eventually however, the
   misunderstanding on his part is cleared up and she accepts his hand in
   marriage. Together, they live at Netherfield for about a year before
   moving to a new estate in Derbyshire and a mere 30 miles away from her
   favorite sister and sister's husband.

Lydia Bennet

   Lydia Bennet is the youngest of the Bennet sisters. Fifteen years old
   when the narrative begins, Lydia is extremely flirtatious, naive,
   headstrong and reckless. She is described as being idle and indulging
   in frivolous pursuits, especially chasing after the officers stationed
   at Meryton. Her father often calls her 'silly'. She is seduced by Mr
   Wickham and runs away with him without much thought for the
   consequences to her family, but Mr Wickham is convinced to marry her by
   Mr Darcy.

Charles Bingley

   Charles Bingley is the closest friend of Mr Darcy, despite the
   differences in their personalities. He is an outgoing, extremely
   good-natured, and wealthy young man who leases property near the
   Bennets' estate at the beginning of the novel. Unlike many of those in
   his circle, he is approachable and mingles easily in company the others
   consider beneath them. He is attracted to Jane Bennet, who reciprocates
   his feelings but is too shy and reserved to fully express them.

William Collins

   William Collins is the 25-year-old cousin of Mr Bennet. A clergyman, he
   is the closest male relation to the Bennet family, and as such stands
   to inherit Longbourn on Mr Bennet's death. Collins is a pompous,
   narrow-minded sycophant who is excessively devoted and flattering to
   his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Advised by Lady Catherine to
   find a wife, he initially selects Jane, only to instantly transfer his
   affections to Elizabeth upon learning of Jane's impending match with Mr
   Bingley. After being rejected by his second choice, he proposes to
   Charlotte Lucas, who accepts him.

George Wickham

   George Wickham is the enemy of Mr Darcy. He is a dashing, charming and
   handsome young soldier who attracts the attention of Elizabeth Bennet.
   His father was the manager of the Darcy estate, so he grew up with Mr
   Darcy and his sister and was a favorite of Darcy's since-deceased
   father. Wickham's charm skillfully conceals a more conniving and
   dishonorable nature, and there is bitter enmity between him and Darcy
   due to his attempt to elope with Georgiana Darcy for her substantial
   inheritance. He later runs off with Lydia Bennet, but is tracked down
   by Darcy and he marries her where Darcy pays for the marriage.

Mary Bennet

   Mary Bennet is the most serious and the most accomplished of all the
   Bennet girls, partly because she is the least good looking sister. Mrs
   Bennet had hoped that she could be persuaded to marry Mr Collins on his
   next visit, as she found him somewhat interesting, and suitably
   serious, but otherwise she is not very interested in society, seeing
   balls as a duty rather than a pleasure.

Kitty Bennet

   Kitty Bennet although older than her sister Lydia, is somewhat of a
   sidekick to her. She follows everything that Lydia does, and becomes
   insanely jealous when only Lydia is invited to go to Brighton with the
   troops, as she wishes to go herself.

Charlotte Lucas

   Charlotte Lucas is the neighbour and best friend of Elizabeth. She is
   27 years old and, after Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth, Charlotte
   herself accepted him (thereby losing Elizabeth's respect). She enjoys
   her marriage by staying away from Mr. Collins as much as possible and
   taking care of her household and poultry.

Interrelationships

   A comprehensive web showing the relationships between the main
   characters in Pride and Prejudice
   A comprehensive web showing the relationships between the main
   characters in Pride and Prejudice

   Spoilers end here.

Artistic depictions of and related to Pride and Prejudice

          See main article: List of artistic depictions of and related to
          Pride and Prejudice

Film, television, and theatrical adaptations

   Pride and Prejudice has engendered numerous adaptations. Some of the
   notable film versions include that of 2005 starring Keira Knightley and
   Matthew Macfadyen, and that of 1940 starring Greer Garson and Laurence
   Olivier. Notable television versions include two by the BBC: 1995
   version starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and 1980 version
   starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. First Impressions is a
   Broadway musical version.

Related works of film and literature

   Pride and Prejudice has inspired a number of other works. Bride and
   Prejudice, starring Aishwarya Rai, is a Bollywood adaptation of the
   novel, while Pride and Prejudice (2003 film) places the novel in
   contemporary times. Books inspired by Pride and Prejudice include Mr.
   Darcy's Daughters (novel) and The Exploits and Adventures of Miss
   Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston, Pemberley : Or Pride & Prejudice
   Continued and An Unequal Marriage: Or Pride and Prejudice Twenty Years
   Later by Emma Tennant, The Book of Ruth by Helen Baker and Mr. Darcy
   Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll. The novel Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen
   Fielding (and the film made of it) was also directly inspired by Pride
   and Prejudice. For instance, the protagonist finds herself choosing
   between a charming, but sleazy man and an honourable, but uncouth man
   named Mr. Darcy, played by Colin Firth. Also, the mother is trying to
   fix her daughter up with a husband, but the father remains gloriously
   detached from the whole process.

Awards and nominations

     * In 2003 the BBC conducted the largest ever poll for the " UK's
       Best-Loved Book" in which Pride and Prejudice came second, behind
       The Lord of the Rings.

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