Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist, who first gave the novel its distinctly modern character through her treatment of ordinary people in everyday life and whose works have set her among the most widely read writes in English Literature. Daughter of a Church rector, she lived most of her life in the enclosed circle of the country middle-class, which constituted the main source of inspiration for her work. She created the comedy of manners which is highly depicted in the novels: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (published posthumously, 1817).
The plot in Pride and Prejudice revolves around the Bennets and their five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia, especially Elizabeth. The story focuses on various romantic adventures of these young girls. Mr. Bennet comes across as a wise and witty gentleman, while Mrs.
Jane Austen, Watercolour and pencil portrait by he...
English: Back View of Jane Austen, Watercolor
English: Français : Une gravure de 1833 illustran...Bennet is solely concerned with marrying the girls. The arrival of the wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley and his friend Fitzwilliam Darcy in the neighborhood adds stir to the Bennet household. While Jane, the most beautiful of the sisters, attracts Mr. Bingley's eye, Darcy upsets Elizabeth, with his proud behavior, thus making her begrudge him. However, later on, Darcy finds himself drawn to Elizabeth's liveliness and independent spirit, when they meet again at Bingley's residence. This upsets Bingley's sister, Caroline, and her jealousy becomes quite apparent. Meanwhile, Elizabeth meets a charming military officer, George Wickham, who tells Elizabeth about his past mistreatments from Darcy, thus making Elizabeth's disdain grow. Yet, as the story continues, even Elizabeth finds herself attracted to Darcy, who proposes to her, saying that he would marry her in spite of her family's inferiority. Feeling insulted, she rejects the proposal accusing him of mistreating...