Foils In Pride And Prejudice

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen highlights the positive and negative qualities of her characters by contrasting them with others. By doing this, she can influence the plot of the book. In Pride and Prejudice, there are numerous connections—hopeful partnerships, ones that are budding, and ones that have already taken shape. Because the individuals involved in a relationship are diametrically opposed to one another, relationships can also serve as foils. Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy makes a clear contrast in the story, which is used to increase suspense and illustrate Jane Austen's lesson about not being too judgmental.

Because of the excessively positive descriptions of Wickham's "gentlemanlike appearance" (Austen 61). and his " perfectly correct

Darcy at Netherfield, which paints Darcy in a more favorable light than we previously saw him. His outrageously impolite behavior at the ball, including his statement that "there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to [him] to stand up with" (Austen 8). Is then further followed by the narrator's statement that "he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes" (Austen 18). However, as we learn about Wickham's true nature and how much of a fraud he is, as well as the effects this has on the Darcy and Bennet families, in Volume two of the book, our perception of him is drastically altered. After judging Darcy and Wickham as being at opposite ends of the spectrum with limited information, the reader and the characters learn that actually, not only were they wrong, but the characters in fact end up being the exact opposites of what was expected. Jane Austen uses these characters and their contrasts to highlight one of the main themes of the novel: first impressions and how wrong they can be. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet represent yet another significant character contrast that Austen

This contrasts with Jane's unwavering faith in everyone, which, while occasionally proving to be a mistake, does demonstrate that she is a much kinder person than Elizabeth, always believing the best of people, "to take good of everybody’s character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad – belongs to [Jane] alone" (Austen 11). However, it goes to extremes throughout the novel, for example, when she believes Wickham's twisted story about Darcy because she has already judged Darcy badly for the sole reason that he insulted her when they first met. Sometimes her judgment is portrayed to us as a positive aspect of Lizzy, showing she is smart; for example, when she deduces Collins' character after just reading his letter. This and other instances where Jane expresses that she ‘would not wish to be hasty in censuring anyone’ (Austen 11). illustrate Austen's message that we shouldn't hold people's pride or initial impressions against them, and they also demonstrate how she skillfully uses opposing personalities to establish