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Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

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Pride and Prejudice Literary Essay The novel Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, is widely known as the development story of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Fitz William Darcy and how these characters represent society. Elizabeth and Darcy create a forceful impression on readers and their relationship dominates the novel, which is due to Jane Austen using their character development to foreshadow her perspective on individuals in society. Elizabeth and Darcy begin with a mutual distaste for each other, due to Darcy's pride in his social economic status and Elizabeth's prejudice that she holds over aristocratic members of society. Austen uses the mutual distaste of the main characters to set the plot of the novel. Throughout the characters …show more content…

Austen gives Elizabeth a bewitching personality and this causes Mr. Darcy to slowly fall in love with her. Readers can perceive this through events and interactions. One key piece in understanding the relationship that Darcy and Elizabeth are unwillingly cultivating, takes place in the library of Nethersfield. The conversation begins with Darcy stating that "it has always been in his effort to avoid weaknesses that invite ridicule" (Austen,145) in which Elizabeth then inquires if vanity and pride are amongst these weaknesses. Mr. Darcy excuses himself and states that "vanity is surely a weakness to be avoided, but that pride should be properly regulated for a proud man to have a superior mind (Austen,147). Elizabeth half ironically states that Mr. Darcy suffers from no defect. This interaction is a prime example of how both characters each still wear their pride and prejudices assumptions on their sleeves. Elizabeth's convection in herself causes Darcy to continue to view her in a different light. Elizabeth strives to maintain the independence of her mind, while other girls might have been at pains to humor Mr. Darcy and endorse whatever opinion he might have expressed. However, Elizabeth does not humor Darcy thus figuratively draws him closer to …show more content…

The main goal of this novel was to bring light to many different social issues. One being that women should be and are typically frail beings, scared to voice their opinions, is completely thrown out with Austen's powerful main character Elizabeth. In writing a controversial love story, that brings together two unlikely individuals from completely diverse backgrounds and social status, shows how Austen believes that society should remove the heavy importance that social economic status weighs to each member of society. Another main message is the more obvious fact that people should marry for love and pay no mind to social status and the pride it brings. The development of Elizabeth and Darcy essentially strengthens her view points. It strengthens Austen's viewpoint's because in the end, Elizabeth and Darcy were finally able to live in harmony after letting go of the encaging social

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In the novel “Pride and Prejudice,” by Jane Austen emphasizes the idea of “thoughtful laugher,” through the relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy. “Thoughtful laughter” is notable in Austen 's use of the misunderstandings between characters. It is something that immediately provokes laughter and or amusement for the reader but also gives an understanding of a larger concept when analyzed further. “Thoughtful Laughter” is seen between Elizabeth and Darcy in which the two further apart from themselves until the two realize their mistakes were based on their pride and prejudice. Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” visualizes and captures the conflicted and tormented relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy in where it all begins at the Netherfield ball.

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Darcy constructs a barrier between the two, which results in a feeling of absolute temptation and anger. In effect, they can see each other’s love much more easily than earlier in the novel. Elizabeth Bennet is portrayed as coming from a family that is inferior in rank; they inherit this stereotype through aspects of wealth, property, and marriage. On the other hand, Mr. Darcy has a social ranking of complete superiority within the society; he comes from a family that has the highest of standards among those three similar aspects to the Bennet family. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen creates a society that discriminates Elizabeth with her decision to eventually marry Mr. Darcy.

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Darcy is a rich gentleman and one of the country's most desirable bachelors. As they manage their relationship in "Pride and Prejudice," Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy encounter a spectrum of emotions. At the start of the novel, Elizabeth has disgust and hates Darcy because of his arrogant demeanor, and Darcy has condescension toward Elizabeth and her family because of their lesser social rank. As they get to know each other better, their feelings for each other begin to shift. Darcy comes to respect Elizabeth's wit and intelligence, while Elizabeth begins to realize Darcy for what he isDarcy, despite his pride, is a wonderful guy at heart.

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After the failure of Mr. Collins and Mr. Wickham, Elizabeth’s had no hope to find herself the perfect partner. As she learned more of Mr. Darcy’s life however, she found him more and more desirable. She learned of his generosity to all: friends, family, subordinates, peers, and especially those who worked for him and his wellbeing. She also saw his wealth on full display with a visit to his estate. At this moment, Elizabeth new she had fallen for the same man she had so strongly hated just weeks before.

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Elizabeth’s most significant change in Pride and Prejudice pertained to her regard for Darcy, which eventually revealed her new willingness to overcome her own prejudice. Early on, while talking to Jane about Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth declared that “to find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate” would be “the greatest misfortune of all” (89). Throughout the first half of the book, Elizabeth served as the embodiment of prejudice, in that she was so insistent on hating that she would have found displeasure in discovering benevolence in another person. This was shown in her initial view of Darcy, in which virtually nothing could have redeemed him in her eyes from anything more than a conceited man of wealth. The most significant change of

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Wickham manages to turn a majority of the characters in the novel against Mr. Darcy. He shapes the story into a cry for pity for himself due to the wrongdoings done to him by Darcy. Somehow, Mr. Darcy remains the better man, refusing to let his anger overtake him and in the end acting as a savior to the Bennett family name. Although he was never deceived himself, Mr. Darcy takes the hits from Mr. Wickham’s deception of others. Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice, pulls on the heartstrings of readers, sending them on a rollercoaster of emotions and sympathy for first Mr. Wickham and then Mr.

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Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy met at a ball in Meryton that she and her sister Jane were invited to by Mr. Darcy’s friend Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bingley tried to get Mr. Darcy to give Elizabeth a chance and dance with her but his response was “She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me”. Elizabeth automatically doesn’t like Darcy because he won’t dance with anyone who isn’t rich, and he comes across as snobby. Elizabeth then meets Mr. Wickham who also does not like Mr. Darcy. Mr. Wickham tells Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy has treated him unfairly.

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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.

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Edith Wharton stated once that at some stage in a story there will be that turning point or “illuminating incident” that would be a window that opens to convey the whole message and show the deeper meaning of the work. Basing this on Pride and Prejudice, the most significant, shifting point would be when Elizabeth realizes that her first impression has done her wrong, and that she’s the one being prejudicial, not Mr. Darcy. Jane Austen follows the development of Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship in how they both change in order to overcome their own vanities and be able to love each other. Elizabeth’s visit to Pemberley, accompanied by her aunt and uncle, causes her to reconsider her thoughts about Mr. Darcy and shows how naïve and inconsiderate she was. After knowing the truth, Elizabeth’s reaction help build up the main themes of Pride and Prejudice which is to learn before making any judgments.

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1091 Words | 5 Pages

The book deals with themes that include love, reputation, and class. However, Pride and Prejudice received much criticism for being a novel full of female characters that fit the social norms for women in the 19th century. The female characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, while being seen as frivolous and typical representations of

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1828 Words | 8 Pages

In the same time, these literary works have differences, for the most part because the latter underlines the evolution in Jane’s writing style and ideas determined by satirical images of the high-class, and appoints a novel, typical for the mature stage of her career, while Pride and Prejudice is a model of her beginning as a writer. The first novel shapes the middle-class society (the Bennet family, their relatives, and neighbors), in an accurate way, especially because the author belonged to it; she spend her entire life in this social circle, and her continually encounters with its members provided her, those well painted details. Thus, Austen is perfectly aware of the desires and aspirations of the women and men in this class. Those people were craving to overcome their social status, they were in constant search of means which could endow them, and so they were capable of many things to achieve their purposes. Therefore, the main characters of this novel, the Bennet family, who were having five unmarried daughters, were struggling to assure their future, by marrying them in the upper-class: A single man of large fortune; four of five thousand a year.

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1161 Words | 5 Pages

She learns to love and respect Darcy out of her own free will, despite what her family thinks. Elizabeth listens to others and learns who Darcy is despite society. When she learns that his housekeeper has “never known a cross word from him in [her] life, and [she has] known him ever since he was four years old” (pg 252) along with all of the other wonderful things she hears about him, her opinion of him begins to alter. Elizabeth wanted to marry someone that she loved. Darcy is looked down upon for admiring Elizabeth but is so strong in his opinion that he does not let others influence him.

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(Lane 2015) The original title of Austen’s novel is First Impressions, making the theme evidently significant, but is now rephrased to Pride and Prejudice. To begin with, the most prominent theme in the story is the initial thoughts of major characters affect the plot and influence the main scheme of the novel greatly. Elizabeth’s main perception of Darcy immerges from an overheard conversation Darcy has with his virtuous friend, Mr. Bingley. Darcy initially insults Elizabeth for being of the Bennet family when Bingley persuades him to dance with her.

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But vanity not love has been my folly”(Austen pp. 205). Here, Jane Austen use internal discoveries to elucidate the fact that first impressions are often flawed. Essentially, Elizabeth allowed herself to be deceived by such a man as Wickham and she understands how hurtful she has been to Mr. Darcy. Furthermore, Elizabeth realizes that Mr. Wickham only despised Mr. Darcy because of misconceptions in their past and not because Mr. Darcy was an evil

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The novel Pride and Prejudice can easily be picked apart through a feminist lens. The farther into the book one goes, the more there is to critique and analyze through a feminist lens. The book is about Elizabeth Bennet and her relationship with her eventual fiance Mr. Darcy, the ups and the downs of their relationship. Elizabeth was never a woman who only craved the attention and approval of men, she was her own person with her own complex emotions.

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