Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen differs little with respect to the authors other works such as Mansfield Park, Emma, etc. All of them deal with the same themes such as wealth, class, selfknowledge and the most important of all marriage. It is based on two love struck figures Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy and the realities of life and marriage in the nineteenth century. However, Pride and Prejudice is a rarity among the romance genre. It is not because the plot itself is uncommon but due to Austens splendid sharp critique of nineteenth-century vanity, cruelty and folly and of course, due to the delightful dialogue of the story. Pride and Prejudice deals with the five single Bennet girls of Longbourne, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia, who have dubious prospects for marriage, because their father, even though he is a gentleman, has no male heir and his estate is "entailed" away to his next male relation, Mr. Collins. Due to this reason, Mrs. Bennet is undoubtedly extremely eager to find rich husbands for her daughters. When the Bennets become acquainted with a new neighbour, the wealthy Mr. Bingley who has recently moved into their neighbourhood, and his proud friend Mr. Darcy, first impressions lead to some hard feelings as well as romantic ones. Bingley, being a charming social bachelor forms an attachment to the eldest Bennet daughter Jane, whereas Darcy, being proud arrogant and condescending due to his rich background slights Elizabeth at a social event, who overhears and jokes about it despite feeling a budding resentment. First impressions are not always what they seem, however, the Bennet girls, particularly Elizabeth and Jane, learn where pride and trust are justified, and where they are not, as the story unfolds. Elizabeth Bennet, a lively, engaging and intelligent young woman is the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice. She has numerous admirable qualities and in a novel defined by dialogue, she converses as brilliantly as anyone does. Her honesty, virtue, and lively wit enable her to rise above the nonsense and superficial behaviour that pervade her class-bound and often spiteful society. Nevertheless, her sharp tongue and tendency to make hasty judgments often lead her astray. This is mainly seen when she meets her male counterpart and ideal match, Mr Darcy. Mr Darcy is the son of a wealthy family and the master of the great estate of Pemberely. He is intelligent and forthright and just like Elizabeth hastily forms first impressions of others. In addition to this, his high birth and wealth make him overly proud and overly conscious of his social status. The two of them are well matched by intelligence even if not by birth. They have to overcome his pride and her prejudice to come to this realisation, thus giving the name Pride and Prejudice to this story. The plot revolves around the Bennet daughters and their endeavor towards a better life by means of a successful marriage financially. This story portrays the contextual life of women back in the 1900s. This is difficult for many of the more modern readers to understand. The dependency on men for survival seems primal to the modern reader. Austen makes this subject a theme in the novel and it is due to this matter alone the plot moves forward. The magic of this book makes the readers ponder about the difficulties faced by our inquisitive and quirky heroine, Elizabeth and the ways in which she will overcome those obstacles thrown at her. As the critic Anna Quindlen wrote, "Pride and Prejudice is also about that thing that all great novels consider, the search for self. And it is the first great novel to teach us that that search is as surely undertaken in the drawing room making small talk as in the pursuit

of a great white whale or the public punishment of adultery." This alone makes us want to read it as we cant relate to the little things in their life. The book is portrayed from Elizabeth Bennets point of view. We learn things when she does and we realize the little thing with her. Reading Pride and Prejudice is an exquisite journey we make hand in hand with Elizabeth Bennet. The problems the hero and heroine faces are everyday problems, the difference is the clever way in which Austen twists the problem and make it a huge ordeal that the characters need to overcome. The witty dialogue and the long letters convey the fully formed nature of the characters and their personality. The story is set in England during The Regency period. Parts of the plot unfold in a handful of locations throughout England. For instance, the Bennet home, Netherfield Park rented By Mr Bingley which is located in the countryside and the grand, heavenly and perfect grounds of Pemberly owned outright by Mr Darcy in London. The most consistent part of the story is the money trail which we are forever following. The flow of wealth is described flawlessly at all times through land ownership. The concept itself is simple. The rich owns land and to be rich land ownership is a necessity. The plot itself depends on this concept as the Bennet daughters are put into the precarious position of hunting for husbands because they do not have land. In addition to this, estimation of how rich a particular character is can be known from the land they own. In conclusion, Pride and Prejudice is a classic like no other. It is a romantic masterpiece, which has withstood the test of time and proved to be ageless. It retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of lists such as The Big Read and has sold 20 million copies to date. Today, Pride and Prejudice is more than a mere book. Elizabeth and Darcys love story has been adapted and retold in virtually every form of media from childrens books and cartoons to musicals to movies and even to YouTube videos. Pride and Prejudice is the perfect book to curl up with on a rainy day for maximum enjoyment.