Adele Setton
English 12
Mrs. Reichman
(T) "But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them" (Austen 6). The theme that starts off the novel Pride and Prejudice is marriage, especially marriage for opportunity. When Mr. Bingley, a wealthy single man, moves to Netherfield, all the townspeople are taken with the idea of marrying him off, preferably to their relatives. Mrs. Bennett, with 5 single daughters, especially wants Bingley, because it would bring one of her daughters wealth and a future living in the upper class. A woman's status depended on her husband's, and therefore, looking for a husband came with a lot of pressure. When a wealthy man with a good reputation came along, he was in high demand because every parent wanted to see their daughter married and well to do. This was the case with Bingley; all the neighbors went to befriend him, and went to the ball hoping to dance with him and get his attention.
(T) "But with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I'm afraid there is no chance of it" (Austen 37). This quote exemplifies the mindset of the upper class, the more privileged, at the time. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, Bingley's sisters, look past Bingley's feelings for Jane and see only her family status. Even though the Bennets aren't low class, the Bingley sisters look down on them, especially after they see Elizabeth walks to visit Jane. Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance, and when Miss Bingley sees Darcy likes Elizabeth, she gets jealous and ridicules the idea of them being married with their class differences. She also attacks the Bennet family personally, to try to discourage Darcy. Darcy himself also views Elizabeth as an inferior, and is unable to see the marriage. His prejudice towards Elizabeth isn't as strong as Miss Bingley's though, and he still likes her despite their separate social standings.
(C) "But pride- where there is a real superiority of mind- pride will be always under good regulation" (Austen 57). Miss Bingley is trying to win over Darcy by reading, excessively flirting, and walking around the room. She tells Elizabeth that she doesn't like to be ridiculed over things like vanity, but she doesn't consider pride worthy of ridicule when she sees it necessary. Darcy ignores all Miss Bingley's attempts until she gets Elizabeth involved, which gets his attention. This shows a more favorable side of Darcy; he's not interested in the stuck up Miss Bingley. He can see past her suitable social status, because he doesn't like her pride and spite. In the beginning, Darcy seemed to be the more arrogant character, but his rejecting of Miss Bingley and interest in Elizabeth shows the reader otherwise.
(C) "She could have added, 'A young man, too, like you, whose very countenance may vouch for your being amiable'" (Austen 81). Elizabeth believes Wickham's false story about Darcy leaving him without what he rightfully deserves. She likes Wickham very much, even though she is warned not to believe him, and she looks forward to dancing with him at the ball. Elizabeth is very prejudiced towards Darcy, and she falls into Wickham's trap. She is too taken by his instant pleasantness, warmth, and handsomeness to see that it's all superficial and he is really tricking her. This is the opposite of Darcy, who seems cold, but is really inwardly great, and Elizabeth is too set on her opinion of him to see it.
(C) "Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object: it was the only honorable provision for well educated women of small fortune…" (Austen 122). When Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte, Charlotte agrees not because she loves him, but because of the advantages of marrying a wealthy man. Elizabeth is shocked to hear about the engagement, because marriage to her means romance and love, not wealth. Charlottes approach reflects that of the women in her class at the time, and her parents agree. Charlotte isn't as independent and strong as Elizabeth. She feels she has to get married to a man with an estate, giving in to societal demands, even though she doesn't like Mr. Collins. Elizabeth though, is strong willed and doesn't give in too society. She rejects Mr. Collins, against her mother's wishes, because that's not what she wants with her life, no matter the wealth.
(T) "… and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence" (Austen 165). When Elizabeth has dinner with Lady Catherine, lady Catherine takes every opportunity to belittle Elizabeth's upbringing. She is shocked when Elizabeth admits she never had a governess, and never learned to play piano or sing. Lady Catherine looks at the Bennets the same way that Miss Bingley does- with pride and contempt. Like Miss Bingley, she believes herself to be above the Bennets in all areas just because she is wealthier and thereby higher on the social ladder. Lady Catherine is known for her pride; to Charlotte and Mr. Collins, to the Bennets, and especially to Elizabeth later on when lady Catherine forbids her from marrying Darcy.
(L) "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" (Austen 188). The turning point in the novel is when Darcy declares his love for Elizabeth. But with his declaration, he also expressed his feelings of Elizabeth's inferiority. Even though he loves her, he loves her against his will, and she rejects him because of it. But she no longer hates Darcy; she starts feeling affection towards him, somewhat against her will especially because of what he did to Jane. From this proposal on, Darcy's character begins improving and he slowly drops his pride, as Elizabeth drops her prejudice. These chapters, the way Austen stresses the word ardently, show Darcy's persistence- he won't give up on Elizabeth.
(L) "She seldom listened to anybody for more than half a minute, and never attended to Mary at all" (Austen 218). Lydia, the youngest Bennet, is still an immature child. She chases after the officers, and runs away with Wickham on impulse. These chapters portray Lydia as the opposite of Elizabeth, who thinks things through with Darcy and doesn't just act. There is irony in the fact that by running away with Wickham, Darcy's enemy, Lydia brings Darcy closer to Elizabeth when he helps bring the couple back. Darcy's actions, thought necessitated by Lydia's immaturity, show the extent he's willing to go for Elizabeth.
(C) "Why is he so altered? From what can it proceed? It cannot be for me, it cannot be for my sake that his manners are thus softened. My reproofs at Hunsford could not work such a change as this. It is impossible that he should still love me" (Austen 249). Elizabeth visits Pemberley with the Gardiners, not anticipating Darcy's arrival. When he does arrive, he doesn't behave like his usual arrogant self. Darcy treats Elizabeth and her relatives with respect, as his equals. When Elizabeth rejected Darcy's proposal, it humbled him. He realized that in order to gain Elizabeth's love he must stop seeing himself as better. When Elizabeth sees this, she is impressed and lets her guard down a little, allowing herself to start loving Darcy.
(T) "…that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable, that one false step involves her in endless ruin, that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful…" (Austen 280). One theme of the book is reputation, which goes along with social standings. When Lydia runs away with Wickham, the Bennets are much more concerned about their family's image than Lydia's relationship. Since she didn't marry him, it was a big scandal that could've damaged their reputation, harming their already limited marriage oppurtunities. Reputation is very important to them especially because all the other girls are of marriageable age. Mrs Bennet rejoices when Lydia marries Wickham, even though he is a fraud, because she is so concerned about the status of her other girls. Once Lydia is married, Mrs Bennet had fulfilled part of her dream to marry them all off, and their reputations are not damaged.
(L) "Had Lydia's marriage been concluded on the most honorable terms, it was not to be supposed that Mr. Darcy would connect himself with a family, where to every other objection would now be added an alliance and relationship of the nearest kind with the man whom he so justly scorned" (Austen 301). Elizabeth realizes now that she does in fact love Darcy, but she thinks it's too late. She assumes that Lydia's marriage to Wickham would push Darcy even farther away, another reason to not marry Elizabeth. The irony of her statement is that even though Elizabeth thinks Lydia's marriage would repel Darcy even more, it's actually bringing him closer to her without her knowledge. Darcy is the one that helps bring Lydia back, because of his love for Elizabeth that keeps growing, not fading. Even though Elizabeth thinks Darcy will never marry her now, he likes her more than ever.
(T) "Elizabeth feeling all the more than common awkwardness and anxiety of his situation, now forced herself to speak; and immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand, that her sentiments had undergone so material a change, since the period to which he alluded, as to make her receive with gratitude and pleasure, his present assurances" (Austen ). Austen ends off Pride and Prejudice with the theme of love as Elizabeth accepts the proposal. Darcy and Elizabeth love each other enough that they ignore society's upset at the marriage, represented by Lady Catherine, and the shock, represented by Mr. Bennet. Elizabeth gets over her prejudice caused by her original impressions of Darcy, thinking he was arrogant. Darcy gets over his original disapproval of Elizabeth's class status. Though most of society at the time was only concerned with marrying for financial advantage, as portrayed by Charlotte, Austen shows how the couples that marry for love are the most happy and successful, wealthy or poor. She contrasts Lydia's shallow, advantageous but unhappy marriage with Jane and Elizabeth's. By having Jane and Elizabeth marry the men they love, who happen to be wealthy men, Austen conveys the idea that love can bring no wrong.