Analysis of Jane Austens "Pride and Prejudice"

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, is a romance novel published in 1813 that has stayed timeless due to how relatable it has continued to be, despite being over two-hundred years old.

Austen used satire to criticized social class differences, as well as standards society had set and have not changed by a large margin. 

The novel sets the stage for us in the first of the three volumes, introducing  almost every single character we are to meet within this tale, as well as some of their more obvious faults.

The first two characters for example, Mr. And Mrs. Bennet are introduced to us in the middle of a conversation.

Mrs. Bennet is trying to get her husband to introduce himself to their new neighbor Mr. Bingley, so that he may meet one of their daughters and marry them.

We are introduced to the driving force for this story, the Bennet girls need to get married lest they are left destitute when their father dies.

We are as well cleverly introduced to the characters that are Mr. And Mrs. Bennet. 

“Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently. 

“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.” 

This was invitation enough. 

Within this dialogue, as well as the lines that follow on the first set of pages, we are shown that Mrs. Bennets life mission is to get her daughters married, while all Mr. Bennet seems to want to do is tease his wife and daughters if he is not allowed time  with library solitude.  

For each character we are likewise introduced to, their name and their qualities, be their amiable or not.

Such as our main protagonists and the influence they have on the retitle of this story.

Elizabeth Bennet, believes herself a person with a talent of reading and making judgements of someone's character, regardless as to if there is much evidence for these judgements.

She works in extreme prejudice, yet does not realize it.

There is a line by her friend Charlette Lucas after she accepts Mr. Collins while Eliza refused him, in which I believe was Miss Lucas trying to point out this prejudice her friend has. 

“Why would you be surprised, my dear Eliza? -Do you think it is incredible that Mr. Collins should be able to precure any good woman's opinion, because he was not so happy as to succeed with you?” 

Charlette Lucas was calling out her friend in her beliefs, that just because she thought someone's character to be a certain way, does not mean that anyone else cannot think differently. 

In the second volume, the complications of each character are explored more. Elizabeth visits her friend Charlette Collins, and learns that her friend is actually quite happy within her marriage.

She does eventually admit to herself, that the match seems perfectly made. She challenges her own prejudices, but this is not until after The Proposal.  

The Proposal offers a moment for both Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet to air out their feelings, and subsequently for those opinions to be internalized and push for a change within themselves.

Mr. Darcys behavior towards Elizabeth means that she refuses him due to her understanding of his character, while his pride is wounded due to her refusal and stated opinion of his character.

The letter Mr. Darcy later gives Miss Bennet causes herself to question her own strong opinions of which have no evidence to be held, while unbeknownst to herself Darcy is also looking inward on the character of himself that she pointed out as well. 

Lasty, the third volume explores the resolution of all of the conflicts into the marriages of the sisters. 

Mr. Darcy resolves the situation with Lydia and Mr. Wickham, and initiates the return of Bingley to Netherfield so that he and Jane may rekindle their romance and become engaged.

Then, due to his aunt Lady Catherine de Boughs investigation, Mr. Darcy is given the hope that Elizabeth has changed her mind on her answer to the proposal which of course she did.  

Both of the main characters flaws are due to how differently the two were raised.  

Elizabeth has grown to believe herself a strong judge of character based on her experiences Longborne and Meryton, which of course when you spend so much time with the same people, you’re going to tend to believe you’re right more often than you would if introduced to a wider set of people. 

Mr. Darcy admits late in the book that his behavior was also due to how he was raised.

While his parents taught him to be generous, he was still very much spoilt and his pride grew insurmountable.

He did not have to be sociable to people unless he had to, so that was not a skill he had much want to improve. 

In both cases, in is their social status that each grew up in that played a major role on how each developed and saw the world around them.

However, it was not merely just their difference in opinion that cause the resolution to happen, had they not been so passionate about the ideas and feelings they held as well as willing to look within themselves and actually push for a change, they would have simply stayed the same characters and none of the sisters who got their marriages at the end would have. 

Jane Austen uses the interweaving of these love stories to tell a bigger story about the human condition, as well as how the world we live in impacts the way we see the world. She does it in such a way that readers two hundred years later, still laugh aloud to her words.

Austen, truly is timeless. 

Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice