Pride and prejudice; Jane Austen

It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at
first." (Ch. 18)
"I cannot fix on the hour, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the
middle before I knew that I had begun." (Mr.Darcy, Chapter 60)
Pride and prejudice
By:Jane Austen
Index:
• Author
• Theme
• Time and space
• Main characters
• Other characters
• New vocabulary
• Summary
• Personal opinion
• Author: Jane Austen
Jane Austen was a major English novelist, whose brilliantly witty, elegantly structured satirical fiction marks
the transition in English literature from 18th century neo−classicism to 19th century romanticism.
Jane Austen was born on 16 December, 1775, at the rectory in the village of Steventon, near Basingstoke, in
Hampshire. The seventh of eight children of the Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra, she was
educated mainly at home and never lived apart from her family. She had a happy childhood amongst all her
brothers and the other boys who lodged with the family and whom Mr Austen tutored. From her older sister,
Cassandra, she was inseparable. To amuse themselves, the children wrote and performed plays and charades,
and even as a little girl Jane was encouraged to write. The reading that she did of the books in her father's
extensive library provided material for the short satirical sketches she wrote as a girl.
At the age of 14 she wrote her first novel, Love and Freindship (sic) and then A History of England by a
partial, prejudiced and ignorant Historian, together with other very amusing juvenilia. In her early twenties
Jane Austen wrote the novels that were later to be re−worked and published as Sense and Sensibility, Pride
and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. She also began a novel called The Watsons which was never
completed.
As a young woman Jane enjoyed dancing (an activity which features frequently in her novels) and she
attended balls in many of the great houses of the neighbourhood. She loved the country, enjoyed long country
walks, and had many Hampshire friends. It therefore came as a considerable shock when her parents suddenly
announced in 1801 that the family would be moving away to Bath. Mr Austen gave the Steventon living to his
son James and retired to Bath with his wife and two daughters. The next four years were difficult ones for
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Jane Austen. She disliked the confines of a busy town and missed her Steventon life. After her father's death
in 1805, his widow and daughters also suffered financial difficulties and were forced to rely on the charity of
the Austen sons. It was also at this time that, while on holiday in the West country, Jane fell in love, and when
the young man died, she was deeply upset. Later she accepted a proposal of marriage from Harris
Bigg−Wither, a wealthy landowner and brother to some of her closest friends, but she changed her mind the
next morning and was greatly upset by the whole episode.
After the death of Mr Austen, the Austen ladies moved to Southampton to share the home of Jane's naval
brother Frank and his wife Mary. There were occasional visits to London, where Jane stayed with her
favourite brother Henry, at that time a prosperous banker, and where she enjoyed visits to the theatre and art
exhibitions. However, she wrote little in Bath and nothing at all in Southampton.
Then, in July, 1809, on her brother Edward offering his mother and sisters a permanent home on his Chawton
estate, the Austen ladies moved back to their beloved Hampshire countryside. It was a small but comfortable
house, with a pretty garden, and most importantly it provided the settled home which Jane Austen needed in
order to write. In the seven and a half years that she lived in this house, she revised Sense and Sensibility and
Pride and Prejudice and published them ( in 1811 and 1813) and then embarked on a period of intense
productivity. Mansfield Park came out in 1814, followed by Emma in 1816 and she completed Persuasion
(which was published together with Northanger Abbey in 1818, the year after her death). None of the books
published in her life−time had her name on them they were described as being written "By a Lady". In the
winter of 1816 she started Sanditon, but illness prevented its completion.
Jane Austen had contracted Addisons Disease, a tubercular disease of the kidneys (see Jane Austen's Illness
by Sir Zachary Cope, British Medical Journal, 18 July 1964 and Australian Addisons Disease Assoc.). No
longer able to walk far, she used to drive out in a little donkey carriage which can still be seen at the Jane
Austen Museum at Chawton. By May 1817 she was so ill that she and Cassandra, to be near Jane's physician,
rented rooms in Winchester. Tragically, there was then no cure and Jane Austen died in her sister's arms in the
early hours of 18 July, 1817. She was 41 years old. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral.
• Theme
Pride and prejudice show us the importance of firts impressions and how can them affect in our feelings
against the others.
It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first
( chapter eighteen)
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• Time and space
This novel , which was written two hundred years ago, describes a year in the life of a group of young people
who live in the coutry near London and its sorroundings in a period of change ( XVIII and XIX century).
4. Main characters
• Elizabeth Bennet:
She is the second of the Bennets daughters. Elizabeth is twenty years old, she is very atractive, witty and nice
but she tends to judge people on first impressions. Her best friend is Chalotte Lucas.
• Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
He is intelligent, good−natured and wealthy but he is also proud and concerned with social status. Mr.Darcy is
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twenty−eight years old and is still unmarried. He is the owner of an estate in Derbyshire and he loves
Elizabeth Bennet although he tries to avoid it.
5. Other characters
• Mr Bennet ans Mrs Bennet
Mr Bennet has a wife and five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia. He is nice and
intelligent and he dislikes the frivolity of his wife and his three young daughters but he has a good relation
with Jane and Elizabeth besides he is very close to them.
Mrs Bennet is not as clever or educated as her husband. Her only aim in life is to find husbands for her
daughters and her pleasures are visiting, talking and clothes.
However, their situation was worse than it seemed because of a lawyer's agreement, since Mr Bennet had no
son the property, when he died, would pass to a distant cousin, Mr Collins. His daughters would not have
nothing unless they married.
• Jane Bennet
She is the eldest Bennets sister. She is twenty−two and everybody thinks she is the most beatiful lady in the
neighbourhood. Jane is very active , sensible and sweet and she anly tries to see good in other people. In the
end, she gets married with Mr Bringley.
• Mary Bennet
She is the middle Bennet sister. Mary is eighteen years old and she spends a lot of time studying and reading
but she has a lack of common sense.
• Catherine Bennet
She is the fourth Bennet sister. Catherine is seventeen years old and she is called Kitty by her family who
describes her as a headstrong and frivolous girl.
• Lydia Bennet
She is the youngest Bennet sister. Lydia is fiveteen years old and she is portrayed as a dominant girl. Her life
is based in flirting with military officers and she has a relation with George Wickhow (a militia regiment
lieutenant).
• Charles Bringley
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He has twenty−two years old and he is charming, handsome, good−natured and he is also very popular in
Meryton but one of his faults is that he is relly easily influenced by others. Mr Bringley rents the Netherfield
state near Longbourn and he loves Jane Bennet.
• Caroline Bringley
She is Mr Bringley's sister. Caroline is a fashionable girl who looks down Meryton people. She is jealous due
to the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy.
• George Wickhow
He is the son of Darcy's father's stewards. This handsome man makes a good impression in Meryton society.
He damages Dorcy's reputation but later we know he is financially irresponsible.
• Lady Catherine the Borough
She is arrogant and wealthy. Lady Catherine wants her daughter to get married with her nephew Mr Dorcey
and she gets angry when she knows about the special relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and her nephew.
• William Collins
He is twenty−five years old. Portrayed as a dull and pompous man, he is the heir of Longbourn (the property
of Mr Bennet, his cousin). Mr Collins is a parson and he has obtained clerical living on the state of Lady
Catherine the Borough ( Kent). He gets married with Chalotte Lucas.
• Chalotte Lucas
She is Elizabeth's best friend in the beggining of the book but later, Elizabeth is disappointed with her because
he accepts Mr Collins offer of marriege. Chalotte is quite clever and she is the daughter of the Bennet's
neighbours. She gets married at the age of twenty− seven.
• Georgiana Dorcy
She is sixteen years old and she is Dorcy's younger sister.
This young teenager plays the piano very well. Although is it supposed that she is very proud, she isn't. In
fact, Georgiana is incredibly shy.
• Colonel Fitzwilliam
He is Lady Catherine's nephew. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Dorcy are both in charge of Georgiana and they has
a very good relation. He befriend Elizabeth while she is in Kent.
5. Vocabulary
ENGLISH
about to
angered
attend
behaving
blow open
VALENCIÀ
A punt de
Va enrabiar
Asistir a
Comportant
Esclatés
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breathe loudly
broke away
confident
contempt of court
cracked
crime
deal
deserve
eventually
felt like
get into trouble
get involved
grabbed
involves
make sense
meant to
nooded his head
on bail
pretended
relived
reluctantly
stared
stepped on
support
threatened
to hold
Respirar fort
Es va separar
Segura d'ella mateixa
Desacatament al tribunal
Es va esquerdar
Delicte, crim
Tracte
Es mereix
Finalment
Tenia ganes de
Ficar−nos en un embolic
Involucrar−me, participar
Va pendre, va agafar
Té a veure amb
Té sentit
Per tal que
Va asentir
Sota confiança
Fingia,feia veure
Alleujat
A contralor
Mirava fixament
Va trepitjar
Suport
Amenaçant
A qui agafar−s'hi
onto
trust
warning
witness
woods
your honour
Confiés en
Avís
De testimonis
Bosc
Vostra senyoria
6. Summary
Pride and prejudice was written two hundred years ago by Jane Austen and it describes a year in the life of an
small group of young people who live in the coutry near London in a period of change ( XVIII and XIX
century).
In the middle of this society we are able to find some special and funny people: The Bennet, who live with
their five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia. Mr Bennet is nice and intelligent and he
dislikes the frivolity of his wife and his three young daughters but he has a good relation with Jane and
Elizabeth besides he is very close to them.
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Mrs Bennet is not as clever or educated as her husband. Her only aim in life is to find husbands for her
daughters and her pleasures are visiting, talking and clothes.
However, their situation was worse than it seemed because of a lawyer's agreement, since Mr. Bennet had no
son the property, when he died, would pass to a distant cousin, Mr. Collins. His daughters would not have
nothing unless they married.
One day, a man who is called Charles Bringley leases the Netherfild estate and plans to settle with his two
sisters and his brother−in−law. The arrival of this wealthy and handsome man in the neighbourhood excites
Mrs Bennet who has four unmarried daughters.
A few weeks after they arrival, Charles Bringley, his family and his best friend, Dorcey, attend a public ball in
the village of Merynton , where Mr Bringley shows himself to be amiable and good−natured when he dances
with many young ladies and shows his admiration for Jane Bennet, the eldest of the five Bennet sisters.
However, Mr. Darcey, makes poor impression on strangers, such as the people of Merynton who think he is
proud, judjamental and concerned with social status, so he makes himself really unpopular despite his annual
huge income.
On the other hand, Elizabeth Bennet listens him refuses her to dance because she is not handsome enough for
him so she immediately thinks, as all the other people, that he is incradibly proud dispite his fine figure.
Following the ball, Jane is invited for an evening at Netherfield, but catches a bad cold and is forced to rest for
some days. Her sister Elizabeth goes to Netherfield to nurse her.
Meanwhile, Mr Collins, a young cousin of Mr Bennet and the entailed heir of Longbourn arrives for a visit.
He has recently obtained a clerical living on the estate of Lady Catherine De Bourgh in kent and he is traying
to look for a wife among his cousin's daughters. Finding that Jane appears destined for Bringley, he asks
Elizabeth to get married with him but she refuses Mr Collins despite the threats of her mother. In the end he is
accepted by Elizabeth's best friend, Chalotte Lucas, who is still unmarried at the age of twenty−seven.
Later, Elizabeth is introduced to a handsome young officer, Mr. Wickham, who is the son of Darcy's father's
steward. This charming man makes a good impression in Merynton society, and his reports that Darcy has
cheated him out of a rightful inheritance serve to further damage Darcy's reputation. This reinforces Elizabeth
growing dislike of Darcy and she is relieved when he leaves, with Mr.Bringley and their family, the
neighbourhood. This act causes Jane's sadness because she is in love with Charles Bringley.
However, Elizabeth encounters Darcy again on a visit to Lady Catherine ( his aunt) at Rossings Park and
suddenly he reveals to her his true feelings: he loves her in spite of her objectionable family. After this he
proposes to her but she refuses him absolutely because of what he has said and also because she thinks that
Darcy persuaded Mr. Bringley to sever ties with Jane although she also mentions what Mr. Wickham said.
The next day, Mr. Darcy hands Elizabeth a letter in which he justifies his actions− he believed that Jane didn't
love his friend and he didn'd want him to suffer for this girl. Darcy also reveals the true nature of
Mr.Wickham, who is financially irresponsible and morally bankrupt. He also tried to get his sister to leave
home and to go with him.
After reading this, the young lady is quite upset with herself but she is not totally convinced.
Later Elizabeth and her family discovers that Lydia has gone out with Mr.Wickham to another village but
after Darcy's inter vention they come back home and finally they get married.
Elizabeth feelings change and after some time she receives a visiting from Lady Catherine who has discovered
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Mr. Darcey's feelings for Elizabeth and she tries to intimidate her into refusing his nephew.
The book ends when Jane gets married with Mr. Bringley and her younger sister, Elizabeth, gets married to
Mr. Dorcey after he prososes to her again.
7. Personal opinion
Pride and prejudice is one of the most exciting and fascinating books I have ever read. Although it was
written two hundred years ago by Jane Austen, the ideas it gives to the reader and the problems which our
main characters have to face are real and apply to moden life. Every single teenager their day−to−day life has
experienced how first impressions can affect in our personal lifes and how the family can influence our
decisions. I am sure that fifty or sisty years ago the idea of marriage was really important and with it, its social
status. Many women neither loved nor respected their partner, but they wished to escape the terrible fate of
becoming maid (the same happened to Chalotte Lucas, Elizabeth's best friend at the beginning of the novel) .
To sum up, what I like most about Pride and Prejudice is that it shows us real situations, real problems and it
tells us their possible consequences.
This book, like most of Jane Austen's works, employs the narrative technique of free indirect speech and by
using narrative which adopts the tone and vocabulary of a particular character, Austen invites the reader to
follow the events from the speaker's point of view, sharing opinions, sadness or happiness.
I would recommend this book to those ones who love reading good literature or spending a good time learning
how our ancestors lived and thoght and what aims in life they had.
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