pride_review_1

__**Pride and Prejudice**__
//by Jane Austen//

[[image:pride_and_prejudice.jpg width="421" height="363" align="right"]]
Written 1796-1797 Published 1813

__**Quotes:**__ (Rick)
This quote shows how marriage is slighted and doesn't take a lot of thought before entering into. Marriage is more like a business deal in the sense that fortune and social status were the main concerns in entering one. However, there is a chance that 'love' will come after the transaction, but that is a matter of chance. This is a totally different perception of marriage then what is common today. Today, for the most part, love is the main concern for a marriage; the sacrament is considered serious and requires more thought.
 * "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."(24, Charlotte to Elizabeth)**

A man with an incredible amount of wealth is entering the community and Mrs. Bennet is trying to encourage Mr. Bennet to put in the good word for their daughters in hope that one could marry this accomplished man. This shows how marriage is considered an accomplishment for a woman if she marries the 'right' man. 'Right' means that he must have social status, wealth, and acceptable behavior according to Victorian standards. A man who is considered unacceptable by these standards is eliminated as a marriage choice (usually) even if love is present in the relationship. This 'establishment' that Mrs. Bennet speaks of is also to satisfy her wishes of having accomplished daughters that will, in turn, make her more accomplished.
 * "...young man of large fortune from the north... But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them." (5-6, Bennets talking)**

Jane makes a good impression but is slighted because of her parents. They are associated with many people living in Cheapside and those are the low connections. It is stated that Jane would have a good chance of marrying a reasonable man if it weren't for her disagreeable parents and friends. This reinforces the fact that a record of social status will get you an established marriage.
 * "I have an excessive regard for Jane Bennet... but with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it." (36)**

Mrs Bennet feels that Darcy is disagreeable because he didn't dance with all the woman at the ball and that he had no interest in any of them. She feels he thinks they have little beauty and that her daughter, Elizabeth, is just tolerable. His behavior at the ball is considered rude because he dismissed women and didn't dance with all or most of them (which is a standard at balls). From here on out, Darcy is regarded with rudeness and is considered unacceptable. This shows that how one behaves at just one event can lead to a snap judgment that is so durable it may never be lifted.
 * "...he is such a disagreeable man that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him." (20, Mrs. Bennet)**

__**Themes:**__ (Rick)
Pride is considered a negative aspect. Darcy has a huge fortune. Ever since Mrs. Bennet deemed him disagreeable on page 20 in the book, he has been regarded with negative words and thoughts. People became prejudice against him because they felt he was too proud and that his pride allowed for him to look down on others of lower class/stature. As a matter of fact, Darcy felt Elizabeth was unacceptable because of her "low connections" and her mother and father. This is the attitude that other characters battled with, and this theme is continued throughout most of the novel.
 * Pride/Prejudice**

Marriage was considered a business deal. Wealth, social status, and behavior were the major concerns that needed to be met with before marrying a person. Love was not a deciding factor of a Victorian marriage. It was considered an establishment when a woman married a 'high' and 'mighty' man. This is why when Darcy 'misbehaved' at the ball, he was regarded with such disapproval throughout most of the book.
 * Perception of Marriage**

__Major Characters__ (Sam)

 * **Elizabeth Bennet** - Elizabeth is the most intelligent and sensible of the five Bennet sisters (second daughter, overall). She is quick-witted and sharp-tongued.
 * **Fitzwilliam Darcy** - Nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, wealthy and master of Pemberly. He is intelligent and honest. However, his excessive pride makes him pretentious and causes him to look down on "social inferiors" like the Bennet family.
 * **Charles Bingley** - Darcy’s wealthy best friend. He, unlike Darcy, is blind to social class distinctions and is very easy going and genial.
 * **Jane Bennet** - The eldest and most beautiful Bennet sister. Jane is kind and reserved, the epitome of a "lady" during the Victorian Era. She and Bingley are the second couple in the novel, next to Lizzie and Darcy.
 * **Mr. Bennet** - The father of the Bennet sisters, he has a modest income and is considered middle class. Mr. Bennet is sarcastic and has a cynical sense of humor. However, he is not the best parent and stays away from the marriage plans of his daughters.
 * **Mrs. Bennet** - A noisy and foolish woman whose only goal in life is to get her daughters married off. Due to her overbearing behavior, Mrs. Bennet often repels the men she tries to marry her daughters to.
 * **George Wickham** - A militiary officer and extremely handsome. Wickham’s good looks and charm initially attract Elizabeth to him, but upon Darcy telling her about Wickham’s ugly past, she realizes his true nature and simultaneously is drawn her closer to Darcy.

__Central Conflict__ - Love versus Class, Pride and Prejudice (Sam)
 //Pride and Prejudice// shows a society where a woman’s reputation is of the most importance. They are expected to behave in a certain way. Stepping outside the "socially acceptable manner" makes her vulnerable to criticism. Elizabeth is such a character. She is unlike another Victorian woman. She is crass and quick witted and smarter than most men. When Elizabeth first walks to Netherfield and arrives with muddy skirts, Miss Bingley and her friends criticize and laugh at her. Initally, Mr. Darcy felt the same way as Miss Bingley. He has alot of pride and looks down upon people of a lower class stature. The Bennets are only part of the middle class while Darcy is in the elite. Elizabeth acts against the norm and is cast away because of this by Darcy and his peers. Everyone's class holds a certain amount of prejudice and pride. The upper classes look down on anyone who does not have a nurse-maid, like the Bennet family. They deject anyone who is not like them. However, despite all odds, Darcy and Elizabeth fall in love. They must overcome the pride and prejudice of the heirarchy class system of the time in order to be accepted for the love they have for each other. Obstacles their love face include Lady Catherine’s controling nature, Mrs. Bennet’s idiocy, the snobby Miss. Bingley and Wickham’s deceit. In each case, anxieties about social connections and the desire to better social connections, interfere the love between Darcy and Elizabeth. Through //Pride and Prejudice,// Jane Austin shows that love is something independent of these social forces. She says that love can only be captured if people can escape the detrimental effects of hierarchical society of the Victorian Era.

During the time in which Pride and Prejudice was written, English society was distinguished by its rigid class structure. The determining factors in an individual's status consisted primarily of wealth, family connections, and property ownership. This was a very elitist society in which the royalty and titled landowners separated themselves almost completely from the lower classes. Women held little to no power in practically every social situation, and, being that they could not work to support themselves, had to rely on marrying into a wealthy family in order to gain acceptable status. While Romanticism was totally the in thing during Jane Austen's life, her work goes pretty much the other way. The romantics extolled the power of feeling, whereas Austen upheld the supremacy of the rational faculty. Romanticism advocated the abandonment of restraint; Austen was a staunch exponent of the neo-classical belief in order and discipline. The romantics saw in nature a transcendental power to stimulate men to better the existing order of things, which they saw as essentially tragic in its existing state. Austen supported traditional values and the established norms, and viewed the human condition in the comic spirit. The romantics exuberantly celebrated natural beauty, but Austen’s dramatic technique decreed sparse description of setting. The beauties of nature are seldom detailed in her work.--http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Pride-and-Prejudice-About-the-Novel-Introduction.id-147,pageNum-3.html
 * Historical Context** (Sam Spokony)
 * Literary Movement : Romanticism**(Sam Spokony)

Pivotal Scenes: (Rebecca)
1) **Darcy’s Letter**: One extremely important and pivotal scene in Pride and Prejudice occurs when Lizzy receives a letter from Darcy. Darcy writes the letter to Lizzy in response to her denial of his marriage proposal. His pride had given him the idea that Lizzy would never refuse him because of his social status. However, Lizzy is an independent girl who refuses to succumb to social pressures, and she denied him in order to protect her own integrity and independence. Darcy is humbled by the rejection. However, he feels the need to explain and justify some of the actions he took that Lizzie used against him in her denial. He attempts to justify his interference with the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley and his own relationship with Mr. Whickham. Upon receipt of Darcy’s letter, Lizzie begins to become softened to Darcy, and starts to realize the error in some of her prejudices against Darcy. This moment marks the start of her emerging love for Darcy. **2) Lady Catherine’s visit**: Another pivotal moment occurs when Lady Catherine de Bourgh visits Elizabeth and demands to have a talk with her. Lady Catherine shares with Lizzie some of the rumors she hears about an engagement between Lizzie and her nephew (Mr. Darcy). Lizzie states that she and Mr. Darcy are not engaged. Lady Catherine also demands that Lizzie promise to refuse any marriage proposals from Mr. Darcy. This, however, Lizzie refuses to do. She states that her own happiness comes first and that she will not promise to deny anybody. She asserts her own personal right to happiness, which was, at the time, a revolutionary idea, especially for females in Lizzie’s social class. Throughout //Pride and Prejudice//, we see many instances of the humbling of the proud and the degradation of people’s prejudices, as the title suggests. These two scenes are two scenes demonstrate the two main characters having to stand up for their individuality. In the first scene, Darcy stands up for himself, and in the second scene, our heroine, Lizzie, stands up for herself. These two characters and the ones throughout the story whose hearts transform the most. We, the readers, are able to learn from both their pride and confidence, and their final humility.

[1] Austen, Jane. __Pride and Prejudice__. Classics. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2004. [2]Literary Movement, About the Novel, http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Pride-and-Prejudice-About-the-Novel-Introduction.id-147,pageNum-3.html
 * Works Cited:**