Elizabeth Bennet
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia. (August 2010) Click [show] on the right for instructions.
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| Elizabeth Bennet | |
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.jpg) Elizabeth Bennet, a fictional character appearing in the novel Pride and Prejudice, depicted by C. E. Brock |
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| Full name | Miss Elizabeth Bennet |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 20 |
| Income | £1,000 (dowry) |
| Primary residence | Longbourn, near Meryton Hertfordshire |
| Family | |
| Spouse | Fitzwilliam Darcy |
| Romantic interest(s) | Mr. William Collins Lieutenant George Wickham Colonel Fizwilliam Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy |
| Parents | Mr. and Mrs. Bennet |
| Sibling(s) | Jane Bennet Bingley Mary Bennet Catherine "Kitty" Bennet Lydia Bennet Wickham |
Elizabeth Bennet, later Elizabeth Darcy, is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth was portrayed by Greer Garson in the 1940 film adaptation of the novel, by Jennifer Ehle in the 1995 television series, and by Keira Knightley in the 2005 film adaptation.
Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circumstances of the time and environment require her to seek a marriage of convenience for economic security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love.
Elizabeth is regarded as the most admirable and endearing of Austen's heroines.[1] She is considered one of the most beloved characters in British literature[2] because of her complexity. Austen herself described Lizzie "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print."[3]
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[edit] Background
Elizabeth is the second eldest of the five Bennet sisters of the Longbourn estate, situated near the fictional market village of Meryton in Hertfordshire, England. She is 20 years old at the beginning of the novel.[4] Elizabeth is described as an intelligent young woman, with "a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous". She often presents a playful good-natured impertinence that does not offend. Early in the novel she is depicted as being personally proud of her wit and her accuracy in judging the social behaviour and intentions of others.
Her father is a landowner, but his estate is entailed away from his children under English law because he does not have a son. Upon his death, Longbourn will be inherited by his cousin, Mr. William Collins, a clergyman. This future provides the cause of Mrs. Bennet's eagerness to have her daughters married off to wealthy men.
Elizabeth is her father's favourite, described by him as having "something more of quickness than her sisters". In contrast, she is the least dear to her mother, especially after Elizabeth refuses a marriage proposal from Mr. Collins. Elizabeth is also often upset and embarrassed by the impropriety and silliness of her mother and three younger sisters.
Within her neighbourhood Elizabeth is considered a beauty and a charming young woman with "fine eyes", to which Mr. Darcy is first drawn. Darcy is later attracted more particularly to her "light and pleasing" figure, the "easy playfulness" of her manners, her mind and personality, and eventually considers her "one of the handsomest women" in his acquaintance.
[edit] In Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice primarily focuses on Elizabeth and the progression of her relationship with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, a wealthy, proud man who snubs her after their introduction at a public dance. Her first impression of Darcy leads Elizabeth to form a negative opinion of him. This dislike is reinforced when she meets the handsome and attentive Mr. Wickham, a lieutenant in the nearby militia. Led on by Wickham's alluring personality, Elizabeth develops a regard for him that seems mutual. Wickham then leads the neighborhood to believe that he has been unfairly treated by Darcy. Elizabeth is persuaded that her prejudice against Darcy is well-founded upon the available evidence and what she considers her superior judgment of human character.
Elizabeth is thus surprised when Darcy declares his love for her and proposes. But while expressing his ardent love he reminds her of the large gap in their social status, remarking that Elizabeth could hardly expect him to "rejoice" in her "inferior connections". Offended by his pride, Elizabeth vehemently refuses him. She sharply details her main reasons for disliking him: his role in separating Jane and Mr. Bingley and his treatment of Mr. Wickham. On Darcy's complaint of her apparent bitterness, she replies that the arrogant way by which he proposed to her prevented her from feeling concern for him she "might have felt had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner".
Darcy departs in anger and mortification. He delivers a letter by hand to Elizabeth the following morning which tells her his motives behind separating Bingley and Jane, as well as the truth of Wickham's immoral behaviour towards Darcy's younger sister Georgiana. After much thought, Elizabeth recollects inconsistencies in Wickham's story and realizes he is not as honourable as he states. She begins to recognize her own prejudices and her errors in judgment, and begins to change her opinion of Darcy. Darcy, under the influence of Elizabeth's criticism, also sincerely re-evaluates his own actions and general behaviour towards others.
Several months later Elizabeth is invited by her aunt and uncle Gardiner to accompany them on a tour of Derbyshire. While there they visit Pemberley, Darcy's grand estate. Darcy returns home unexpectedly and runs into Elizabeth while she is walking on the grounds. She is mortified, but Darcy astonishes Elizabeth with his kindness and courtesy towards her and her relatives, whom he had previously considered socially inferior. Elizabeth is then introduced to Georgiana Darcy. Elizabeth observes that Georgiana's "proud" disposition is mere shyness and takes a liking to the younger woman.
After Darcy secretly intervenes in her familial crisis, Elizabeth realizes that she has fallen in love with him. He proposes for a second time and they are married in a double wedding with Jane and Bingley. The novel concludes with the hint that they lead the "happy marriage of the convention" at Pemberley with Georgiana.[5]
[edit] In popular culture
Elizabeth Bennet has become one of the most famous heroines in the history of English literature, known for her intelligence and independent thinking from the expected ambitions of her society. These qualities and her timeless romance with the proud Mr. Darcy have carried over into various theatrical retellings. Helen Fielding's novel Bridget Jones's Diary, as well as the film series of the same name, is a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, with Elizabeth as Renee Zellweger's title character. In Gurinder Chada's Bollywood adaptation, Bride and Prejudice, Aishwarya Rai plays the Elizbeth character, Lalita Bakshi. In the 2008 television film Lost in Austen, actress Gemma Arterton plays a version of Lizzie who switches places with a modern day young woman. Emma Stone is currently rumored to star as the zombie-slaying Elizabeth Bennet in the film version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a popular novel by Seth Grahame-Smith.[6]
[edit] Depictions in film and television
[edit] Film
[edit] Television
| Year | Actress | Role | Television program | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Curigwen Lewis | Elizabeth Bennet | Pride and Prejudice | |
| 1949 | Madge Evans | Elizabeth Bennet | The Philco Television Playhouse | Season 1, Episode 17 - Pride and Prejudice |
| 1952 | Daphne Slater | Elizabeth Bennet | Pride and Prejudice | |
| 1957 | Virna Lisi | Elisabeth Bennet | Orgoglio e pregiudizio | An adaptation in Italian. |
| 1958 | Jane Downs | Elizabeth Bennet | Pride and Prejudice | |
| Kay Hawtrey | Elizabeth Bennet | General Motors Theatre | Episode - Pride and Prejudice (Originally aired on December 21). | |
| 1961 | Lies Franken | Elizabeth Bennet | De vier dochters Bennet | An adaptation in Dutch. |
| 1967 | Celia Bannerman | Elizabeth Bennet | Pride and Prejudice | |
| 1980 | Elizabeth Garvie | Elizabeth Bennet | Pride and Prejudice | |
| 1995 | Jennifer Ehle | Elizabeth Bennet | Pride and Prejudice | Won - British Academy Television Award for Best Actress |
| Dee Hannigan | Elizabeth Bennet | Wishbone | Season 1, Episode 25 - Furst Impressions | |
| 1997 | Julia Lloyd | Elizabeth Bennet | Red Dwarf | Season 7, Episode 6 - Beyond a Joke |
| 2001 | Lauren Tom | Elizabeth Bennet | Futurama | Season 3, Episode 10 - The Day the Earth Stood Stupid |
| 2008 | Gemma Arterton | Elizabeth Bennet | Lost in Austen | A Fantasy adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in which a modern woman trades places with Elizabeth Bennet. |
[edit] References
- ^ William Dean Howells 2009, p. 48
- ^ "SparkNotes: Pride and Prejudice: Analysis of Major Characters". sparknotes.com. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/pride/canalysis.html. Retrieved 19 September 2010.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Wright, Andrew H. "Elizabeth Bennet." Elizabeth Bennet (introduction by Harold Bloom). Broomall: Chelsea House Publishers , 2004. 37-38 . Google Book Search. Web. 22 October 2011.
- ^ Pride and Prejudice. Chapter 29.
- ^ Magee, William H. Convention and the Art of Jane Austen's Heroines. San Francisco: International Scholars Publications, 1995. 95-111. Print.
- ^ Variety article "Emma Stone offered 'Zombies' lead"
- ^ Variety article "Emma Stone offered 'Zombies' lead"
[edit] Bibliography
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pride and Prejudice |
- Austen, Jane (1907). Pride and Prejudice. Dent. http://books.google.com/books?id=YFgVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover.
- Howells, William Dean (1901). Heroines of Fiction, Volume 1. Harper and Brothers. pp. 37–48. http://books.google.com/books?id=yt0oAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover.
- Nardin, Jane (1973). Those Elegant Decorums: The Concept of Propriety in Jane Austen's Novels. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0873952367. http://books.google.com/books?id=Nl3sEMFGzWEC&printsec=frontcover.
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