Pride and Prejudice

This article is about the novel. For other uses, see Pride and Prejudice (disambiguation).

Pride and Prejudice

Author	Jane Austen
Language	English
Genre	Novel of manners, Satire
Publisher	T. Egerton, Whitehall
Publication date	28 January 1813
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardback, 3 volumes)
ISBN	NA

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman, living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.

Though the story is set at the turn of the 19th century, it retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of lists of 'most loved books' such as The Big Read. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, and receives considerable attention from literary scholars. Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes. To date, the book has sold some 20 million copies worldwide.

Plot summary

The narrative opens with Mr Bingley, a wealthy young bachelor, moving into Netherfield Park in the neighbourhood of the Bennet family. Mr Bingley is soon well-received, while his friend Mr Darcy makes a less favourable first impression by appearing proud and condescending. When Elizabeth Bennet overhears herself slighted by Mr Darcy, she forms a prejudice against him. Mr Bingley singles out Elizabeth's elder sister, Jane, for particular attention and it soon becomes apparent that they have formed an attachment to one another.

On paying a visit to Mr Bingley's sister, Jane is caught in a heavy downpour, catches cold and is forced to stay at Netherfield for several days. Elizabeth arrives to nurse her sister and is thrown into frequent company with Mr Darcy who begins to perceive his attachment to her.

Illustration by Hugh Thomson representing Mr Collins protesting he never reads novels.

Mr Collins, a clergyman, pays a visit to the Bennets. Mr Bennet and Elizabeth are much amused by his obsequious veneration of his employer, the noble Lady Catherine de Bourgh, as well as by his self-important and pedantic nature. It soon becomes apparent that Mr Collins has come to Longbourne to choose a wife from among the Bennet sisters and Elizabeth has been singled out. At the same time, Elizabeth forms an acquaintance with Mr Wickham, a militia officer who claims to have been very seriously mistreated by Mr Darcy, despite having been a ward of Mr Darcy's father. This tale, and Elizabeth's attraction to Mr Wickham, adds fuel to her dislike of Mr Darcy.

At a ball given by Mr Bingley at Netherfield, Mr Darcy becomes aware of a general expectation that Mr Bingley and Jane will marry, and the Bennet family, with the exception of Jane and Elizabeth, make a public display of poor manners and decorum. The following morning, Mr Collins proposes marriage to Elizabeth, who refuses him, much to her mother's distress. Mr Collins recovers and promptly becomes engaged to Elizabeth's close friend, Charlotte. Mr Bingley abruptly quits Netherfield and returns to London, and Elizabeth is convinced that Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley's sister have conspired to separate him from Jane.

In the spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr Collins. Elizabeth and her hosts are frequently invited to Rosings Park, home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr Darcy's aunt, and soon Mr Darcy and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam arrive to visit. Mr Darcy finds himself, again, attracted to Elizabeth and proposes to her. Elizabeth, however, has recently learned from Colonel Fitzwilliam of Mr Darcy's role in separating Mr Bingley and Jane and she angrily rebukes him. During a heated discussion, Elizabeth charges him with destroying her sister's happiness, with his disgraceful treatment of Mr Wickham, and with having conducted himself in an ungentlemanly manner. Mr Darcy responds with a letter clearing himself and showing that the blame lies with Mr Wickham. Regarding Mr Bingley and Jane, Mr Darcy claims that he had observed in Jane no reciprocal interest in Mr Bingley. Upon reading the letter, Elizabeth comes to acknowledge the truth of Mr Darcy's assertions.

Elizabeth tells her father that Darcy was responsible for uniting Lydia and Wickham. This is one of the two earliest illustrations of Pride and Prejudice. The clothing styles reflect the time the illustration was engraved (the 1830s), not the time the novel was written or set.

Some months later, Elizabeth and her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner visit Pemberley, Mr Darcy's estate, believing him absent, when he returns unexpectedly. Although surprised to find her there, Mr Darcy appears gracious and welcoming, and treats the Gardiners with great civility. Mr Darcy introduces Elizabeth to his sister and Elizabeth begins to realise her attraction to Mr Darcy. Their renewed acquaintance, however, is cut short by news that Lydia, Elizabeth's youngest sister, has run away with Mr Wickham. Elizabeth and the Gardners return to Longbourne, where Elizabeth grieves that her acquaintance with Mr Darcy will end because of her sister's disgrace.

Lydia and Mr Wickham are soon found, married and pay visit Longbourn where Lydia discloses that Mr Darcy was present at her wedding. Elizabeth finds that Mr Darcy was responsible for finding the couple and arranging their marriage, at great expense to himself. Soon after, Mr Bingley returns to Longbourn and proposes marriage to Jane, who immediately accepts.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh then makes an unexpected visit to warn Elizabeth against marrying Mr Darcy. While confused at the source of Lady Catherine's suspicions, Elizabeth refuses to comply. Mr Darcy, upon hearing this, realises that Elizabeth's opinion of him may have changed and again proposes. Elizabeth accepts, and both of the elder Bennet sisters are married.

Main characters

Character genealogy

Mr Hurst Mrs Hurst Mr Philips Caroline Bingley Mrs Philips Mr Charles Bingley Mrs Gardiner Jane Bennet Mr Gardiner Elizabeth Bennet Mrs Bennet {{{}}}} Mary Bennet Mr Bennet Catherine "Kitty" Bennet Mr William Collins Lydia Bennet Charlotte Lucas Mr George Wickham (Old) Mr Darcy Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy {{{}}}} Lady Anne Darcy Georgiana Darcy Lady Catherine De Bourgh Anne De Bourgh Lord Brandon Colonel Fitzwilliam

• Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist of the novel and the reader sees the unfolding plot and the other characters mostly from her viewpoint. The second of the Bennet daughters at 20 years old, she is intelligent, lively, attractive, and witty, but with a tendency to judge on first impressions and perhaps to be a little selective of the evidence upon which she bases her judgments. As the plot begins, her closest relationships are with her father, her sister Jane, her aunt Mrs Gardiner, and her best friend Charlotte Lucas.

• Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy is the main male character. Twenty-eight years old and unmarried, Mr Darcy is the wealthy owner of the famous family estate of Pemberley in Derbyshire and is rumoured to be worth at least ten thousand pounds a year. Handsome, tall, and intelligent, but not convivial, his aloof decorum and rectitude are seen by many as an excessive pride and concern for social status. He makes a poor impression on strangers, such as the landed gentry of Meryton, but is valued by those who know him well.

• Mr Bennet, a bookish and intelligent gentleman with a wife and five daughters. He is amused by the indecorous manners and nonsense of his wife and three younger daughters, and offers little beyond mockery by way of correcting them. He relates very well with his two eldest daughters, particularly Elizabeth, showing them much more respect than his wife and younger daughters.

• Mrs Bennet is the wife of her social superior Mr Bennet, and mother of Elizabeth and her sisters. She is frivolous, excitable, and narrow-minded, and is imagines herself susceptible to attacks of tremors and palpitations. Her public manners and social climbing are embarrassing to Jane and Elizabeth. Her favourite daughter is the youngest, Lydia. Her main ambition in life is to marry her daughters off well.

Lady Catherine confronts Elizabeth about Darcy, on the title page of the first illustrated edition. This is the other of the first two illustrations of the novel.

• Jane Bennet is the eldest Bennet sister. Twenty-two years old when the novel begins, she is considered the most beautiful young lady in the neighbourhood. Her character is contrasted with Elizabeth's as sweeter, shyer, and equally sensible, but not as clever; her most notable trait is a desire to see only the good in others. Jane is closest to Elizabeth, and her character is often contrasted with that of Elizabeth. She is favoured by her mother because of her beauty.

• Mary Bennet is the only plain Bennet sister, and rather than join in some of the family activities, she reads, although she is often impatient for display. She works hard for knowledge and accomplishment, but has neither genius nor taste. She is as silly as her two younger sisters, Kitty and Lydia, though she thinks she is very wise. She is included very little in the book by the author.

• Catherine "Kitty" Bennet is the fourth Bennet sister, aged 17. She is portrayed as a less headstrong but equally silly shadow of Lydia.

• Lydia Bennet is the youngest Bennet sister, aged 15 when the novel begins. She is frivolous and headstrong. Her main activity in life is socialising, especially flirting with the officers of the militia. She dominates her older sister Kitty and is supported in the family by her mother. Lydia shows no regard for the moral code of her society and is remorseless for the disgrace she causes her family.

• Charles Bingley is a handsome, good-natured, and wealthy young gentleman of 22, who rents Netherfield Park near Longbourn. He is contrasted with his friend Mr Darcy as being, kinder, more charming and having more generally pleasing manners, although not being quite so clever. He lacks resolve and is easily influenced by others.

• Caroline Bingley is the snobbish sister of Charles Bingley with a dowry of twenty thousand pounds. Miss Bingley harbours romantic intentions on Mr Darcy, is jealous of his growing attachment to Elizabeth, and is disdainful and rude to her.

• George Wickham has been acquainted with Mr Darcy since childhood, having been under the guardianship of Mr Darcy's father. An officer in the militia, he is superficially charming and rapidly forms an attachment with Elizabeth Bennet. He spreads tales about the wrongs Mr Darcy has done him, adding to the local society's predjudice, but eventually is found to have been the wrongdoer himself. He runs off with Lydia, and is paid to marry her.

• William Collins, aged 25, is Mr Bennet's clergyman cousin and heir to his estate. He is "not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society." Mr Collins is obsequious, pompous and lacking in common sense. Elizabeth's rejection of Collins' marriage proposal is welcomed by her father, regardless of the financial benefit to the family of such a match. Mr Collins then marries Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Lucas.

• Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who possesses wealth and social standing, is haughty, domineering and condescending. Mr Collins, among others, enables these characteristics by deferring to her opinions and desires. Elizabeth, however, is duly respectful but not intimidated. Her nephew, Mr Darcy, is offended by her lack of manners, especially towards Elizabeth, and later, courts her disapproval in marrying Elizabeth, in spite of her objections.

• Aunt and Uncle Gardiner: he is Mrs Bennet's brother and a successful businessman of sensible and gentlemanly character. Aunt Gardiner is close to her nieces Elizabeth and Jane. Jane stays with the Gardiners in London for a period, and Elizabeth travels with them to Derbyshire, where she again meets Mr Darcy. The Gardiners are quick in their perception of an attachment between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, and judge him without prejudice. They are both actively involved in helping Mr Darcy arrange the marriage between Lydia and Mr Wickham.

• Georgiana Darcy is Mr Darcy's quiet, amiable and shy younger sister, aged 16 when the story begins. When 15, Miss Darcy almost elopes with Mr Wickham, who seeks her thirty thousand pound dowry. Miss Darcy is introduced to Elizabeth at Pemberley and is later delighted at the prospect of becoming her sister-in-law.

• Charlotte Lucas is Elizabeth's friend who, at 27 years old, fears becoming a burden to her family and therefore agrees to marry Mr Collins in order to gain financial security.

Interrelationships

A comprehensive web showing the relationships between the main characters in Pride and Prejudice

Major themes

Many critics take the novel's title as a starting point when analysing the major themes of Pride and Prejudice; however, Robert Fox cautions against reading too much into the title since commercial factors may have played a role in its selection. "After the success of Sense and Sensibility, nothing would have seemed more natural than to bring out another novel of the same author using again the formula of antithesis and alliteration for the title. It should be pointed out that the qualities of the title are not exclusively assigned to one or the other of the protagonists; both Elizabeth and Darcy display pride and prejudice."

A major theme in much of Austen's work is the importance of environment and upbringing on the development of young people's character and morality. Social standing and wealth are not necessarily advantages in her world, and a further theme common to Jane Austen's work is ineffectual parents. In Pride and Prejudice, the failure of Mr and Mrs Bennet (particularly the latter) as parents is blamed for Lydia's lack of moral judgment; Darcy, on the other hand, has been taught to be principled and scrupulously honourable, but is also proud and overbearing. Kitty, rescued from Lydia's bad influence and spending more time with her older sisters after they marry, is said to improve greatly in their superior society.

Style

Pride and Prejudice, like most of Jane Austen's works, employs the narrative technique of free indirect speech. This has been defined as "the free representation of a character's speech, by which one means, not words actually spoken by a character, but the words that typify the character's thoughts, or the way the character would think or speak, if she thought or spoke". By using narrative which adopts the tone and vocabulary of a particular character (in this case, that of Elizabeth), Austen invites the reader to follow events from Elizabeth's viewpoint, sharing her prejudices and misapprehensions. "The learning curve, while undergone by both protagonists, is disclosed to us solely through Elizabeth's point of view and her free indirect speech is essential ... for it is through it that we remain caught, if not stuck, within Elizabeth's misprisions."

Publication history

File:Pride a pr modern ed.jpg

Modern paperback editions of Pride and Prejudice

Austen began writing the novel after staying at Goodnestone Park in Kent with her brother Edward and his wife in 1796. The novel was originally titled First Impressions by Jane Austen, and was written between October 1796 and August 1797. On 1 November 1797 Austen's father sent a letter to London bookseller Thomas Cadell to ask if he had any interest in seeing the manuscript, but the offer was declined by return of post.

Austen made significant revisions to the manuscript for First Impressions between 1811 and 1812. She later renamed the story Pride and Prejudice. In renaming the novel, Austen probably had in mind the "sufferings and oppositions" summarized in the final chapter of Fanny Burney's Cecilia, called "Pride and Prejudice", where the phrase appears three times in block capitals. It is possible that the novel's original title was altered to avoid confusion with other works. In the years between the completion of First Impressions and its revision into Pride and Prejudice, two other works had been published under that name: a novel by Margaret Holford and a comedy by Horace Smith.

Austen sold the copyright for the novel to Thomas Egerton of Whitehall in exchange for £110 (Austen had asked for £150). This proved a costly decision. Austen had published Sense and Sensibility on a commission basis, whereby she indemnified the publisher against any losses and received any profits, less costs and the publisher's commission. Unaware that Sense and Sensibility would sell out its edition, making her £140, she passed the copyright to Egerton for a one-off payment, meaning that all the risk (and all the profits) would be his. Jan Fergus has calculated that Egerton subsequently made around £450 from just the first two editions of the book.

Egerton published the first edition of Pride and Prejudice in three hardcover volumes in January 1813, priced at 18s. Favourable reviews saw this edition sold out, with a second edition published in November that year. A third edition was published in 1817.

Foreign language translations first appeared in 1813 in French; subsequent translations were published in German, Danish and Swedish. Pride and Prejudice was first published in the United States in August 1832 as Elizabeth Bennet or, Pride and Prejudice. The novel was also included in Richard Bentley's Standard Novel series in 1833. R. W. Chapman's scholarly edition of Pride and Prejudice, first published in 1923, has become the standard edition from which many modern publications of the novel are based.

Reception

The novel was well received, with three favourable reviews in the first months following publication. Jan Fergus calls it "her most popular novel, both with the public and with her family and friends", and quotes David Gilson's A Bibliography of Jane Austen (Clarendon, 1982), where it is stated that Pride and Prejudice was referred to as "the fashionable novel" by Anne Isabella Milbanke, later to be the wife of Lord Byron. However, others did not agree. Charlotte Brontë wrote to noted critic and reviewer George Henry Lewes after reading a review of his published in Fraser's Magazine in 1847. He had praised Jane Austen's work and declared that he, "... would rather have written Pride and Prejudice, or Tom Jones, than any of the Waverley Novels". Miss Brontë, though, found Pride and Prejudice a disappointment, "... a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers; but ... no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck."

Modern popularity

• In 2003 the BBC conducted the largest ever poll for the "UK's Best-Loved Book" in which Pride and Prejudice came second, behind The Lord of the Rings.
• In a 2008 survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers, Pride and Prejudice came first in a list of the 101 best books ever written.

Adaptations

Film, television, and theatre

See also: Jane Austen in popular culture – Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice has engendered numerous adaptations. Some of the notable film versions include that of 1940 starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, (based in part on Helen Jerome's 1936 stage adaptation) and that of 2005 starring Keira Knightley (in an Oscar-nominated performance) and Matthew Macfadyen. Notable television versions include two by the BBC: the popular 1995 version starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and a 1980 version starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. A 1936 stage version was created by Helen Jerome played at the St. James's Theatre in London, starring Celia Johnson and Hugh Williams. First Impressions was a 1959 Broadway musical version starring Polly Bergen, Farley Granger, and Hermione Gingold. In 1995, a musical concept album was written by Bernard J. Taylor, with Peter Karrie in the role of Mr Darcy and Claire Moore in the role of Elizabeth Bennet. A new stage production, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, The New Musical, was presented in concert on 21 October 2008 in Rochester, New York with Colin Donnell as Darcy.

Bride and Prejudice, a movie by Gurinder Chadha, starring Aishwarya Rai, is a Bollywood adaptation of the novel; while Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy (2003), starring Kam Heskin and Orlando Seale, places the novel at a Mormon university in modern times. The Off-Broadway musical I Love You Because reverses the gender of the main roles, set in modern day New York City. The Japanese comic Hana Yori Dango by Yoko Kamio, in which the wealthy, arrogant and proud protagonist, Doumyouji Tsukasa, falls in love with a poor, lower-class girl named Makino Tsukushi, is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice. A 2008 Israeli television six-part miniseries set the story in the Galilee with Mr Darcy a well-paid worker in the high-tech industry.

Pride and Prejudice has also crossed into the science fiction and horror genres. In the 1997 episode of science fiction comedy Red Dwarf entitled "Beyond a Joke", the crew of the space ship relax in a virtual reality rendition of "Pride and Prejudice Land" in "Jane Austen World". The central premise of the television miniseries Lost in Austen is a modern woman suddenly swapping lives with that of Elizabeth Bennet. In February 2009, it was announced that Elton John's Rocket Pictures production company was making a film, Pride and Predator, based on the story, but with the added twist of an alien landing in Longbourne.

Literature

Main article: List of literary adaptations of Pride and Prejudice

The novel has inspired a number of other works that are not direct adaptations. Books inspired by Pride and Prejudice include: Mr. Darcy's Daughters and The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston; Darcy's Story (a best seller) and Dialogue with Darcy by Janet Aylmer; Pemberley: Or Pride and Prejudice Continued and An Unequal Marriage: Or Pride and Prejudice Twenty Years Later by Emma Tennant; The Book of Ruth (ASIN B00262ZRBM) by Helen Baker; Jane Austen Ruined My Life and Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo; Precipitation - A Continuation of Miss Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by Helen Baker; Searching for Pemberley by Mary Simonsen and Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and its sequel Darcy & Elizabeth: Nights and Days at Pemberly by Linda Berdoll.

In Gwyn Cready's comedic romance novel, Seducing Mr. Darcy, the heroine lands in Pride and Prejudice by way of magic massage, has a fling with Darcy and unknowingly changes the rest of the story.

In March 2009, Quirk Books released Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which takes Austen's actual, original work, and mashes it up with zombie hordes, cannibalism, ninjas, and ultra-violent mayhem. In March 2010, Quirk Books published a prequel which deals with Elizabeth Bennet's early days as a zombie hunter, entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls.

Marvel has also published their take on this classic, releasing a short comic series of five issues that stays true to the original storyline. The first issue was published on 1 April 2009 and was written by Nancy Hajeski.

Pamela Aidan is the author of a trilogy of books telling the story of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's point of view entitled Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman. The books are An Assembly Such as This, Duty and Desire and These Three Remain.

The six-part BBC comedy series Blackadder the Third (1987), set vaguely in the late 18th to early 19th centuries, parodies the double titles Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice in the titles of its episodes: "Dish and Dishonesty," "Ink and Incapability," "Nob and Nobility," "Sense and Senility," "Amy and Amiability," and "Duel and Duality."

A graphic novel sequel entitled Mary King was written by Sophie St. Clair and released in 2011. In 2009 MJF Books released Darcy's Passions, A Novel written by Regina Jeffers. It tells the story of Pride and Prejudice retold through Darcy's Eyes based on a Darcy's threefold passions: his sister, Pemberley and his love for Elizabeth Bennett spanning from when he meets Elizabeth to the beginning of their married life.

"Pride and Prejudice: The Jewess and the Gentile" written by Lev Raphael (2011) reimagines the novel with the Bennets as an Anglo-Jewish family.

In September 2011, Proxima Books, an imprint of Salt Publishing, released Mrs Darcy versus the Aliens, a humorous sequel to Miss Austen's original book in which Elizabeth Darcy is forced to team up with her old adversary George Wickham in order to defeat the tentacled alien hordes threatening Regency England.

External links

• Pride and Prejudice at Project Gutenberg
• Pride and Prejudice PDF format
• Pride and Prejudice, page-by-page text.
• Annotated HTML hypertext of Pride and Prejudice
• Free audiobook from LibriVox
• A Detailed Analysis of Pride and Prejudice by character, scene, principles of accomplishment, social evolution, etc. at Human Science
• Spark Notes