Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is the second published novel by English author Jane Austen, written when she was aged 20–21, and later published in 1813.
A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness.
Her father Mr Bennet, owner of the Longbourn estate in Hertfordshire, has five daughters; but this estate is entailed by a strict settlement that Mr Bennet entered into when coming of age, so now can only be inherited in the male line. His wife brought a settlement of £5,000 into the marriage as her 'separate estate', and has since inherited an additional £4,000 on the death of her father; but Mrs Bennet and her daughters face living only on the interest from these sums upon Mr Bennet's death. To his regret, he has failed to save out of the income from the Longbourn estate to provide enhanced marriage portions for his daughters. From the Bennets' perspective, it is imperative that at least one of their daughters marry well to support the others, which is a primary motivation driving the plot.
Pride and Prejudice has consistently appeared near the top of lists of "most-loved books" among literary scholars and the reading public. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, with over 20 million copies sold, and has inspired many derivatives in modern literature. For more than a century, dramatic adaptations, reprints, unofficial sequels, films, and TV versions of Pride and Prejudice have portrayed the memorable characters and themes of the novel, reaching mass audiences.

Plot summary

In the early 19th century, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Bennet family lives at their Longbourn estate, situated near the small town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, England. Mrs Bennet's greatest desire is to marry off her five daughters to secure their futures. A regiment of militia is encamped outside the town, and the younger Bennet daughters flirt with the officers.
The arrival of Mr Bingley, a rich bachelor who rents the neighbouring Netherfield estate, gives her hope that one of her daughters might contract a marriage to their advantage, because, as stated in the novel's opening sentence, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." At a ball, the family is introduced to the Netherfield party, including Mr Bingley, his two sisters, Caroline, who is unmarried, and Louisa, who is married to Mr Hurst, and his closest friend Mr Darcy. Mr Bingley's friendly and cheerful manner earns him popularity among the guests. He appears interested in Jane, the eldest Bennet daughter. Mr Darcy, reputed to be twice as wealthy as Mr Bingley, is haughty and aloof, causing a decided dislike of him. He declines to dance with Elizabeth, the second-eldest Bennet daughter, as she is "not handsome enough". Although she jokes about it with her friend, Elizabeth is deeply offended. Despite this first impression, Mr Darcy secretly begins to find himself drawn to Elizabeth as they continue to encounter each other at social events, appreciating her wit and frankness.
Mr Collins, a recently ordained clergyman and, as a distant cousin, the presumptive inheritor of the Longbourn estate, visits the Bennet family with the intention of finding a wife among the five girls under the advice of his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh, also revealed to be Mr Darcy's aunt. He decides to pursue Elizabeth. The Bennet family meets the charming militia officer George Wickham, who tells Elizabeth in confidence that Mr Darcy had treated him badly in the past. Elizabeth's prejudice toward Mr Darcy leads her to believe Wickham. Elizabeth dances with Mr Darcy at a ball where Mrs Bennet hints loudly that she expects Jane and Bingley to become engaged. Elizabeth rejects Mr Collins's marriage proposal, to her mother's fury and her father's relief. Mr Collins subsequently proposes to Charlotte Lucas, a friend of Elizabeth's, and is accepted. Having heard Mrs Bennet's words at the ball, and disapproving of the marriage, Mr Darcy prompts Mr Bingley to leave for London and then, supported by the two sisters, persuades him not to return to Netherfield. A heartbroken Jane visits her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London to raise her spirits, while Elizabeth's hatred for Mr Darcy grows, as she suspects he was responsible for Mr Bingley's departure.
In the spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr Collins in Kent. Elizabeth and her hosts are invited to Rosings Park, Lady Catherine's home. Mr Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, are also visiting. Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth how Mr Darcy recently saved a friend, presumably Bingley, from an undesirable match. Elizabeth realises that the prevented engagement was to Jane. Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, declaring his love for her despite her low social connections. She is shocked, as she was unaware of Mr Darcy's interest, and rejects him angrily, saying that he is the last person she would ever marry and that she could never love a man who caused her sister such unhappiness; she further accuses him of treating Wickham unjustly. Mr Darcy brags about his success in separating Bingley and Jane and sarcastically dismisses the accusation regarding Wickham without addressing it. The next day, Mr Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter explaining that Wickham, the son of his late father's steward, had refused the parish "living" Mr Darcy's father had intended for him, and was instead given money to pursue a career in the law. Wickham had quickly squandered the money and then tried to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, for her considerable dowry. Mr Darcy also writes that he separated Jane and Bingley because he believed her to be indifferent to Bingley and because of the lack of propriety displayed by her family. While still believing Mr Darcy having been mistaken about Jane, Elizabeth realises from his letter how much he has had to be on guard against marital adventurers; and is ashamed by her mother's predatory behaviour and her own prejudice.
Months later, Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire. They persuade Elizabeth to visit Pemberley, Darcy's estate there, noting that he is unlikely to be at home. When Mr Darcy returns unexpectedly, he is exceedingly gracious with Elizabeth and the Gardiners. Elizabeth is surprised by Darcy's behaviour and grows fond of him, even coming to regret rejecting his proposal. In Derbyshire she receives news that her sister Lydia has run off with Wickham. She tells Mr Darcy; both depart in haste. The errant couple are eventually tracked down in London. After an agonising interim, Wickham agrees to marry Lydia; all assume that Mr Gardiner has paid off Wickham, and Mr Bennet is deeply troubled at how this debt may be repaid. But when Lydia and Wickham, now married, visit the Bennet family at Longbourn, Lydia accidentally lets slip to Jane and Elizabeth that Mr Darcy was at her wedding. Jane assures Lydia that they will not probe her further, but Elizabeth, seized with suppositions, writes to Aunt Gardiner for further information. Although Mr Darcy, seeking to avoid placing Mr Bennet and Elizabeth under further obligations, had sworn everyone involved to secrecy, Mrs Gardiner now feels obliged to inform Elizabeth in a confidential letter that he had secured the match at great expense and trouble to himself. Mrs Gardiner concludes this letter by observing that Mr Darcy is clearly in need of a wife, and supposes that Elizabeth is the object of his 'sly' intentions. She indirectly implies that Elizabeth herself may already be aware of this.
Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy return to Netherfield. Jane accepts Mr Bingley's proposal. A week later, Lady Catherine, having heard from a confidential letter that Mr Collins has nevertheless shared with her that Elizabeth and Mr Darcy may intend to marry, visits Elizabeth and demands she promise never to accept Mr Darcy's proposal, as she and Darcy's late mother had already planned his marriage to her daughter Anne. While admitting that she and Mr Darcy were not engaged, Elizabeth insistently refuses to offer any assurance that they would never do so. Outraged Lady Catherine storms off, pointedly refusing to proffer the conventional civilities, to confront Mr Darcy with the same demands she had made of Elizabeth. Darcy similarly refuses to comply, and heartened at his aunt's indignant relaying of Elizabeth's response, returns with Bingley to Longbourn. When Elizabeth reveals that she had already known of his part in Lydia's marriage, and offers him her thanks, Darcy realises that this may not present the bar to their engagement that he had feared. He again proposes marriage and is accepted. That evening, Darcy seeks the proper approval of Mr Bennet and receives it, though Mr Bennet needs extensive persuading from Elizabeth that this truly is her wish. He eventually gives his blessing, at which Elizabeth lets him into the secret of what Darcy had done for Lydia, which ostensibly takes the burden from Mr Bennet's shoulders. He may now immediately make an offer to repay the debt in full, safe in the confidence that it will be refused, but family honour will be restored.

Characters

Elizabeth Bennet – the second-eldest of the Bennet daughters, she is attractive, witty and intelligent – but with a tendency to form tenacious and prejudiced first impressions. As the story progresses, so does her tumultuous relationship with Mr Darcy. The course of Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship is ultimately decided when Darcy overcomes his pride, and Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice, leading them both to surrender to their love for each other.
Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy – Mr Bingley's friend and owner of the Darcy family seat of Pemberley in Derbyshire, said to be worth at least £10,000 a year. Although he is handsome, tall, and intelligent, Darcy lacks ease and social graces, so others frequently mistake his initially haughty reserve as proof of excessive pride. A new visitor to the Meryton setting of the novel, he is ultimately Elizabeth Bennet's love interest. Though he appears to be proud and is frequently disliked at first impression for this reason, his servants vouch for his kindness and decency.
Mr Bennet – A logical and reasonable middle-aged landed gentleman of a more modest income of £2,000 per annum, and the dryly sarcastic patriarch of the Bennet family, with five unmarried daughters. His estate, Longbourn, is entailed to the male line. His affection for his wife wore off early in their marriage and is now reduced to mere toleration. He is often described as 'indolent' in the novel. His detachment from the actions of his wife and younger daughters, and disinclination to impose economy on their spendthrift ways, is the ultimate cause of their current predicament; he knows this, and increasingly regrets it, but does nothing about it.
Mrs Bennet – the early middle-aged wife of Mr Bennet, and the mother of their five daughters. Mrs Bennet is a hypochondriac who imagines herself susceptible to attacks of tremors and palpitations whenever things are not going her way. She is silly, frivolous, and tactless, and is given to embarrassing her husband and older daughters with a casual disregard for conventions of property, responsibility or propriety. Her main ambition in life is to marry her daughters off to wealthy men. Whether or not any such matches will give her daughters happiness is of less concern to her than is the prospect of their access to someone else's money. She received a dowry of £5,000 from her father, which is settled as providing her with a lifetime allowance of 'pin money' and as marriage portions for her daughters after her death. She then inherited a further £4,000 on her father's death. But rather than manage within these constraints, she seeks to evade her responsibilities through her daughters' marriages.
Jane Bennet – the eldest Bennet sister. She is considered the most beautiful young lady in the neighbourhood and is inclined to see only the good in others. She falls in love with Charles Bingley, a rich young man recently moved to Hertfordshire and a close friend of Mr Darcy.
Mary Bennet – the middle Bennet sister, and the plainest of her siblings. Mary has a serious disposition and mostly reads and plays music, although she is often impatient to display her accomplishments and is rather vain about them. She frequently moralises to her family. According to James Edward Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen, Mary ended up marrying one of her Uncle Philips's law clerks and moving into Meryton with him.
Catherine "Kitty" Bennet – the fourth Bennet daughter. Though older than Lydia, she is her shadow and follows her in her pursuit of the officers of the militia. She is often portrayed as envious of Lydia and is described as a "silly" young woman. However, it is said that she improved when removed from Lydia's influence. According to James Edward Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen, Kitty later married a clergyman who lived near Pemberley.
Lydia Bennet – the youngest Bennet sister. She is frivolous, headstrong, irresponsible, and spoiled, and is her mother's favorite. Her main activity in life is socialising, especially flirting with the officers of the militia. This leads to her running off with George Wickham, although he has no intention of marrying her. Lydia shows no regard for the moral code of her society; as Ashley Tauchert says, she "feels without reasoning". Mr Darcy settles on her a 'separate estate' of £1,000 at her eventual wedding to Wickham.
Charles Bingley – a handsome, amiable, and wealthy young man who leases Netherfield Park with hopes of purchasing it. Though genial and well-mannered, he is easily influenced by his friend Mr Darcy and his sisters' opinions, which leads to the disruption of his romance with Jane Bennet. His inherited fortune of £100,000 is derived from "trade" rather than landed wealth.
Caroline Bingley – the snobbish sister of Charles Bingley, with an inheritance of her own of £20,000. She harbours designs on Mr Darcy and is jealous of his growing attachment to Elizabeth. She also disapproves of her brother's admiration for Jane Bennet and is disdainful of Meryton society, driven by her vanity and desire for social elevation.
George Wickham – Wickham is a charming but reprehensible cad. He has been acquainted with Mr Darcy since infancy, being the son of Mr Darcy's father's steward. An officer in the militia, he is superficially charming and rapidly forms an attachment with Elizabeth Bennet. He later runs off with Lydia with no intention of marriage, which would have resulted in her and her family's complete disgrace; but for Darcy's intervention to bribe Wickham to marry her by paying off his immediate debts and purchasing for him a commission in a regular infantry regiment.
Mr William Collins – Mr Collins is Mr Bennet's distant cousin, a clergyman and rector of Hunsford in Kent; and the current inheritor presumptive to his estate of Longbourn House. He is an obsequious, sanctimonious and pompous man, prone to making long and tedious speeches, who is excessively devoted to his patroness and neighbour, Lady Catherine de Bourgh; and regularly dines with her at Rosings, providing a conduit of information on many confidential matters to do with the Hunsford parish and its households. The Collinses are, however, not regularly invited to dine at any other households in the locality, both because the Hunsford rectory income is insufficient to match the 'style of living' expected of Kent landed gentry; but also by implication, because Mr Collins cannot be trusted to keep confidences from Lady Catherine.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh – the overbearing aunt of Mr Darcy. Lady Catherine is the wealthy widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh of Rosings Park, where she resides with her daughter Anne, who has inherited her father's estate which unusually is not entailed in the male line. She meddles improperly in the business of the Overseers of the Poor and Justices of the Peace, is haughty, hectoring, pompous, domineering, and condescending, and has long planned to marry off her daughter, Anne, to Darcy to 'unite the two estates', claiming it to be the dearest wish of both her and her late sister, Lady Anne Darcy. Unstated, but always understood, is that Lady Catherine has few other apparent options. Anne may be the sole owner of Rosings, but she is of the same age as Mr Darcy - around 28 - and not in good health. She may be unlikely otherwise to marry, and may not live long. Consequently Rosings, if otherwise entailed, might be expected to pass to another branch of the de Bourgh family, and Lady Catherine could be homeless.
Mr Edward Gardiner and Mrs Gardiner – Edward Gardiner is Mrs Bennet's brother and a successful London tradesman of sensible and gentlemanly character. Aunt Gardiner is genteel and elegant and is close to her nieces Jane and Elizabeth. The Gardiners are the parents of four children. They host the marriage of Lydia with Wickham from their home in Gracechurch Street, and are instrumental in bringing about the marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth.
Georgiana Darcy – Georgiana is Mr Darcy's quiet, amiable and shy younger sister, with a settled dowry of £30,000 from the Pemberley estate; who is 16 when the story begins. When still 15, Miss Darcy almost eloped with Mr Wickham but was saved by her brother, whom she idolises. Thanks to years of tutelage under masters, she is accomplished at the piano, singing, playing the harp, drawing, and modern languages and is therefore described as Caroline Bingley's idea of an "accomplished woman".
Charlotte Lucas – Elizabeth's 27-year-old friend. She marries Mr Collins for financial security, fearing becoming a burden to her family. Austen uses Charlotte's decision to illustrate how women of the time often married out of convenience rather than love, without condemning her choice. Charlotte is the daughter of Sir William Lucas and Lady Lucas, neighbours of the Bennet family.
Colonel Fitzwilliam – Colonel Fitzwilliam is the younger son of an earl and the nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lady Anne Darcy; this makes him the cousin of Anne de Bourgh and the Darcy siblings, Fitzwilliam and Georgiana. He is about 30 years old at the beginning of the novel. He is the coguardian of Miss Georgiana Darcy, along with his cousin, Mr Darcy. According to Colonel Fitzwilliam, as a younger son, he cannot marry without thought to his prospective bride's dowry.