Elizabeth gave a small inaudible sigh as she walked through the white grounds of Longbourn, not even pretending to be listening to the constant ramblings of her companion. Instead, she was paying much more attention to the snow that was crunching beneath her feet and to the refreshing cool breeze that hit her face as she walked. She had hoped that her sister Kitty would make this time spent with Mr Collins more bearable, but it seemed that Kitty had suddenly developed an extremely quick pace and was out of their sight soon after they left the house. Elizabeth deduced that this was probably the doing of her mother, who had been trying to get her alone with Mr Collins for days. Elizabeth was a great lover of long walks and even heavy snow or rain could rarely keep her indoors. However, when her mother had suggested that Elizabeth and Kitty take a walk with Mr Collins, Elizabeth declined without a second’s thought since he was not pleasant company. Furthermore, soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire two weeks ago, he had been making advances towards Elizabeth that were wholly unwelcome and undesirable. At first, Elizabeth could not contemplate the reason why Mr Collins would choose herself over Jane; Jane, the eldest Miss Bennet, was decidedly Elizabeth’s superior in beauty and in any almost any other way. Later, she came to realise that her mother had actually discouraged Mr Collins from paying such attentions to Jane, due to the fact that she was certain her most beautiful and kindest daughter could do much better. With regards to her second eldest daughter, she was convinced that Elizabeth would become an old spinster if she did not manage to ‘catch’ Mr Collins. And so, despite her daughter’s reluctance, the mistress of Longbou... ... middle of paper ... ...re slightly numb from the cold and she lost her balance on the slippery ground. Consequently, she tripped forwards onto the iced waters of the lake. She initially thought herself safe, but the relatively thin sheet of ice could not stand the pressure of her weight and instantly began to crack, meaning that Elizabeth fell into the cold waters of the deep lake below. As a child, Elizabeth and her friends had spent many summers playing in and around this lake but now, her heavy clothing and boots made it impossible for her to swim out of its treacherous black waters. She could just about manage to keep herself afloat but could feel herself quickly losing control. Knowing that she was not going to be able to get out of this dilemma by herself, Elizabeth started to cry out for help. At first, all hope seemed to be lost but she then heard some heavy footsteps in the snow.
Despite the gathering winter she felt relieved to see that her sixteen- year old daughter, now her only child after the early death of her son James, was acting normal again. For the past fortnight the younger Elizabeth had been carrying herself in a strange manner. While walking along normally she would sometimes cry out. Last week she had shrieked at extremely inappropriate time in Sunday dinner and that day in church she had been overcome with irreverent laughter. She was always quick to offer a reasonable excuse to spare the swift punishment usually dispensed to children at the time, but the extravagance and immodes...
Elizabeth and I soon start walking next to each other. We both are just trying to enjoy a wonderful day in Salem. The birds were singing you could smell that the air was fresh, the flowers were blossomed, and you could just tell spring was here. This wonderful day came to a halt when I spoke the first word to Elizabeth.
into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s Answer, the heaving water covered him Over.” (Finely
The water seemed thicker somehow, harder and harder for him to struggle against and MoonKit was...sinking. Slipping away from the glittering temptation of sunlight beyond his head..
In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Jane uses the novel to show the common day romance of the time period. In the novel, Elizabeth Bennet, a sophisticated, lively girl manages to change Mr. Darcy, a cocky, stubborn man into a person who is head over heels in love. Although it takes her some time, Elizabeth is able to change the way Mr. Darcy feels about love in general and causes him to act differently then he has ever done before. Mr. Darcy’s self- discovery in response to Elizabeth Bennet’s blunt honestly allows him to re-evaluate his approach to love.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to love and marriage is the focal point of the narrative. But, the lesser known source of richness in Austen’s writing comes from her complex themes the well-developed minor characters. A closer examination of Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s dear friend in Pride and Prejudice, shows that while she did not take up a large amount of space in the narrative, her impact was great. Charlotte’s unfortunate circumstances in the marriage market make her a foil to Elizabeth, who has the power of choice and refusal when it comes to deciding who will be her husband. By focusing on Charlotte’s age and lack of beauty, Austen emphasizes how ridiculous and cruel marriage can be in this time.
To begin, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have a love of simple infatuation. This type of love is one without intimacy or commitment, and lies with pure passion. After the passion runs out, no love is left. Mr. Bennet married his wife because she had ample beauty, however, she exposed herself as unintelligent. He often warned his children not to do the same, just as he says to Elizabeth: "My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life. You know not what you are about" (Austen). The lack of love between her parents was quite obvious to Elizabeth as well. She saw that "her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in...
In her passage she imagines what it may have been like had William Shakespeare had a sister. She notices how difficult it would be even given...
Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte and she says yes. She feels that he is rich while she is not. Mr. Collins tells the Bennets that he will be back, and they think he plans to marry one of the other sisters, but Charlotte tells Elizabeth the news. This shocks Elizabeth.
It can be inferred that Austen crafted her characters to reflect the ridiculous idiosyncrasies concerning courtship and related issues. One of Austen’s characters that highly accentuates this illogical frivolity is Elizabeth’s mother, Mrs. Bennet. It becomes known to the audience early in the novel that Mrs. Bennet isn’t very bright, and that her skewed logic causes her to construct ridiculous schemes and make irrational decisions. Because “the business of her life was to get her daughters married” (2), Mrs. Bennet shows, throughout the novel, that she will do whatever it takes to marry off her daughters, no matter how heinous or absurd the method. Unfortunately, it is proven that, whenever Mrs. Bennet tries to be clever and scheme, her plans backfire. For example, when Jane is invited to dine with Mr. Bingley’s sister at Netherfield, Bingley’s residence, Mrs. Bennet denies Jane the use of their carriage saying, “No, my dear, you had better go on horseback, because it seems likely to rain; and then you must stay all night” (19). While Mrs. Bennet basked in the cleverness of her scheme, she neglected to consider her daughters physically health while traveling unsheltered through a storm. As a result, Jane becomes very ill and is unable to interact and converse with Mr. Bingley. Austen uses Mrs. Bennet’s antics to show that what may be perceived as the best method to solidify an engagement, may not be the best judgment for the health and physical wellbeing of her daughter, which should be considered more important than the former. Mrs. Bennet’s narrow outlook is also shown as she chastises Elizabeth for refusing Mr. Collins’ proposal of marriage. Mrs. Bennet tries to reason with Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him saying, “She is a very headstrong, foolish girl, and does not know her own interest but I will make her know it”
As a child, Jane was raised in a well respected English family with seven other brothers and sisters. Among them were six boys and one girl: James, George, Edward, Henry, Francis, and Cassandra. Jane herself became especially close to her only sister, Cassandra. They were not only sister’s, but best friends. Even when the two were apart, they wrote detailed letters to each other so often that it was almost as if they were
and Mrs. Bennet, Charlotte and Mr. Collins, Lydia and Mr. Wickham, Jane and Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Through these couples she explores the motivations of marriage as monetary advantage, social standing, physical attraction, and lastly love. She reveals her feelings that marriages for love are those that will be the strongest. This is seen clearly in Mr. Bennet 's remarks to Elizabeth in chapter 59. “ I know your disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior. Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage. You could scarcely escape discredit and misery. My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life. You know not what you are about. '
The roles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are contrasted between a father who cares about what’s inside of people and a mother who only worries about vanity and appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s parental guidance is unique to their personalities. Because of their two opposing personas, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s ideas of marriage are contradictory for their daughters; Mr. Bennet believes in a loving respectful marriage whereas Mrs. Bennet values a marriage which concerns wealth and social status. Their aspirations for Lydia, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Elizabeth mirror their conflicting ideologies. Mr. Bennet seems to have a quiet deep love for his daughters while, on the contrary, Mrs. Bennet’s love is over-acted and conditional. Both parents help to shape their daughters’ characteristics and beliefs: Lydia reflecting Mrs. Bennet’s flighty and excessive behavior while Elizabeth inherits Mr. Bennet’s pensive and reflective temperament. Looking past their dissimilar personality traits and contradicting convictions, both parents hold the family together and play an integral role in the household structure.
Jane Bennet is the eldest daughter in the Bennet family at 23 years old and is deemed the most beautiful of all the daughters and of all the ladies of Hertfordshire. She is amiable, and her “sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic” (132). She never wishes to think shamefully of anyone as long as she can help it. Her modesty is strong enough that those who do not know her may believe her to be reserved. Elizabeth and Jane have opposing dispositions yet their relationship is vital as they balance each other out. Jane brings out the benevolent qualities of others for Elizabeth while Elizabeth keeps Jane weary of ill-intent.
In Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” the story of two unlikely lovers unfolds. Elizabeth Bennett, the second eldest of five sisters, unfortunately has a mother who wants her to marry rich. When Elizabeth first encounters Fitzwilliam Darcy they mutually dislike each other. The two characters undergo conflicts that revolve around each other. As the story progresses Mr. Darcy finds a likeness for Elizabeth that she does not return. After Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, that she rejects, he clears up all the mistakes that Elizabeth believed he had made. Elizabeth then realizes that Mr. Darcy evolves much like herself, she falls in love with him, and he finally proposes to her, which she accepts. Through Austen’s use of strong character’s she illustrates how society and class can produce prejudice between two people madly in love.