Characterization of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, is an authentic character, allowing readers to identify, sympathize, and grow with her. Unfortunately, Austen does not create a match for Elizabeth who is her equal in terms of characterization. Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth's sometime adversary, beloved, and, finally, husband, is not so carefully crafted as she, for his character is somewhat undefined, made up of only mystery, inconsistency, and conventionality.
Elizabeth is, initially, quick to make judgments and just as quick to hold fast to those preconceptions. In effect, Elizabeth represents both aspects of the novel's title, being both proud and prejudicial. It is not these factors, then, that endear her to readers, but rather the depth of her character in that she develops into a more even-minded person with a rare capacity for self-awareness. For though at one time she has the highest regard for Mr. Wickham and a low opinion of Mr. Darcy, later, though it is her "greatest misfortune" (Austen 61), Elizabeth amends her former thinking by "feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced and absurd" (135). It is evident that she matures into a fully developed woman who can admit, "'Till this moment, I never knew myself'" (135, emphasis mine).
Mr. Darcy is truly an enigma. Though he is apparently handsome, his physical attributes are nondescript; readers may learn more about this powerful figure's person and tastes from the description of Pemberley, his grand estate. If Pemberley is indeed an extension of, or a reflection of, Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth's pondering that "to be mistress of Pemberley might be so...
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... "exactly the man, who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her" (Austen 199).
Works Cited
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Pride and Prejudice Essay Throughout Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett faces many challenges to realize that she was in the wrong and her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was misguided. Austen emphasizes the importance of wisdom through Elizabeth, who faces the challenge of overcoming her prejudiced judgement to reach maturity and recognize the man she loves. At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth Bennett’s first meeting with Mr. Darcy was marred by Mr. Darcy’s pride to which, “Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him.” At the end of the novel, after Elizabeth learns the truth and unravels her prejudice against Darcy, she begins to realize that she does have feelings for him.
Ballaster, Ros. "Introduction to Sense and Sensibility". Sense and Sensibility. Jane Austen. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.
...ews of these ideologies. While Elizabeth does accept many of the norms of the period she also challenges the purpose for marriage and has an outspoken mind. Her confident personality doesn’t allow the fact that she has less wealth than many others and is constantly being scorned at to interfere with her happiness. She doesn’t permit the social expectations of her times to hinder her strong beliefs and fate in life. Pride and Prejudice is so vastly different to most other novels during the early 19th century that Jane Austen must have held some very alternative views. The heroine Elizabeth challenges the most social expectations of that time and she ends up the happiest of all the characters. This theme must have opened Romantic readers minds, perhaps to the way society should be and this I believe is why this novel is one of the great classics of English literature.
A. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1994. Print. The. Bloom, Harold, ed., pp. 113-117.
Each of Jane Austen’s characters in her novel, Pride and Prejudice, experiences a significant character development. Whether the change occurs by self-realization or through the assistance of another character varies from each individual character. For Austen’s leading man, Mr. Darcy, his character improvement is documented through his two marriage proposals to Elizabeth Bennet and her subsequent first rejection of his proposal. His first proposal demonstrates his extreme arrogance, elitism, and blindness to his many flaws. While his latter proposal shows not only the recognition of his deficiencies, but the overall improvement in his mentality. Mr. Darcy’s two proposals, though having the same intended end result, are completely different
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Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: WW Norton &. Company, 1996.
A Critical Review of Pride and Prejudice Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, shows two characters overcoming their pride and prejudices while falling in love. In the beginning Elizabeth believes that Mr. Darcy is too proud and rude, but in time to come they start to admire and love each other. They bond together through their pride and prejudice, and in the end, they overcome the obstacles that held them back. Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775 in Steventon, England to George and Cassandra Austen. Jane had many different types of education.