Pride And Prejudice Analysis

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Sabrina Han Mrs. Valerie Watson English 9 GT 11 April 2014 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is widely considered her greatest novel. Published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is classified as a comedy of manners. The recurring theme is not to judge others, or let pride cause one to be prejudiced. Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is somewhat autobiographical; emphasizes the literary devices of irony, characterization, and themes; and has received thorough and extensive criticism. Pride and Prejudice is set in the small English town of Longbourn. When a rich, single man moves into the Bennets’ neighborhood, he is immediately considered as a possibly husband by all the single women in the neighborhood, Possibly the most hopeful of the mothers is Mrs. Bennet, mother of Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, Lydia, and Mary Bennet. With all five of her daughters unmarried and her husband’s fortune entailed to a distant relative, Mrs. Bennet is desperate for her girls to marry well. During a ball hosted by Bingley, he and Jane develop strong feelings for eachother. At the same time, Elizabeth and Bingley’s close friend, Darcy, form very bad relations. Their attitudes toward each other only grow worse with the entrance of Wickham, whose militia is stationed in town. Elizabeth and Wickham meet, and Wickham tells Elizabeth stories of how Darcy ruined his life. At this point Elizabeth’s opinion of Darcy is very poor, and it becomes even lower when she learns that Darcy is the one that encouraged Bingley to leave town, consequently breaking her sister’s heart. Over time, Darcy develops strong feelings for Elizabeth. When he finally tells her how he feels and proposes to her, however, he is met by anger and rejection. Shortly after, Elizabet... ... middle of paper ... ...rements. Austen began writing Pride and Prejudice later that year, and the story of the novel is commonly viewed as Austen’s own story rewritten with a happy ending (Hindley). Austen’s brother, Edward, was adopted by wealthy cousins of the family. When Austen was older, she often visited Edward’s estate, Godmersham. When she and Cassandra were there, they participated in the refined and privileged life that her brother lived. The experiences Austen had while visiting Godmersham are reflected in most of her works (Austen-Leigh, Burke, & Grey). Similar to the lives of the women in Pride and Prejudice, women in Austen’s time relied on the support of their brothers and fathers financially, until they were married. Women also worked only around the house, as their job was to keep the household running while their husbands worked and provided for the family (Chruchyard).

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