Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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.

Although Mr. Darcy has trouble getting along with Elizabeth because she is honest about her opinions, he maintains an attraction to her. When the pair first meets at a dance, there is an immediate barricade in the way of their feelings. Because Mr. Darcy is “very conceited,” people do not like to be subjected to his unpleasant attitude (Austen 18). Mr. Darcy has a way of pushing people away because he has negative comments and has a rocky past with many folks.

Elizabeth immediately gets an unfriendly reaction from Mr. Darcy although he manages to develop feelings for her at this very moment. Mr. “Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her” (Austen 52). Even though Elizabeth is very blunt and hard-headed about her statements this managed to attract Mr. Darcy to her. It is very odd for Mr. Darcy to develop these feelings for Elizabeth based on their first meeting because in the scene they were both appalled at each others character qualities.

Mr. Darcy also possesses many characteristics that also get in the way of letting his true feelings show for Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy has a past for hurting or betraying man...

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...admit that she to has feelings for Mr. Darcy. Darcy ends up “[cherishing] a concern for [Elizabeth] as” she falls for him (Wisenfarth). Darcy proposes to Elizabeth again and does not care what the answer will be. “Mr. Darcy’s concern for Elizabeth is so great, so sublimely disinterested that, whether or not she loves him, he wants to make her happy and never claim the credit (Wisenfarth). Mr. Darcy starts to hide his character flaws that forbid Elizabeth from being attracted to him, which causes Elizabeth to fall in love with him in return.

Over the novel, Mr. Darcy’s ego and stubbornness get in the way of how people view him. When he decides to let those negative character traits go, people, like Elizabeth, start to see a side of him that they like. Mr. Darcy ends up getting love, something he wanted, by discovering that his actions were the cause of the problem.

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