Pride And Prejudice
Jane Austen "is celebrated as one of the greatest observers of human behavior, its motives and its consequences, and her themes, limits as they are in situation, time, place and class of society, have a universality which makes them as valid today as when they were conceived in the days of George III (Hardwick 11)." Each of Jane Austen's novels are wonderful and, as is proved above, are an excellent portrayal of life in the 19th century. Pride and Prejudice, however, is by far her best work and would greatly contribute to this class's curriculum because it deals with romance, foolish people, and the importance of money in social matters, which are all substantial areas in Jane Austen's works. "Few readers would question that Pride and Prejudice is the most brilliant of Jane Austen's novels (Babb 113)."
The plot of Pride and Prejudice mainly involves the relationships between Elizabeth and Darcy; Jane and Bingley; and Lydia and Wickham. The story begins with the arrival of an eligible young man and his friends in the town of the Bennet girls. The determined mother of these five unmarried young women has it in her mind to have the affluent Mr. Bingley married to one of her daughters. The courtship of Mr. Bingley and the eldest daughter Jane begins about the same time that we discover the arrogant Mr. Darcy, who is a friend of Bingley's and twice as rich. While the entire Bennet family has fallen in love with the kind hearted Bingley, their dislike of his friend Darcy is a very sure thing. The two youngest Bennet girls have gowned their attentions focused on the regimental men in the area. They are wild at parties, flirting, dancing and causing a very unladylike ruckus. Mr. Collins, their cousin and heir to all of Mr. Bent's possessions, comes to make a proposal of marriage to the second oldest Bennet girl, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a very strong-minded young girl who refuses to accept the offer of Mr. Collins' hand. The girls excite in their meeting of a handsome...
View Full Essay