Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet and her prejudices against Mr. Darcy based on first impressions. As the novel progresses, Elizabeth's pride in her own judgment is challenged as she learns Mr. Darcy intervened to separate her sister Jane from Mr. Bingley due to a misunderstanding. Mr. Darcy also explains his past interactions with George Wickham. By the end, Elizabeth's prejudices are broken as she accepts Mr. Darcy's marriage proposal, and the novel concludes with marriages between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Jane and Mr. Bingley, and others.

1. Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Yesha Bhatt

2. Jane Austen 1775- 1817
 Jane Austen was an English
novelist known primarily for her six
major novels, which interpret,
critique and comment upon the
British landed gentry at the end of
the 18th century.
 Austen's plots often explore the
dependence of women on marriage
in the pursuit of favorable social
standing and economic security.
 Her use of biting irony, along with
her realism, humor, and social
commentary, have long earned her
acclaim among critics, scholars,
and popular audiences alike.

3. About the Novel
 Pride and Prejudice is a
romantic novel of manners written
by Jane Austen in 1813.
 Novel of manners - work of fiction that
re-creates a social world, conveying
with finely detailed observation the
customs, values, and mores of a highly
developed and complex society. Three
volumes and sixty-one chapters.
 The novel follows the character
development of Elizabeth Bennet.
 Pride – Mr. Darcy
 Prejudice – Ms. Elizabeth Bennet

4. Characters
Ms. Elizabeth Bennet Mr. FitzwilliamDarcy Ms. Jane Bennet
Mr. Charles Bingley Ms. Caroline Bingley
(Sister of Mr. Bingley)

5. Mr. George Wickham Lady Catherine
Ms. Lydia Bennet Mr. Collins

6. Mr. Bennet – Mrs. Bennet
Jane Bennet
Elizabeth Bennet (Lizzy – Eliza)
Lydia Bennet
Catherine Bennet (Kitty)
Mary Bennet
Mr. Charles Bingley
Caroline Bingley
Mrs. Louisa Hurst – Mr. Hurst
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
Georgiana Darcy (Darcy’s sister)
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
(Aunt of Darcy and wealthy lady)
Colonel Fitzwilliam (Cousin of Darcy)
Mr. William Collins (Heir)
Charlotte Lucas
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner (relatives of
Bennets)
George Wickham (A young soldier)

7. Brief
overview
 The novel is set in rural England in the early 19th
century.
 Mrs. Bennet attempts to convince Mr. Bennet to visit
Mr. Bingley, a rich bachelor recently arrived in the
neighborhood.
 Bennet family visited Netherfield at Mr. Bingley’s
rented house to invite him at the local ball party of town
and Mr. Bingley has accepted the proposal.
 At Ball Party: Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband
of one of his sisters, and Mr. Darcy, his friend.
 Mr. Bingley wins guests around him. He appears
attracted to Jane Bennet with whom he dances twice.
 Mr. Darcy declines to dance with Elizabeth stating
that she is not attractive enough to tempt him. Elizabeth
finds this amusing and jokes about it with her friends.

8.  Mr. Bingley's sisters, Caroline
and Louisa later invites Jane
to Netherfield for dinner.
 Jane develops a bad cold –
Bingley forces her to stay
there Mrs. Bennet is happy with
that.
 Elizabeth goes to see Jane, Mr.
Darcy got attracted to
Elizabeth (stating she has "fine
eyes")
 Miss Bingley grows jealous,
as she likes Mr. Darcy.
 Elizabeth is unaware towards
Mr. Darcy’s attraction.
 Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet's
cousin, and the heir to the
Longbourn estate visits the
Bennet family with intention to
marry one of the Bennet girls.
 Mrs. Bennet suggests Elizabeth
because Jane is already with Mr.
Bingley.
 Bennet family meet
George Wickham
(Charming army officer)
and he told Elizabeth that
Mr. Darcy has denied to
keep the promise of Late
Mr. Darcy to provide
Wickham a permanent
‘living’
 Elizabeth started hating
Mr. Darcy more.
 At Ball Mr. Darcy asks
Elizabeth to dance and
she accepted that.
 Except Jane and
Elizabeth Bennet family
behaves weirdly and
younger Bingley sister
ridiculed the family and
their expectation.

9.  Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth. She rejects him.
 The Bingleys suddenly depart for London with no plans to
return.
 Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte Lucas( Elizabeth's friend)
She accepted the proposal to get comfortable home and
secure future. Elizabeth started observing love with different
perspective.
 Jane (heartbroken) visits her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in
London. She understood that Mr. Bingley is now not
interested in her.
 Elizabeth visits Charlotte. They got invited to Rosings Park,
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, imperious patroness of Mr. Collins
and Mr. Darcy's wealthy aunt.
 Lady Catherine expects Mr. Darcy to marry her daughter, as
planned in his childhood.
 Mr. Darcy accepts the first accusation but dismisses the
second one.
 Mr. Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, are also visiting
at Rosings Park.

10.  Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth how Mr. Darcy recently saved a friend,
presumably Bingley, from an undesirable match. Elizabeth realizes
that the prevented engagement was to Jane and is horrified that
Mr. Darcy interfered.
 Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, declaring his love for her despite
her low social connections. She rejects him angrily, stating she
could never love a man who caused her sister such unhappiness
and further accuses him of treating Wickham unjustly.
 Mr. Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter, explaining that Wickham, the
son of his late father's steward, refused the living and instead given
money for it.
 Wickham quickly wasted the money and asked for the living again.
After being refused, he tried to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old
sister, Georgiana, for her considerable dowry.
 Mr. Darcy also writes that he separated Jane and Bingley due to
Jane's reserved behavior, sincerely believing her indifferent to
Bingley, and also because of members of her family.
 Elizabeth is ashamed by her family's behavior and her own
lack of better judgement that resulted in blinded prejudice
against Mr. Darcy.

11.  Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire.
They visit Pemberley, the Darcy estate.
 The housekeeper describes Mr. Darcy as kind and generous,
recounting several examples of these characteristics.
 When Mr. Darcy returns unexpectedly, he invites Elizabeth and
the Gardiners to meet his sister. Elizabeth is surprised and
delighted by their treatment.
 She then receives news that her sister Lydia has run off with
Wickham. She tells Mr. Darcy immediately, then departs,
believing she will never see him again as Lydia has ruined the
family's good name.
 Wickham has agreed to marry Lydia. Lydia visits the family and
tells Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy was at her and Wickham's wedding.
 Mrs. Gardiner informed Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy handled
everything because may be he is in love with Elizabeth.
 Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy return to Netherfield. Bingley proposes
to Jane, who accepts.
 Lady Catherine demands promise from Elizabeth to never accept
Mr. Darcy's proposal. Elizabeth refuses.
 Darcy again proposed Elizabeth and she accepted the proposal.
She also convinced her father for the marriage (Prejudice).
 Novel ended with three marriages

12. Themes
Marriage
Wealth
Class and
upbringing
Self-knowledge
and Integrity
Love and
Reputation
Gender

13. Self-knowledge and Integrity Marriage
 Interactions and critiques
 Elizabeth meditates on her
own mistakes
 "How despicably have I acted!" she cried; "I,
who have prided myself on my discernment! I,
who have valued myself on my abilities!
 Mr. Darcy (Elizabeth)
 Ms. Elizabeth Bennet (Darcy
+ Collins + Pride + Prejudice)
 Mr. Bingley (Jane)
 Ms. Jane Bennet (Mr. Bingley)
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration
to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”
 Mr. Collins - Charlotte Lucas
 Wickham – Lydia Bennet
 Mr. Bingley – Jane Bennet
 Mr. Darcy – Elizabeth Bennet
 Marriage – Social condition –
Class – Future perspective –
Wealth – Family Connections

14. Love and Reputation Wealth
 Love is matter of reputation
 Darcy declines Elizabeth’s
proposal of dance at Ball
 Darcy’s Proposal to Elizabeth
 Mr. Bingley and Jane
 Ms. Bingley ridiculed Bennet family
 “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire
and love you.
-Mr. Darcy”
 “Mr. Darcy began to feel the danger of paying Elizabeth
too much attention.”
 Wealth represents status and
fortune
 Suitable match – Rich man
 Wealth leads to marriage
 “Oh, Lizzy! do anything rather than marry without
affection.”
 Mrs. Bennet to Mr. Bingley
 Mr. Collins + Charlotte Lucas
 Jane Bennet + Mr. Bingley
 Mr. Collins + Elizabeth (Mrs.
Bennet)
 Wickham + Lydia Bennet

15. Gender Class and upbringing
 Bennets v/s Bingleys
 “It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come,
since you will not visit them.” – Mrs. Bennet
 Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bingley’s
observation towards Bennet
family
 Jane and Elizabeth
 Mrs. Bennet’s behavior and
Mr. Bennet’s behavior
 Rigid gender roles
 Different opinions and perspectives
 “Obstinate, headstrong girl!” – Lady Catherine
 “Elizabeth had never been more at a loss to make her
feelings appear what they were not. It was necessary to
laugh, when she would rather have cried.”
 Mr. Darcy (Proudy)
 Ms. Elizabeth Bennet (Prejudice +
Proudy)
 Lydia Bennet (Married with
Wickham)

16. Title
Pride and Prejudice
Darcy - Elizabeth
Austen probably took her title from a passage in Fanny Burney's Cecilia (1782), a popular
novel she is known to have admired:
'The whole of this unfortunate business, said Dr Lyster, has been the result of PRIDE and PREJUDICE.
[…] if to PRIDE and PREJUDICE you owe your miseries, so wonderfully is good and evil balanced, that
to PRIDE and PREJUDICE you will also owe their termination.

17. As per the behavior of the characters
Elizabeth and Darcy, readers cannot conclude
that any one is representing any one emotion,
both the characters are having both the
emotions.
 Elizabeth has pride which can clearly
observed by the way she has constructed a
prejudice towards Mr. Darcy and her hatred
towards him.
 She believes Wickham and Fitzwilliam
whom she hardly knows and constructed a
strong prejudice towards Darcy
 She makes fun of Darcy’s comment at Ball
party but her behavior reflects that she is
hurt.
 Her prejudice is not allowing her to think
positively towards Darcy and her pride is
not allowing her to believe that her
prejudice is wrong.

18.  Mr. Darcy is an introvert personality and not
able to communicate with everyone easily.
 “I certainly have not the talent which some people possess, of conversing
easily with those I have never seen before.”
 He can be compared with Mr. Bingley.
 Darcy didn’t like Elizabeth at first and then fell
in love with her and proposed her.
 He is polite, humble and good natured
gentleman but because of his introvert nature
it was difficult for him to get involved with
people.
 Darcy’s prejudice for Elizabeth “She is not
enough tempting”
 He quit his pride and proposed Elizabeth
(twice)
 His behavior changed Elizabeth’s thinking
towards him and broke the prejudice.

19. “A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion
of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
“I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in
the face of a pretty woman can bestow.”
“Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride - where there is a real superiority
of mind, pride will be always under good regulation.” – Mr. Darcy
“It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.”
“It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be
secure of judging properly at first.”

20. Thank You