A good marriage is based on calm judgement and on mutual understanding (no wealth or sudden passion)
CHARACTERS- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Elizabeth Bennet
· Aged 20, she's the second of five daughters.
· Her father's favourite, she's not beautiful but really attractive. She's intelligent, playful, witty.
· Elizabeth is independent of thought.
· She can be impulsive.
· Elizabeth is very loyal, loving and protective
· She makes bad errors of judgement
· She can be mature (she realises the mistakes others have made in marriage; advises her father not to let Lydia go to Brighton).
· She's the romantic heroine of the novel.
Fitzwilliam Darcy
· He's rich, powerful and from a very well-respected family.
· He can be aloof and superior, easily offending people.
· He's naturally shy and reserved, which is mistaken for arrogance.
· Privately, he's loyal and kind (he treats his tenants and servants well).
· Darcy is very proud.
· He can be generous with money
· He's very well mannered and acts like a gentleman on almost every occasion.
· He loves Elizabeth deeply, but struggles with his pride and prejudices to admit the fact and act on it.
· Darcy is the romantic hero of the novel.
Jane Bennet
· Jane is the eldest of the Bennet girls.
· She's the most beautiful.
· She always sees the good in people.
· Jane isn't capable of being nasty or deceptive.
· She has a very close relationship with Elizabeth.
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Charles Bingley
· Bingley is rich but, unlike Darcy, his money comes from his father's business rather than inherited wealth.
· He's very easy-going.
· He isn't a snob, and not particularly bothered about Jane's family background.
· He seems to be not very strong-minded, because he allows Darcy to persuade him to leave Jane.
George Wickham
· Wickham is a very handsome, well-mannered man who charms people with his smooth talking.
· He is good at deceiving people (including Elizabeth).
· He grew up with Darcy.
· Wickham's a selfish guy who, after spending a lot of money given to him by Darcy, tries to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, to get more money.
· He successfully elopes with Lydia Bennett (only 16), again to get money.
· Wickham seems to have no feelings for anyone but himself (this includes Lydia, who becomes his wife).
· He can be seen as the opposite of Darcy.
Mrs Bennet
· Mrs Bennet is the mother figure whose only interest is to see her daughters get married.
· Her actions are selfish. She's only concerned with how she and her family look to others, rather than the true happiness of her daughters.
· Although she's essentially a comic character, she can also be seen as having a destructive influence on her children.
· She is moody, changing from ecstasy to depression, depending on how her daughters' relationships are progressing.
· Mrs Bennet is ignorant, and not very bright.
· She's completely without subtlety and embarrasses her family on several occasions with her direct, loud comments and behavior
Mr Bennet
· Mr Bennet is the traditional father and husband who wants an easy life and his children to be happy.
· He's a 'gentleman' by birth, meaning he inherited his property.
· He married his wife only for her looks, and regrets doing so, although he tries to make the best of things.
· An intelligent man, in contrast to his wife, he often retreats to his library to read and to get some peace and quiet.
· He's witty and capable of interesting observations on life and relationships.
· Mr Bennet is a rather weak and laidback parent, lacking the personality to be a strict father (Elizabeth blames him for Lydia's elopement).
· He can be insensitive and make comments without realising their cruelty.
· Despite his faults, he's a likeable character. The genuine love he has for his daughters is obvious.
William Collins
· Collins is best described by Elizabeth, as "conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly".
· A man of the church, he seems more concerned with his patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, than God.
· He's always formal in his speech and manner. This makes him look ridiculous.
· Collins is very superficial (he lacks true 'depth' or genuine emotion), He shows that when he proposes to both Elizabeth and Charlotte within a week of each other.
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Lady Catherine de Bourgh
· She's the person with the highest social standing (and Darcy's aunt).
· Austen develops her character to reflect the very worst attitudes of the upper classes.
· Lady Catherine's a bully who's full of her own self-importance, which isn't based on anything she's achieved, simply her inherited wealth and social standing.
· She's very rude and insensitive.
· Lady Catherine expects to be obeyed at all times.
· Her overbearing nature has made her daughter weak and timid.
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