MLA Pride And Prejudice By Jane Austen Book Analysis1

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Book Analysis

Pride and Prejudice is one of Jane Austen’s most sought for novels. It is overly famous

not because of its impressive nature, but due to the outstanding writing skills applied. The book

narrates about two major characters, Darcy and Elizabeth. The former is featured as proud while

the latter is prejudiced (Austen and Andrea 8). Although it seemed difficult to profoundly

express the two types of characters, the author skillfully makes it fascinating. She excellently

uses irony between lines throughout the book. In addition, the novel conveys other themes such

as social status, marriage, and financial status. Jane Austen published the book in 1813, but it did

not fetch a lot of reviews until the 1940s.The 19

century was characterized by Napoleonic wars

during which women had limited access to education and jobs. Due to lack of professional

career, women had to get married and rely on their husbands for support. This paper contains an

in-depth analysis of the famous Pride and Prejudice novel including its themes, setting, and the

overall writing style.

The aim of Jane Austen is to convey what she thinks and her overall opinion about

various aspects contrary to what the society expects. She comes up with two types of

personalities to express her opinion. Darcy is too proud that he can’t seem to trust others.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, is prejudiced and so they keep on arguing, insulting, and criticizing

each other (Austen and Andrea 57). In the end, the two realize that they have tons of

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misunderstandings which they need to solve. Consequently, they break their social status and

address their differences together. The book ends interestingly with a love story as Elizabeth

accepts to change his attitude which initially annoyed Darcy. Elizabeth embraces Darcy due to

his sincerity, and so their interaction is a fascinating part of the novel. Elizabeth is a smart and

energetic girl, who is the major character in the novel. She is her father’s favorite daughter

because she is the smartest of all. Initially her prejudice blindfolds her, but eventually, she

acknowledges that Darcy and not Wickham is her true gentleman. Fitzwilliam Darcy, on the

other hand, is a wealthy and handsome young man who is envied by many girls. His attitude

makes most people including the Bennet family think that he is arrogant and rude. However,

when Elizabeth realizes whom Darcy is and the things he has done in her life, she wins his heart.

Charles Bingley is also a good-looking and hilarious young man in the novel. He is

featured as Darcy’s friend, but they are a bit different (Austen and Andrea 4). He is a famous

person who is embraced by many, but he lacks definite thought. As a result, he often turns to

Darcy for advice. Jane Bennet is Elizabeth’s best sister. Despite being very beautiful, she is very

humble. She is also very naïve as she believes everyone is good. Wickham was Darcy’s friend

during childhood. He is an attractive gentleman who has perfected the art of winning a woman’s

heart. Besides, he is good at hiding his true character, and so most women are crazy about him.

At some point, he makes Elizabeth to completely misunderstand Darcy (Austen and Andrea 20).

Lydia is the youngest daughter in Bennet family who has a keen interest in romance. Her overall

behavior does not impress her father. However, she does not seem to realize this and therefore is

not shameful. She thinks that her marriage with Wickham will make the rest of the family

jealous and never notices that her marriage is paid for by Darcy.

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The misunderstandings between Elizabeth and Darcy play a major role in this book. The

two grew up in different environments hence developing different personalities as well as

perspectives towards each other. Clearly, it is not easy to clear up the misunderstandings because

Elizabeth regards everything that Darcy does for her as an insult. What is worrying, Elizabeth

has a preference for Wickham who is excellent at winning a lady’s heart. In fact, she believes

everything that Wickham tells her wholeheartedly. Since Darcy and Wickham too had some

arguments in the past, Wickham takes advantage and slanders Darcy which increases Elizabeth’s

prejudgment against Darcy. Moreover, Elizabeth thinks that she is always right, so she is

opposed to everyone who offends her. It takes some time for Elizabeth to discard her prejudice

until she reads a letter sent by Darcy. In the letter, Darcy highlights his pride and every

misunderstanding that keeps them apart. He suggests that they should calm down and talk out the

misapprehensions instead of being controlled by emotions (Austen and Andrea 136). Eventually,

they communicate and clear up the issues.

Social status is also an important theme that comes to light in this book. In the 19

century, for instance, the status determined the level of influence a man had in the society. Social

status also influenced people’s personalities as well as determining their fate in education and

jobs. This is the reason people thought much about the value of social status in the society. The

poor were determined to improve their social status through marrying wealthy people. Moreover,

most wealthy families had a tendency of intermarrying with families in the same social rank

instead of being guided by love. Several marriages such as that of Elizabeth and Darcy, Collins

and Charlotte, Bingley and Jane as well as that of Wickham and Lydia illustrate social status. In

fact, Darcy’s relatives do not seem to approve the marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy

because they do not share the same social ranks (Austen and Andrea 177). Moreover, Bingley’s

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sisters do not like Jane because she hails from a poor family. However, the love of these couples

is based on personality but not their social status. Through their struggles, the readers realize the

significance of social status during those times. Undoubtedly, social status was predominant in

the society in those times.

Also peculiar to this book is Darcy’s letter which plays a big role in changing Elizabeth’s

attitude. The letter not only polishes out the arguments between Darcy and Elizabeth but also

clears up the misconceptions throughout the book. Darcy realizes that their misunderstandings

had grown too serious and if he failed to take the necessary action, Elizabeth might never know

the whole truth. In the letter, Darcy vividly explains his behavior and what motivates him with

the hope that Elizabeth will understand him (Austen and Andrea 87). Eventually, Elizabeth

knows Darcy perfectly well and begins to change her attitude towards him. She even

acknowledges what Darcy has done for her. In brief, the letter transforms both Elizabeth and

Darcy and results in love. The reader can’t help imagining if Darcy did not hand in the letter to

Elizabeth and if they would ever have gotten married or even a chance to know each other better.

In conclusion, Pride and Prejudice remains one of those monumental novels that attract

readers across the world. A close look at Jane Austen’s choice of words, development of themes,

choice of characters, the structure of events and episodes shows that she is indeed a skillful

writer. Undoubtedly, this novel demonstrated Austen’s ability to impact the past and the present

generations.

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Work Cited

Austen, Jane, and Andrea Shell. Pride and Prejudice. Mnchen: Langenscheidt ELT, 2007.

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