PRIDE AND PREJUDICE- BY-JANE AUSTEN-NOVEL -SUMMARY- EASY- SHORT

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

                                                       BY-JANE AUSTEN

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pride and Prejudice is written by Jane Austen in the Romantic Age. As far as Jane Austen is concerned she has been considered as a major novelist of 19th century England she is termed sometimes as a domestic novelist. Sometimes it was told that she wrote about only those topics which were known to her. She depicted only those characters which she experienced in her life. She was a bright student since her childhood. She was taught by her father she learned various languages but she was an independent thinker and she decided that she will not marry only for the sake of marriage out of love there is no scope for marrying a person. She had her views that she expressed freely in her novels. Jane Austen was born on December 16th 1775 the younger daughter of George Austen and Cassandra Austin was like her father. She had some knowledge of French. She had a lovable character and temperament. Jane Austen died on 24th July 1870 Jane Austen started writing at the age of 16 but she was a perfectionist. She writes but she will not produce it at that time she was in the habit of maturing it. She was in the habit of correcting it. She spent 27 years on her six novels as after finishing each novel constantly revising them and then sparing many more months to rewrite before publication. This is the reason that the final versions of her novels have perfection. The major six novels written by her Sense and Sensibility published in 1811, Pride and Prejudice published in 1813, Mansfield Park again published in 1813, and Emma which was published in 1815, Northanger Abbey in 1817, and the last novel persuasion got published in 1817. Jane Austen as a novelist dealt with her characters and developed them with the help of her dialogues. She represented the society in the forms of a social group which is formed to resolve the matrimonial complexities. In the advancement of the plot she represented the misunderstandings and frustrations. She just increased the audience's curiosity into intense relations and episodes the presentation of the society in the form of parties shopping dances full of humor and irony is very interesting to go through. She presented them with a complete perfection but absence of any villain make her novels more important for readers. Jane Austen is the product of the trans-national period which intervenes between the ideal of the 18th century and 19th century. On the whole she belongs more to the 19th then to the 18th century there are some factors where you can call her that she belongs to 18th century the first one is had indifference to nature we all know that depiction of nature is an important trait of Romanticism but, Jane Austen never paid her attention towards the depiction of nature. So in this way she was more like Pope then like was worth and she was just inheriting this 18th century society and did not represent nature well. She was interested only in the depiction of her sex female and so far male were concerned they were depicted if they were the object of interest to women. Another 18th century feature in her novel is the absence from her pages of characters drawn from humble life. We all know that 18th century literature it dealt with aristocratic Society it dealt with booze I dealt with Madonna's while 19th century literature was the literature of the common man what she did that she depicted mostly the upper-class society or the middle class mostly the higher middle class. The problems of the lower class society were not touched upon by her. She completely leaves out the poor and destitute and confines herself exclusively to country gentry and upper middle class she's entirely of the 19th century. In her treatment of characters Jane is attracted by the naturalness and reality. In speech and behavior of the persons they think speak and act as real human beings do her portraits are remarkable for their finish their closeness to human nature. Secondly though in her words pathos is lacking and passion of a deep overwhelming kind is treated.

We have a constant play of humor let us talk about her second novel Pride and Prejudice. The plot of the novel is well net and organic the sequence of events is logical and inevitable. She shows her skill in the handling of events. The structure of Pride and Prejudice is dramatic. Characters are also developed through dialogues and a plot is compound it is not simple all these different things are woven together very skillfully by Jane Austen. The complete nature of the plot undertakes emotion and novel has little action. Her plots are well knit and organic. When I say that well knit and organic plot is a beauty of any novel then this applies to Pride and Prejudice as well.

So at first we are going to talk about all the important characters in the novel followed by a crisp and detailed summary of the novel and finally we will discuss all the important themes of Pride and Prejudice. That will help you have a good understanding of the novel.

CHARACTERS OF THE NOVEL

Pride and Prejudice is set in rural England in the early nineteenth century. So let's take a look at all the important characters in Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice mainly deals with the Bennett family so in the Bennett family we first have Mr. Bennett. Then we have   Mrs. Bennett's who is desperate to get all her five daughters married as soon as possible.  Mr. Bennett and   Mrs. Bennett have five daughters the first daughter on the eldest daughter is Jane. She's kind and good-hearted. Second daughter is Elizabeth who is witty and intelligent. Then we have Mary and kitty and finally the youngest daughter is Lydia who is quite shallow and superficial. Then we have Charles Begley a very wealthy man who comes to the Nether field estate. Charles Bingley has two sisters Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Then we have Fitzwilliam Darcy the best friend of Charles Bingley. He is also a very wealthy man. Then we have Georgiana Darcy who is the sister of Fitzwilliam Darcy. Then we have George Wickham who is a handsome military officer and also a fortune hunter. Then we have Mr. Collins the ridiculous cousin of Mr. Bennett according to the legal structure after Mr. Mel Bennett's death the entire Bennett estate will go to Mr. Collins. Then we have Charlotte Lucas who is the best friend of Elizabeth Bennett. Then we have Lady Catherine de Bourg who is Darcy's aunt and also the pattern of Mr. Collins. Next we have Anne de Bourg who is the daughter of Lady Catherine de Bourg. Finally we have Mr. and   Mrs. Gardiner who are the brother and sister-in-law of Mrs. Bennett. So these are the important characters in Pride and Prejudice knowing about all these characters will help you in understanding the summary of the novel Pride and Prejudice who revolves around the Bennett family.

SHORT SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL

When Charles Bingley a rich single man comes to the Nether field estate, the entire neighborhood is excited. Especially   Mrs. Bennett who hopes to marry one of her five daughters to Charles Bingley. All the five Bennett daughters meet Charles Bingley as a local boy and they are impressed by his friendly and outgoing personality. They also meet his best friend Fitzwilliam Darcy a land owning aristocrat, who is too proud and arrogant to dance or talk with the locals. Elizabeth over hears Darcy refusing to dance with her. That makes her dislikes Darcy instantly. Meanwhile Bingley and Jane get attached to each other. However any serious relationship between them is opposed. First, by Bingley's sisters who do not approve because she's poor and also by Darcy who thinks that Jane is indifferent to Bingley. Meanwhile Darcy is attracted to Elizabeth due to her charmed wit and intelligence. But, Elizabeth thinks that he is proud and arrogant. Therefore despises him she is instead attracted to George Wickham a handsome military officer. George Wickham tells Elizabeth that his father worked with Darcy's father and both Wickham and Darcy grew up together. George Wickham also tells Elizabeth that Darcy has cruelly cheated him often inheritance. Wickham‘s story makes Darcy appear not only proud but also cruel. Elizabeth accepts Wickham‘s story and start disliking Darcy even more. In the midst of all this Mr. William Collins a clergyman visits the Bennett family. Be Mr. Bennett’s cousin the entire Bennett estate will go to him after Mr. Bennett’s death. He announces that his patent Lady Catherine de Bourg has instructed him to marry and that he wishes to choose his wife from one of the Bennett sisters. William Collins chooses Elizabeth but is shocked and offended when she refuses to marry him. He then quickly turns his attention to Charlotte Lucas Elizabeth's best friend who wants to marry for security rather than love. Mr. William Collins and Charlotte Lucas get engaged and a marriage soon. Meanwhile Jane discovers that Bingley’s have left for London. She gets a letter from Caroline Bingley who tells her that they don't intend to return to the Nether field estate. Caroline Bingley also hints a romance between Charles Bingley and Darcy's sister Georgiana. Elizabeth is angry and suspects Bingley's sister and Darcy tried to separate Charles Bingley from Jane. Elizabeth visits Charlotte Lucas at a new home in Hansford, Kent where she meets Lady Catherine de Bourg the pattern of Mr. William Collins and the aunt of Darcy. Darcy also visits Kent within a few days to visit his aunt. One day Darcy surprises Elizabeth by proposing her believing that Darcy is responsible for Jane and Bingley separation and also for Wickham's misfortune Elizabeth refuses him. The next day Darcy gives the letter to Elizabeth stating why he has kept Bingley away from Jane and also details the facts about Wickham's situation. When Elizabeth examines the facts she realizes that Darcy has never done anything cruel or wrong. When Elizabeth understands this she is shocked how her own pride has resulted in her prejudices against Darcy. Later Elizabeth goes on a trip with her uncle and aunt Mr. and   Mrs. Gardiner to Derbyshire where they visit Darcy's estate of Pemberley. They meet Darcy there and surprised at how graciously Darcy treats them. Elizabeth starts having feelings for Darcy. In the midst of this promising situation Elizabeth receives a letter from Jane stating that Lydia has eloped with Wickham. Elizabeth and the Gardiners leave for home immediately worrying about the disgrace of the Bennett family. Finally they find Wickham and Lydia who then get married. Later Elizabeth discovers that Darcy had played a significant role in the marriage of Wickham and Lydia Thereby saving the reputation of the Bennett family. On the other hand Bingley returns to Nether field and proposes Jane who happily accepts. Elizabeth's happiness is interrupted by a visit from Lady Catherine de Bourg who has heard a rumor that Elizabeth and Darcy are engaged which is not true. She tells Elizabeth how stupid it is for her to hope that she and Darcy can get married. She lectures Elizabeth on the utter stupidity of this match and that she should reject Darcy if he ever proposes her. Elizabeth refuses and Lady Catherine de Bourg tells about her reaction to Darcy. Darcy meanwhile is shocked at how Elizabeth has reacted and becomes hopeful that perhaps Elizabeth has had a change in her heart. He goes and proposes to Elizabeth again who gladly accepts this time. So, that's the summary of Pride and Prejudice the novel belongs to the genre of realist fiction.

 Now that you're well versed with the summary of the novel let's take a look at the most important themes of Pride and Prejudice.

THEMES OF THE NOVEL

·         PRIDE

·         MARRIAGE AND LOVE

·         MONEY AND PROPERTY

THEME OF PRIDE

The first theme of the novel is pride. In the novel Pride is not depicted as a fin but is shown as a common human emotion. Prejudice is a consequence of pride that is reflected in the behavior of people who are prideful. Now Jane Austen has shown different forms of pride in the novel. Darcy's excessive self esteem is pride whereas, Wickham's self regard is vanity. Now if you are wondering what is pride and vanity? What is the difference between them? Then let me tell you pride refers to our opinion of ourselves whereas vanity refers to what we would want the world to think about us. Elizabeth and Darcy represent pride whereas Jane and Bingley stand for modesty. The presence of Jane and Bingley helps us to see how pride present in Elizabeth and Darcy result in several misunderstandings and prejudices between them which ultimately delays their relationship.

THEME OF MARRIAGE

The second important theme of the novel is marriage and love. Jane Austen has tried to analyze marriage in terms of external obstacles such as that of money, property and patriarchy and also in terms of the correctives own personal attributes. Pride is shown as one of the most harmful attribute that can prevent love from blossoming and allowing it to culminate into marriage. The two pairs Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley represent individual autonomy and love in marriage. For these four characters marriage means culmination of a love relationship that starts with mutual physical attraction but also includes feelings of mutual respect and esteem. Whereas the other marriages in the novel such as that of Charlotte Lucas and William colons or Wickham and Lydia are driven by external factors such as that of money, security and society.

THEME OF PROPERTY

Finally we come to the last theme of the novel which is money and property. During the 19th century most woman had no means of income. They were completely dependent on their fathers or brothers or husbands. The only way for a woman to get money if she has not inherited it was to marry. For it Charlotte Lucas marries William Collins not for love but for security. Also during the 19th century beautiful legal structure women were not even allowed to inherit property. This can be seen in the case of Bennett's family. Where, after Mr. Bennett's death the entire Bennett estate will go to Mr. Collins. Therefore, the desperation of Mrs. Bennett to marry of her five daughters as soon as possible was due to do this reason. Behind Mrs. Bennett's desperation lies the fear of what will happen to her and her daughters in the event of Mr. Bennett's death.