Preview

Pride and Prejudice Book Review

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
788 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pride and Prejudice Book Review
w
Book review
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen. It was written between 1796-1797 and originally titled First Impressions but wasn't published until 1813. It was most probably turned down because of a female author. It is a story about society and the relationships of family, focusing on the Bennet's, specifically the two eldest daughters Elizabeth and Jane. The book is filled with sarcasm, humor and romance. The author had a lot to say about women and society in England during the late 18th and early 19th century and that is probably why the book is so widely popular. That era is history and the circumstances have changed but the story is very honest and relatable. The book's plot deals with the five Bennet sisters, whose mother desires nothing more to see her daughters married. The novel starts with the news that a young wealthy gentleman named Charles Bingley has moved nearby. Mr. Bingley is immediately attracted to Jane, the oldest of the Bennet sisters while his close friend, Mr. Darcy, makes a less favorable first impression by appearing proud and snobbish at a ball they all attend. When the story develops, he becomes the love interest of Elizabeth but before they can be together they have to overcome their first impressions of each other. Jane Austen was very aware of the world she was living in and she mocks and makes fun of it through her characters. The main character, Elizabeth, is very different from her sisters and not a typical woman of that age. She is intelligent and witty and refuses to marry for any reason other than love. Therefore she turns down more than one marriage proposal, including Mr. Darcy's first one. Her older sister Jane is described as innocent, sweet and gentle. She is also favoured by her mother because of her beauty. Mrs. Bennet however is an annoying and foolish woman whose public manners and social climbing are embarrassing to everybody around her. Mr. Bennet on the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Mwds

    • 3104 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Historical information: From 1800 to 1815 the Napoleonic Wars took place between England and France and thus government censorship of literature proliferated so that Austen could not freely expose her identity as an authoress. The social atmosphere at the time was very stratified and class divisions were important as were family connections and wealth and it is for this reason that much of Pride and Prejudice is not so much based on love as it is on ridicule.…

    • 3104 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Elizabeth, the main protagonist's, character changes from being averse to having Mr. Darcy, the other protagonist's, favor, to wanting to please him. Elizabeth’s character changes due to Darcy's change in civility throughout the novel. Georgiana, Darcy's sister, is the catalyst for Elizabeth's change in character, as seen by Austen’s use of the word "pleasure." Because Georgiana greatly admires Darcy and Austen describes her as being a sweet character, she is able to change positively Elizabeth's feelings of affection towards her brother, Darcy. At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth does not aspire to please Darcy because of his lack of gentlemanliness. At the tea party, however, during which Elizabeth has the honor…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pride and Prejudice

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pride and Prejudice is a story about how other cultural institutions (like marriage) can transcend economics. It’s a novel that illustrates the power of love and how it can rise above class distinctions and social norms.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    None of the Bennet girls have jobs, nor are they looking for any. All they’ve been clamoring for is to get married to someone quickly, which their mother, Mrs. Bennet, constantly reminds them to do. Elizabeth is the only one to challenge that convention, as she seems in no rush to get married and takes her time in carefully finding someone who can not only secure her financially, but suit her emotionally. Perhaps Jane Austen is criticizing the way in which 19th century England made women mere puppets in a society dominated by…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped we would never come there again.” (3) These were the feelings that Miss Elizabeth Bennet possessed at the start of Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen weaved a marvelous tale of love in its rarest and truest form. This love was formed out of a once burning hatred. The transformations throughout Austen’s masterpiece shows how true love fights through the boundary of pride and prejudice which exists in the society of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Jane Austen captivates us through the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth through their altering feelings for one another and the world causing anxiety for the readers at first but ultimately an overwhelming relief for the readers.…

    • 1309 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bloom Harold, ed. Jane Austen’s pride and Prejudice. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Questia. Web. 2 May 2010.…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The plot of Pride and Prejudice is about a lower upper class woman in the 18th century who is trying to get all of her daughters married to wealthy men. Jane, Mrs Bennet's oldest daughter falls in love with the handsome and wealthy Bingley. But Bingley's sister and best friend Darcy try to pull them apart. Darcy is a very proud and arrogant character, who Elizabeth hates because of his involvement in her sisters heartbreak. Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth and she then ends up falling in love Darcy, which results in them both getting married as well as Jane and Bingley.…

    • 1720 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was originally titled First Impressions. This is significant because it reflects the values and attitudes of 19th century England, and portrays the main themes of the novel. It is set in England during the 1800's and Austen focuses on a society whose opinions are based on first impressions.…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, first published 1813, published in Penguin Classics 1996, updated Further Reading and 1972 Penguin Classics Introduction by Tony Tanner 2003.…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Elizabeth Bennet is a literary device used by Jane Austen to signify her values and attitudes on the importance of marrying for love. We often see the world through Elizabeth¹s eyes and we are positioned to empathize with her opinion on the absurdity of marrying for reasons other than love. Elizabeth is a free-spirited individual who differs from the other female characters of the novel. Elizabeth refuses to be wed to a man to whom she does not love. Elizabeth, although often guilty of prejudice attitudes, always recognizes and learns from her mistakes. Mr. Collins' introduction to Elizabeth is not a pleasant one although he is too ignorant to notice. Elizabeth finds Mr. Collins "a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man" (pg 93). Even though Elizabeth rejected his proposal, Mr. Collins was socially desirable; he would offer Elizabeth a home, respectability and long term stability for the Bennet family. However, Elizabeth realizes that Mr. Collins would have brought her to insanity and that she could never love such a man.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Elizabeth Bennet is the second daughter in the Bennet family the most intelligent and wittiest. She has many positive characteristics, she is lovely, clever and her honesty and open mind allow her to rise above the prejudice and class-bound society. However her tendencies to make quick judgements often lead her to self confusion. The novel Pride and Prejudice is the story of two loves overcoming self inflicted obstacles, such as their similar struggle to find true love, connection and passion. Through out the novel we observe as Elizabeth teaches herself how to cope with her personal struggles such as her mother and father, misbehaved siblings and several snobby females, but the biggest struggles of all is overcoming her predetermined opinion on Mr. Darcy. However this personal struggle leads Elizabeth to turn down Mr. Darcy’s initial marriage proposal. Fortunately, her personality is enough to keep him interested, buying her time to find a solution to her personal obstacle.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Pride and Prejudice, a Jane Austen novel, is one of the most classical pieces of literature in history. It has been evaluated and critiqued a countless number of times, and has been adapted into several films. It can be argued that there is a lot to be retained by readers from this literary work, an important message that can be passed down from generation to generation. During Jane Austen’s time, in the early 1800’s, women were around to be married off, bear children, and cater to their man. Men were meant to work and instruct their women, and the more money you had, the more respected you were. A woman’s goal in life was to marry higher than her class, and social status was everything. History often has a way of repeating itself, whether that history is bad or good, and Austen was not oblivious to this fact. She created a novel to portray the ways of her time, and to appropriately criticize her era where criticism was due. Austen’s Pride and Prejudice effectively opposes the conservative views of her time through her diction and plot throughout the novel in order to inform readers of the idiocy of acting in a non-progressive manner.…

    • 2586 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Bennet sisters, Jane and Elizabeth, are both alike. Both Jane and "Lizzy", as family and friends call her, are very amiable. Since they are the oldest they learned it well from their parents as they still worried just of them. Also, both Jane and Elizabeth are very beautiful young ladies. As described in the book, "Mr.…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice is a tale of love and marriage in eighteenth-century England.…

    • 1308 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Authors throughout history have used their writing to change society. In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, characters are used to criticize social norms. Elizabeth and Lydia Bennet are daughters of a gentleman, and must marry within their social strata. Throughout the novel, Lydia acts like a stereotypical 19th century woman while Elizabeth bucks societal expectations. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen criticizes self-perpetuated gender norms by giving Lydia a sad ending and praises independent women by giving Elizabeth a happy ending.…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays