importance of Elizabeth bennet

pride and prejudice

* By giving Elizabeth flaws, Austen makes her more realistic this is done through her failings when it comes to judgement of others- however she thinks shes a good judge of character; @@“i’ve prided myself on my discernment”@@
* She is @@“determined to hate”@@ Darcy before she really knows him and stubbornly ignores anyone who defends Darcy while immediately accepting Wickham's story about him.This prejudice makes her blind to all of her Darcys good point and all of Wickham’s suspicious behaviour ironically tone of the first things that attracts darcy to elizabeth is her @@“fine eyes”@@ this is ironic as she's blinded by her prejudice against him
* Not only does she show prejudice but also pride has her prejudice against Darcy stemmed from him wounding her pride and not dancing with her at the first ball. Because of her development in character and eventual realisation that her pride and prejudice have been a barrier to darcy we eventually see her where she wants-  happily married with darcy
* She also often dismisses jane for only seeing the good in people but doesnt realise her judgement of wickham is purely based of superficial components she believes wickham saying ”@@there was truth in his looks”@@

Doesn’t abide by social rules

* The strength of her personal belief empowers her to defy social expectations (rejecting 2 marriage proposals) if this became more common knowledge, society could deem her as arrogant or prideful, ruining her future prospects demonstrating how she resists social pressure
* She follows the rules enough so to not seem bad mannered, but ignores pointless bits of @@“decorum”@@ if they stop her doing something important eg. walking to netherfeild even though Miss Bingley picks up on her @@“untidy”@@ appearance

Austen contrasts her behaviours with other to show how her behaviour is respectable from the readers p.o.v (her staying calm when miss bingley insults her)

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relationship with darcy

* Even though lizzy dislikes Mr Darcy their conversations bring out the best of her intelligence, this is an early sign that they are a well suited couple
* Shes determined to disagree with him but instead of insulting him she makes intelligent points about the flaws in his opinions eg when her talks about Charlotte living an @@“easy distance”@@ from her family Lizzy points out that distance is @@“relative”@@
* She's also playful and teases Darcy without being rude saying she's “convinced” he @@“has no defect@@”, but when Bingley calls Darcy “@@awful@@” she can see he's “@@offended”@@ so doesnt laugh

Importance of woman

* Austen portrays Elizabeth as strong minded, and makes hard choices to stay true to her beliefs, she turns down two proposals even though it would give her financial security because she believes that love is more important than @@“worldly advantage”@@
* Austen uses lots of contrasts to present Elizabeth to present perfect mix, she's bold and independent but never takes it too far like lydia, is polite but not a pushover like jane, enjoys mocking people but understands when to be serious unlike Mr Bennet
* Lizzy end up marrying the man she loves supporting Austen's message of women acting as they believe in complete comparison to her mother, bestfriend and sisters views @@“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance” -@@ charlotte lucas

intro

Elizabeth Bennets character plays a pivotal role in the novel, as we follow her character outspoken, intelligent character throughout the novel providing us with insight about the themes of marriage, social status and societal pressures