Pride and prejudice quotes

Attitudes to men 1

" It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possesion of a good fortune must be in want of a wife"

Why?

- Austen satirises the importance of marriage in the Regency era - links to marriage market and that men only need to be single and have money and there's nothing to do with their personality which contrasts with expectations of women who are expected to have many accomplishments as well as act reserved and pleasant which could be Austen criticising this as many characters who go against this rule of society are the ones who we like and agree with

- Free indirect speech - shows this is an unspoken rule in society that no one questions

- Structure - At the very start of the novel which sets up the rest of the novel by subtly criticising marriage expectations of the Regency era

Attitudes to men 2

" a fine countenance, a good figure and a very pleasing address"

Why?

- Mr Wickham's introduction emphasises his appearance and superficial qualities

- Shows how little it takes for a man to be looked up to and admired

- Starts Elizabeth's positive prejudices for Mr wickham

- He is introduced as a gentleman based on his appearance as everyone expected him to be wealthy and well educated which may be Austen criticising superficial judgements because his characters grows throughout the novel and we learn he is an immoral person with bad manners

Attitudes to men 3

" the proudest most disagreeable man"

Why?

- Elizabeth is making a relatively quick judgement but she isn't alone as the majority of people at this ball share her prejudices towards Darcy

- Pride is used as a defense mechanism throughout the novel to prevent feelings of shame and inferiority and this is the first time we see it happen

- Hyperbole creates satire feeling linking to the comedy form but also a strong feeling of how much everyone else there dislikes him

- They mistook his shy nature for pride which shows Austen is critical of superficial judgements of society because only the readers can notice he's shy not rude because the members of the ball have become too prejudiced to think of any option other than pride

- Mrs Bennet loudly agrees with this which hints this view isn't right as she isn't a clever character and we can't trust her judgement

Attitudes to women 1

List of accomplishments

Singing, drawing, dancing

Why?

-These are all superficial which again criticises the Regency era

-Miss Bingley is listing what she has and does which is a very long list which proves she is trying to impress Darcy with her achievements

- Miss Bingley is trying to show that she fits the Regency era's expectations of women by showing her accomplishments which also highlights that Lizzy isn't the ideal woman as she often displays her intelligence and brains which wasn't a prized characteristic at the time so Austen may be criticising the way society sees women because we are meant to dislike Caroline despite her fitting society's norms and the opposite for Lizzy

- The satirisation of the character Caroline Bingley shows Austen criticising gender expectations as women needed to be 'out' to be courted rather than being alone if they wanted to get a husband and here miss Bingley is trying so hard to get Mr Darcy to like her that it seems funny to the audience when she is just trying to conform to society's expectations

Attitudes to women 2

"All this she must possess" added Darcy "and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading"

Why?

- Contrasts to expectations of men who Just need to have money whilst women need to be accomplished

- Substantial - adjective - they must have substance meaning having a personality and intellect which is the opposite of Miss Bingley and much more like Elizabeth

- shows he frowns upon women's superficial conventions as it was often felt that a display of brains was thoroughly unfeminine and unattractive but he is clearly saying he likes women who enjoy reading therefore helping Regency men follow his lead and begin realising there is more to a woman than her accomplishments

- Extensive reading foreshadows Elizabeth and Darcy's compatibility as Lizzy had Just been reading

Attitudes to women 3

"Loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable"

Why?

- Mary Bennet is stating that if a woman loses her virginity (which represents her morals) it can't be undone and the woman is basically ruined and worthless

- To men, the woman becomes unwanted and inevitably won't be able to find a husband and her future could be ruined based on one small incident

- Using Mary may show how serious this idea is in the Regency era and Austen is critical about this

Marriage and Love 1 ❌

" It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possesion of a good fortune must be in want of a wife"

Why? ❌

- Austen satirises the importance of marriage in the Regency era - links to marriage market and that men only need to be single and have money and there's nothing to do with their personality which contrasts with expectations of women

- Free indirect speech - shows this is an unspoken rule in society that no one questions

- Structure - At the very start of the novel which sets up the rest of the novel by subtly criticising marriage expectations of the Regency era

Marriage and love 2 ❌

"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance"

Why? ❌

- Although this may have been more for humour, I think it illustrates Charlottes genuine feelings towards marriage

- She's desperate for a marriage because her father, although titled, is neither an aristocrat now rich and his daughters would have trouble making ends meet once he couldn't support them and also convention was that the eldest daughter had to be married first so by remaining unmarried Charlotte is spoiling the chances of her younger sisters ever finding a husband and she knows she has little to no chance at a happy marriage and is willing to take the risk whether or not she's happy

- Austen criticises Regency era ideas of marriage through the character of Charlotte and how she ends up (unhappy with Collins) and how she was pushed into that marriage

Marriage and love 3 ❌

" Her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding a d illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her"

Why? ❌

- Verb captivated Shows he was only focused on Mrs Bennet's appearance

- "appearance of good humour" links to Elizabeth's views about Wickham which reinforces the fact that if she had married Wickham it wouldn't have ended well and would've ended up like her parents marriage

- Divorce wasn't an option as it was very scandalous at the time meaning they have been stuck in an unhappy marriage ever since

- Foreshadows exactly how Lydia and Wickham will end up as "weak understanding and illiberal mind" sounds like Lydia

Social Class and wealth 1 ❌

" Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"

Why? ❌

- Shows Lady Catherines views on class

- Cannot bare the thought of a woman who's younger sister has run away with a man and thinks it would pollute her family's status

- Ironic because she is actually the person Darcy is ashamed of

- Criticises Regency society because even though it was Lydia who made the mistake her whole family is being punished for it

- If Darcy married Elizabeth then he would be a brother-in-law to Wickham which is extremely scandalous to Lady Catherine due to Wickham's ill reputation

Social Class and Wealth 2 ❌

" Whatever she said was spoken in so authoritative a tone as marked her self importance"

Why?❌

- "self importance" shows she doesn't earn respect, she demands it

- Believes she's always right because of her wealth

- For example when she was telling Charlotte how to keep chickens even though she wouldn't have ever had to do that

- Austen promoting the idea that high status people are not always deserving of their wealth

Social Class and Wealth 3 ❌

" Sensible, gentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister"

" amiable, intelligent, elegant woman"

Why? ❌

- Shows that although slightly lower class, they are much more sensible and don't obsess over class and wealth and are the voice of reason for many of the Bennet sisters

- It's clear we can trust these characters by the way they're described

- Clear it's a good thing that they take Elizabeth away, allowing her to get away from her parents who are less of a good influence

Importance of family 1

" Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?"

Why?

- Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that the most off-putting thing about her is her family and their behaviour

- Suggesting that had her family been nicer and less humiliating there would have been less of a barrier and they would've been together quicker

- In the Regency era family and connections were very important as it impacts how everyone interacts with you in social settings and in more personal dynamics and this responsibility of acting pleasant and sensible often falls on the women in the play (Mrs Bennet, Lady Catherine, Miss Bingley) and most of these characters often fail at their job of seeming sensible which could be Austen criticising how important family were at the time as because of this expectation it held the two main characters apart from each other

Importance of family 2

"Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"

Why?

- Shows Lady Catherines views on class

- Cannot bare the thought of a woman who's younger sister has run away with a man and thinks it would pollute her family's status

- Ironic because she is actually the person Darcy is ashamed of despite her having good connections and being wealthy

- Austen criticises Regency society's views on the importance of family because even though it was Lydia who decided to elope with Wickham and even though Mrs Bennet is a ridiculous character Elizabeth also suffers from her family's actions by not being able to get with Darcy sooner showing that we shouldn't judge someone on their connections

- If Darcy married Elizabeth then he would be a brother-in-law to Wickham which is extremely scandalous to Lady Catherine due to Wickham's ill reputation

- Lady Catherine thinks Lizzy's Family is embarrassing when Darcy is clearly ashamed of her and the way she acts

Importance of family 3

" Sensible, gentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister"

" amiable, intelligent, elegant woman"

Why?

- Shows that although slightly lower class, they are much more sensible and don't obsess over class and wealth and are the voice of reason for many of the Bennet sisters

- It's clear we can trust these characters by the way they're described

- Clear it's a good thing that they take Elizabeth away, allowing her to get away from her parents who are less of a good influence

- Without these characters taking Elizabeth away from Mr and Mrs Bennet we wouldn't have seen Darcy and Elizabeth end up together because staying in that house only increased her prejudices towards Darcy

Pride and Prejudice 1

" I could easily forgive his pride had he not mortified mine"

Why?

- We see Elizabeth admitting her pride has caused her to form negative prejudices against Darcy

- This becomes an obstacle which she struggles to overcome and is only able to once she leaves her house

Pride and Prejudice 2

" Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?"

Why?

- Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that the most off-putting thing about her is her family and their behaviour

- Suggesting that had her family been nicer and less humiliating there would have been less of a barrier and they would've been together quicker

- In the Regency era family and connections were very important as it impacts how everyone interacts with you in social settings and in more personal dynamics and this responsibility of acting pleasant and sensible often falls on the women in the play (Mrs Bennet, Lady Catherine, Miss Bingley) and most of these characters often fail at their job of seeming sensible which could be Austen criticising how important family were at the time as because of this expectation it held the two main characters apart from each other

Pride and Prejudice 3

" he was the proudest most disagreeable man in the world"

Why?

- Elizabeth is making a relatively quick judgement but she isn't alone as the majority of people at this ball share her prejudices towards Darcy

- Pride is used as a defense mechanism throughout the novel to prevent feelings of shame and inferiority and this is the first time we see it happen

- Hyperbole creates satire feeling linking to the comedy form but also a strong feeling of how much everyone else there dislikes him

- They mistook his shy nature for pride which shows Austen is critical of superficial judgements of society

- Mrs Bennet loudly agrees with this which hints this view isn't right as she isn't a clever character and we can't trust her judgement

Elizabeth Bennet 1

" I could easily forgive his pride had he not mortified mine"

Why?

- We see Elizabeth admitting her pride has caused her to form negative prejudices against Darcy

- This becomes an obstacle which she struggles to overcome and is only able to once she leaves her house

- We know Elizabeth is a very prejudiced person and she gets this from her father

- Structurally right after Charlotte defends Darcy by saying he's not needlessly proud which shows the contrast of the two characters as Charlotte is more clear minded and not blinded by prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet 2

" she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd"

Why?

- This is the climax of Lizzy's development

- Past tense which shows she has realised how prejudiced she's been and that it stemmed from her hurt pride and her attraction to Wickham

- Free indirect narration shows it wasn't only Lizzy who was all these, the audience were also these things because we were influenced by Lizzy's narrative

- Reflecting upon Darcy's letter which acts as a catalyst for the novel as it sparks a change in her views

- Whilst these are all unwanted qualities in Elizabeth we still like her as a character which could be Austen suggesting that feelings like pride and prejudice are natural and that she just needed help to overcome them

Elizabeth Bennet 3

"I am the happiest creature in the world"

"I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh"

Why?

- End of the novel

- We can see how Elizabeth has grown and matured as she has learnt to overcome prejudices she had

- Austen presents her as very happy to prove to the Regency era how much easier life can be if you don't hold on to issues from the past and that issues like inferior connections and not meeting society's expectations doesn't mean you're incapable of finding love and supporting women in the Regency era audience as well as modern audience who are different than the standard and showing that there is nothing wrong with that

- If Lizzy hadnt finally had her prejudices removed then the ending of the novel would have been far less satisfactory

Darcy 1 ❌

" he was the proudest most disagreeable man in the world

Why? ❌

- Free indirect speech which has the voice of Meryton as a whole

- Hyperbole creates satire feeling but also a strong feeling of how much everyone else there dislikes him

- They mistook his shy nature for pride which shows Austen is critical of superficial judgements of society

- Mrs Bennet says this which hints this view isn't right as she isn't a clever character and we can't trust her judgement

Darcy 2 ❌

" Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?"

Why? ❌

- Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that the most off-putting thing about her is her family and their behaviour

- Suggesting that had her family been nicer and less humiliating there would have been less of a barrier and they would've been together quicker

- Darcy's pride in his social status makes him think Elizabeth is beneath him

- Makes his behaviour seem rude and insulting

Darcy 3 ❌

" In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed."

Why? ❌

- "will not" the use of imperative shows Darcy is trying to show his passion but it comes across as rude and imposing

- "my" shows a focus on his feelings rather than hers - seems like pride but in reality he Just doesn't know how to express feelings

- "repressed" makes it seem like he doesn't want to like her but the feeling is just so powerful he can't fight it

- Short sentences seem unromantic and direct but he may Just be shy

Elizabeth and Darcy 1

" she is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me"

Why?

- "me" in italics suggests he's got a lot of pride for his social status and thinks he's better than everyone else

- It also suggests he sees the people of Meryton as his social inferiors as he only dances with those he knows which may be Austen criticising the importance of class and status as because Darcy sees himself as superior to Elizabeth their relationship is unable to progress until his pride is overcome

- We know this single comment gives Elizabeth a negative prejudice of him until his true personality is gradually revealed

- Darcy makes a quick decision about Elizabeth Just based on her looks and the fact she wasn't already dancing with a man - may be Austen criticising quick superficial judgements as after this the two of them struggle to overcome this comment

Elizabeth and Darcy 2

" In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed."

Why?

- "will not" the use of imperative shows Darcy is trying to show his passion but it comes across as rude and imposing

- "my" shows a focus on his feelings rather than hers - seems like pride but in reality he Just doesn't know how to express feelings but could be Austen subtly criticising how the upper class see themselves as more important and their feelings are superior to those lower than them

- "repressed" makes it seem like he doesn't want to like her but the feeling is just so powerful he can't fight it which links to class and the expectation that you should marry someone of similar class to you and because of Elizabeth's inferior status he tries hard to hide his romantic feelings and Austen may be criticising this

- Short sentences seem unromantic and direct but he may Just be shy

Elizabeth and Darcy 3

" Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?"

Why?

- Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that the most off-putting thing about her is her family and their behaviour

- Suggesting that had her family been nicer and less humiliating there would have been less of a barrier and they would've been together quicker

- In the Regency era family and connections were very important as it impacts how everyone interacts with you in social settings and in more personal dynamics and this responsibility of acting pleasant and sensible often falls on the women in the play (Mrs Bennet, Lady Catherine, Miss Bingley) and most of these characters often fail at their job of seeming sensible which could be Austen criticising how important family were at the time as because of this expectation it held the two main characters apart from each other

Mr and Mrs Bennet 1

" Her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding a d illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her"

Why?

- Verb captivated Shows he was only focused on Mrs Bennet's appearance

- "appearance of good humour" links to Elizabeth's views about Wickham which reinforces the fact that if she had married Wickham it wouldn't have ended well and would've ended up like her parents marriage

- Divorce wasn't an option as it was very scandalous at the time meaning they have been stuck in an unhappy marriage ever since

- Foreshadows exactly how Lydia and Wickham will end up as "weak understanding and illiberal mind" sounds like Lydia

Mr and Mrs Bennet 2

" Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?"

Why?

- Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that the most off-putting thing about her is her family and their behaviour

- Suggesting that had her family been nicer and less humiliating there would have been less of a barrier and they would've been together quicker

- In the Regency era family and connections were very important as it impacts how everyone interacts with you in social settings and in more personal dynamics and this responsibility of acting pleasant and sensible often falls on the women in the play (Mrs Bennet, Lady Catherine, Miss Bingley) and most of these characters often fail at their job of seeming sensible which could be Austen criticising how important family were at the time as because of this expectation it held the two main characters apart from each other

Mr and Mrs Bennet 3

" The business of her life was to get her daughters married"

Why?

- "business" shows Regency eras view on the importance of marriage and they see it as a transaction and that this is all Mrs Bennet wanted to do with her life

- Mrs Bennet conforms to social expectations

- Mrs Bennet is satirised for caring so strongly about her daughters getting married shows Austen criticising the marriage market in Regency society as she doesn't even care if her children would be happy in that marriage as long as he has enough money to support her

Lady Catherine 1

" Are the shades of Pemberley to be this polluted?"

Why?

- Shows Lady Catherines views on class

- Cannot bare the thought of a woman who's younger sister has run away with a man and thinks it would pollute her family's status

- Ironic because she is actually the person Darcy is ashamed of

- Criticises Regency society because even though it was Lydia who made the mistake her whole family is being punished for it

- If Darcy married Elizabeth then he would be a brother-in-law to Wickham which is extremely scandalous to Lady Catherine due to Wickham's ill reputation

- Lady Catherine thinks Lizzy's Family is embarrassing when Darcy is clearly ashamed of her and the way she acts

Lady Catherine 2

"Whatever she said was spoken in so authoritative a tone as marked her self-importance"

Why?

- "self importance" shows she doesn't earn respect, she demands it

- Believes she's always right because of her wealth

- For example when she was telling Charlotte how to keep chickens even though she wouldn't have ever had to do that

- Austen promoting the idea that high status people are not always deserving of their wealth

Lady Catherine 3

" The upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune. Is this to be endured!"

Why?

- Lady Catherine is warning Elizabeth not to marry Mr Darcy

- Triple Shows what Catherine is focused on - superficial things that would ruin her reputation

- Exclamative emphasises the thought of her having to put up with Elizabeth is painful, reflecting her pretentious personality

- Direct speech - the narrator doesn't need to position the reader into forming negative views on Lady Catherine - she does it herself by being ridiculous

Jane and Mr Bingley 1

" Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld!"

"Mr Bingley had danced with her twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters."

Why?

- At the Meryton assembly where they meet for the first time

- Bingley says this to Darcy (his best friend) which shows this is the truth as he wouldn't lie about his feelings to such a close friend

- Shows how kind Mr Bingley is as he is complimenting her even when she isn't around

- Mr Bingley asked Jane to dance twice which was very significant in the Regency era as if you dance more than two dances with someone you were considered engaged. The fact they danced twice shows how much Mr Bingley likes Jane

- We can tell that Jane also likes him as it says later that "Elizabeth felt Jane's pleasure"

- This meeting shows the two of them fell in love at first sight and their relationship just felt right

Jane and Mr Bingley 2

"He had ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world"

Why?

- Lizzy finds out that Darcy meddled in Jane and Bingleys relationship

- Darcy had intervened to stop Bingley from marrying her as he believed Jane didn't truly love him and just wanted his money

- This shows the struggles that Jane and Bingley went through as others meddled in their relationship and tried to break them up

- This links to their own issues as well because if Jane has expressed her true affection for Bingley then it would have been a much more simple relationship but instead she hides her love and it pulls them apart

Jane and Bingley 3

"The happiest, wisest and most reasonable end!"

Why?

- This quote shows that the two of them were meant to end up together due to the use of superlatives

- It shows that their relationship has a good balance because "happiest" shows that there is genuine emotion in the relationship and "wisest and most reasonable" shows the choice is also rational

- All relationships need a mix of these two so it shows their relationship will be strong

- The triple presents it has the perfect ending after everything that happened

Wickham 1

" a fine countenance, a good figure, and a very pleasing address"

Why?

- This is the first time we are introduced to Mr Wickham and all we learn from his pen portrait is that he is good looking and charming

- We are also told than every girls attention was caught by Mr Wickham which shows the Regency era's focus on looks rather than personality

- Elizabeth is amongst these girls and this is where her positive prejudices towards Wickham start

- She cannot stop thinking about him and is always excited when he talks with her

- This means her views on Darcy get more negative every time her and Wickham meet as the two men know eachother

Wickham 2

" There was just such an informality in the terms of the bequest as to give me no hope from law"

"Mr Darcy chose to doubt it - or to treat it as a merely conditional recommendation"

Why?

-Wickham and Lizzy talking about Darcy

- Wickham reveals that Darcy's father was planning to give him a church but Darcy managed to find a loophole because it wasn't in his fathers will and therefore refused to give Wickham anything

- We can see Wickham using Lizzy to feed her information about how bad Darcy is and Lizzy is an easy target because she already dislikes Darcy

- We aren't so sure about Wickham as his story doesn't makes much sense and he also constantly twists Darcy's good traits into bad ones to increase Lizzy's prejudices

Wickham 3

" She tried to recollect some instance of goodness, some distinguished trait of integrity or benevolence, that might rescue his from the attacks of Mr Darcy"

" But no such recollection befriended her"

Why?

- Lizzy finally realises that Wickham has tricked her when she reads through Darcy's letter and everything makes more sense

- She then thinks back and realises that Wickham has never done anything kind or great, he just looks good

- She realises that she has been prejudiced and blind sided by Wickham

- Now that her positive prejudices for Wickham have been removed, the relationship between Lizzy and Darcy is able to grow as she has nothing to hold against him anymore

- Mr Wickham's behaviour is confirmed later by Mrs Reynolds who says "I am afraid he has turned out very wild"

- She is a reliable character as she has been close to Darcy and Wickham since they were young so we know she's telling the truth

Charlotte Lucas 1

"Sensible, intelligent young women, about twenty-seven"

Why?

- This introduction to Charlotte gives up a lot of information

- Firstly we are told she's "intelligent" but women in the Regency era didn't need to be smart as that wasn't a quality men were interested in

- There is no mention of how pretty Charlotte is and this shows her character as if a woman wasn't pretty it would be very difficult to get married as that was one of the many things men wanted, along with accomplishments

- This is reinforced when we are told she was "about twenty-seven" because that was quite a late age to still not be married in the Regency era, so we know Charlotte must be getting desperate

Charlotte Lucas 2

"Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment"

Why?

- This tells us that Charlotte accepted Collins proposal to help her family because she was becoming a burden, not because she felt any genuine affection for him

- She saw an opportunity when Lizzy declined the proposal and she took it which shows the pressure she must have felt as she accepted the offer so quickly despite her true feelings

- This shows us the importance of the marriage market in Regency England because the only way Charlotte could live comfortably would be if she married because due to entailment, once her father dies the money goes to the eldest son, and Charlotte would be left with very little

Charlotte Lucas 3

" Charlotte talked of the healthfulness of the exercise, and owned she encouraged it as much as possible"

Why?

- We can see that she is trying to make the best of a bad situation

- Charlotte is simply trying to get Mr Collins out of the house as much as possible because she doesn't like him

- This just reinforces the importance of marriage because although she clearly isn't happy living with him, she must continue to live like this if she wants a comfortable life

Lydia Bennet 1

"A fine complexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her mother"

Why?

- The first introduction of Lydia tells us that she is pretty but contrasts the expectations placed on women as she isn't reserved and well behaved

- She is a character who craves attention and excitement which we see escalate through the novel

- It says she is her mothers favourite and his is because they have similar traits and personalities - they're both loud and speak without thinking of the consequences

Lydia Bennet 2

"Lydia will never be easy till she has exposed herself"

Why?

- This takes place when Lydia is asked to go to Brighton and Mr Bennet cannot be bothered to stop her

- We she her outgoing character as her father chooses to not interfere because he knows she will probably go anyways

- Elizabeth disagrees with her father as she knows this trip won't end well and Lydia will ruin the family's reputation which foreshadows what is to come with Wickham

Lydia Bennet 3

"Well! I am so happy! In a short time I shall have a daughter married."

Why?

- This is when the Bennett's find out that Mr Gardiner has persuaded Mr Wickham to marry Lydia is Mr Bennet continues to pay him

- However whilst everyone else is worried and confused Mrs Bennet is celebrating

- This shows the similarities between Lydia and her mum as they both don't think about others or about consequences

- We understand that Lydia has grown up like this due to her mum being a bad maternal figure who pushed the idea of marriage onto Lydia far too much

- Throughout the novel both Lydia and Mrs Bennet have been obsessed with marriage but you would hope that after we learn how bad me Wickham is neither Lydia nor her mum would be excited that they were going to marry, but her mum is

Mr Collins 1

"Not a sensible man"

"A mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self importance and humility"

Why?

- During this description of Mr Collins the narrator is openly critical of him, and doesn't let the reader form their own opinions on him

- This may be done to remove any idea that he is a suitable option for marriage and show us clearly that he lacks intelligence and charm

- We are also told that he is a distant cousin of Mr Bennet

- Due to entailment, Collins will inherit Mr Bennet's estate and money and we know this is bad as he isn't smart and only a distant relative

- Austen may do this to criticise entailment as he is presented as such a unsatisfactory person and we know that he will inherit all the money, leaving nothing for the 5 girls

Mr Collins 2

"Mr Collins, to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary"

Why?

- After Collins proposed to Charlotte

- This quote shows us that Charlotte is aware he is far from the ideal husband but she is desperate

- We are meant to feel sympathy for Charlotte as she has agreed to marry such an unsatisfactory man and we know she didn't want to

- This quote also shows how different the two parters are because Charlotte is presented as smart and sensible and kind whilst Collins is the opposite

Mr Collins 3

"The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this"

Why?

- Mr Collins sends a condolence letter to the Bennets after finding out what happened with Lydia

- However the letter doesn't portray any sadness but instead he seems almost gleeful at Lydia's decision

- He feels satisfaction in seeing the family fall from grace after he was rejected

- However it also shows how Lady Catherine's views have rubbed off on him

- He also represents Regency society's views as they place a lt of importance on marriage and the purity of women and they would've preferred to lose a child than have their reputation damaged

The Gardiners 1

" Sensible, gentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister"

" amiable, intelligent, elegant woman"

Why?

- Shows that although slightly lower class, they are much more sensible and don't obsess over class and wealth and are the voice of reason for many of the Bennet sisters

- It's clear we can trust these characters by the way they're described

- Clear it's a good thing that they take Elizabeth away, allowing her to get away from her parents who are less of a good influence

- Without these characters taking Elizabeth away from Mr and Mrs Bennet we wouldn't have seen Darcy and Elizabeth end up together because staying in that house only increased her prejudices towards Darcy

The Gardiners 2

"With the Gardiners they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them"

Why?

- Final page of the novel shows that Elizabeth and Darcy remain in contact with the two Gardiners

- We can tell they are very grateful for their role in bringing them together

- Also we can tell that Elizabeth and Darcy prefer them to Lizzys parents as they are talk to the Gardiners a lot but don't live very close to her parents or talk to them much as her mother is very irritating