Pride and Prejudice Notes

Volume I:
Characters:
-Mr. Bennet is the husband of Mrs. Bennet and father of their five daughters. He is a kind and loving person in general, and maintains a laid back persona throughout the story. Though he is the head of the household, he seems to somewhat stay out of social affairs as much as he can, unlike many of the other strong male figures throughout the novel. He loves all of his daughters but seems more so attached to Elizabeth, who he shares the same ideas with (they seem to be the wisest out of all the Bennets and are both more focused on happiness and their own personal desires than those of politics and money).
-Mrs. Bennet is the wife of Mr. Bennet and mother of the Bennet household. Unlike Mr. Bennet, she is more concerned with social status and money and is constantly pushing for her daughters to marry, despite their opinions on the situation. She is a very selfish person and not a good mother to her daughters, basically wanting to pawn them off for the social aspect of the marriages.

-The Bennet family consists of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, as well as their five daughters: Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia. Though Elizabeth is only the second oldest, she is one of the most important characters to the story. She is a very wise young lady and thinks like her father, though she is far more involved in affairs than he is. She is very blunt and brave, not hesitating to voice her own opinions and not letting other people bring her down (like Mr. Darcy). Though he begins to pursue her, she remains more focused on her family and her desires rather than bending to his. Jane is the oldest girl, and is also noted as the most desirable of the sisters (for her appearance that is). Though she is the oldest she is somewhat less outgoing than Elizabeth. She is very gentle and reserved, and takes a liking to Mr. Bingely. Mary is the middle child and is the most knowledgeable of the sisters when it comes to book smarts. She enjoys to read and learn, and depicts her knowledge in a somewhat conceited way. Catherine is the second youngest and is therefore more immature than the other girls. She is interested in her surroundings and is enthralled by all the soldiers that visit town, depicting her desire for men and marriage. Lydia is the youngest and likewise the most immature of the sisters. She has a tendency to not be able to hold her tongue, which displays her lack of self control over her words as well as her desire to attract gossip and drama. She doesn't really think things through which sometimes gets her into trouble.
-Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a very wealthy woman who holds herself in a very high place, coming across as bossy and snobbish. She is the aunt of Darcy and tries to protect him from unworthy partners to keep her wealthy nephew in a league of his own.
-Mr. Darcy is the nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and a very rich man who holds himself highly and has a very prideful personality. He is very pompous and doesn't speak with those he deems unworthy of his presence, which is why at first he does not take to Elizabeth. He finds her nothing more than pretty and not in the same league as him, but slowly begins to develop feelings for her. Because he doesn't want to go down that path and because his aunt tries to keep them away from each other, Darcy tries fervently to ignore his feelings for Elizabeth.
-Mr. Bingley lives near the Bennets but doesn't meet them until a ball, where he notices Jane and begins to have feelings for her. He is well liked throughout the town because of his kind, polite manner and he and Jane, having mirroring personalities, both take to each other. They get along fine until Mr. Bingley leaves Jane without any notice, which makes the reader question his moral character.
-Miss Caroline Bingley is Mr. Bingley's little sister who doesn't like the Bennet girls and thinks them unworthy of Mr. Bingley's affection. She is very stuck up and money/status-oriented, which is why she doesn't approve of the poorer Bennets. She tries to get her brother to go after Darcy's little sister while she herself tries to flirt with Darcy, but is unsuccessful in her attempts.
-Mrs. Hurst is Bingley's older sister who is married to Mr. Hurst, a rich man. She shares the same stuck up, wealth-consumed personality as her sister, but on a lesser scale. She, too, dislikes the Bennets but favors Jane, if she had to choose.
-Mr. Collins is the heir to the Bennet estate and wants to marry one of the girls to keep the estate in the family, and decides to propose to Elizabeth, who rejects him many a time. He finally decides to court Charlotte Lucas instead. He is oblivious to many things and thinks higher of his partners than he does himself.
-Charlotte Lucas is Elizabeth's good friend who, unlike most women, does not care too much about marriage and status. She is more concerned about having a nice place to live and therefore accepts when Mr. Collins asks to marry her.
-Mr. George Wickham is an officer of the militia who is well-liked and very handsome. This attracts Elizabeth, who begins to pursue him. He is good friends with Darcy, whom he has a bumpy history with.
Plot:
Knowledge of a wealthy man (Mr. Bingley) moving into an estate near Longbourn reaches the Bennet household and Mrs. Bennet desperately convinces her husband to set him up with Elizabeth, one of their five daughters. However, the Bennets throw a ball and Mr. Bingley begins talking to Jane instead, while Elizabeth begins talking to Mr. Darcy, whom she decides she will steer clear of due to his distasteful personality. Both of Bingley's sisters pretend to like Jane as well, since their brother does but would prefer a woman of a higher stature. Jane goes to visit the Bingley's but falls ill while there, so Elizabeth comes to visit but is treated poorly by the sisters. She also finds that Miss Bingley likes Mr. Darcy, who turns out to like Elizabeth. Once Elizabeth and Jane return home, they encounter a visit from Mr. Collins who shows signs of feelings for Elizabeth. While walking into town, the two girls encounter a couple of officers and find news of a ball being held by the Bingleys and decide to attend. The girls go and Elizabeth becomes closer to one of the officers, Mr. Wickham, finding out that Darcy has a sister. There is another ball shortly after and Elizabeth talks with Darcy and gets closer to him, which infuriates Miss. Bingley. Following the ball, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, who declines, so he proposes to her friend Charlotte, who accepts. Jane receives a letter from the Bingley's saying that they have moved away along with Mr. Darcy and that they will not be returning to Netherfield. Jane is devastated by the news as she had grown very close to Mr. Bingley, and doesn't know why he would leave without notice. Elizabeth, however, evaluates the situation and assumes that Miss Bingley must've had something to do with it, since she didn't want anything to do with the Bennets and would rather be involved with Darcy's family.

Volume II:
Characters:
-Colonel Fitzwilliam is a friend of Mr. Darcy and is a very likeable, friendly person. He, like many other men, takes to Elizabeth and becomes very close to her while she is staying with the Collins.
-Maria Lucas is Charlotte's little sister and visits Charlotte and Elizabeth. She is very quiet and not outspoken, taking the blunt of Lady Catherine's critics. She does not have a very strong will and doesn't speak up when she should.
-Elizabeth keeps her strong personality throughout the story, though she is tried by Mr. Collins' constant bragging and Lady Catherine's criticism of her. She holds herself highly and speaks her mind often, especially as her feelings for Colonel Fitzwilliams strengthen.
-Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, showing a change in heart from selfish and wealth-oriented to a softer side of him, one willing to let down his guard and show his true feelings. He also is honest in why Bingely left Longbourn and develops as a character.
-Mr. Collins grows to be more obnoxious in his ways and shows off as the future owner of the Bennet property. He grows even more fond in his dealings with Lady Catherine (trying to impress her) and is constantly sucking up to her and excessively flattering her, which annoys Elizabeth.
-Charlotte Lucas (now Mrs. Collins) notices her husband's dealings with Lady Catherine (who she is civil with, but not fond of) and chooses to ignore it to keep her character stable. She reconnects with Elizabeth and Maria, showing them her house.
-Lady Catherine grows even more boastful and prideful and is very selfish, speaking only of her and her actions and criticizing everything and everyone else that she deems inferior to her lifestyle.
Plot:
Caroline sends Jane a letter boasting of the Bingley's happiness and their lack of returning. Shortly after, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner (Mrs. Bennet's sister and brother-in-law) visit and speak with Elizabeth about the situation with Jane and Mr. Bingley, and Mrs. Gardiner warned Elizabeth about Mr. Wickham. Mr. Collins married Charlotte and they invited Elizabeth to stay with them, and during the same time Jane leaves with the Gardiner's for a while. Elizabeth is introduced to Lady Catherine, as well as having encounters with Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliams, so the three get better acquainted. Darcy eventually realized his feelings for Elizabeth and proposes, despite the class difference, but she denies him. The following day she received a letter from him apologizing and telling her of how he and the Bingley's took Mr. Bingley from Jane. Elizabeth went home to tell Jane of all the news and the false information she heard. Lydia gets invited to Brighton by Mrs. Forster to meet more militia men, while Elizabeth receives an invitation from her aunt, Mrs. Gardiner, to accompany her to Pemberley, which she agrees to.

Volume III:
Characters:
-Elizabeth tries to ignore her feelings towards Darcy, and decides to focus her attention on helping out others. In the end she gives into her love for Darcy and lets her guard down.
-Mr. Darcy develops from a more socially concerned man to a more honest fellow. He remains kind and well-mannered and keeps his feelings for Elizabeth on the down low, though he wants to express them. He tries to help Elizabeth with Lydia and Wickham to win over her heart and her affection.
-Miss Darcy (Darcy's little sister) takes a liking to Elizabeth. She is very quiet and reserved and has good manners.
-Jane never really got over Bingley, but acted to Elizabeth as if she had. That is until Bingley proposed to her and she accepted. Jane and Elizabeth remain close and are there for each other in the good and the hard times.
-Mr. Bingley visits Longbourn for the sole purpose of proposing to Jane, which she accepts. He confesses that he didn't understand Jane's feelings, which was why he left her without notice. This dampens his character (in his eyes).
-Lydia ran away with Mr. Wickham, who she felt strongly about for mainly materialistic means, though his feelings weren't as strong for her. She brags of her eloping, and this upsets and disgraces the whole Bennet family.
-Mr. Wickham leaves the militia for Lydia, who he showed no prior feelings for, for she had no social or economic value to him and he was never very close with her. Over time, he begins to lose any feelings for her.
-Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic that three of her daughters married so fast and is the most fond out of the family of Lydia's marriage to Wickham, and begs Mr. Bennet to marry them. Though she is not fond of Darcy, she gets over it after his proposal to Elizabeth.
-Lady Catherine tries to keep Elizabeth from Darcy and tries to scare her away, because she wants Darcy to marry her daughter. She tries to talk Elizabeth out of the marriage through means of criticism and false information.
Plot:
Elizabeth and the Gardiner's visit Darcy, where he is pleased to meet them and even introduces them to his sister. Elizabeth leaves when Jane informs her of Lydia's dealings with Wickham, which the Gardiner's try to sort out. The two elope and Elizabeth learns that Darcy was the one who helped the Bennet's and Gardiner's locate the couple and sort out their money situation. Bingley and Darcy both visit Longbourn where they propose to Jane and Elizabeth, respectively. Lady Catherine tries to keep Elizabeth away from Darcy, but to no avail. Elizabeth and Darcy marry, and Darcy continues to help Lydia and Wickham, despite their difficulties. Darcy and Elizabeth live in Pemberly with Miss Darcy, and the three live "happily ever after," so to speak.

Conclusive Notes:
Throughout the novel, the story is told through somewhat old English language, a form of diction that is not normally used in today's English. From the letters written to the dialect spoken, to the lengthy sentences and lack of pauses, the words are complex and sometimes unfamiliar, making the novel a classic, but a hard read. Austen also chooses to characterize the members of the story herself, through means of indirect characterization and lack of dialogue.
A big aspect of the story is social status, no matter who the characters are. Mrs. Bennet, from the beginning, desired nothing more than for her daughters to marry rich. This was purely for her own perception of importance of status. Throughout the book there are several instances where status comes up, as in the initial rejection Darcy has to Elizabeth, or the rejection the Bingley girls have to their brother marrying Jane. It is a prevalent factor throughout the story. Jealousy is also a running factor, such that the Bingley's and Darcy move away in order to separate Bingley from Jane and Elizabeth from Darcy, so that the Bingley girls could have a fighting chance at him. Another recurring factor is the amount of bragging that is evident, from Lydia bragging of her marriage to Wickham, to Collins' bragging of his property. This reverts back to the interest of being in a higher class, thinking that bragging about what you had would make you better than someone. The differences in the sisters are also evident and important to the plot. Though Jane and Elizabeth are the stronger characters in the story, Lydia serves as a foil to them, since she is the one that is most concerned about social status, despite her background and role as the younger sister. Elizabeth and Jane grow as their sistership, which helps them develop as individuals in the family as well as in their respective relationships.
From individual characters to relationships, there is a lot of development throughout the story. The novel focuses in on the differences in class and the different opinions in social aspects as well as those of the economy. The characters each begin displaying a certain persona, and they develop as they encounter other characters and form feelings for their counterparts in the novel.
The title Pride and Prejudice is formed over the idea behind Elizabeth and Darcy's love for one another. Elizabeth is prideful when she first meets Darcy, unaware of how the environment morphed his actions, while Darcy's prejudice against Elizabeth was based purely on his former knowledge of social classes and social norms. The two overcome their respective beginning feelings and ultimately find an unexpected love in one another.