In this novel published in 1813, Jane Austen writes about mating in the decorous way a novelist of her time would write about that subject in the lives of English gentlefolk. As the omniscient narrator remarks ironically at the beginning of the story, everyone knows that a rich, unmarried gentleman needs a wife.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet live with five would-be wives–their daughters Jane, Elizabeth (the protagonist), Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. Because of the
entail on Longbourn, the Bennets’
estate in Hertfordshire, it will pass upon Mr. Bennet’s death to a distant cousin, Mr. Collins; therefore Mrs. Bennet, silly and excitable, fears that she will become a poor widow and her daughters, if they are not properly married, will be left destitute spinsters.
When news arrives that a young bachelor, Mr. Bingley, has rented Netherfield, a nearby estate, Mrs. Bennet encourages her husband to call on their new neighbor. Soon, the Bennets become acquainted with Mr. Bingley and his two sisters, one of whom is still single and would like to
marry Mr. Bingley’s friend, Mr. Darcy, the owner of Pemberley, an immense estate in Derbyshire. At first apparently a good prospect for one of the Bennet daughters, Mr. Darcy soon proves to be aloof and rude, making disparaging remarks about the neighborhood’s young ladies, remarks that Elizabeth overhears. Mr. Bingley, however, is affable as well as rich, and he and Jane begin to feel a romantic attraction toward each other.
Meanwhile, at least one other person is looking for a spouse. A newly ordained clergyman in the Church of England and the recipient of a benefice from Mr. Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Collins arrives at Longbourn to woo a Bennet sister. Jane being reportedly attached to Mr. Bingley, Mr. Collins turns his romantic attention, such as it is, to Elizabeth, and soon he proposes to her, to Mrs. Bennet’s delight. To Mrs. Bennet’s dismay, Elizabeth turns down Mr. Collins, who, besides not being handsome, is an insincere blabbermouth whose status-conscious praise of Lady Catherine is offensive. Having been rejected, Mr. Collins recovers fast and soon proposes successfully to Charlotte Lucas, one of Elizabeth’s friends. Being unromantic, Charlotte sees in Mr. Collins an opportunity for social and financial security that she believes it would be unwise for her to pass up. For her part, Elizabeth feels attracted to Mr. Wickham, who has joined the militia that is temporarily stationed in Meryton, the closest town. Wickham confirms Elizabeth’s initial dislike of Darcy by telling her a story of how Darcy, once his friend, had thwarted his effort to enter the Church and had cheated him out of the pastoral living Darcy’s late father had promised.
Unlike Elizabeth, Jane receives no proposal; and Bingley, his sisters, and Darcy suddenly leave Netherfield for London. Jane herself visits her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, who live in the unfashionable Cheapside neighborhood in the city, but she receives no visit from Bingley and scant attention from his sister, who once claimed to be her dear friend. While Jane is in London, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins in the parsonage bordering Rosings, Lady Catherine’s estate in Kent. While she is in that neighborhood, she meets Lady Catherine, a haughty, domineering woman who wants Darcy to marry her sickly daughter. The big shock of the visit, however, comes from Darcy, who asks Elizabeth to marry him, confessing his love for her despite her low social position and her objectionable family. To his surprise, Elizabeth finds his proposal an insulting sign of his insufferable pride, and in her angry rejection she brings up her belief that he has turned Bingley against Jane and has mistreated Wickham.
A letter he hands her the next day confirms part of that belief. Darcy acknowledges that he advised his friend not to offer to marry Jane, but Darcy tells a story about Wickham different from that whichJane heard from Wickham himself: Darcy proclaims that he treated Wickham generously and that Wickham lived a dissolute life, said once that he had no interest in taking holy orders, and even tried to elope with Darcy’s much younger sister. This letter begins to change Elizabeth’s opinion of Darcy, and that opinion undergoes a greater change the following summer when, on a trip with Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner to Derbyshire, she accompanies them on a visit to Pemberley. Darcy is not supposed to arrive until the next day; but, returning early, he encounters Elizabeth and treats her and her relatives cordially, making it a point to introduce his sister.
Elizabeth’s stay in Derbyshire is cut short by the news that Lydia, who has been visiting Brighton under the supervision of Col. and Mrs. Forster, has eloped with Wickham. Although her opinion of Wickham has dropped enormously, Elizabeth can only hope that he will marry Lydia, who otherwise would be ruined for life. In this horrible situation, Darcy quietly comes to the rescue, finding his former friend and Lydia in London and persuading him to marry her by paying off his debts and buying him a commission in the regular army. Much less proud than he was, Darcy turns Bingley back toward Jane, who gladly accepts his proposal. As for Elizabeth, she realizes that once she was prejudiced but now she loves Darcy. In defiance of Lady Catherine, she joyfully agrees to marry him.
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