BOOK REPORT

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen
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Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's most famous novel, it revolves aroud the courtship, marriage,
and manners among the elite in the earl 1!th centur" #t is a comed of manners $ith a satirical
tone" #n the follo$ing essa, # $ill tr to associate the novel $ith some of the lectures $e have done
this semester% foreground and &ac'ground, point of vie$, self and other, theor and practice and
aesthetics"
Pride and Prejudice centers in on the Bennet famil, and their five unmarried daughters" The novel
can &e associated $ith the lecture of foreground and &ac'ground through the relationship of
Eli(a&eth )*i((+ Bennet and ,it($illiam -arc representing the main plot or foreground stor, and
the su&plot )&ac'ground stor+ &eing represented & other relationships &et$een Jane Bennet and
.r" Bingle, /harllote and .r" /ollins, *dia Bennet and 0eorge 1ic'ham and .r" and .rs"
Bennet" At the &eginning of the novel in the foreground of the stor is the introduction of .r"
Bingle to the Bennet famil, especiall the oldest daughter Jane" As the stor progresses, the
relationship &et$een .r" -arc and Eli(a&eth moves to foreground and marginali(es other events"
After .r"Bingle, his sisters and .r" -arc 2uit 3etherfield, these relationships are marginali(ed
and the stor centers on the ne$ friendship &et$een .r" 1ic'ham and Eli(a&eth" After the
reappearance of the 3etherfield group, the relationship &et$een .r" -arc and Eli(a&eth et again
moves to the foreground of the stor"
The point of vie$ in Pride and Prejudice is limited or third person omniscient4 PO5 is given from
Eli(a&eth6s angle, also man information are revealed in the form of letters and are mostl su&7ective
to motivations and feelings of people $ho had $ritten them" The readers of the novel are a&le to see
the stor through Eli(a&eth6s )Austen6s+ ees" The are a&le to understand the ironic tone of the
novel and the satirical outloo' of the upper English class and social demands of the time"
Pride and Prejudice can &e associated $ith the lecture of self and other &ecause of .r" -arc6s high
&irth and social status for&idding him to have an 'ind of contact $ith people of lo$er class" 8e sees
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himself as &eing :self; and differing from :others;, he is too a$are of his social superiorit over
others and &ecause of that he acts $ith e<cessive pride"
=.iss Bingle told me, 'said Jane, 'that he never spea's much unless among his intimate
ac2uaintance" 1ith them he is remar'a&l agreea&le"'=)Austen 9>1>4 1?, emphasis added+
-arc graduall reali(es there are factors more po$erful then class or fortune, and he reveals his
love to Eli(a&eth, &ut he is refused the first time &ecause he insults *i(( & not accepting her and
her famil of lo$er ran' in social hierarch" *ater in the novel -arc starts to change &efore
Eli(a&eth6s ees, he turns something un'no$n and previousl intolera&le to something 'no$n and
accepta&le, he turns =other= into =self= & accepting her as his perfect match and her famil as a ver
important part of her life"
=1hen she sa$ him thus see'ing the ac2uaintance and courting the good opinion of people
$ith $hom an intercourse a fe$ months ago $ould have &een a disgrace4 $hen she sa$ him
thus civil, not onl to herself, &ut to the ver relations $hom he had openl disdained, and
recollected their last livel scene in 8unsford Parsonage, the difference, the change $as so
great, and struc' so forci&l on her mind, that she could hardl restrain her astonishment
from &eing visi&le=)Austen 9>1>4 9@A+
An e<ample of theor and practice is visi&le through .r" -arc6s inner fight against his feelings
to$ards *i((" As .r" -arc starts to learn a&out Eli(a&eth6s character his feelings to$ards her
graduall change from disgust to great affection even though he fights them throughout the novel"
=Eli(a&eth could not help o&servingBho$ fre2uentl .r" -arc6s ees $ere fi<ed on her"
Che hardl 'ne$ ho$ to suppose that she could &e an o&7ect of admiration to so great man4
and et that he should loo' at her &ecause he disli'ed her $as still more strange"=)D?+
=To .r" -arc it $as $elcome intelligence E Eli(a&eth had &een at 3etherfield long enough"
Che attracted him more than he li'ed E and .iss Bingle $as uncivil to her, and more
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teasing than usual to himself" 8e $isel resolved to &e particularl careful that no sign of
admiration should now escape him, nothing that could elevate her $ith the hope of
influencing his felicit4 sensi&le that if such an idea had &een suggested, his &ehaviour during
the last da must have material $eight in confirming or crushing it" =)@F, emphasis added+
,inall, after a long time of resisting the practice )confessing his feelings to Eli(a&eth and himself+,
he stops fighting himself and proposes to Eli(a&eth" After her re7ection he fights to $in her over and
does everthing in his po$er to save her and her famil from disgrace of an unmarried daughter
*dia having an affair $ith flirtatious .r" 1ic'ham" Theor and practice is also visi&le in
Eli(a&eth6s &ehavior as she &elieves she needs to stop her feelings to$ards .r" -arc to evolve into
something &igger after her sister *dia runs of $ith 0eorge 1ic'ham"
=Eli(a&eth soon o&served, and instantl understood it" 8er po$er $as sin'ing4 everthing
must sin' under such a proof of famil $ea'ness, such an assurance of the deepest disgrace"
Che should neither $onder nor condemn, &ut her &osom, afforded no palliation of her
distress" #t $as, on the contrar, e<actl calculated to ma'e her understand her o$n $ishes4
and never had she so honestl felt that she could have loved him, as no$, $hen all love must
&e in vain" =)9F?, emphasis added+
The most o&vious and most important role in the novel &eholds aesthetics" Phsical appearance $as
ver important to a $oman if she $anted to marr a $ealth man" As it is ironicall stated in the
first sentence of the novel%
=#t is a truth universall ac'no$ledged, that a single man # possession of a good fortune must
&e in $ant of a $ife=)1+
The truth is, $ealth men $ere a&le to choose their future $ives & their personal preference, and
$omen $ere in desperate pursuit of such a man to ensure them economic securit and for that reason
their phsical appearance $as of great importance and value" .rs" Bennet $isel used Jane6s &eaut
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so she could marr her to a $ealth man and in that $a secure the famil6s heritage, even though
Jane and /harles Bingle fell in love $ith each other at the ver &eginning
='You are dancing $ith the onl handsome girl in the room', said .r" -arc, loo'ing at the
eldest Bennet" 'OhG Che is the most &eautiful creature # ever &eheldG'= )H, emphasis added+
=.rs" Bennet had seen her eldest daughter much admired & the 3etherfield part" .r"
Bingle had danced $ith her t$ice, and she had &een distinguished & his sisters"= )1>+
.r" -arc, on the other hand, $as not remotel attracted to Eli(a&eth primaril & her social status
and secondl & her appearance, she did not impress him $ith her &eaut%
='1hich do ou meanI' and turning round, he loo'ed for a moment at Eli(a&eth, till catching
her ee, he $ithdre$ his o$n and coldl said, 'Che is tolera&le, &ut not handsome enough to
tempt me4 and # am in no humour at present to give conse2uence to oung ladies $ho are
slighted & other men"'= )i&id+
As the stor moves for$ard, .r" -arc gets to 'no$ a&out Eli(a&eth6s personalit, ac'no$ledges
that her $it and intelligence are similar to his, &ut the most attractive part of her character $as her
sincerit4 throughout his life -arc had &een often flattered & $omen, &ut as he learns more and
more a&out Eli(a&eth, he finds her desire to &e sincere and sa $hat she sees as true, irresisti&le, and
eventuall, he falls in love%
='#n vain have # struggled" #t $ill not do" . feelings $ill not &e repressed" Jou must allo$
me to tell ou ho$ ardentl # admire and love ou"'= )1!A+
-arc from &eing remotel uninterested gro$s so passionate for Eli(a&eth that he &elieves his love
is strong enough to spend the rest of his life $ith her, $hich proves that he loves her for herself"
#n conclusion, Pride and Pre7udice can &e compared $ith most of the lectures from this course and in
that $a proving that it is a &oo' that changes ever time ou read it"
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