Pride and Prejudice summary Quick overview
Pride and Prejudice is a classic romantic entanglement comedy written by
English author Jane Austen in 1813. The story follows the two main characters,
Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy, whose respective families,
social backgrounds, and own pre-conceived ideas and biases about class distinction
interfere in their feelings for each other. The novel's main themes are love, marriage,
and the influence of social status on people's lives and decisions.
Pride and Prejudice was originally published anonymously in three volumes.
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Pride and Prejudice Summary
The Bennet family (Mr. & Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth -Eliza, or Liz-, Jane, Mary, Catherine -Kitty-,
and Lydia) live in Longbourn estate, a modest house in the fictional English village of Meryton,
Hertfordshire. At the start of the story, we learn that the property is entailed (that is,
it can only be inherited by) a male, which, given that the five Bennet siblings are female, poses a
major problem for the siblings' future. Because of this, Mrs. Bennet is determined to marry her
daughters off to wealthy men, no matter what. The news that Charles Bingley, a young, single,
and more importantly, wealthy man is renting the manor of Netherfield Park (which is close
to the Bennet's own home) for the summer. This sets the plot of Pride and Prejudice in motion.
The entire Bennet family attends a 'welcome' ball organized by Mr. Bingley. There,
one of the Bennet's siblings, Jane, becomes quite taken by the wealthy man's manners.
Present at the ball also is Mr. Darcy, a wealthy but somewhat reserved and introverted aristocrat
who feels uncomfortable in social gatherings. Elizabeth asks him to dance, but he refuses,
which causes everyone present to form a rather negative opinion of him.
Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth meet several times at social events over the following weeks,
and he slowly becomes attracted to Elizabeth's charms. During this time, Jane's relationship
with Mr. Bingley also develops. But one day, as she's on her way to Netherfield Park
(Mr. Bingley's residence), Jane is caught in the rain and becomes ill, which forces her to stay at
Mr. Bingley's home while she recuperates. Elizabeth learns of her sister's illness,
which prompts her to take a long and gruelling hike to Netherfield Park. The hike takes her
through several fields, which, wet and muddy after the recent rain, ruin her garments.
On arrival at the house, Mr. Bingley's sister, the snobbish Miss Bingley
-also a singleton-, takes an instant dislike to Elizabeth.
This dislike soon turns to open hostility when Miss Bingley notices that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy
(whom Miss Bingley intends to marry) appear to be rather close and familiar with each other.
Jane recovers, and both she and Elizabeth return to Longbourn, where they're visited by a local
clergyman, Mr. Collins, who's in line to inherit the house. Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth,
much to Mrs. Bennet's delight, but Elizabeth refuses, injuring Mr. Collins' pride.
that strong foolish child
Meanwhile, all the Bennet's siblings become friendly with a group of military men stationed
nearby. Elizabeth is quite taken by one the soldiers, George Wickham, who warns
her to be wary of Mr. Darcy, whom Wickham claims cheated him out of a due inheritance.
his father will he love me better and does he couldn't stand it
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As winter arrives, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy return to London, leaving Jane quite distraught.
Around the same time, they learn that Mr. Collins has become engaged to a local girl who's a friend
of Elizabeth's, Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte plainly admits to Elizabeth that she does not love Mr.
Collins and that she's only marrying the clergyman for financial reasons, and to secure a home for
herself. (Charlotte comes from a poor family). The marriage of convenience does come to pass.
With winter well underway and most of the men gone, the Bennet siblings remain single,
much to their mother's chagrin. Spring comes, and Elizabeth visits Charlotte,
who claims to be well looked after, and happy with her choice of a loveless but
financially secure marriage. Charlotte now lives near the home of Mr. Collins' patron,
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who happens to be Mr. Darcy's aunt.
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy meet by chance, and he surprises her by proposing in marriage
I don't understand. I love you
but she refuses, telling him that he's arrogant and not a very nice person to be around,
adding that he wronged Wickham by preventing him from receiving his due inheritance.
thank you for explaining so fully perhaps these offenses might have been overlooked
had not your pride been hurt by my honesty and admitting scruples about our relationship
Later, Mr. Darcy writes a letter explaining to Elizabeth that Wickham
is a pathological liar, and that he grudge on Wickham's part stems from the fact that
Mr. Darcy prohibited his younger sister, Georgiana, from getting close to Wickham.
It transpires that Wickham is indeed an undesirable character with many negative traits.
(He's a gambler and a con man, for example.) The letter changes Elizabeth's view of Mr. Darcy,
but she's still not fully convinced about him. She hatches a plan to visit Pemberley,
the Darcys' estate in northern England, first making sure that Mr. Darcy will not be there,
so he can learn the truth about Mr. Darcy's from first hand accounts by the estate's servants. They
all offer a very positive view of their master, saying that he's rather generous and good to them.
A letter from home speaks of one of the Bennet siblings,
Lydia, having disappeared with Wickham, which becomes an urgent matter.
If the pair were to be conviving out of wedlock, the Bennet's family honor would be ruined.
spasms all over me
Elizabeth heads home to look for Lydia, who's eventually found.
be married
Wickham will marry Lydia, with one condition: He must get an annual income
for the marriage. This is agreed upon, and it transpires that the provider of such alimony is
none other than Mr. Darcy, who conceded to such a
thing to help save the Bennet's honor (and, implicitly, that of Elizabeth.)
Later, Mr. Bingley returns to Netherfield and rekindles his relationship with Jane.
Mr. Bingley and Jane get married.
yes a thousand times yes
At the same time, Mr. Collins' patron, Lady Catherine, comes to Longbourn after learning that
Mr. Darcy, is planning to marry Elizabeth. Lady Catherine considers the Bennets to be of lower
social standing, and therefore unfit to marry an aristocrat such as her nephew. Lady Catherine
corners Elizabeth and demands her not to accept Mr. Darcy's proposal, but she firmly rebukes her
saying that she will not make any promise, nor will she jeopardize her own happiness.
The story ends with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth going for a walk together.
He confesses that his feelings towards her have not changed
since his earlier proposal. This time, Elizabeth accepts him in marriage.
Conclusion Though written in early 19th century during
the Georgian era, Pride and Prejudice features most of the ingredients of what we would call
a romantic comedy today: Love, humor, intrigue, misunderstandings, and of course, marriage.
And that’s all for today!
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