Pride & Prejudice (Eng. Hons.DU)

Pride & Prejudice

The novel centers on the Bennet Family , consisting of the bookish Mr Bennet, his wife, a woman somewhat lacking in social graces and primarily concerned with her family's fortunes, and their five daughters. The youngest, Lydia, mostly takes after Mrs Bennet; the eldest, Jane, is kind-hearted and proper; and the central character, Elizabeth Bennet, is the second-eldest and she mostly takes after her father, sharing his keen wit and occasionally sarcastic outlook.

Though the story is set at the turn of the 19th century, it retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of lists of "most loved books" such as The Big Read. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature and receives considerable attention from literary scholars

Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist of the novel. The reader sees the unfolding plot and the other characters mostly from her viewpoint. The second of the Bennet daughters, she is 20 years old and is intelligent, lively, attractive and witty but with a tendency to judge on first impression (the "prejudice" of the title) and perhaps to be a little selective of the evidence upon which she bases her judgments. As the plot begins, her closest relationships are with her father; her sister, Jane; her aunt, Mrs Gardiner; and her best friend, Charlotte Lucas. As the story progresses, so does her relationship with Mr. Darcy, who belongs to a higher social class than herself. The course of Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship is ultimately decided when Darcy overcomes his pride, and Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice, leading to them both to surrender to the love they have for each other

Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy is the male protagonist of the novel. Twenty-eight years old and unmarried, Mr Darcy is also the wealthy owner of the famous family estate of Pemberley in Derbyshire, and is rumored to be worth at least ten thousand pounds a year. In 2013, this amounts to almost eight hundred thousand dollars a year, although even this calibration fails to properly demonstrate Darcy's wealth. Such an income would have put him among the 400 wealthiest families in the country. Handsome, tall, and intelligent, but rather antisocial, his aloof decorum and rectitude are seen by many as an excessive pride. He makes a poor impression on strangers, such as the landed gentry of Meryton, but is valued by those who know him well. Throughout the progression of the plot, Darcy and Elizabeth are forced to be in each other's company, causing each character to see the other in a different light. At the end of the work, both overcome their differences and judgments to fall in love with each othe