“Pride and Prejudice” Book Review: a Captivating Classic

The first sentence in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen states, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." The Bennet family consists of five single daughters, careful Elizabeth, lovely Jane, simple Mary, silly Kitty, and adventurous Lydia, a very aggressive mother with no marriage proposals and nearly no money. Then, Mr. Bingley, a rich man, and Mr. Darcy, an even richer man, came into the neighborhood.

What happens when a rich man like Mr. Bingley falls for a wonderful girl like Jane, but all of his acquaintances don't approve? Will you love to soar through? What happens when a rich and arrogant man such as Mr. Darcy falls for such a careful and thoughtful woman like Elizabeth? Will she fall too? Does she see deeper within him than others? The author uses key events in the story to show that people should put others before themselves in the plot.

First Impressions at the Ball

At first, when you read about the Bennet family, you can see how excited some of the girls get when they find out that Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley will be at the next ball(pg5). During the ball, Mr. Bingley made himself acquainted with almost all of the people in the room; he was lively and danced, and later was upset when the ball was over so early(pg6-7). Yet Mr. Darcy was very reserved in himself and only danced one time and only spoke to people in his party-or group. Mr. Bingley later tries to get Mr. Darcy to go and dance with a young lady, but Mr. Darcy states that Mr. Bingley is dancing with the only "handsome" girl in the room which was, Jane Bennet-and dancing with anyone else would be a punishment(pg7). This shows that in the beginning, Mr. Darcy is a very arrogant man with a very high opinion of himself, and Mr. Bingley is a very agreeable man that likes to make friends.

Bingley's Departure and Darcy's Influence

At the start of a page of volume two of the book (pg99), Mr. Bingley had left and gone to London and had sent a letter to Jane telling them that they had been settled. Elizabeth then stated that she believes that Mr. Bingley's sisters had influenced him to go back to London to Marry Mrs. Darcy-Mr. Darcy's sister-to gain more wealth. (pg102) But later in a letter, Elizabeth finds out that Mr. Darcy had been the influence on Mr. Bingley because Mr. Darcy had thought that Jane did not have a romantic interest in Mr. Bingley(pg145). This shows that Mr. Darcy had put Mr. Bingley above himself and Jane.

Elizabeth's Rejection and Darcy's Explanation

Later Mr. Darcy finds his love for Elizabeth and decides to ask her to marry him. She rejects him and explains why she has had nothing but ill thoughts of him. He had influenced his sisters' possible marriage to the man she loved, and he had been the reason for Mr. Wickham's misfortune(pg 141-142). Then Mr. Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter to explain.

Works Cited

1. Austen, Jane. "Pride and Prejudice". Oxford World's Classics, 2008.

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