Elizabeth The novel's novel's protagonist protagonist and the the second oldest oldest of her ve ve sisters, Elizabeth Bennet is lively, quick-witted, sharp-tongued, bold and intelligent !he is keen and perceptive, but Elizabeth's pride in that very ability engenders a pre"udice that al#ost hinders her happy future with $arcy Elizabeth is not i#pressed by #ere wealth or titles, rather, she values propriety, good-#anners, and virtue Mr. Darcy %n e&tre#ely wealthy aristocrat, r $arcy is proud, haughty and e&tre#ely conscious of class di(erences )at least at the beginning of the novel* +e does, however, have a strong sense of honor and virtue and a degree of fairness that helps hi# to control his pride after Elizabeth rebukes hi# for his narrow-#inded perspective Jane ane Bennet, Bennet, the oldest Bennet Bennet daughter, daughter, is beautiful, beautiful, good-te#per good-te#pered, ed, a#iable, hu#ble, and seless +er good nature does result in a level of naivet., especially when it co#es to recognizing the wickedness of others +er sweetness leaves her vulnerable to in"ury fro# insincere friends like /aroline Bingley % rather static character, ane re#ains a #odel of virtue throughout the novel Mr. Bingley uch like his beloved ane, /harles Bingley is an a#iable and goodte#pered person, #ostly unconcerned with class di(erences despite his e&traordinary wealth +is virtue proves to be his vice at ti#es, since his #odesty leads hi# to be easily swayed by the opinions of others % #ostly static character, Bingley re#ains pleasant and in love with ane throughout the novel Mr. Wickham %n o0cer in the regi#ent stationed at eryton, 10cer 2ickha# possesses a char# that hides his dissolute, untrustworthy personality +e was godson to $arcy's father +owever, 2ickha# betrayed $arcy by seducing 3eorgiana when she was only 45 +e also spreads false ru#ors about $arcy throughout +ertfordshire and eryton 1verall, 2ickha# is driven by self-interest, revealed by his #any ro#antic engage#ents )or lack thereof, in the case of Elizabeth* +e is also a static character and #arries 6ydia only because $arcy provides a nancial incentive 7n the epilogue, %usten i#plies that 2ickha# tires of 6ydia after a certain point Mrs. Bennet rs Bennet is a foolish and frivolous wo#an !he lacks any sense of propriety and neglects to provide her daughters with a proper education 7nstead, she re#ains concerned solely with securing the# protable #arriages +er lack of self-awareness constantly e#barrasses Elizabeth and r Bennet alike
Mr. Bennet %n intelligent #an with good sense, r Bennet displays an unfortunate disinterest in #ost of his fa#ily )besides Elizabeth* +e see#s weary after spending #any decades #arried to the inter#inable rs Bennet +is co#placency is shaken only when 6ydia's her poor decisions in Brighton threaten her future Lydia The youngest of the Bennet sisters, 6ydia Bennet is foolish and irtatious !he graties her every whi# without considering the consequences !he is rs Bennet's favorite daughter because they share si#ilar )though frivolous* interests !he is obsessed with the regi#ent o0cers, and lets her lack of virtue and propriety lead her into a near-disaster with 2ickha# Kitty /atherine 89itty8 Bennet, the second youngest Bennet daughter, e&hibits little personality of her own 7nstead, she i#itates 6ydia in al#ost everything until 6ydia leaves for Brighton The epilogue leads the reader to hope that 9itty's character i#proves as a result of spending ti#e with her elder sisters instead of 6ydia Mary The #iddle Bennet sister, ary, is strangely sole#n and pedantic !he dislikes going out into society and prefers to spend her ti#e studying 7n conversation, ary constantly #akes awkward and profound observations about hu#an nature and life in general !o#e critics believe ary was a cipher for %usten herself Mr. Collins r /ollins is a distant cousin of the Bennet fa#ily to who# 6ongbourn has been entailed +e is #ostly a co#ic character because of his awkward #i& of obsequiousness and pride, as well as the tireso#e for#alities of his speech Even after he #arries /harlotte 6ucas, r /ollins re#ains largely unchanged Charlotte /harlotte 6ucas is Elizabeth's best friend, the Bennets's neighbor, and !ir 2illia#'s daughter +er attitudes on #arriage - as a prag#atic transaction rather than as a ro#antic attach#ent - stand in stark contrast to Elizabeth's !he eventually #arries r /ollins after Elizabeth re"ects his proposal Sir William Lucas !ir 2illia# 6ucas is a friend and neighbor of the Bennet fa#ily +e is pleasant but not overly deep or intellectual +e is obsessed with having been granted knighthood +e is father to /harlotte and aria 6ucas Maria Lucas /harlotte's younger sister, aria, is as e#pty-headed as her father !he is never featured in the novel outside of her presence on the trip to visit /harlotte with !ir 2illia# and Elizabeth Mrs. ardiner
rs Bennet's sister-in-law acts as a levelheaded #aternal gure to Elizabeth and ane, co#pensating for rs Bennet's inadequacy in this regard !he is an intelligent, caring and sensible wo#an %usten uses the 3ardiners as a #eans to e&plore the value of personality over class distinction Mr. ardiner Elizabeth's #aternal uncle is a #erchant, and an upright and intelligent #an Though he is in a lower social class than the Bennets are, r 3ardiner is respectful and distinguished, even i#pressing $arcy with his #annered behavior Caroline Bingley /aroline Bingley is Bingley's youngest sister !he is a supercial and selsh girl, possessing all of $arcy's class pre"udice but none of his honor and virtue Throughout the novel, she panders to $arcy in an atte#pt to win his a(ections, but to no avail +er cruelty towards ane and Elizabeth #arks her as a generally unpleasant character Mrs. !urst Bingley's elder sister, rs +urst, is "ust as arrogant as /aroline, though she is less involved in attacking the Bennet sisters !he see#s to have no real a(ection or estee# for her husband Mr. !urst r Bingley's brother-in-law is an indolent #an r +urst does al#ost nothing but eat and entertain hi#self by playing cards +e never says an intelligent word in the entire novel, and see#s to be solely concerned with the quality of the food eorgiana Darcy $arcy's sister 3eorgiana, ten years his "unior, is quiet and shy but generally a#iable and good-natured !he has great reverence and a(ection for her brother and gets along well with Elizabeth fro# their rst #eeting Bingley's sisters had hoped that r Bingley would #arry 3eorgiana, thus uniting the fortunes of the two fa#ilies Lady Catherine 6ady /atherine de Bourgh, $arcy's aristocratic aunt and r /ollins's patroness, is a sharp-tongued wo#an obsessed with aunting her wealth and social superiority !he advises people without solicitation on every aspect of their lives and su(ers only attery Miss de Bourgh 6ady /atherine's daughter, iss de Bourgh, is a frail, weak and sickly wo#an who is overly pa#pered by her #other !he speaks little in the novel, but see#s to be generally good-natured 6ady /atherine had wanted $arcy to #arry iss de Bourgh, which is the #ain reason she disapproves of $arcy's union with Elizabeth Colonel "itz#illiam /olonel :itzwillia# is r $arcy's cousin who acco#panies hi# on his visit to 6ady /atherine's ho#e +e is a pleasant and a#iable gentle#an who shows an interest in Elizabeth, but then confesses he
can only #arry so#eone with a large fortune because of his status as a youngest son Mrs. $hilli%s rs ;hillips is rs Bennet's sister who shares her foolishness and frivolity !he lives in eryton and facilitates 6ydia and 9itty's obsession with the o0cers stationed there Mrs. "orster rs :orster is the wife of /olonel :orster and invites 6ydia to acco#pany the# to Brighton The trip enables the near-disaster with 2ickha# rs :orster's frivolous nature is i#plied by her fellowship with 6ydia Colonel "orster % good-natured and basically responsible #an, /olonel :orster is the regi#ent leader who allows his wife to bring 6ydia to Brighton %fter the disastrous elope#ent, /ol :orester helps r 3ardiner and r Bennet to locate 6ydia Miss &ounge iss
a"or The#es
$ride %s ary says in /hapter 5, 8hu#an nature is particularly prone to >pride?8 Throughout ;ride and ;re"udice, pride prevents the characters fro# seeing the truth of a situation ost notably, it is one of the two pri#ary barriers in the way of a union between Elizabeth and $arcy $arcy's pride in his social position leads hi# to scorn anyone outside of his own social circle eanwhile, Elizabeth's pride in her powers of discern#ent cloud her "udg#ent These two nd happiness by helping each other overco#e his@her pride 1utside of Elizabeth and $arcy, however, %usten see#s pessi#istic about the hu#an ability to conquer this character aw % slew of secondary characters, like rs Bennet, 6ady /atherine, r /ollins, and /aroline Bingley, re#ain deluded by personal pride throughout the novel $re)udice /ritic % 2alton 6itz co##ents, 8in ;ride and ;re"udice one cannot equate $arcy with ;ride, or Elizabeth with ;re"udiceA $arcy's pride of place is founded on social pre"udice, while Elizabeth's initial pre"udice against hi# is rooted in pride of her own quick perceptions8 lti#ately, both characters' egos drive the# towards personal pre"udice $arcy has been taught to scorn anyone outside his own social circle and #ust overco#e his pre"udice in order to endear hi#self to Elizabeth !i#ilarly, Elizabeth's e&cessive pride in her discern#ent leads her write $arcy o( too quickly lti#ately, they nd happiness by recognizing the barriers that pre"udice creates "amily %usten portrays the fa#ily unit as pri#arily responsible for the intellectual and #oral education of children Throughout the novel, the younger characters either benet fro# or su(er fro# their fa#ily values r and rs Bennet's failure to provide their daughters with a proper education leads to 6ydia's utter foolishness and i##orality Elizabeth and ane #anage to develop virtue and discern#ent in spite of their parents' negligence, though it is notable that they have other role #odels )like the 3ardiners* $arcy shares his father's aristocratic nature and tendency towards generosity, while 6ady /atherine's for#idable parenting style has rendered her daughter too frightened to speak Women %usten is certainly critical of the gender in"ustices present in 4Cth century English society, particularly as perpetrated by the institution of #arriage 7n ;ride and ;re"udice, #any wo#en )such as /harlotte* #ust #arry solely for the sake of nancial security +owever, in her portrayal of Elizabeth, %usten shows that wo#en are "ust as intelligent and capable as their #ale counterparts ane %usten herself went against convention by re#aining single and earning a living through her novels 7n her personal letters, %usten advised friends only to
#arry for love 7n the novel, Elizabeth's happy ending reveals %usten's beliefs that wo#an has the right to re#ain independent until she #eets the right #an )if she #eets hi#* 1n the other hand, #ost conte#porary readers will nd the 6ongbourn entail#ent to be un"ust %nd yet the heroines - ane and Elizabeth refrain fro# speaking out against it 7nstead, the only two characters who openly criticize the entail#ent - rs Bennet and 6ady /atherine are ridiculous caricatures :urther#ore, the fact that Elizabeth see#s to share her father's distrust frivolous wo#en suggests %usten's uneasy relationship with her own gender Class /lass issues are everywhere in ;ride and ;re"udice 2hile the novel never posits an egalitarian ideology nor supports the leveling of all social classes, it does criticize an over-e#phasis on class, especially in ter#s of "udging a person's character lti#ately, the novel accepts Elizabeth's view that the trappings of wealth are not a virtue in and of the#selves $arcy's initial pride is based on his e&tre#e classconsciousness, but he eventually co#es to accept Elizabeth's perspective, #ost notably evidenced through his ad#iration of the 3ardiners 6ikewise, he "oins Elizabeth in re"ecting the upper-class characters who are idle, #ean-spirited, closed-#inded, like 6ady /atherine and Bingley's sisters %usten clearly nds rigid class boundaries to be occasionally absurd r /ollins's co#ic for#ality and obsequious relationship with 6ady /atherine for# a satire of class consciousness and social for#alities 7n the end, the novel's verdict on class di(erences is #oderate %usten see#s to accept the e&istence of class hierarchy, but she also criticizes the way it can poison society /ritic !a#uel 9liger notes, 87f the conclusion of the novel #akes it clear that Elizabeth accepts class relationships as valid, it beco#es equally clear that $arcy, through Elizabeth's genius for treating all people with respect for their natural dignity, is re#inded that institutions are not an end in the#selves but are intended to serve the end of hu#an happiness8 7ndividual vs !ociety 7n ;ride and ;re"udice, %usten portrays a world in which society is actively involved in the private lives of individuals /haracters often face questions about their responsibility to the world around the# % pri#e e&a#ple is $arcy's guilt for not having publicly sha#ed 2ickha# before he was able to elope with 6ydia %fter all, 6ydia's sin threatens to bes#irch not only her fa#ily, but the co##unity at large %nd yet %usten see#s quite well aware of how easily public opinion can change, as evidenced by the town's easily shifting opinions on 2ickha# Elizabeth, #eanwhile, is proudly independent and individualistic !he possesses the ability to transcend her li#itations - the negligence of her parents, the frivolity of eryton, the prag#atic nature of /harlotte
- because she is condent enough to go after what she wants +owever, her individualistic nature #isleads her as she works through her feelings for $arcy - but thankfully, rs 3ardiner is there to guide her towards hi# lti#ately, %usten is critical of the power public opinion has on individual action, but she also believes that society has a crucial role in pro#oting virtue and therefore, engendering individual happiness %ccording to critic =ichard !i#pson, %usten portrays a 8thorough consciousness that #an is a social being, and that apart fro# society there is not even the individual8 *irtue %usten's novels unite %ristotelian and /hristian conceptions of virtue !he sees hu#an life as purposeful and believes that hu#an beings #ust guide their appetites and desires through their use of reason :or instance, Elizabeth al#ost loses her chance at happiness because her vanity overco#es her prag#atis# 6ydia's lack of virtue is linked with her inability to control her passion and desire ost of these e&a#ples e#phasize the i#portance of self-awareness 2ithout knowing oneself, it is di0cult to develop virtue $arcy and Elizabeth, two of the only characters who actually change in the novel, can only see past their pride and pre"udice with each other's help 7n the end, %usten links happiness to virtue and virtue to self-awareness
