by Jane Austen
1775-1817
Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813. It is a novel of manners that is set in the English countryside during the beginning of the 1800's. The events in the novel surround the Bennet family. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five female children. The society of the time required that all property be left to the oldest male heir. Since Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have no sons, Mr. William Collins is the one who will inherit the Bennet estate. This will leave the Bennet women without a home. To prevent this potentiality, Mrs. Bennet sets out to have her daughters marry into wealth so that they will all be provided for in the event of Mr. Bennet's death.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single
man in possession
of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 1
To
learn more about the author and her times, watch Jane
Austen and Pride and Prejudice by Becky Bradley (approx 3 minutes; requires
QuickTime.
Note: this may take a few minutes to load.)
Characters
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet – the parents of 5 girls
Elizabeth Bennet – Bennet's second daughter,
the protagonist of the novel who believes in marrying for love rather than money;
eventually marries Fitzwilliam Darcy
Jane Bennet – oldest of the five children,
the beauty of the family; eventually marries Charles Bingley
Catherine Bennet (Kitty) – daughter number
4
Mary Bennet – daughter number 3
Lydia Bennet – youngest daughter;
scandalizes the family by running off with George Wickham
Fitzwilliam Darcy – proud and wealthy gentleman,
Mr. Bingley's friend; eventually marries Elizabeth Bennet
Charles Bingley – wealthy bachelor with good
connections; moves into Netherfield (one of the great houses in the neighborhood);
marries Jane Bennet
Caroline Bingley –Charles Bingley's sister,
tries to separate Elizabeth from Darcy and Jane from Charles; looks down on
marrying for money/security
William Collins – a cousin of Mr. Bennet,
slated to inherit Mr. Bennet's estate and move into the family home; marries
Elizabeth's best friend, Charlotte Lucas
Lady Catherine De Bourgh – Mr. Darcy's aunt,
proud and controlling
Themes
moral blindness | self-knowledge | individualism | relationships | change and transformation | pride | prejudice | irony
Topics for further study
marriage in the 18th century – gender roles – social codes & expectations - family – virtue – aristocracy in the 18th century – social classes
History
Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice during the Middle
of the Romantic Period of literature. Pride and Prejudice was written
and revised over a period of several years (1797-1813) before being published
anonymously in 1813. Austen lived and wrote during the late 18th and early
19th century. Major events occurring during this time were the French
Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and the Industrial Revolution, although none of
these events figure prominently in the novel.
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Librarian Talk . . . About Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles!Electronic databases are purchased by the libraries for your research use. To find articles in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs and more, use your updated library card to login to the following databases. If you find an interesting article that is not full-text, please give the correct bibliographic information to our Reference Librarians and they will see that you get the article. They will need full bibliographic information - and your name and address. Send your phone number as well, so they can contact you if they need to. There is some overlap of articles in the following databases. However, we encourage you to use more than one. All are excellent sources for this topic. HINT: For a full list of article databases, go to http://Library.LoneStar.edu and use your library card for login. |
Databases are electronic resources useful for finding journal articles which analyze literature. Some of the Lone Star College - Kingwood Library databases most useful for examining Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen are listed below. Click on the link to go into the database from computers on campus, or use your library barcode to login from off-campus.
Jane Austen Society of North America publishes the journal Persuasions. Issues from 1999-2004 are available online. Paper copies are available in our library (1993-2004, numbers 15-26).
Librarian Talk . . . About the Internet!The Internet will be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Look at:
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Internet sites can be helpful for research in literature. Students should be aware that not all sites are academically suitable for the type of research colleges require. Look at the site and judge it for quality (is it well written?), validity (are facts and statements correct?), currency (how recently was the information updated?), authority (who wrote or created the web page?), and general acceptability. If you are in doubt, check with your instructor. The following are a few sites that might be helpful.
Austen.com provides links to other Austen sites on the internet and also has the full text of Pride and Prejudice.
Reading Group Guide to Jane Austen is good to get an overview of how to discuss a piece of literature. This site may give you ideas about writing or getting started.
Jane Austen Information Page contains links to biographical and other information. There is a special section dedicated to Pride and Prejudice which includes a link to the complete text with additional information including links to passages illustrating the themes of "pride" and "prejudice."
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Citing Sources Using the Library MLA Style Guide | Lone Star College - Kingwood Library guide. Works Cited examples of both paper and electronic sources.
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