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Pride and Prejudice
The story begins with a single sentence that has become one of the most famous opening lines in English literature, declaring that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. This ironic statement sets the stage for a tale that unfolds in the early 19th century, during the Napoleonic Wars, where the Bennet family resides at their Longbourn estate in Hertfordshire. The narrative follows Elizabeth Bennet, the second-eldest daughter, as she navigates a world where marriage is not merely a romantic pursuit but a financial necessity. The Bennet family faces a precarious future because their estate is entailed to the male line, meaning that upon Mr. Bennet's death, the property will pass to a distant cousin, Mr. Collins, leaving Mrs. Bennet and her five daughters with only the interest from her own dowry of £5,000 and an additional £4,000 inherited from her father. The arrival of Mr. Bingley, a wealthy bachelor, and his friend Mr. Darcy, a man twice as wealthy but initially perceived as haughty, ignites the central conflict. Mr. Darcy's refusal to dance with Elizabeth, claiming she is not handsome enough, creates a deep-seated prejudice that will take years to unravel. The novel, originally titled First Impressions, was written by Jane Austen between 1796 and 1797 when she was only 20 years old, yet it was not published until 1813, after she had revised it significantly. The story explores the tension between individual desire and social obligation, highlighting how the failure of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as parents has left their daughters vulnerable in a society that offers them few alternatives.
The Dance of Deception
The plot thickens when the charming militia officer George Wickham enters the Bennet circle, spinning a tale of Mr. Darcy's past cruelty that convinces Elizabeth of Darcy's true villainy. Wickham, the son of Mr. Darcy's late father's steward, had been promised a parish living by Darcy's father but instead received a cash settlement which he quickly squandered. He then attempted to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, to secure her £30,000 dowry, a scheme thwarted only by Darcy's intervention. Elizabeth, swayed by Wickham's charm and her own prejudice, believes his story without question, deepening her disdain for Darcy. Meanwhile, Mr. Collins, the presumptive heir to Longbourn, proposes to Elizabeth, who rejects him with fury, leading him to marry her friend Charlotte Lucas for financial security. The social dynamics shift further when Mr. Darcy, influenced by his sisters and Bingley's sisters, persuades Bingley to leave Netherfield, breaking off his engagement to Jane Bennet. Jane, heartbroken, visits her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London, while Elizabeth's hatred for Darcy grows. The turning point arrives when Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins in Kent, where she encounters Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Fitzwilliam inadvertently reveals that Darcy had saved Bingley from an undesirable match, leading Elizabeth to realize that Darcy was responsible for separating Jane and Bingley. This revelation fuels her anger, culminating in Darcy's first proposal, which she rejects angrily, accusing him of ruining her sister's happiness and treating Wickham unjustly. Darcy's response is to provide a letter explaining the truth about Wickham and his reasons for separating Jane and Bingley, a letter that forces Elizabeth to confront her own misjudgments and the predatory behavior of her family.
When was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen published?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was published on the 28th of January 1813. The first edition appeared in three hardcover volumes and was advertised in The Morning Chronicle at a price of 18 shillings.
What is the original title of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?
The original title of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was First Impressions. Jane Austen wrote the manuscript between October 1796 and August 1797 before renaming the story around 1811 or 1812.
How much money did Jane Austen receive for selling the rights to Pride and Prejudice?
Jane Austen received £110 for selling the rights to Pride and Prejudice to Thomas Egerton. She had originally asked for £150, making the decision to sell the copyright for a one-off payment costly for her.
What is the significance of the entailment of Longbourn estate in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?
The entailment of Longbourn estate in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen means the property passes to Mr. Collins upon Mr. Bennet's death. This legal arrangement leaves Mrs. Bennet and her five daughters with only the interest from her dowry of £5,000 and an additional £4,000 inherited from her father.
When did Jane Austen write the manuscript for Pride and Prejudice?
Jane Austen wrote the manuscript for Pride and Prejudice between October 1796 and August 1797. She was 20 years old at the time and later made significant revisions to the manuscript between 1811 and 1812.
Months later, Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire, where they visit Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's estate. The estate, a symbol of inherited wealth and stability, contrasts sharply with the Bennets' precarious financial situation. When Darcy returns unexpectedly, he is exceedingly gracious, surprising Elizabeth and causing her to regret her earlier rejection. The narrative takes a dramatic turn when Elizabeth receives news that her youngest sister, Lydia, has run off with Wickham, an act that threatens to bring complete disgrace upon the Bennet family. Darcy, seeking to avoid placing Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth under further obligations, secretly tracks down the errant couple in London. He arranges for Wickham to marry Lydia, paying off his debts and purchasing a commission for him in a regular infantry regiment, all while maintaining secrecy. The revelation of Darcy's intervention comes through a letter from Mrs. Gardiner, who informs Elizabeth that Darcy had secured the match at great expense. This act of kindness, combined with Darcy's changed behavior at Pemberley, begins to soften Elizabeth's heart. The story reaches its climax when Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy's aunt, confronts Elizabeth, demanding she promise never to accept Darcy's proposal, as she and Darcy's late mother had planned his marriage to her daughter, Anne. Elizabeth refuses, and Darcy, heartened by his aunt's indignant relaying of Elizabeth's response, returns to Longbourn. When Elizabeth reveals that she had already known of his part in Lydia's marriage, Darcy realizes that the barrier to their engagement has been removed. He proposes again, and Elizabeth accepts, marking the resolution of their tumultuous relationship and the triumph of self-knowledge over pride and prejudice.
The Economics of Marriage
The novel is deeply rooted in the economic realities of the English landed gentry, where marriage is a complex social activity that takes political, social, and financial economy into account. The Bennet family's situation is a prime example of the consequences of failing to provide marriage settlements for daughters. Mr. Bennet's estate, Longbourn, is entailed to the male line, meaning that upon his death, the property will pass to Mr. Collins, leaving Mrs. Bennet and her daughters with only the interest from her own dowry of £5,000 and an additional £4,000 inherited from her father. The failure to save out of the income from the Longbourn estate to provide enhanced marriage portions for his daughters is a primary motivation driving the plot. The novel explores the tension between individual desire and social obligation, highlighting how the failure of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as parents has left their daughters vulnerable in a society that offers them few alternatives. The Bingleys present a particular problem for navigating class, as their fortunes stem from trade rather than landed wealth. The fact that Bingley rents Netherfield Hall, which is to let, distinguishes him significantly from Darcy, whose estate belonged to his father's family and who through his mother is the grandson and nephew of an earl. The novel also examines the legal instruments of entail and strict settlement, which were developed to balance the consequential conflicts of interest in family estates. These legal instruments ensured that inheritance of the estate could be maintained in the family, even were a future heir to produce no sons, by providing portions from the estate to be paid for current younger sons' educations and marriages into gentlemanlike careers in the Army, Church and Law. The novel's exploration of these economic realities adds depth to the characters' motivations and the social dynamics of the story.
The Art of Free Indirect Speech
Jane Austen's narrative technique, known as free indirect speech, allows the reader to experience the story through Elizabeth's viewpoint, sharing her prejudices and misapprehensions. This technique creates a unique intimacy between the reader and the protagonist, as the narrative adopts the tone and vocabulary of Elizabeth, inviting the reader to follow events from her perspective. The learning curve, while undergone by both protagonists, is disclosed to us solely through Elizabeth's point of view, and her free indirect speech is essential for it is through it that we remain caught, if not stuck, within Elizabeth's misprisions. Austen's use of irony throughout the novel, especially from the viewpoint of Elizabeth Bennet, conveys the oppressive rules of femininity that actually dominate her life and work, and are covered by her beautifully carved trojan horse of ironic distance. The novel also employs the use of letters, which are several times given detailed description as physical objects, such as the envelopes they have, whether they have inserted sheets or are written entirely on the envelope sheet, and the size and quality of the writing. In an age when physical contacts, especially between unmarried persons of opposite sex, are highly constrained by convention and civility, a letter as an artefact handled over a prolonged period by the sender, could stand as an active token of their physical presence. Elizabeth is stated to have continually re-read and re-examined Darcy's letter to her, to the degree that these re-readings constitute a substitute dialogue and interaction with Darcy by which her feelings for him are able to change and unchange over an extended period. The many letters quoted and alluded to in Pride and Prejudice can be divided into two broad categories: formal letters of civility and otherwise private, personal and business letters. The novel's use of letters allows them to be developed with a life cycle, both a past history and a future destiny, setting in motion the re-assessment and interior work that prepare both parties to start afresh when they cross paths in Derbyshire.
The Evolution of a Masterpiece
Jane Austen began writing the novel after staying at Goodnestone Park in Kent with her brother Edward and his wife in 1796. It was originally titled First Impressions, and was written between October 1796 and August 1797. On the 1st of November 1797, Austen's father sent a letter to London bookseller Thomas Cadell to ask if he had any interest in seeing the manuscript, but the offer was declined by return post. The Militia were mobilised after the French declaration of war on Britain in February 1793, and there was initially a lack of barracks for all the militia regiments, requiring the militia to set up huge camps in the countryside, which the novel refers to several times. The Brighton camp for which the militia regiment leaves in May after spending the winter in Meryton was opened in August 1793, and the barracks for all the regiments of the militia were completed by 1796, placing the events of the novel between 1793 and 1795. Austen made significant revisions to the manuscript for First Impressions between 1811 and 1812. As nothing remains of the original manuscript, study of the first drafts of the novel is reduced to conjecture. From the large number of letters in the final novel, it is assumed that First Impressions was an epistolary novel. She later renamed the story Pride and Prejudice around 1811/1812, when she sold the rights to publish the manuscript to Thomas Egerton for £110. In renaming the novel, Austen probably had in mind the sufferings and oppositions summarised in the final chapter of Fanny Burney's Cecilia, called Pride and Prejudice, where the phrase appears three times in block capitals. It is possible that the novel's original title was altered to avoid confusion with other works. In the years between the completion of First Impressions and its revision into Pride and Prejudice, two other works had been published under that name: a novel by Margaret Holford and a comedy by Horace Smith. The publication history of the novel is marked by Austen's decision to sell the copyright for the novel to Thomas Egerton from the Military Library, Whitehall in exchange for £110, a decision that proved costly as she had asked for £150. Austen had published Sense and Sensibility on a commission basis, whereby she indemnified the publisher against any losses and received any profits, less costs and the publisher's commission. Unaware that Sense and Sensibility would sell out its edition, making her £140, she passed the copyright to Egerton for a one-off payment, meaning that all the risk and all the profits would be his. Egerton published the first edition of Pride and Prejudice in three hardcover volumes on the 28th of January 1813, and it was advertised in The Morning Chronicle, priced at 18s. Favourable reviews saw this edition sold out, with a second edition published in October that year. A third edition was published in 1817. Foreign language translations first appeared in 1813 in French, and subsequent translations were published in German, Danish, and Swedish. Pride and Prejudice was first published in the United States in August 1832 as Elizabeth Bennet or, Pride and Prejudice, and the novel was also included in Richard Bentley's Standard Novel series in 1833.