Pride & Prejudice

Sophie Pierce
Aug 21, 2023
8 min read

A Narrative Analysis

Where to start?

Pride and Prejudice published by Miss Jane Austen in 1813 was originally written much earlier, sometime between 1796 and 1979. Austen describes a world in which two opposites, in both class and decorum, fall in love. Slow burn, enemies-to-lovers style.

Iconic.

Many films have been made based on the book, but my absolute favorite is the 2005 rendition with Kira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen, and from there, our narrative analysis is drawn.

Who are the characters?

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy

Elizabeth Bennet

Mrs. Bennet

Mr. Bennet

Lydia Bennet

Mary Bennet

Catherine Bennet

George Wickham

Mr. Charles Bingley

Caroline Binley

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Mr. Collins

Charlotte Lucas

*there are a ton other characters, we are focusing on these.

Historical Context

Choices were very limited for women in the gentry and aristocracy in 1700 -1800 century England. Marriage was the top priority given women could not own land. Women were expected to be educated in reading, writing, music, languages, the arts, etc., but could not run businesses or own anything. Women were considered spinsters at the age of 27 and would become financial burdens to their families if not offered a suitable proposition. A woman's reputation was of the utmost importance; scandalous relations outside of marriage resulted in dishonor to the whole family, girls were typically kept away from society until the oldest was married, men and women could not touch hands without gloves, and a whole lot of other societal rules.

Marrying between classes was generally looked down upon; the lines of class were strictly drawn.

Synopsis

Everybody meets at a ball because this is the 1700s.

Mr. Dracy is a well-born powerful gentleman worth 10,000 pounds.

Elizabeth Bennet is an unabashed country girl with four sisters. One of whom, Mary Bennet, happens to be absolutely stunning and captures the eye of Mr. Charles Bingley, another wealthy bachelor, and Mr. Darcy's good friend.

While Mr. Bingley is falling madly in love with Mary, Mr. Darcy is "unsociable and taciturn:" visibly miserable, refusing to dance with anyone, insulting Elizabeth's beauty; insulting her pride.

She proceeds to call him out in front of an entire group of peers in the coyest, most intelligent way known to the feminine and confidently exits. This is where I would argue Mr. Dracy falls in love. But it gets better.

She hates him, she thinks he hates her, she's pretty sure they'll never see each other again, and she's wholeheartedly unbothered by it.

FLASH FORWARD

Mary is invited to Netherfield Park to dine with Caroline Bingley, Mr. Bingley's conniving sister. But the letter says Mr. Bingley will be dining out! So, Mrs. Bennet devises a plan and sends her daughter to the estate on horseback. In the rain.

Mary catches a cold and must stay. Mrs. Bennet is pleased. Mr. Bingley is pleased.

Elizbeth is worried about her sister.

Elizabeth walks to Netherfield. Ladies are supposed to take carriages.

When she arrives, she is ushered into a parlor where Caroline and Mr. Darcy sit having tea.

Her hem is covered in mud and her hair is wild from the wind. High society women would never be caught dead looking like this. The two are shocked. Caroline makes a condescending remark about her appearance. Darcy is more intrigued than anything, obviously falling more in love.

During the time Elizabeth stays at Netherfield to care for her sister, she and Darcy exchange banter. Mostly her teasing him for being so pious and him being rendered speechless by her wit, falling deeper in love with her.

Mary gets better. Fabulous,

NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT.

When Darcy is helping Elizabeth into the carriage to leave, HE TOUCHES HER HAND WITHOUT A GLOVE!!

Scandalous. And also the first time they touch, for the record. It. Is. Electric.

Now,

This would not be a well-written novel without a proper antagonist.

Enter George Whickham. A charming and well-spoken young man, Wickham is a member of the militia who uses his charisma to insinuate himself into the lives of others. He is first introduced as a love interest for Elizabeth. Without context, he is perfectly suitable for her; he is handsome, funny, holds down a job.

However, Mr. Darcy and Wickham have a history. Wickham tells Elizabeth his falsified version of the falling out, painting Darcy in an extremely terrible light as someone who is selfish and jealous. Elizabeth already doesn't like Darcy's demeanor, so naturally, she believes Wickham's defamation of Darcy's character; if the recount is untrue, let Darcy counter it himself.

FLASH FORWARD

The Netherfield ball.

Elizabeth is haughty and up in arms about Darcy. She really does not like this man. She is looking forward to dancing with Wickham.

Surprise, surprise Wickham doesn't show his cowardly face. Elizabeth is informed he will not be coming.

SURPRISE SURPRISE, Darcy appears out of nowhere and asks her for the next dance.

She agrees.

Why? I don't know. Because of the power dynamic? Because he caught her off guard?

In any case, they dance and they "talk." Not really. They try to talk but end up arguing because Elizabeth hates Darcy's guts and Darcy is clueless. Then they dance in charged silence staring into each other's eyes. The tension builds.

Meanwhile, the Bennet family is making an absolute spectacle out of themselves at this ball, resulting in Caroline's strong disapproval of her brother's love for Mary. Darcy seconds Caroline's disapproval and the trio leave the country, separating Mr. Bignley and Mary and breaking Mary's heart.

FLASH FORWARD

Mr. Collins, Elizabeth's cousin and heir to the Bennet family's land needs a wife. He proposes to Elizabeth, but Elizabeth turns him down so harshly, that it's comical. That is proposal #1.

Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Lucas, doesn't have the luxury of turning down Mr. Collins (“I’m 27 years old. I’ve no money and no prospects. I’m already a burden to my parents. And I’m frightened. So don’t judge me. Don’t you dare judge me!”) and must marry him.

Charlotte and Mr. Collins move to their house on Lady Catherine de Bourgh's land.

Elizabeth travels to visit her friend.

Here is the thing, Mr. Collin's Patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, is Mr. Darcy's aunt. Darcy is allegedly betrothed to Lady Catherine's daughter. However, Darcy knows Elizabeth will be at Rosings, his aunt's estate, and shows up there looking for Elizabeth. TO PROPOSE TO HER (proposal #2). But at this point, Elizabeth's despise for Darcy has grown tenfold as she blames him for taking Mr. Bingley away from her sister.

Completely unaware of how much anger she harbors for him, Darcy is arrogant and overconfident in his first proposal. He assumes she will accept his hand, insinuating that it is at the lack of his better judgment that he has fallen in love with her, but that she should be grateful given her inferior birth rank and embarrassing family. He is shocked when she not only turns him down but unleashes several months of built-up rage onto him. He had no idea she was so strongly adverse to him.

This scene is where we finally see PASSION between the characters; she HATES HIM but she doesn't AND HE HATES HER BUT HE DOESN'T obviously. The tension is delicious.

Before the 12-month separation ensues, Darcy writes her a letter explaining all the accusations made against him. Elizabeth never fully realized the breadth of her emotions for Darcy. From the beginning, he always intrigued her and there were undeniable sparks when they talked, touched, and made eye contact, but it took losing the connection for her to start to see the big picture. Months and months of silent mourning go by and we see Elizabeth retreat into self-reflection, not telling a soul of the proposal, realizing she loves him too.

A lot happens during this separation. Lydia Bennet, Elizabeth's flirtacious younger sister gets sent to Brighton where she runs away with Mr. Wickham leaving the family in the perils of dishonor. Darcy finds them and pays for the wedding. Mr. Bingley returns to Netherfield and proposes to Mary, with the encouragement of Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth hears and sees what Darcy is doing for her family. He is proving his character to her with his actions.

FLASH FORWARD

Lady Catherine shows up at the Bennet house and FREAKS out at Elizabeth because there are rumors Darcy and her are engaged, and Lady Catherine cannot have this because her daughter and Darcy are betrothed. Lady Catherine insults Elizabeth's ranking, looks, and personhood. Elizabeth stands her ground and makes it known that they aren't engaged but there is a chance they might be because she realizes this whole time her pride has been blinding her to Darcy's true generous and loyal character. And she's in love with him.

Long story short,

Darcy proposes again, third times the charm, in a far more romantic way; and Elizabeth accepts.

Allegedly, the line "You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love ... I love you," was not in the original text. Nevertheless, this line is EVERYTHING and I am so glad the producers added it.

Character Growth

Jane Austen's women always have the most complex character arch.

Elizabeth's maturity over the course of the novel is a direct reflection of Darcy's ability to open his heart to her. Their differences pale in comparison to their similarities the more they get to know and challenge each other until their bond is undeniable. The forbidden nature of their union and the emotional suffering the characters endure only solidify their passion.

Elizabeth represents a woman unafraid to exist outside societal norms, headstrong and defiant in the face of the oppressive patriarchy. She exemplifies this defiance when she turns down Mr. Collin's proposal and Mr. Darcy's first proposal. Unlike her friend Charlotte, Elizabeth isn't afraid to be a spinster. In fact, she makes several jokes about it in the first half of the plotline alluding to her disappointment with men's intellect and humor.

Darcy exists locked in a predetermined role but is wealthy and respected enough to bend the outcome. He is plagued with what he should do and what he wants to do. He wants Elizabeth, but he knows he has other, more proper obligations elsewhere, however, he cannot escape his attraction for her. She haunts his thoughts and sends him into anguish when he cannot be near her. Anguish, people, anguish.

She challenges him to go beyond his comfort zone for her. For example, at the first ball he refused to dance with her. She challenged his decision insinuating dance is best to encourage affections. At the second ball, he asks her to dance. He wants nothing more than to please her, to be the man who creates the space for her to take up. She teaches him.

Furthermore, Elizabeth is not easily impressed by wealth, forcing him to rely on his character. When he understands his reputation is defamed, he not only takes verbal action but also physical action (paying for the patched marriage, supporting Mr. Bingley in his proposal to Mary) to prove his worth to her, not out of expectation for anything in return but simply because he loves her.

His second proposal is indicative of the growth both of them have experienced in their time of separation. He comes to her as an equal, expressing himself, but giving her all the power to decide. She is humbled as well, apologizing for her assumptions and pride. This exchange is a far cry from the first proposal in which Darcy was still operating out of the set societal structure and Elizabeth was defensive and stubborn, determined to maintain her power out of wounded ego.

The softness Elizabeth exhibits in the final scene of the movie displays a gorgeous contrast to her churlish introduction at the beginning of the film. Darcy committed to growth for Elizabeth and Elizabeth did the same for Darcy all in all, ending in a happily ever after and setting extremely high expectations for the rest of us.