Pride and Prejudice, published in 28 January 1813, is one of the first romantic comedies in the

modern novel's history. Written by Jane Austen, it follows the story of the Bennet Family, which
is comprised of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and
Lydia. Elizabeth emerges as the book's heroine.

One of the main, though subtle, dilemmas of Pride and Prejudice refers to the way women are
perceived in 19th century English society. The Bennet family, for example, feels the absence of
a son and a brother rather keenly. It is a loss that cannot seem to be replaced even with five
daughters. This absence of a son is a major issue because the family's estate can only be
inherited through the male line, which means that upon the death of their father, the house and
the surrounding land would go to a distant relative, and the girls would become homeless and
nearly destitute.

This is the crux of the problem that drives Pride and Prejudice forward, for now the task of
marrying off all five daughters, and securing the family's financial comfort and stability becomes
of primary importance. The oldest and the most beautiful daughter is quickly thrown in the path
of Mr. Bingley, a rich young man renting a large estate in the neighborhood.

Fortunately, Mr. Bingley and Jane seem to have gotten off to a good start. Mr. Bingley is
regarded as an affable young man, a perfect beau for the lovely and rather shy Jane, and Mrs.
Bennet attempts to push the relationship into a speedy and happy conclusion. Unfortunately, the
other members of Mr. Bingley's party - specifically his sister and his best friend, the
contemptuous Mr. Darcy, don't seem to agree. Mr. Bingley is eventually persuaded to leave for
London.

Meanwhile, the legal heir to the Bennet estate, the pompous clergyman Mr. Collins has made
his appearance. In an effort to make amends for his role in depriving the Bennets of their estate,
he offers to marry one of his cousins, and settles on Elizabeth. His proposal however, is
rebuffed and he quickly begins an engagement with Elizabeth's close friend, Charlotte Lucas.

Elizabeth also meets Mr. Wickham, a dashing young officer in the regiment. Mr. Wickham
quickly turns Elizabeth against Mr. Darcy, after confiding in her a tale of wrongdoing done to him
by the man many years ago. Soon after, Elizabeth is invited to the new home of Charlotte, now
Mrs. Collins. It is intimated that Mr. Darcy's aunt is Mr. Collins benefactor.

Fate then throws both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth together, resulting in an unfortunate state of
affairs. Mr. Darcy springs a surprising, and rather patronizing proposal on poor Elizabeth,
deriding her for the inferiority of her birth and the improper behavior of her family while
professing his love at the same time. Insulted, Elizabeth refuses his offer of marriage. In the
argument that follows, Mr. Darcy also reveals that he is the cause of Mr. Bingley's departure to
London and consequently the unhappiness of Jane, Elizabeth's beloved sister.

Back home, Elizabeth learns that her youngest sister, boy crazy Lydia, has run away with Mr.
Wickham. She also discovers the truth about the supposed "wrong" that Mr. Darcy committed
against Mr. Wickham and realizes that Mr. Darcy was completely in the right. Elizabeth soon
has a change of heart, and finds herself falling in love with Mr. Darcy, who in his turn, has
sought to remedy the situation with Elizabeth by finding Lydia and Mr. Wickham. He pays for the
couple's wedding, satisfies Mr. Wickham's debts, and also buys Mr. Wickham a commission so
he can support Lydia in an acceptable manner.

In the end, Pride and Prejudice closes with Jane marrying Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth marrying Mr.
Darcy, and Mrs. Bennet as satisfied as she can be.
Elizabeth Bennet is one of the most celebrated heroines in fiction, created by English
author Jane Austen. Miss Bennet is clearly the central character of Austen's 1813 novel Pride
and Prejudice, and represents a great stride forward in feminist literature.

Miss Bennet is the second child in a family of five daughters. Her mother is obsessed with
marrying the girls off in wealth and prosperity, since their estate is entailed on male heirs, and
as a result, will go to a distant cousin. Thus their means are limited, as is the society in which
they live. Though the Bennets are the daughters of a gentleman, the frequent social atrocities
committed by their mother, who is termed more than once as “vulgar,” lessen the daughters’
chances of marrying "well."

Since at the time Austen wrote the novel marriage was still very much a business relationship,
the concept of marrying for love was a relatively new one. Despite encouragement to marry the
cousin unto which the Bennet state will devolve, Miss Bennet refuses a marriage with him
because he is silly, ridiculous, and there is no way she could possibly respect him.

In fact, Miss Bennet and her older sister Jane both champion the idea of marriage for love, and
marriage with a respectable partner. In this idea they are greatly encouraged by their father's
example of marrying a woman he could not respect.

Miss Bennet soon comes into contact with Mr. Darcy, a man who she conceives to be so proud,
that she cares little how she appears to him. In fact, she is early convinced that Darcy cannot
stand her. She observes Darcy with amusement for half the novel, and also observes her friend
Charlotte accept the proposal of marriage for convention’s sake of the obsequious cousin, Mr.
Collins.

On a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Collins, she is overwhelmingly surprised to receive an application of
marriage from Mr. Darcy. She refuses him, for she is aware that Darcy has worked to separate
her beloved sister from his friend, Mr. Bingley. As well, Miss Bennet believes Darcy has acted
venomously toward her friend Mr. Wickham.

Miss Bennet soon learns that in truth Wickham has acted very badly towards Darcy, though he
makes no apology for separating Jane from Bingley. However, chance travels put Miss Bennet
and Darcy back together again, and Elizabeth begins to care for him, as she fully realizes his
true character and that he genuinely loves her.

Miss Bennet’s career ends with her marriage to Darcy, and with Jane’s marriage to Bingley.
Thus she can be read as having stuck to her principles and married for love. Her reward is
marriage to a man who genuinely loves her, and who also happens to be extremely wealthy.

Elizabeth Bennet is, without doubt, the best of Jane Austen's characters. Leaving Mr Darcy well
out of the way - although, admittedly, not for long - Elizabeth is independent, witty, intelligent,
capable of forming strong attachments,open and honest, and not very good at admitting her
mistakes.

She is (unusually, considering the time it was written in) a character everyone can relate to. Not
unbelievably too-good-to-be-true, but the type of person anyone could be, yet still interesting
enough to be the type of person lots of people want to be.
Views on Jane Austen`s "most delightful creature"
The heroine of Pride and Prejudice, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, is one of classical fiction`s most
celebrated and loved characters. Indeed she is so popular that a television series named
Lost in Austen played on the fantasy of literally inhabiting her world. Austen`s assessment
that Elizabeth was `as delightful a creature to have ever appeared in print` seems even
today to be shared by a great many members of the reading public.

Elizabeth is a popular heroine partly because of her wonderful wit; her perfectly formed
arguments, quips and rebuttals are as unobtainable to the average person as the size zero
figures that mark most of today`s female icons, but her lack of extraordinary physical
beauty makes her both an aspirational character and also a kind of girl-next-door with
whom everyone can identify.

Miss Bennet is an icon of modern femininity, with her `liveliness` and wit out of step with the
generally passive female protagonists of the time. Her spirit is one of the chief reasons she
is attractive to Mr. Darcy. Darcy, who is of course fabulously wealthy, confesses that
Elizabeth`s lack of obsequiousness in her dealings with him showed him `how insufficient
were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.` She is also forthright
in her rebuttals to the powerful and domineering Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Elizabeth Bennet`s independent spirit of course has its limits. She is acutely aware of her
society`s moral norms and expectations, and treats them with no great sense of injustice.
Among her family members, Elizabeth is Lydia`s most consistent critic, due to the latter`s
increasing reputation for flirtation and impropriety. She is angry, not just at Lydia`s
immorality for its own sake but for the effect on her family`s reputation; she explicity tells
her father that `our importance, our respectability in the world, must affected by the wild
volatility, the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark Lydia`s character.`

Indeed, the keenest railer against the status quo in the book is the much maligned Mrs
Bennet. It is Mrs Bennet who complains `bitterly against the cruelty of settling an estate
away from a family of five daughers.` Of course she is correct in her assessment; while her
attempts to have the Bennet sisters all settled in advantageous marriages are unbearable,
she has no love for the system that placed her family in this position. The rest of the family,
including Elizabeth, expresses no particular disdain for the system that leaves them
beholden to Mr. Collins, heir to the estate.

It is perhaps Elizabeth`s ambiguity that has contributed to her enduring success. She
seems to be willing to forgo financial security when she rejects Mr. Collins` proposal, but
the reverend is such a ridiculous character that Elizabeth is actually shocked that anyone –
even her pragmatic friend Charlotte – could accept. Likewise, she refuses to rule out
marriage to the penniless Wickham, but at no point does their marriage seem likely. She is
able to make her decision based on love, but it happily transpires that the love of her life is
one of England`s richest men! Her rebelliousness comes at no cost; indeed it helps to
advance her further in status and wealth.

Major Dramatic Interpretations of Miss Elizabeth Bennet

Greer Garson in Pride and Prejudice 1940
Greer Garson brings 1940s glamour to the role of Elizabeth Bennet. Her Lizzy is feisty but
also very feminine. In this version it's Lizzy who attracts most of the male attention for her
looks as well as her liveliness. Watch Greer Garson in Pride and Prejudice 1940
online here.
Elizabeth Garvie in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice 1980
Elizabeth Garvie's Lizzy is soft and gentle in her wit. Her confrontations with Mr. Darcy are
cool, yet civil, with none of the fiery passion that characterizes the same scenes in the 1995
and 2005 adaptations. Her`s is an altogether lighter Lizzy; her sensitivity and lack of malice
certainly do a good job of explaining why Darcy was not completely scared away by their
early conversations, and also increases the severity of his crime of slighting such a sweet
girl at the town ball.

Jennifer Ehle in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice 1995

Jennifer Ehle in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation portrays Elizabeth with a kind of
piercing critical intelligence and passion that, even if you believed the damning account of
his character from Wickham, would leave you feeling sorry for Darcy under the weight of
her verbal attacks. She nevertheless endows the character with a wonderful warmth and
affection for her family and friends.

Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice 2005

Keira Knightley in the 2005 dramatization was much closer to the age of the character as
written by Jane Austen. She also brings to life Lizzy`s `delight in the absurd,` yet the other
side of her character – the social embarrassment she feels at the vulgar antics of her
family.

Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice 1940

Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice 1980

Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice 1995

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice 2005