Summary

Chapter 1
The novel begins at Longbourn, at the Bennet family estate. The Bennets are immersed in an in-
depth conversation about Mr. Bingley, "a single man of large fortune" who is soon to inhabit
the nearby estate of Netherfield Park.
Mrs. Bennet hopes that Mr. Bingley will be a potential suitor for one of her daughters. She
desperately wants her husband to visit him, hoping that will spark an acquaintance. Mr.
Bennet remains aloof, however, and refuses to commit. His attitude infuriates his wife, whose
primary life concern is finding husbands for her daughters.
There are five daughters in the Bennet family (from oldest to
youngest): Jane, Elizabeth Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. It is clear from the beginning of the
novel that Mr. Bennet prefers Elizabeth because of her practical nature. Mrs. Bennet, on the
other hand, appears to be more fond of Jane because of her beauty, and of Lydia because of her
good humor.

Chapter 2
Mr. Bennet visits Mr. Bingley without telling his family and only mentions it nonchalantly a few
days later. He had always intended to visit, but kept refusing in order to irk Mrs. Bennet. After
his revelation, Mr. Bennet continues to annoy his wife - and their younger daughters, too - by
refusing to answer any of their questions about the mysterious Bingley.

Chapter 3
Mr. Bingley returns Mr. Bennet's visit a few days later, but the women do not meet him at that
point. Mrs. Bennet's only information about Bingley comes from her neighbor, Mrs. Lucas.
After hearing about him, Mrs. Bennet becomes convinced that she will be able to snatch Bingley
for one of her daughters. She invites Bingley to dinner. Unfortunately, he is forced to decline
because of his commitment to fetch a party from London to attend a ball he is throwing at nearby
Meryton.
On the night of the Meryton ball, the Bennet ladies finally meet Mr. Bingley, his sisters
(Caroline and Mrs. Hurst), and Mr. Darcy, his friend from London. The Bennet girls quickly
judge Mr. Darcy to be "the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world" because of his reserve
and his unwillingness to dance with anyone outside of his own party. At one point, Bingley
encourages Darcy to dance with Elizabeth, who is not dancing either, but he refuses. Elizabeth
overhears Darcy describe her as "tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me." She is
understandably outraged, and the encounter solidifies her ill opinion of him.
On the other hand, the Bennet girls find Mr. Bingley to be entirely amiable. He dances the first
dance with Charlotte Lucas, the Bennets's neighbor and Elizabeth's best friend, but he seems to
be most interested in Jane, with whom he dances twice and talks frequently. Upon returning
home, Mrs. Bennet attempts to describe the ball to Mr. Bennet, but he is indifferent to the news
and becomes quickly irritated with everything his wife says.
Chapter 4
When they are alone, Jane admits her feelings for Bingley to Elizabeth. It is clear that the sisters
are quite close. Elizabeth approves of Bingley, but cautions Jane to be certain of the nature of her
feelings because the older Bennet daughter never sees fault in anyone. They also discuss
Caroline and Bingley's other sisters. Elizabeth found them to be snobbish, but Jane describes
them as charming.

The narrator then reveals some important personal information about Bingley and Darcy.
Bingley is extraordinarily wealthy because of a large inheritance from his late father. He has
been friends with Darcy for a long time, despite their opposite personalities. Bingley is easy-
going and open, while Darcy is haughty and reserved. While Bingley found the company at the
Meryton ball to be quite amiable, Darcy saw no one with whom he wished to associate. Darcy
even finds fault with the beautiful Jane; she smiles too much for his taste. Bingley's sisters
approve of Jane, though, which makes their brother happy.

Chapter 5
The narrator describes the Lucas family, who live near Longbourn. Sir William Lucas was
once a merchant, but he has become overly proud after being knighted. His wife, Mrs. Lucas, is a
close confidant of Mrs. Bennet, and their daughter Charlotte is Elizabeth's closest friend.
The day after the ball, Charlotte and Mrs. Lucas visit the Bennet ladies to share their
experiences. They all voice their general admiration for Jane and share the belief that Bingley is
attracted to her. They also criticize Darcy because of his pride. Mary remarks that pride is
universal to human nature, and articulates the difference between pride and vanity. She
comments, "Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others
think of us."

Chapter 6
Though they do not care for Mrs. Bennet or the younger Bennet sisters, Bingley's sisters become
acquainted with Jane and Elizabeth over the course of several visits. Jane is pleased by their
attention, while Elizabeth remains critical of them. The Bennet sisters also see Bingley and
Darcy on occasion.

When Elizabeth speaks to Charlotte about Bingley's affection for Jane, Charlotte tells Elizabeth
that Jane must be more obvious about her affection, lest the "uniform cheerfulness of [her]
manner" discourage Bingley. Charlotte believes that a woman should show more affection than
she feels in order to attract a man, commenting that "happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of
chance." Elizabeth is skeptical of both assertions.

During this period, Mr. Darcy grows interested in Elizabeth. He is attracted to her dark,
intelligent eyes and the "easy playfulness" of her manner. At a dinner held by Sir William Lucas,
Darcy eavesdrops on a conversation between Elizabeth and Sir William Lucas. Sir William,
unaware of Darcy's affections, begs Elizabeth to dance with Darcy - but she steadfastly refuses.
Darcy mentions his admiration for Elizabeth to Caroline Bingley. Caroline responds to his
revelation by criticizing the Bennet family, but Darcy does not partake her the mockery.
Analysis
The opening chapters of Pride and Prejudice serve to quickly introduce Austen's principal
characters and outline the skeleton of the plot. Austen expediently establishes her primary
themes and the stylistic devices through which she will explore the narrative. The very first line
of the novel has become one of the most famous first lines in literature: "It is a truth universally
acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
This opening line establishes the novel's two major themes - marriage and class (particularly as
as defined by money). Most of the characters in Pride and Prejudice are first and foremost
defined by their financial background and marital status. In these the early chapters, Austen
explores the stark contrast between Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth through their opinions on these
issues. Mrs. Bennet only cares about marriage and money, while Elizabeth refuses to let these
superficial measures control her.
The first line also introduces Austen's use of irony. While the first line focuses on "a single man .
. . in want of a wife," Austen shows her readers over the course of the novel that in the late-
eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, marriage was actually more crucial for young women.
If a young woman of a certain class did not find a husband of decent means and status, she risked
becoming a powerless and potentially destitute spinster. While Austen's choice of wording in this
first line frames the man as the active force in seeking marriage, the plot of Pride and
Prejudice emphasizes a woman's role in finding a suitable partner.
This irony leads to the central question surrounding Austen's intent in writing Pride and
Prejudice. Was Austen conservative, poking fun at these institutions but ultimately approving
of them, or was she progressive and subtly trying to upend those social restrictions? Neither
answer has ever produced a scholarly consensus, largely because there is evidence in support of
both interpretations. Austen attacks the purely economic, utilitarian motives for marriage as well
as the societal constraints which leave many women with little choice but to marry. Yet the plot
of Pride and Prejudice seems to suggest that happy unions can exist even within these strict
cultural limitations.
In the conversation between Charlotte and Elizabeth in Chapter 5, Austen leads the reader to
sympathize with Elizabeth, the novel's protagonist. She argues against the utilitarian motive for
marriage and rejects the idea that a women must feign interest in order to secure a man. From a
contemporary perspective, Charlotte's attitude is lamentable if not anti-feminist. She believes a
woman should get married for the sake of security, which will then allow her the "leisure for
falling in love as much as she chuses." Elizabeth speaks up in favor of individuality, refusing to
consider that marriage should be founded on anything other than love and respect. While the
reader naturally aligns with Elizabeth's opinion, Austen ultimately proves both of Charlotte's
arguments to be true. As a result of rejecting Charlotte's advice, Jane almost loses Bingley.
Additionally, many moments in Elizabeth's journey towards her relationship with Darcy suggest
the importance of class in marriage, at least to some degree.

Critics have praised Austen's ability to bring her characters to life. Critic George Henry Lewes
lauds Austen because "instead of description, the common and easy resource of novelists, she
has the rare and difficult art of dramatic presentation instead of telling us what her characters are,
and what they feel, she presents the people, and they reveal themselves." For example, the
reader's first glimpse of the Bennets provides a fairly accurate sketch of their individual
characters. Mrs. Bennett is chatty, frivolous, and obsessed with marrying off her daughters, while
Mr. Bennett is rather detached. Jane is beautiful and amiable, always believing the best about
people. Elizabeth, good-looking but not as beautiful as her sister, has a sharp wit and prides
herself on her keen sense of perception. Lydia and Kitty are frivolous like their mother, and
Mary is scholarly and humorless.

These initial characterizations motivate the novel's plot. Jane's good nature is partly responsible
for her trouble with Bingley. Because Jane is so pleasant to everyone, Darcy is later able to
convince his friend that Jane is not particularly interested in him. Throughout the novel, Mrs.
Bennet remains "a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper," but
as the girls lose their prospects of marriage, it becomes clear that her excessive insistence is not
entirely unfounded. She knows that if her daughters do not marry, their lives could be ruined.
Finally, Elizabeth's keen wit will ultimately be her own worst enemy, as it leads her to express a
sense of pride that rivals Darcy's. This quality proves to both Elizabeth's strength and her
weakness, and her struggle with her pride paves her character arc.

The Meryton ball introduces the novel's two main couples and foreshadows the distinct ways in
which each relationship will develop. Jane and Bingley are attracted to each other from the
outset, and they both have simple, amiable, and easy-going personalities. However, Bingley
needs to wait for his sisters' approval before feeling "authorised" to like Jane. This shows that
Bingley is easily influenced by others' opinions and foreshadows the difficulties he and Jane will
face. Elizabeth and Darcy, on the other hand, each have unfavorable first impressions of each
other. In fact, Austen originally titled the novel First Impressions because she wanted to
explore the difficulty of changing one person's initial assessment of another. Because of his pride
and extreme class-consciousness, Darcy refuses to even consider Elizabeth as a dancing partner.
And yet, Elizabeth is equally quick to judge Darcy. Elizabeth is not even aware of the fact that
she is overly confident about the accuracy of her perceptions. In fact, Darcy's refusal offends
Elizabeth's vanity more than she admits. This incident is the first time that Mary's central
argument from Chapter 5 becomes clear: pride is how we view ourselves, and vanity is how
others view us.
Austen provides insight into the stony Darcy through his conversation with Caroline Bingley.
While both characters are extremely class-conscious, only Caroline makes the tasteless statement
that rural "society" is "insupportable." When Darcy comments that Elizabeth's "fine eyes" please
him, he shows a willingness - however nascent - to see a person beyond her class limitations.
Once Caroline realizes that Darcy is interested in Elizabeth, she insinuates that the Bennet family
- especially Mrs. Bennet - would be embarrassing in society. Darcy does not fully disagree,
revealing that he possesses more decency than Caroline. And yet, this conversation underlines
the theme that personal prejudices are more difficult to transcend than class differences.

Chapter 7
In this chapter, Austen introduces the entail, an old British custom designed to keep a family
estate within the bloodline. In this case, Longbourn can only pass on to a male heir. Because the
Bennets have only daughters, they are likely to lose the estate to a distant relation upon Mr.
Bennet's death.
Lydia and Kitty often visit their aunt, Mrs. Phillips, in nearby Meryton. They increase the
frequency of their visits after the arrival of a militia regiment because they enjoy flirting with the
soldiers. Mr. Bennet often complains of his two younger daughters' foolishness, but Mrs.
Bennet does not consider their obsession with the officers to be a cause for concern.
Jane receives an invitation from the Bingley girls to dine at Netherfield. Mrs. Bennet instructs
Jane to go on horseback, hoping that the rain will force Jane to spend the night and have an
opportunity to interact with Mr. Bingley. Jane does not like her mother's scheme but has no
choice but to go along with it. The plan works too well, however. Not only does the rain detain
Jane at Netherfield, but she falls ill as a result of getting soaked on her ride there. The Bingley
family expects Jane to stay at Netherfield until she recovers.
After receiving the letter informing the Bennets of Jane's illness, Elizabeth insists on visiting
her sister at Netherfield. She walks through the wet fields because there are no horses available.
By the time she arrives at Netherfield, Elizabeth is disheveled and has mud all over her dress.
The Bingley sisters are shocked by her messy appearance. Darcy, on the other hand, quietly
notices that the exercise has improved Elizabeth's complexion. Meanwhile, Jane's condition has
intensified and she cannot leave her bed. Elizabeth attends to her sister with great solicitude all
day. Jane does not want Elizabeth to leave her side that evening, so Caroline invites the younger
Bennet sister to stay the night at Netherfield.

Chapter 8
After dinner, Elizabeth leaves the table to attend to Jane, and the party begins to talk about her.
Caroline harshly criticizes Elizabeth's pride and stubborn independence, but Mr. Bingley and
Darcy admire her devotion to Jane. The Bingley sisters also deride the Bennets's low family
connections. Bingley does not seem to care about the Bennets's social standing, although Darcy
considers lowly status an impediment to the Bennet girls' chances of marrying well.

After Jane falls asleep, Elizabeth joins the others in the drawing room and participates in a
conversation about what it means for a woman to be accomplished. Throughout the debate,
Elizabeth and Darcy frequently disagree, although they argue with great wit. Darcy and Caroline
provide unrealistic criteria for a woman to be considered accomplished, inciting Elizabeth to
exclaim that she has never met such a woman in her life.

Chapter 9
Elizabeth asks that her mother be summoned to visit Jane, and Bingley complies. When Mrs.
Bennet arrives, she is pleased to see that Jane will eventually recover but still ill enough to
remain at Netherfield (and in proximity to Mr. Bingley). Mrs. Bennet lacks subtlety and her
intentions become quite clear to everyone at Netherfield. She is also openly rude to Mr. Darcy.
Elizabeth is embarrassed by her mother's behavior and pleased when Mrs. Bennet departs.

Chapter 10
That evening in the drawing room, Darcy writes a letter to his sister while Caroline makes silly
comments intended to flatter his letter-writing style. He ignores her attempts at flirtation. The
group affectionately mocks Bingley for his pliable character, but Elizabeth defends him,
suggesting that it is a virtue to yield to the persuasions of one's friends. Again, most of the debate
takes place between Elizabeth and Darcy.

Later, the Bingley sisters sing and play the piano. Elizabeth notices how frequently Mr. Darcy is
looking at her, assuming that it is a sign of his disapproval. When Mr. Darcy asks her to dance,
Elizabeth believes that his request is sarcastic and responds with a witty refusal. Caroline notices
the interaction and later, privately taunts Darcy about the possibility of his marrying into a
common family like the Bennets.

Chapter 11
After dinner, Jane feels well enough to join the others in the drawing room. Elizabeth is
delighted to see that Bingley is showing Jane so much attention. Meanwhile, Caroline continues
her attempts to attract Darcy, and even feigns a love for reading. She then walks around the room
in order to attract Darcy's admiration. She fails to arouse his attention, so she invites Elizabeth to
walk with her. She notices that Darcy puts his book down and watches them. The group
converses about Darcy's character, and Darcy admits that he has a tendency to be resentful.
Elizabeth chastises him over his admission that he never changes his first impression of a person.

Chapter 12
Once Jane has recovered, the Bennets plan to leave Netherfield. Mrs. Bennet is unwilling to send
the carriage, hoping her daughters will stay longer, but the girls ask if they might borrow
Bingley's carriage. He grants the favor. Everyone but Mr. Bingley is pleased to see Jane and
Elizabeth go. Darcy is glad to be removed from the danger of Elizabeth's company, and Miss
Bingley is glad to be rid of her competition.

Chapter 13
The narrative shifts back to Longbourn. At breakfast the following day, Mr. Bennet announces
that the family is expecting a visitor: Mr. Collins, the distant cousin who is next in the entail
for the Longbourn estate (meaning that Mr. Collins will inherit the estate upon Mr. Bennet's
death, since the latter produced no male heirs). Though nobody in the family has ever met Mr.
Collins, Mrs. Bennet hates him right away because of the entail. Mr. Bennet reads Mr. Collins's
letter to the family. In it, Collins explains that he has recently been ordained and is receiving
patronage from an aristocrat named Lady Catherine De Bourgh.
Mr. Collins arrives the following afternoon, right on time. He is 25 years old, tall and heavyset,
with a grave air and very formal manners. He tends to speak in long, overly-effusive
monologues. Before dinner, Mr. Collins acknowledges the hardship that the entail presents to the
Bennet family and professes his desire to make amends. He claims that he has come to
Longbourn "prepared to admire" the young ladies of the household. Before he can explain his
meaning, they are called to dinner. During dinner, Mr. Collins expresses his admiration for the
house and the quality of the food.

Chapter 14
After dinner, Mr. Bennet invites Mr. Collins to speak about his patroness Lady Catherine. Mr.
Collins describes Lady Catherine with great solemnity and effusive praise, remarking on her
great affability towards him, in spite of her high rank. He also describes Lady Catherine's
daughter, Miss de Bourgh, as quite charming but rather sickly. Collins had worked to
ingratiate himself with Lady Catherine by showering her daughter with flattering phrases. After
this display, Mr. Bennet decides that Mr. Collins is absurd.
After tea, Mr. Bennet asks Mr. Collins to read aloud. Mr. Collins declares that he never reads
novels, and instead begins to read from a book of sermons with "monotonous solemnity." After a
few pages, Lydia interrupts the reading to ask her mother a question about her Uncle Philips. Mr.
Collins is offended, but takes the hint and stops reading after briefly reprimanding Lydia's
frivolity. He then proposes playing a game of backgammon.

Analysis
When studying Jane Austen's work, it is useful to understand the organization of social classes
during her time. The British class system was extremely complex. In effect, every family that has
appeared thus far in Pride and Prejudice would have been considered 'upper class,' but there
are several gradations within that ranking. The titled aristocrats, like Lady Catherine de Bourgh,
represent the highest social class in the novel. Below that are families like the Darcys and the
Bingleys. They are not fully aristocratic, but their social standing is defined by the profitability
of their estates (on an annual basis). These families are what might be called "old money" in
contemporary slang.
The Bennets are also an upper class family (they could be considered the lowest rung of upper-
middle-class). They have an estate which yields an annual income, they do not work, and they
partake in social service. However, the Bingleys and Darcys see the Bennets as inferior because
of their rough behavior and lack of access to luxuries like multiple servants, additional rented
estates, and endless disposable income. Elizabeth and Jane's stay at Netherfield is a dramatic
vehicle for Austen to highlight the importance of class in Pride and Prejudice. Caroline
Bingley and Mrs. Hurst make constant references to the Bennets's low connections, with
particularly harsh comments about the fact that one of their relations in an attorney. While
attorneys are well-respected in contemporary society, it was considered a "working profession"
in Austen's day. Those in working professions made money from a trade rather than from an
estate, therefore making attorneys utterly middle class.
At the beginning of the novel, Darcy firmly believes that class is an indicator of personality. He
thinks to himself, "were it not for the inferiority of [Elizabeth's] connections, he should be in
some danger," insinuating that her class would make it impossible for them to marry. However,
this is an example of Austen's masterful use of dramatic irony (which is when the reader or
audience know something that the characters do not). The fact that Darcy articulates the
possibility of "danger" means that he is already falling for Elizabeth despite her class status.
Throughout the novel, Austen uses this irony to frame Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship. Both
Elizabeth and Darcy claim to believe in their first impressions of each other. In the same way
that Darcy allows his class awareness to prejudice him against Elizabeth, her unyielding nature
prejudices her against considering Darcy's virtues. However, their conversations and debates are
charged with unique wit and energy - an indicator of their natural chemistry.
Elizabeth's dark, beautiful eyes are the symbolic core of Darcy's attraction to her. However, the
darkness of her eyes are also representative of Elizabeth's weakness: allowing pride and
prejudice to cloud her perception of other people. While she prides herself on being an excellent
judge of character, it is her judgement of Darcy that makes Elizabeth blind to his affections. Her
initial impression creates a lens through which she filters all of their interactions. When Darcy
asks Elizabeth if she is inclined to dance a reel, she assumes he is mocking her and refuses him.
When the group is speaking about Darcy's character, she identifies his flaw as "a propensity to
hate everybody," while Darcy perceptively replies that Elizabeth's flaw is "Œwillfully to
misunderstand them." Elizabeth judges Darcy for over-valuing his first impression while she is
actively exhibiting the same vice in her assessment of him.

Austen views the family as the fundamental unit of society, asserting that it is parents'
responsibility to teach morals and values to their children. Kitty and Lydia learn their foolishness
from their mother, but it is also the result of their father's neglect. From the beginning of the
novel, Mr. Bennet simply writes off his younger daughters as silly and makes little effort to truly
correct their behavior. Instead, he treats them in the same aloof manner that Elizabeth treats
Darcy.

The question of surrounding Austen's conservatism becomes increasingly complex as the novel
goes on. It is unclear how much she intended [Pride and Prejudice] to be a criticism of her
society. However, Austen uses the circumstances of the entail to show her sympathy towards
women during her time. Elizabeth and Jane moderate their reactions to the entailment because
their education has acclimated them to the reality of the gender divide. Even if they do not like
the rule, they also know better than to argue against it. On the other hand, Mrs. Bennet is vocal in
denouncing the injustice of entailment. Without the income from the estate, her
daughters must marry well in order to secure their livelihood. Furthermore, the entailment
decreases the Bennet girls' marriage prospects because they will only receive small inheritances.
Some scholars argue that the only two women who speak up for gender equality in the context of
the entail - Mrs. Bennet and later, Lady Catherine - are boorish and unappealing characters,
therefore serving as proof of Austen's conservatism. Meanwhile, Austen's more sympathetic
protagonists - Jane and Elizabeth - remain silent on the subject. However, it is also possible that
because of the patriarchal culture she lived in, Austen needed to craft these outrageous characters
in order to state an unequivocal truth without inciting too much controversy. Furthermore, it is
important to note that that Austen paints Mr. Collins, the legal male heir of Longbourn, as the
silliest character of all. In fact, Collins's buffoonery highlights the preposterous nature of a rule
that grants Mr. Bennet's property to a distant relation instead of to his own daughters.

A supercilious man with overly formal manners and a strange combination of self-importance
and obsequiousness, Mr. Collins is a heightened embodiment of the kinds of personalities that
resulted from a strict class system. His exaggerated affection for Lady Catherine sets the reader
up to judge her critically. Furthermore, Collins's attitude towards marriage is more absurdly
pragmatic than any other character in the novel. He hopes to marry one of the Bennet daughters,
believing that such a union will translate into a kind deed. He never even considers their
personalities. Ultimately, Mr. Collins is another mouthpiece through which Austen can indirectly
criticize certain social beliefs surrounding class and marriage.
Austen also made the bold choice of leading her readers to root for a union between a rich man
(Darcy) and a poor girl (Elizabeth). However, Elizabeth later argues that her father is a
"gentleman" as well - even though he has less money than Darcy. Elizabeth therefore promotes
her own social stature in order to prove her equality to Darcy as opposed to openly suggesting
that class structure is altogether meaningless.

Chapter 15
The narrator offers some insight into Mr. Collins's past. Owing to the combination of an
"illiterate and miserly father" and the unexpected good fortune of finding Lady Catherine as a
patroness, Collins is both overly humble and yet completely full of himself. His intention in
coming to Longbourn is to "make amends" for the entailment by marrying one of the Bennet
daughters. Though he is initially attracted to Jane because of her beauty, Collins shifts his
attention to Elizabeth after learning from Mrs. Bennet that Jane might soon be engaged.
Mr. Collins joins the ladies on a walk to Meryton. On the way, they meet Mr. Denny, an officer
that Lydia and Kitty know. He introduces them to Mr. Wickham, a handsome and charming
new member of the regiment. While the parties are conversing, Bingley and Darcy pass by and
greet them. Elizabeth notices that Darcy and Wickham grow extremely uncomfortable around
each other. Soon enough, Bingley and Darcy continue on their way. Once the party arrives at the
Phillips house, Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham take their leave. Inside, Jane introduces Mr. Collins
to Mrs. Phillips, who promises to invite the entire household to dinner the next night. She also
plans to invite Mr. Wickham.

Chapter 16
The narrative shifts to the dinner engagement at the Phillips home the following evening. Before
dinner, Mr. Collins praises Lady Catherine and her mansion, Rosings, to Mrs. Phillips, who is
impressed. During dinner, Elizabeth forms a very favorable impression of Mr. Wickham and
converses with him at length throughout the evening. In addition to enjoying the charming
flirtation, Elizabeth wants to investigate the animosity she observed between him and Darcy.
Wickham raises the subject by asking her how long Darcy has been in the area. When Elizabeth
confesses her dislike, Wickham pretends to avoid the subject but changes his mind quickly
enough and relays his story.

Wickham is the son of one of the servants at Pemberly, the Darcy family's estate. Wickham's
father was a loyal servant for many years, so Mr. Darcy's father bequeathed young Wickham an
ample living in his will. However, Darcy circumvented his father's promise after the elder man
died and gave Wickham's intended inheritance to someone else. Wickham believes that Darcy's
jealousy grew out of observing the elder Darcy's affection for young Wickham. In order to
punish his rival, Darcy cruelly subjected Wickham to live a life of poverty (against his late
father's wishes).
Outraged, Elizabeth suggests that Darcy should be publicly dishonored, but Wickham refuses to
do so out of respect for the man's father. Together, they criticize Darcy's pride. Wickham
explains that Darcy is only generous with his money when he is trying to avoid disgracing the
family. Furthermore, Wickham shares that Darcy is very close to and protective of his younger
sister, Georgiana Darcy, and hints that he himself was one close with the girl. Wickham also
tells Elizabeth that Lady Catherine de Bourgh is Mr. Darcy's aunt, and that Mr. Darcy is
expected to marry young Miss de Bourgh in order to unite the fortunes of the two families.

Chapter 17
The next day, Elizabeth tells Jane about her conversation with Wickham, but Jane refuses to
think ill of either Wickham or Darcy. Instead, Jane assumes that there must simply be a
misunderstanding between them. Mr. Bingley and his sisters announce a ball and invite the
Bennet family. Mr. Collins informs the Bennets that he plans to attend the ball as well, and asks
Elizabeth to save the first two dances for him. She is disappointed because she had hoped to
dance with Wickham, but Elizabeth grants her cousin the favor. Subsequently, Elizabeth realizes
that Mr. Collins is considering her to be his wife and tries to ignore his insinuations in the hopes
of putting him off.

Chapter 18
The night of the Netherfield ball arrives, and Elizabeth takes extra care in preparing herself for
the occasion. However, she is disappointed to discover that Wickham is not there; she assumes
he has avoided the ball because of Darcy's presence. After relating her disappointment
to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth suffers through her two dances with the awkward Mr. Collins.
After that, Mr. Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance and she is so shocked that she accepts.
While dancing with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth makes sarcastic comments to poke fun at Darcy's
character. She alludes to her new acquaintance with Wickham and insinuates that she knows
about the extent of Darcy's poor behavior. Sir William Lucas briefly interrupts them, but
Elizabeth soon directs the conversation towards Darcy's previous admission of his tendency
toward resentment. After the dance, they part in silence. To himself, Darcy blames Wickham for
the trouble.
Meanwhile, Jane has informed Caroline Bingley about Elizabeth's new relationship with
Wickham. Caroline warns Elizabeth not to trust Wickham. In fact, she insists that it was
Wickham who mistreated Darcy and not the other way around. Elizabeth reacts rudely, rejecting
the suggestion. Jane also tells Elizabeth that Bingley believes Wickham to be the villain in the
situation, but Elizabeth dismisses this as well. She concludes that Bingley must be blind to the
truth because of his friendship with Darcy.
Mr. Collins learns that Darcy is Lady Catherine's nephew. He introduces himself to Darcy
despite Elizabeth's warnings that he is overstepping his social bounds. While Mr. Collins's
effusive introduction catches Darcy by surprise, he nevertheless replies to Collins politely before
walking away. Throughout the evening, Jane enjoys Bingley's company, and Elizabeth is
overjoyed upon observing her sister's happiness. Mrs. Bennet is thrilled about the connection and
speaks loudly and incessantly about the likelihood of an engagement. Elizabeth is particularly
mortified that Mr. Darcy is close enough to overhear her mother's babbling.

After dinner, Mary accepts an invitation to play and sing at the piano, ignoring Elizabeth's hints
that she ought to decline. After Mary's second piece, Elizabeth convinces her father to stop Mary
from continuing. Mr. Collins then delivers a speech about the importance of music, but makes
sure to insist that it is inferior to other clerical duties. Overall, Elizabeth is completely
embarrassed by her family's conduct throughout the evening. At the end of the ball, Mrs. Bennet
invites Bingley to dinner at Longbourn, and he promises to come as soon as he returns form a
short trip to London.

Chapter 19
The next day, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth in a long and pompous speech. He explains that
it is appropriate for someone at his place in life to marry and that he wants to marry one of the
Miss Bennets in order to compensate for the entailment. Elizabeth rejects Collins's proposal in no
uncertain terms, but Mr. Collins refuses to believe her. He vocalizes his belief that her initial
refusal is simply a formality of female coquetry. Elizabeth repeats and strengthens her stance, but
when Collins continues to deny her sincerity, she simply leaves the room.

Chapter 20
When Mrs. Bennet learns from Mr. Collins that Elizabeth has refused to marry him, she
entreats Mr. Bennet to force Elizabeth to change her mind. Mr. Bennet agrees to speak with
Elizabeth, but actually tells her that he refuses to let her marry someone like Mr. Collins. Mrs.
Bennet does not give up, however, and continues to argue with Elizabeth about the matter. In the
midst of all this confusion, Charlotte Lucas comes to visit. Eventually, Mr. Collins accepts
Elizabeth's refusal.

Chapter 21
Mr. Collins treats Elizabeth coldly for the rest of the day and shifts his attentions to Charlotte
Lucas.

After breakfast, the Bennet girls walk together to Meryton. While there, Elizabeth speaks with
Wickham. He accompanies the party back to Longbourn, paying particular attention to Elizabeth
during their walk. Upon their return home, Jane finds a letter from Caroline Bingley. She writes
that the entire Bingley family has left Netherfield for London and have no intention of returning
for at least another six months. The letter also reveals the family's expectation that Mr. Bingley
will marry Georgiana Darcy, thus implying that they do not want him to marry Jane.

Elizabeth attempts to comfort Jane by reassuring her that Caroline is trying to manipulate her
brother in order to prevent him from marrying a socially inferior woman. Elizabeth believes that
Bingley will most assuredly return to Netherfield.

Chapter 22
For the rest of the day, Charlotte engages Mr. Collins in conversation. It is clear she is
deliberately soliciting his interest. Early the next morning, Mr. Collins walks to Lucas Lodge to
propose to Charlotte. She accepts, and Sir William and Lady Lucas approve the match. Mr.
Collins leaves Longbourn the next day without informing the Bennets of his engagement.
However, he mysteriously promises to return soon, remaining oblivious to Mr. Bennet's sarcastic
insistence that he need not rush.
Later that day, Charlotte tells Elizabeth about her engagement. Elizabeth is shocked, but tries to
be kind in her reaction. She is, however, very unhappy about Charlotte's decision because she
thinks that the match is completely unsuitable. She is disappointed that her friend would marry
for such materialistic reasons.

Chapter 23
Soon after Charlotte shares the news of her engagement with Elizabeth, Sir William Lucas
arrives at Longbourn to make the official announcement. The rest of the Bennet family is
surprised, and Mrs. Bennet is absolutely incredulous. Once she finally accepts the truth, Mrs.
Bennet grows angry with Elizabeth for having let go of a potential husband. Over time, Elizabeth
and Charlotte do not discuss the subject of the marriage with each other, and their friendship
briefly diminishes. Meanwhile, Jane and Elizabeth both grow concerned about of the lack of
correspondence from Mr. Bingley.

Eventually, Mr. Collins returns to Longbourn in order to make preparations for his marriage. The
Bennets are not exactly happy to see him and are grateful that he spends most of his time at
Lucas Lodge.

Analysis
The novel's primary themes of pride and prejudice come to the fore in these chapters as conflict
arises between the families in Hetfordshire. In particular, Elizabeth's association with Mr.
Wickham reveals the depth of her prejudice and her blindness to this flaw. Remaining confident
in her ability as a shrewd judge of character, Elizabeth quickly forms a favorable opinion of the
charming and handsome Mr. Wickham. However, Elizabeth's pride is so strong that she cannot
see how much her attraction to this handsome stranger has shaped her initial assessment of him.
Additionally, while Elizabeth often criticizes other women for their silliness, she proves to be
prone to superficial behavior as well; she spends extra time primping for the Netherfield ball
because she expects to see Wickham there.

Wickham inadvertently inflates Elizabeth's pride by corroborating her opinion of Darcy. She
easily believes Wickham's description of Darcy's sinister, petty nature because it confirms her
first impression of him and because she is attracted to Wickham. However, from an objective
standpoint, Wickham's behavior proves him to be less than trustworthy. For one, Wickham
brings up the subject of Darcy but then claims he does not want to speak out of turn about Darcy,
allegedly out of respect for the latter's father. However, he soon confesses a lot of unsolicited
information to Elizabeth, whom he has just met. Later in the novel, Elizabeth remembers this
scene and recognizes all of Wickham's inconsistencies in retrospect. She realizes that she
believed him because she wanted to.

Elizabeth lets her prejudice against Darcy influence her behavior. She is positively cruel to him
at the Netherfield ball. An objective reader can see that Darcy is attempting to transcend the
limitations of his own pride by asking Elizabeth to dance. She belongs to a lower class and he
knows that his feelings are not socially 'proper,' and yet he indulges them. Elizabeth cannot (or
does not want to) see this, however, and makes sarcastic comments towards Darcy while they are
dancing, insinuating that Darcy behaved ill towards Wickham.
After their dance, Elizabeth has two separate occasions - during conversations with Caroline and
Mr. Bingley - to question her assumptions about Darcy, but she refuses. Darcy, on the other
hand, refuses to let Elizabeth's slight to his pride influence his feelings for her. Instead, he
forgives her to himself, and (correctly) assumes that Wickham must be the culprit of the
misinformation. Yet again, Elizabeth ironically criticizes others (the Bingleys) for being
influenced by personal prejudice (their friendship with Darcy), while it in fact Elizabeth's
prejudice against Darcy and attraction to Wickham that prohibits the truth from coming out. As a
side note, readers might be confused about the nature of these dances that enable the partners to
converse at length. At these upper class balls, each "dance" lasted for several pieces of music.
The choreography was formal and consistent at every party, so experienced dancers could easily
talk at leisure while on the dance floor.

The social interactions at the Netherfield ball introduce contemporary readers to the formalities
of early 19th century English society. Overall, rank and wealth played the most crucial role in the
formation of social relations. Elizabeth is extremely aware of these social conventions, and is
embarrassed by her family's lack of propriety over the course of the evening. Austen seems
aligned with Elizabeth in her shame, which could potentially be proof of the author's
conservatism. That being said, Austen does seem to put a greater emphasis on personal conduct
than social class. Darcy's pride is just as unflattering as Mrs. Bennet's foolishness, which
indicates that bad behavior knows no class boundaries. Ultimately, Elizabeth (and therefore,
Austen) does not judge her family for their behavior because they have transgressed propriety,
but because they have done so in such a foolish way.

Similarly, the Bingleys's sudden departure from the countryside appears to be one of Caroline
Bingley's schemes. Austen makes it clear that Jane and Bingley are fond of each other, but also is
realistic about the odds their union would have faced. Elizabeth asserts that Bingley must have
been pushed into quitting Jane's company, probably because of the Bennets's social status.
Austen clearly believes that love can transcend rigid class separations. She paints an unfavorable
portrait of class-obsessed individuals (like Caroline) who manipulate love in order to enforce
such rigid separations.

Mr. Collins embodies Austen's critique of marriage as a loveless contract. His mechanical
proposal to Elizabeth seems more appropriate for a business deal than a declaration of love (and
recalls the first line of the novel). Collins starts out his proposal by listing the practical reasons
for a marriage to Elizabeth: Lady Catherine's advice, his desire to make amends with the
Bennets, and the expectations for his profession. Only after finishing his list does he mention his
regard for Elizabeth. He also shows his profound lack of self-awareness (or pride) by refusing to
accept Elizabeth's refusal. He decides to view her repeated rejections as a demonstration of her
coy, feminine nature instead of facing the truth about himself. While his bumbling proposal is
completely devoid of love or romance, Collins does speak truthfully about his reasons for
marriage, thus serving as a mouthpiece for Austen's criticism of the system.

Some critics believe that Austen's portrayal of Mary Bennet is in itself a criticism of the pressure
for women to marry. Mary is repeatedly cast off as irrelevant, like when Elizabeth and Mr.
Bennet stop her from playing the piano. Throughout the novel, Mary only appears to provide a
moment of comic relief before returning to her studies. Because Mary is the least "marriage-
able" of the Bennet sisters, her insignificance in the novel appears to be a comment on the
importance of marriage in defining a woman. Mary has excused herself from marital pressures;
she seems entirely uninterested in them. It is possible that Mary is a cipher for Austen herself -
the studious, bookish sister. If this interpretation is valid, then it provides a potential illustration
of Austen's sympathies.

Elizabeth and Charlotte are best friends, despite their differing views on marriage. However, they
grow apart when those ideas translate into actions. When Charlotte accepts Mr. Collins's
proposal, Elizabeth can make no sense of it. In fact, she judges her friend so harshly that
Charlotte slips significantly in Elizabeth's esteem. On the other hand, Austen frames Charlotte's
situation in a sympathetic way. Because she lacks an independent fortune, Charlotte must marry
well in order to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. "Without thinking highly either of men or of
matrimony, marriage had always been [Charlotte's] object; it was the only honourable provision
for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness,
must be their pleasantest preservative from want."

Austen uses Charlotte's pragmatic view of marriage as a contrast to Elizabeth's resolve to marry
on the basis of love. Charlotte acts as the prototype of a typical upper class young woman in
Austen's time, while Elizabeth is the exception. She is willing to sacrifice the assurance of being
comfortably married in the hopes of obtaining greater happiness by marrying someone whom she
actually loves. That Elizabeth is successful in marrying a man she loves who also happens to be
rich does not detract from the unfortunate reality of what leads Charlotte to make her choice. At
this point in the novel, Austen presents a potential tragedy: with Bingley gone, Jane Bennet may
be forced to make a similar compromise in order to find a husband.