Literature in English (0475) | Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice

Welcome to the World of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice!

Hello there! This set of notes will guide you through Jane Austen’s famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. This book is a required prose text for your IGCSE Literature exam (Paper 1, Section B).

Why study this novel? Because it’s more than just a classic romance! It gives us a brilliant, witty look at society, family life, and the struggle for women to find their place in the 19th century. Understanding the characters—especially Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy—will unlock key themes like class, reputation, and, of course, the dangers of judging others too quickly.

Quick Tip: Remember, in your exam, you need to show AO1 (Knowledge), AO2 (Understanding Themes), AO3 (Writer's Methods/Language), and AO4 (Personal Response). These notes are structured to help you hit all four targets!

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1. Essential Context: The 19th Century and Social Rules

To truly understand Pride and Prejudice, you must understand the rules of the society Jane Austen was writing about. The world of the Bennets and the Darcys is obsessed with two things: Property and Propriety (good behaviour).

The Importance of Marriage and Economics

For women in this era, marriage was rarely about just love; it was an economic necessity. If a woman didn't inherit money, marrying well was her only job security.

• The Bennet Dilemma: Entailment
  The Bennet estate, Longbourn, is "entailed." This means it must pass to the nearest male heir upon Mr. Bennet's death, bypassing his five daughters entirely.
• Who is the Heir?
  The heir is the ridiculous distant cousin, Mr. Collins. This is why Mrs. Bennet is so frantically desperate to marry off her daughters—if they don't marry, they will be left poor.

Class and Status

Society was rigidly structured. Austen explores the tension between two types of status:

• Wealth and Rank (Inherited Status): People like Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Mr. Bingley belong to the extremely wealthy aristocracy or gentry. They look down on those with less money or lower connections.
• Genteel Status (Respectability): The Bennets are "gentlefolk" (respectable, but not rich). Their social standing is fragile, especially due to Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and Lydia's recklessness.

Analogy: Think of class as a smartphone: Darcy has the latest, most expensive model (inherited wealth). Elizabeth has an older, reliable model (respectable family name). The difference determines who is invited to the best parties!

Key Takeaway: Marriage is the central drama because it is the only way the Bennet sisters can avoid poverty due to the law of entailment.

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2. The Core Conflict: Pride vs. Prejudice (The Themes)

The title is a perfect summary of the main problem between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

Pride (Mr. Darcy’s Flaw)

• What is it? Excessive confidence, arrogance, or looking down on others based on social rank.
• Darcy’s Pride: Darcy is proud of his family, his wealth, and his class. This leads him to behave coldly and rudely, making him instantly disliked.
• Example: At the Meryton ball, he refuses to dance with Elizabeth, saying she is "tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me." This is the first spark of conflict.

Prejudice (Elizabeth’s Flaw)

• What is it? Judging someone unfairly or forming a negative opinion before knowing the facts.
• Elizabeth’s Prejudice: Elizabeth is prejudiced against Darcy because of his initial arrogance and because she trusts the charming but deceitful Mr. Wickham's negative story about him.
• The Result: Her intelligence is blinded by her vanity. She enjoys hating Darcy and takes pride in her own ability to judge character (which, initially, is terrible).

The Turning Point: Darcy’s First Proposal

This scene is vital! Darcy proposes (confidently expecting acceptance) and simultaneously insults Elizabeth’s family ("their inferior connections").

• Elizabeth’s Response: She explodes, accusing him of ruining Jane’s happiness (by separating her from Bingley) and destroying Wickham’s life.
• The Revelation: Darcy responds by giving her a long letter explaining his actions. This letter is the tool Austen uses to break down the central conflict.
  • She discovers Wickham is a liar and a scoundrel.
  • She discovers Darcy believed Jane was indifferent to Bingley.
• Realisation: Elizabeth realizes she has been "blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd." Darcy, meanwhile, realizes his pride is unbearable. They start to change.

Memory Aid: P&P = Pride (Darcy) is cured by Prejudice (Elizabeth) being overcome, and vice-versa.

Key Takeaway: The novel is about the education of two proud people. They must conquer their flaws before they can truly see and love each other.

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3. Key Characters and Relationships (AO2)

Understanding how the characters interact reveals the themes of the novel.

A. Elizabeth Bennet (Lizzy)

The Headstrong Heroine

• Traits: Quick-witted, intelligent, independent, spirited, and observant.
• Fatal Flaw: Too reliant on her first impressions; often prejudiced.
• Development: Her journey is about learning humility. She realizes that her supposed great judgment was actually poor. Her ability to admit she was wrong makes her Austen's true heroine.

B. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy

The Proud Hero

• Traits: Reserved, intensely proud, honourable, and deeply caring (though hidden).
• Fatal Flaw: Arrogance based on class and wealth.
• Development: He learns that true honour means shedding his social pride. His intervention in the Lydia/Wickham scandal shows his genuine goodness and humility, proving his change.

C. Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley

The Ideal, Simple Couple

• Traits: Jane is beautiful, sweet, and sees only the good in everyone (a fault!). Bingley is cheerful, amiable, and easily persuaded.
• Relationship Dynamic: They represent pure, unquestioning love, contrasting with the complexity of Elizabeth and Darcy. Their main obstacle is external interference (Darcy’s misguided pride).

D. Secondary Couples/Contrasts

1. Lydia Bennet and George Wickham

• Lydia is frivolous and uncontrolled. Wickham is charming but deceitful and immoral.
• Their elopement threatens the reputation of the entire Bennet family, proving how precarious the social standing of women was. Darcy saves the family by forcing Wickham to marry Lydia.

2. Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins

• Mr. Collins: Pompous, ridiculously formal, and obsessed with pleasing his patroness, Lady Catherine.
• Charlotte Lucas: Elizabeth's pragmatic friend. She marries Collins purely for security ("I am not a romantic, you know. I only ask for a comfortable home.").
• Why they matter: They highlight the economic pressure facing women. Charlotte chooses stability over love, contrasting sharply with Elizabeth's refusal to marry without feeling or respect.

Did you know? Charlotte Lucas's choice horrified many early readers, but Austen uses it to show the painful truth: many women had no choice but to marry someone they disliked to survive.

Key Takeaway: All relationships in the novel—the happy ones (Lizzy/Darcy), the indifferent ones (Charlotte/Collins), and the scandalous ones (Lydia/Wickham)—serve to examine the definition of a successful marriage.

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4. Jane Austen’s Narrative Style and Methods (AO3)

When analyzing extracts, you must look at how Austen tells the story—her methods are often subtle and clever.

A. Narration and Voice

The novel is told by an omniscient third-person narrator (meaning the narrator knows everything). However, the narrative often focuses intensely on Elizabeth’s perspective.

• Key Technique: Free Indirect Discourse (FID)
  Don't worry about the complex name! This is when the narrator slips seamlessly into a character’s thoughts and voice without using quotation marks ("She thought...").

  Example: If Elizabeth is thinking about Darcy: "He was so intolerably rude! Why did he imagine he was superior to everyone in the room?" This blends Elizabeth's voice with the narrator's, allowing us to feel her emotions directly.

• Effect: FID creates intimacy and allows the reader to connect deeply with Elizabeth, sharing her misconceptions and eventual embarrassment.

B. Dialogue and Wit

Austen uses dialogue masterfully to reveal character. Pay attention to:

• Elizabeth and Darcy: Their arguments are lively and intellectual, showing they are mental equals, which is why they are suited.
• Mr. Collins: His speech is full of excessive formality and flattery (servility), proving his pomposity and lack of genuine feeling.
• Mrs. Bennet: Her vulgar and hysterical speech ("The greatest misfortune!") highlights her low status and poor behaviour.

C. Irony

Irony is Austen’s greatest weapon. It means the difference between what is said and what is meant, or what happens and what we expect.

• The Famous Opening Line:
  "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
  • Literal Meaning: Rich men want wives.
  • Ironic Meaning: Actually, it’s the poor women who are in desperate want of rich husbands! Austen uses irony here to mock Mrs. Bennet’s obsession with securing a wealthy match.
• Effect of Irony: It makes the novel a comedy of manners—a story that gently pokes fun at the social habits and flaws of its characters.

Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't just say "Austen uses irony." You must identify what is ironic and what effect it has (e.g., "The irony in the opening line is used to expose the intense pressure facing unmarried women and satirize Mrs. Bennet’s motivations").

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5. Structuring Your Response: Key Themes for AO2/AO4

When answering an essay question on a theme, use these focus areas:

Theme 1: Reputation and Society

• Focus: How quickly a person or family can be ruined by improper behaviour.
• Evidence:
  • Lydia’s elopement brings "disgrace" upon the whole family.
  • Darcy initially worries about Elizabeth’s "inferior connections" (her embarrassing family).
  • Lady Catherine de Bourgh attempts to dictate social behaviour based purely on her rank.
• Your Personal Response (AO4): You might argue that Austen critiques a society that judges women so harshly for the mistakes of one sister, highlighting the unfairness of the social code.

Theme 2: True Versus False Judgement

• Focus: The novel shows that first impressions are often wrong and true character takes time to discover.
• Evidence:
  • False Judgement: Elizabeth trusts Wickham (charming exterior) and distrusts Darcy (proud exterior).
  • True Judgement: Elizabeth must read Darcy’s letter and visit Pemberley (Darcy’s estate) to truly understand his worth and see her own error.
• Writer's Intention (AO3): Austen shows that intelligence (like Elizabeth’s) means nothing if it is guided by vanity and bias.

Theme 3: The Nature of a Good Marriage

• Focus: Austen suggests that the best marriages must be based on mutual respect, intellectual equality, and shared humour, not just money.
• The Hierarchy of Marriages:
  • Worst: Lydia and Wickham (based on lust and recklessness).
  • Comfortable: Charlotte and Collins (based on economic necessity).
  • Good: Jane and Bingley (based on simple affection, but slightly naïve).
  • Best: Elizabeth and Darcy (based on overcoming obstacles and achieving a deep, honest respect).

Encouragement: Don't be afraid to voice your own opinion (AO4)! For example, you can say, "I find Charlotte’s decision sad, but I appreciate that Austen included it because it reminds the reader of the harsh reality facing women like her."

Final Key Takeaway: Pride and Prejudice is a journey toward self-knowledge. Both Elizabeth and Darcy must accept their flaws—Prejudice and Pride—before they can achieve happiness.