Resumo de Pride And Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice, first published in 1813, started a continual love affair with the novel of manners and morals for the next 190 years. Jane Austin wrote about what she knew; that marriage was the ultimate goal of females in her century, that a woman without money was destined to a life of hardship or isolation, and that the practice of entitlement, generally to the oldest male heir was not only wrong, but ruinous.
The book is set up in the first chapter as we realize that Mrs. Bennet has a terrible problem. Unlucky to have given birth to five daughters, her husband?s fortune is small, and when he dies, it will go to a distant cousin, the insufferable and pompous Mr. Collins which will leave her unmarried girls penniless and perhaps doomed to become old maids. The prone to nerves Mrs. Bennet dedicates her life to getting her daughters ?properly? married but faces some serious obstacles. One is in the very personality of her daughters. The oldest, Jane is lovely and morally good, seeing only the best in everyone. She is Mrs. Bennet?s best hope of a good match. The second, Elizabeth, is intelligent and realistic, preferring to marry for love instead of just making her mother?s life easier. Then there is the very moral Mary, reminding one rather of a nun who refuses to take her vows, the obnoxious and silly Lydia who threatens to ruin the very family she professes to love, and the shy Kitty who would rather follow Lydia then think on her own. Mr. Bennet is indeed wise to retreat so often to his study!
Salvation may have just arrived in the form of Mr. Bingley, a new neighbor at the country estate of Netherfield Park. Certainly, with a bit of finagling, Mrs. Bennet believes he could be induced to wed one of her daughters. At five thousand pounds a year?the rest of them could ride on that with a good bit of relief. And it seems ideal since Jane is placidly smitten with the good-natured Mr. Bingley. The only hitch is that his odious friend, Mr. Darcy, as well as Bingley?s family do not seem keen on the match. In fact, Mr. Darcy, at nearly his first meeting with Elizabeth manages to wound her pride, thus creating the extreme prejudice she will carry through most of the novel for him. Lizzy lives in a different day and age than now. She cannot work because of her station and if she marries it is for eternity. To make a hasty or imprudent match could ruin one?s life forever. There was no running to Vegas for a quickie divorce?marriage and courtship were serious business!
Like all good romance writers, Jane Austin produces two rivals for Lizzy?s affection in the form of her distant cousin Mr. Collins and Wickham, the son of the elder Mr. Darcy?s steward. Both are types. Mr. Collins is pretentious and pious, enjoying the benevolence of his benefactor, Lady Catherine, while practicing flattery on all who will listen. Wickham, so charming and handsome, seems wronged, his prosperous future stolen by Mr. Darcy. To Lizzy, Wickham must find his way as just like Bennet girls who are cheated out of their inheritance. It is not unusual that Lizzy would side with Wickham considering her circumstances. Lizzy believes him whole-heartedly until Mr. Darcy enlightens her to the man?s deceitfulness and heartless monetary pursuit of his own sister, Georgiana. When discovered he Wickham dumped the young girl, breaking her heart. Darcy also admits he thought Jane indifferent to his beloved friend and warned Bingley off the match. His apology stirs something in Lizzy, but before either can act on it Wickham dashes off with her silly younger sister Lydia, and the entire Bennet family is plunged into despair. It takes generations to earn a good reputation in the class-conscious England and only hours of a silly girl?s impulses to taint a whole family. Mr. Darcy proves his worth and manages to wrest the family from scandal by forcing Wickham to marry Lydia and Lizzy finds her prejudices melting away.But there is one more impediment to Darcy and Lizzy finding happiness. It is in the form of Mr. Collins? benefactor and Mr. Darcy?s aunt, the Lady Catherine. She informs the stunned but assertive Lizzy that her own daughter has been promised to Mr. Darcy since birth and won?t have the family name besmirched by any possible union between him and Elizabeth. Lizzy stands her ground and both women are formable in their own way in this classic confrontation.
As Pride and Prejudice progresses one becomes wrapped up in the desire to have Jane marry Bingley and Lizzy to end up with Darcy, who after all, is motivated by all the right intentions. When finally Lizzy admits her feelings have changed for Darcy, the sense of relief by characters and readers alike is immense. It is with tongue and cheek that Jane Austen states that Mrs. Bennet is so happy at the perfect matches of her daughters as to become a sensible woman from then on! Kitty, separated from her impetuous younger sister, becomes more sensible as well and Mary stays at home to care for her ?nervous? mother. All in all, a very proper end to a very ?proper? novel.

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