Resumo de Pride And Prejudice

One of the most popular and imitated works of fiction, or to be precise, sentimental comedy, by Jane Austen (1775-1817), Pride and Prejudice (1813) is a story set in the early 19th century with many themes running through it. As the title of the novel suggests, two major themes running throughout the novel are 'pride' and 'prejudice' exemplified best by the main characters of the novel, Elizabeth Bennet (one of the five daughters in Bennett Family) and FitzWilliam Darcy (A wealthy young man of high status). It is the story of Mrs. Bennett and her search for good husbands for her five daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia and how things take a different turn for all the daughters.

The other themes that the story deals with includes family, marriage, women, society, virtue, and class. Jane Austen has shown the social fabric of society during her times and made a comment on all the important and inevitable aspects of life. We see the workings of pride and predudice in the sweet and sour relationship shared by Elizabeth and Darcy, both of whom fall prey to their prides and prejudices time and again in understanding their true feelings for each other. It is pride only that holds back their marriage. Darcy is too proud of his high status and upbringing in society to acknowledge his true feelings of love for Elizabeth. And Elizabeth's mind is completely pre-occupied with vain thoughts to judge Darcy wrongly. It is only when both these characters overcome their vain feelings of pride and prejudice that leads to wrong judgements against each other that they realize their folly and decide that they can make a happy married couple.

Similarly one can see the influence of family and its important role in upbringing of children as is amply displayed by the behaviour, attitude and mannerisms of the Bennett daughters. The novel shows that family background and the way children are reared makes all the difference to their personality development in adulthood. Lydia Bennett is a classic example of this truth. Being one of the Bennett daughters who have not been brought up in a condusive and educated atmosphere, Lydia shows her stupidity, frivolous nature, and foolishness when she runs away with Wickham.

Jane Austen has also made a very serious comment on the status of women during that time. From the novel one gathers that women considered marriage to be the prime purpose of their lives and if mothers (Mrs. Bennett) could fetch a wealthy and high status husband for their daughters, they had achieved something great in life. The same idea was instilled in the minds of young girls too as can be seen from the character of Charlotte who marries just for social security and high status in society. One character who goes against this norm and also voices Jane Austen's scorn and hatred for this norm is Elizabeth who will not marry anyone just for money or status but only for love.

Another prominent and quite visible strain in the novel is that of class consiousness and how people suffer from a weakness for having and admiring high status, aristocratic bearing in society.This is self evident from Darcy's attitude towards people of lower status mixing with whom he considers to be not good for people like him. But there is another contrast to Darcy in the form of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner who do not belong to the wealthy or aristocratic milieu of society, still have the aristocratic bearing by the virtue of their good manners, intelligence, and good breeding. In a way, by juxtaposing these two types of characters against each other, the author wanted to convey to people that there is more to aristocracy than just wealth, high status and fickle mannerisms. This is further examplified by the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy in the end- the first belonging to lower status than the latter.

The author also seems to declare to the world that virtue is one quality that can put an end to all agonies-personal or otherwise. With virtue comes seasoning and moral improvement that a mind possessed with pride and prejudice cannot acquire. So it becomes all the more important for people to live with human dignity, objective judgement, and discipline. Had Lydia practiced some sound judgement, discipline, and moral dignity, she would not have caused her family and close ones the shame and unhappiness that she did by eloping with Wickham.

On the whole the novel makes an interesting read having all the ingredients of a nice sentimental comedy. It has love, betrayal, jaelousy, anger, happiness, and pride and prejudice, to say the least. The novel has become all the more popular with the screening of the movie by the title 'Bride and Prejudice' based on it by an NRI director of Indian origin based in London, Guninder Chadha.

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