Brief Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice
“Remember, if our sorrows stem from Pride and Prejudice, then we are also exempt from them from Pride and Prejudice, for good and evil are so wonderfully balanced in the world.”
These words, and in fact, fully reveal the design of the novel by Jane Austen.
The provincial family, as they say, of the “middle hand”: the father of the family, Mr. Bennet, is quite a noble blood, phlegmatic, prone to stoically doomed perception and the surrounding life, and himself; with special irony, he refers to his own wife: Mrs. Bennet really can not boast of ancestry, nor mind, nor upbringing. She is frankly stupid, blatantly tactless, extremely limited and, accordingly, very high opinion of her own person. Bennet’s spouses have five daughters: the eldest, Jane and Elizabeth, will become the central heroines of the novel.
The action takes place in a typical English province. In the small town of Meriton, in
The relationship between Bingley-Jane and Darcy-Elizabeth is consistent with their characters. At the first they are permeated with clarity and immediacy, both are simple-minded and trustful (that at first becomes a soil on which a mutual feeling will arise, then the cause of their separation, then again bring them together). In Elizabeth and
Mr. Bingley’s sisters, quickly seeing the mutual feeling between their brother and Jane Bennet, are doing everything to alienate them from each other. When the danger begins to appear to them completely irreversible, they simply “take him” to London. Subsequently, we learn that Darcy played a very significant role in this unexpected escape.
As expected in the “classic” novel, the main storyline overgrown with numerous branches. So, at some point in the house of Mr. Bennet his cousin Mr. Collins arises, who, according to the English laws of the major, after the death of Mr. Bennett, who does not have male heirs, must enter their Longbourn estate, so that Mrs. Bennet and her daughters can be without a roof over your head. The letter received from Collins, and then his own appearance, testify to the limited, stupid and self-confident this gentleman – precisely because of these merits, and also one more, very important: the ability to flatter and please, who managed to receive the parish in the estate of the noble ladies Lady de Beer, Later it turns out that she is Darcy’s own aunt – only in her arrogance, unlike her nephew, there will not be a glimpse of a living human feeling, nor the slightest capacity for a spiritual impulse. Mr. Collins does not come to Longbourn accidentally: having decided, as his dad demands (and Lady de Behr too), to marry legally, he opted for the family of Cousin Bennett, confident that he would not be denied: after all, his marriage to one of the Miss Bennet will automatically make the happy lady the legitimate mistress of Longbourn. His choice falls, of course, on Elizabeth. Her refusal plunges him into the deepest astonishment: after all, not to mention his own personal merits, by this marriage he was going to be a beneficent of the whole family. However, Mr. Collins consoled very soon: Elizabeth’s closest friend, Charlotte Lucas, is in all respects more practical and, having judged all the advantages of this marriage, gives Mr. Collins his consent. Meanwhile, another person appears in Meryton, a young officer of the Wickham regiment stationed in the city. Appearing on one of the balls, he makes a strong impression on Elizabeth: charming, precautionary, and intelligent, able to please even such an uncommon young lady as Miss Bennet. Special trust Elizabeth imbued with him after he realizes that he is familiar with Darcy – arrogant, unbearable Darcy! – and not just a sign, but, according to Wickham himself, is a victim of his dishonesty. The halo of the martyr, who suffered through the fault of a man who causes such dislike, makes Wickham in her eyes even more attractive. charming, attentive, at the same time clever, able to please even such an outstanding young lady as Miss Bennet. Special trust Elizabeth imbued with him after he realizes that he is familiar with Darcy – arrogant, unbearable Darcy! – and not just a sign, but, according to Wickham himself, is a victim of his dishonesty. The halo of the martyr, who suffered through the fault of a man who causes such dislike, makes Wickham in her eyes even more attractive. charming, attentive, at the same time clever, able to please even such an outstanding young lady as Miss Bennet. Special trust Elizabeth imbued with him after he realizes that he is familiar with Darcy – arrogant, unbearable Darcy! – and not just a sign, but, according to Wickham himself, is a victim of his dishonesty. The halo of the martyr, who suffered through the fault of a man who causes such dislike, makes Wickham in her eyes even more attractive.
Some time after Mr. Bingley’s sudden departure from the sisters and Darcy, the older Miss Bennet herself traveled to London to stay at the home of her uncle, Mr. Gardiner and his wife, a lady whom both nieces have a sincere affection for. And from London Elizabeth, already without her sister, goes to her friend Charlotte, the same one who became the wife of Mr. Collins. In the house of Lady de Ber Elizabeth again encounters Darcy. Their conversations at the table, in public, again resemble a verbal duel – and again Elizabeth is a worthy rival. And if you take into account that the action takes place at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, then such impudence from the mouth of a young lady – on the one side of a lady, on the other – may seem like a free-thinker: “You wanted to embarrass me, Mr. Darcy…” but I’m not at all afraid of you… Stubbornness does not allow me to show cowardice when others want it. When I try to frighten me, I become even more daring. “But one day, when Elizabeth is sitting alone in the living room, Darcy suddenly appears on the threshold:” All my struggle was in vain! Nothing comes out. I can not cope with my feelings. Know that I am infinitely fascinated by you and that I love you! “But Elizabeth rejects his love with the same determination with which she once rejected the claims of Mr. Collins. The request of Darcy to explain both her refusal and dislike for him, so unconcealed by her, Elizabeth talks about the destruction of Jane’s happiness because of him, about Wickham, insulted by him, again – a duel, again – a scythe on a stone, for even by making an offer, Darcy can not (and does not want to!) Hide that by doing it, he is all he always remembers that, Having married Elizabeth, he thereby inevitably “will enter into kinship with those who are so far below him on the social ladder.” And it is these words (although Elizabeth understands no less than how limited her mother is, how ignorant younger sisters, and much more than he, from this suffers) hurt her unbearably painfully. In the scene of their explanation, equal temperaments equal “pride and prejudice.” The next day, Darcy hands a voluminous letter to Elizabeth – a letter in which he explains to him his behavior towards Bingley (the desire to save a friend from the same misalliance for which he is ready himself!), Explains, without seeking excuses, without hiding his own active role in this matter; but the second is the details of Wickham’s case, which represent both of its participants (Darcy and Wickham) in a completely different light. In the story of Darcy, it is Wickham who turns out to be a deceiver, and a low, dissolute, dishonorable person. Darcy’s letter stuns Elizabeth-not only the revealed truth in him, but, to no lesser extent, her awareness of her own blindness, and her shame for the involuntary insult she inflicted on Darcy: “How shameful I was! .. I, so proud of my insight and so relied on their own common sense! ” With these thoughts, Elizabeth returns home, to Longbourn. And from there, along with Aunt Gardiner and her husband, goes on a short trip to Derbyshire. Among the attractions lying on their way is Pemberley; Beautiful old estate, owned by… Darcy. And although Elizabeth is for certain that these days the house should be empty, just at the moment when the housekeeper Darcy proudly shows them the interior, Darcy again appears on the threshold. For several days, that they are constantly meeting – then in Pemberley, then in the house where Elizabeth and her companions stayed – he invariably amazes everyone with his courtesy, and the friendliness and simplicity in circulation. Is this the proud Darcy? However, Elizabeth’s attitude towards him also changed, and where she had previously been ready to see some shortcomings, she now is quite inclined to find many virtues. But here comes the event: from the letter received from Jane, Elizabeth learns that their younger sister, the unlit and frivolous Lydia, fled with a young officer – none other than Wickham. This – in tears, in confusion, in desperation – finds her Darcy in the house, alone. Not remembering herself from grief, Elizabeth tells of the misfortune that has fallen upon their family (dishonor is worse than death!), And only then, when he suddenly abruptly turns away, after a dry bow, she realizes what has happened. Not with Lydia – with her. After all, now she can never become Darcy’s wife – she, whose sister of her own has forever disgraced herself, thus imposing an indelible mark on the whole family. In particular – on their unmarried sisters. She hurries home, where she finds everyone in despair and confusion. Uncle Gardiner hurries to find fugitives in London, where she finds them unexpectedly. Then even more unexpectedly, Wickham convinces to marry Lydia. And only later, from a casual conversation, Elizabeth learns that it was Darcy who found Wickham, it was he who forced him (with the help of a considerable amount of money) to marry her seduced by him. After this discovery, the action is rapidly approaching a happy ending. Bingley with her sisters and Darcy again comes to Netherfield Park. Bingley makes an offer to Jane. Between Darcy and Elizabeth there is another explanation, this time the last. Becoming Darcy’s wife, our heroine becomes and full-fledged mistress of Pemberley – the very one where they first realized Friend of the other. And the young sister of Darcy Georgiana, with whom Elizabeth “established the closeness that Darcy hoped for in her experience, realized that a woman can afford to treat her husband in a way that a younger sister can not treat her brother.” Bingley with her sisters and Darcy again comes to Netherfield Park. Bingley makes an offer to Jane. Between Darcy and Elizabeth there is another explanation, this time the last. Becoming Darcy’s wife, our heroine becomes and full-fledged mistress of Pemberley – the very one where they first realized Friend of the other. And the young sister of Darcy Georgiana, with whom Elizabeth “established the closeness that Darcy hoped for in her experience, realized that a woman can afford to treat her husband in a way that a younger sister can not treat her brother.” Bingley with her sisters and Darcy again comes to Netherfield Park. Bingley makes an offer to Jane. Between Darcy and Elizabeth there is another explanation, this time the last. Becoming Darcy’s wife, our heroine becomes and full-fledged mistress of Pemberley – the very one where they first realized Friend of the other. And the young sister of Darcy Georgiana, with whom Elizabeth “established the closeness that Darcy hoped for in her experience, realized that a woman can afford to treat her husband in a way that a younger sister can not treat her brother.”
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