Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Part One)

Background

• Mr. Darcy is a jerk at the beginning of the book and kind in the second half of the book
• The Bennet's property will go to Mr. Collins after Mr. Bennet's death because of entailment laws
• Mrs. Bennet is obsessed with getting one of her daughters to marry Mr. Collins so they basically will not become homeless
• The Bingleys look down on the Bennets even though the Bennets are respected by most of their other neighbors

Pride and Prejudice (Part One)

Defoe's Roxana is very similar to Austen's Pride and Prejudice because Roxana chases after money to maintain her lifestyle and the Bennet sisters must chase after men in order to maintain their lifestyles. The idea of companionate marriage is introduced in Pride and prejudice. 

Mr. Collins is the heir to the Bennet family's wealth and is considered an to be an air head. Mr. Collins is "employed" by Lady Catherine de Bourgh as a clergyman. Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, although he wants to propose to Jane, but Mrs. Bennet asserts that Jane will be marrying Bingley.

For all intents and purposes, Darcy acts like an ass in Pride and Prejudice as evidenced by his bluntness and comments about Elizabeth not being the pretty Bennet sister. His feelings toward Elizabeth are shown when Darcy says he won't dance with Elizabeth. Darcy is so egotistical that he cannot understand how a woman of such a low social standing like Elizabeth is so uninterested in Darcy. 

Miss Bingley is very obnoxious and tries very hard to show off to Darcy and tries to shut down Elizabeth to keep Darcy for herself. Mr. Bingley is very charming and wealthy. As previously stated, the Bingleys even make fun of the Bennets for their comparatively low social standing. Bingley become infatuated with Jane and sends her letters. Throughout the novel, Miss Bingley tries very hard to sever the ties between the Bingleys and the Bennets. 

In a social situation involving Mrs. Bennet, she is very boastful about her daughters' beauty to cover ip their lack of familial wealth. The Bennet family as a whole acts very low class and is judged because of Mrs. Bennet's actions. Austen wants to point out that especially in these times, you are judged by your family's actions. Mr. Bennet is constantly dealing with his wife's nerves and is somewhat mean to Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth Bennet is very intelligent and possesses much common sense. Elizabeth is the heroine of the novel, but is not the prettiest daughter even though she is the most liked daughter by her father. Jane Bennet is the prettiest daughter and is sweet and reserved. Lydia Bennet is very gossipy and man-crazed. Jane is so coy that Mr. Bingley doesn't even know that she is interested in Mr. Bingley.