Lizzy is very different to her sister. She is very quick witted and makes judgments without knowing the entire story or knowing the person very well. Lizzie makes opinions and tends to stick with them, even when she starts to know the person. This is shown in the case of Mr Darcey. At first sight, Elizabeth believes him to be a proud, rude man. She continues with these thoughts throughout the novel until her visit to Pemberly where she sees a whole new side to Mr Darcey. But still, Elizabeth is unsure if these actions are true or are just for show. She believes that first opinions last, but eventually she begins to understand that Mr Darcey is not who she originally thought he was. Letters play an important part in Elizabeth’s decision because Mr Darcey sends her a letter explaining to her why he does not get along very well with Mr Wickham. Elizabeth previously believed in Mr Wickham and trusted his account on this affair and her hate for Mr Darcey grew. When he wrote her this letter though, her feelings towards him change.
‘In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection.’
You could say that the marriage of Mr Darcey and Elizabeth Bennet was due to the letters in the novel. If Elizabeth had not received the letter explaining why Mr Darcey and Mr Wickham were enemies and why Mr Darcey separated Mr Bingley and her sister, Jane, her hate for Mr Darcey would have continued growing and they would not have married. This shows how the plot is influenced by letters.
Miss Bingley’s letters also reveal much about her personality. The most obvious things from her letters that is shown is the contrast between the Bennet sisters and the Bingley sisters. Many of the letters which Jane and Elizabeth write shows that they are loving, caring and kind. For example, Jane writes to Lizzy to inform her that she is feeling rather under the weather and Lizzy visits her soon after receiving the letter. Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst, on the other hand are the opposite. In the few letters that Miss Bingley writes in the novel, her intentions are clear. In the first letter which asks her to simply come over for tea, she writes
‘If you are not so compassionate as to dine to-day with Louise and me, we shall be in danger of hating each other for the rest of our lives.’
This does not seem like the usual things which a friend would write in a letter. It is evident that she does not really like Jane, or enjoy her company, because she is too friendly and it is clear that the letter is false.
In Miss Bingley’s other letter to Jane, she is extremely blunt and much more obvious about her true feelings toward Jane, but Jane does not like to judge others. She still believes that Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst are her friends. When Jane persuades Miss Bingley to visit her in London, her personality is just as her letters would suggest. In Jane’s letter of this experience sent to Lizzy, she explains to her that she has finally realised that Miss Bingley does not like her and that her affections were false.
‘When she did come, it was very evident that she had no pleasure in it.’
The real Miss Bingley is clearly shown in her second letter to Jane and her visit to Jane in London. Miss Bingley’s letters also change the plot because when she writes to Jane explaining that they are leaving the town and will never be returning. This breaks Jane’s heart, but it also strengthens the relationship between Jane and Lizzy. They write many letters to each other during this period.
Letters can reflect character, and Mr Collins is a prime example of this. Even from his first letter the reader can tell that he is an extremely rude, offensive, arrogant, pompous man. In his first letter he writes that he feels that it is his duty as a clergyman to officially ‘clear the air’ between himself and Mr Bennet since the death of his father. But although this may seem polite, it is clear that he just wishes to see their estate at Netherfield, to see what he will inherit at the death of Mr Bennet. In the early nineteenth century, when a man died his estate and fortune would be inherited by his nearest male relative. In the case of Mr Bennet because he only has five daughters and no sons, his fortune will be inherited by Mr Collins, his cousin. Also, his letter proves to be very offensive because he is being extremely wordy and very over polite. He throws in compliments to make himself more popular around the family, but it is evident that he is being false. Only Mrs Bennet finds Mr Collins charming and this is only because she merely sees him as a suitable husband for one of her daughters.
‘As a clergyman, moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing and peace in all families within the reach of my influence.’
Mr Collins is so pompous and offensive because he can use his clergymanship to offend people, which is clear in the quote above. Because he is so proud he feels that he is doing no wrong and is being very polite. Mr Collins can also be very patronising. All of these are things which you can find out about his personality from the first letter.
Mr Collin also writes a second letter to Mr Bennet in accordance to Lydia’s elopement. He writes to Mr Bennet explaining how sorry he feels for him and his family and that he understands how much grief he must be feeling. Mr Collins in this letter is very rude and he is saying some awful things.
‘The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this.’
He is excruciatingly rude because he has shared the topic with Lady Catherine De Burgh, who Mr Collins seems to admire very much as he is always talking about her. He ends this atrocious letter by saying that he advises Mr Bennet to disown Lydia, his own daughter, and to never see her again so that she can live with the effects of her offense.
Lydia only writes two letters in the entire novel, but from them we can tell many things about her personality. Her first letter is to Mrs Forster explaining that she has left with Mr Wickham to go to Gretna Green to be married. Her letter is written in a very non-serious fashion and is only very short in comparison with the others in the novel. She feels that the whole elopement with Mr Wickham is just a joke and she does not realise the pain which she is putting her family through. In the early nineteenth Century, a young girl’s elopement would be seen as a disgrace and would cause great scandal to the entire family. If a family had a girl who was living with a man before they were married, this would cause outrage and no man would want to marry into the family. So Mrs Bennet is distraught at this fact. Lydia is extremely foolish because she just wants to be married off first, she doesn’t realise the misfortune which she will bring to her family, especially her sisters. This also makes her selfish because she is only thinking of herself, not her sisters.
Mr Gardiner and Mrs Gardiner also write some letters during the novel. Their letters enhance the plot because Mr Gardiner goes to find Lydia in London and writes back to Mr Bennet. His letters changes Elizabeth’s attitude towards Mr Darcey drastically because she finds out from Mr Gardiner’s letters that Mr Darcey paid off the debts of Mr Wickham at their wedding. Elizabeth is very grateful and she begins to realise that Mr Darcey is a kind and considerate person. This is just one example of how a letter can enhance the plot.
Mr Darcey also writes two letters in Pride and Prejudice to Elizabeth. He writes extremely long letters which are the opposite to Mr Collin’s, he is straight to the point and is not afraid of telling the truth. He is very informative in his letters and explains everything to Elizabeth. Mr Darcey’s letter to Elizabeth is very polite and formal, which is just like his personality. He starts the letter formally by writing, ‘be not alarmed madam.’ In this narrative, he tells Elizabeth about ‘two offences’. The first of which explains that it was him who separated Mr Bingley from Jane, because he thought that Jane was not attached to him. Then, he explains all of his past dealings with Mr Wickham. At first she does not believe in his narrative, but eventually she realises that she has judged Mr Darcey completely wrong and she grows ashamed of her feelings. She reveals that she has been ‘blind, partial, prejudiced and absurd.’ This letter from Mr Darcey shows his true character, which is very different to how the reader originally felt about him. In this letter Mr Darcey’s emotions are seen as strong and heart felt.
This letter is the changing point in the novel. If the letter had not been written then everything would have stayed the same. This is another example of how a single letter can change the entire storyline of a novel.
In conclusion letters do play an extremely important role in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ written by Jane Austen. Without letters, the novel may be hard to understand because the letters provide crucial information which, if the reader did not have, the novel would make no sense. Austen uses letters to make the novel much more interesting as it is different from constant dialogue. She superbly shows that there are different ways to provide the reader with information other than through dialogue or through the narrator. Letters are important in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ because they can enhance the plot, change the plot, provide the reader with additional information and can also show character.
All of the letters from above contribute to the readers understanding of the novel, to the plot and to add to the characterisation and without these letters the novel would seem incomplete. This just proves that letters play a major role in ‘Pride and Prejudice’.
