Mrs. Bennet then attempts to persuade her husband, Mr. Bennet, to go and visit Mr. Bingley, as the social custom of the time was that a woman and/or her daughters could not visit a newcomer without her husband having visited him first. Mr. Bennet appears reluctant to do so. This shows us that Mr. Bennet has little regard for the practice. In this way he appears similar to Austen, as she too seems to disapprove of the policies of the era. As the chapter continues, we begin to see more about the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. He delights in taunting his wife, which we can see from his refusal to visit Mr. Bingley. She does not understand his sarcasm, for example, when Mr. Bennet says “as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party,” Mrs. Bennet believes that he is sincere in his comment, which of course he is not, he is merely playing with her, emphasising her stupidity. It is at this point when we realise that there is little love in their marriage, it was a marriage of convenience, the sort which Mrs. Bennet is attempting to secure for her daughters. This is the first kind of marriage that we are introduced to, and the reader knows that there are more to come, as we already know that it is the central theme of the story. From the almost cruel way that Austen displays Mrs. Bennet, we are shown that she does not believe that marrying for money was the correct thing to do. The character of Mrs. Bennet being so silly is, in effect, a portrayal of how Austen viewed marriages of convenience. Mrs. Bennet is a funny character, and this is how Austen wished the readers to see the idea of marrying without love: as a silly thing to do.
In the first chapter we find out very little about the Bennet girls. Only three are mentioned: Lizzy, Jane and Lydia. Mr. Bennet shows obvious favouritism towards Lizzy when he comments that “Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.” Mrs. Bennet protests, saying that “she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good-humoured as Lydia.” Once again she is showing her shallowness in thinking only about the attributes which will make them easier to get married off.
The other character that is mentioned in this chapter is Mr. Bingley. We are told that he is “a single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year” and that he has just moved into the neighbourhood. Mrs. Bennet has set her sights on one of her daughters marrying him, and Mr. Bennet cannot dissuade her from this. It would appear that Mr. Bingley is the man mentioned in the opening sentence to the book, the man in want of a wife. This is the main part of the chapter that intrigues the reader – the question of which, if any, of the girls will marry Mr. Bingley.
As mentioned before, the opening line of the story signals one of the main themes of the book: marriage. However, from Austen’s use of irony, we can also see that we are going to be shown an alternative to marriage for convenience, as we know that she disagrees, and is therefore likely to try and disprove the statement. This leads us to realising that another of the themes in the story is about the social customs of the time. In the first chapter alone, Austen mentions two practices: that a woman would often marry for money, not love, and that a man must visit a newcomer before the women in the family may.
Most of the text in the first chapter is dialogue, with just a few lines at the beginning and a paragraph at the end that are not. The language that Austen uses when Mrs. Bennet is speaking is dramatic and lively, for example, the line “how can you be so tiresome!” demonstrates her expressiveness in the exclamation she makes. Mr. Bennet’s tone is much more laid-back and also quite patronising towards Mrs. Bennet. This is shown in the line “I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls.” He is also teasing her by saying that he will not comply with the custom of the man visiting a newcomer before his family may. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bennet speak very formally. Today we would find that degree of formality between a married couple odd, but at that time it was quite usual. It is doubtful whether or not Austen considered how formal to make their conversation, as it is unlikely that she would have known much different.
The first chapter is very comical in several ways. Firstly, Austen has made Mr. Bennet very sarcastic, and the ways in which he taunts his wife are quite funny. For example, the line “You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends” has a hint of sarcasm and is very patronising towards his wife. This will amuse the reader, and makes them warm to Mr. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet is funny because she is so dramatic and silly. Her shallowness is also a source of amusement. Although we may not like her, the way she behaves and talks is so ridiculous that we cannot help but find her funny. The use of humour makes the reader want to read on, as it increases enjoyment of the book.
The opening chapter of “Pride and Prejudice” gives the reader an idea of the main themes that are covered in the book, as well as introducing some of the main characters. The mention of Mr. Bingley and of Mrs. Bennet’s plan to wed him to one of her daughters provides sufficient intrigue to make the reader want to continue with the story. I therefore think that the first chapter is extremely successful as an opening to the novel.
