Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice was originally written between 1796 and 1797 under the name of "First Impressions" but was never published under that title. Following revisions it was published on the 28th January 1813 by Mr. Egerton of the military Library. The book is set in the late 18th century in Hertfordshire and focuses on a wealthy land owning family called the Bennett's. The Bennett's only have daughters which means eventually when Mr. Bennett dies his estate will be left to a cousin Mr. Collins. This leaves the garrulous Mrs. Bennett constantly searching for rich husbands to marry her daughters.
Although the novel is written in 3rd person, Austen only depicts scenes in which the second oldest daughter Elizabeth is present. The content of the novel is the story of Elizabeth, of how she and Darcy arrive at a nuptial happiness by a long tiresome route. However along Elizabeth's journey Austen never mentions sex and the closest we get to this is the discovery of the daughter Charlotte's pregnancy. The story that Austen has written focuses on Darcy's wooing and winning of Elizabeth but does not pay any close attention to the subsequent happiness and serenity of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. Darcy's wooing of Elizabeth is through a mixture of persistence and intellectual conversation. Darcy is impressed by the way Elizabeth speaks freely and intelligently which shows him she is an independent woman. To win the love of such a woman Darcy believes it to be worthwhile. He hopes she will love him for himself as she is not desperate to achieve great wealth or social status through marriage.
Pride and Prejudice was originally written between 1796 and 1797 under the name of "First Impressions" but was never published under that title. Following revisions it was published on the 28th January 1813 by Mr. Egerton of the military Library. The book is set in the late 18th century in Hertfordshire and focuses on a wealthy land owning family called the Bennett's. The Bennett's only have daughters which means eventually when Mr. Bennett dies his estate will be left to a cousin Mr. Collins. This leaves the garrulous Mrs. Bennett constantly searching for rich husbands to marry her daughters.
Although the novel is written in 3rd person, Austen only depicts scenes in which the second oldest daughter Elizabeth is present. The content of the novel is the story of Elizabeth, of how she and Darcy arrive at a nuptial happiness by a long tiresome route. However along Elizabeth's journey Austen never mentions sex and the closest we get to this is the discovery of the daughter Charlotte's pregnancy. The story that Austen has written focuses on Darcy's wooing and winning of Elizabeth but does not pay any close attention to the subsequent happiness and serenity of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. Darcy's wooing of Elizabeth is through a mixture of persistence and intellectual conversation. Darcy is impressed by the way Elizabeth speaks freely and intelligently which shows him she is an independent woman. To win the love of such a woman Darcy believes it to be worthwhile. He hopes she will love him for himself as she is not desperate to achieve great wealth or social status through marriage.
