1. Construct a Web site that could be used as a resource for other students reading Pride and Prejudice. The site could include a page about major themes in the book, a page about Jane Austen, and a page about the Regency period. 2. Write some journal entries from the […]
Read more Study Help Practice ProjectsStudy Help Essay Questions
1. Examine Austen’s use of irony throughout the novel. Give examples of structural irony as well as irony within the narrator’s descriptions and characters’ dialogue. 2. Explore the developing relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. How do they misunderstand each other, and when do they reach accord? 3. Why do […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for Pride and Prejudice
abatement a lessening or reduction. abhorrence an abhorring; loathing; detestation. abhorrent causing disgust or hatred; detestable. ablution a washing of the body. abominate to feel hatred and disgust for; loathe. acceded gave assent; gave in; agreed. acquiesce to agree or consent quietly without protest, but without enthusiasm. acquiescence agreement or […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for Pride and PrejudiceCritical Essays Money in Pride and Prejudice
Money plays a central role to the plot of Pride and Prejudice. Because of the entail, the Bennet women will have a bleak financial future after Mr. Bennet dies. When readers recognize this, Mrs. Bennet’s pursuit of husbands for her daughters takes on a sense of urgency that supersedes her […]
Read more Critical Essays Money in Pride and PrejudiceCritical Essays Women’s Roles in Early Nineteenth-Century Britain
The importance of marriage in the lives of Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters may be difficult for modern readers to understand. Young women today have a variety of options open to them regarding their future — they can marry, of course, but they can also go to college, follow any […]
Read more Critical Essays Women’s Roles in Early Nineteenth-Century BritainJane Austen Biography
Personal Background Jane Austen’s life resembles her novels — at first glance they seem to be composed of a series of quiet, unexceptional events. Such an impression is supported by the comment of her brother, Henry, who wrote after her death that her life was “not by any means a […]
Read more Jane Austen BiographyCharacter Analysis Charlotte Lucas (later Collins)
Although Charlotte’s marriage of convenience to Mr. Collins is criticized by Elizabeth, her situation and marriage is much more realistic than is Elizabeth’s for nineteenth-century Britain. Elizabeth’s story is a work of romantic fiction, but Charlotte’s is a mirror of reality. Even though Elizabeth cannot understand Charlotte’s reasons for marrying […]
Read more Character Analysis Charlotte Lucas (later Collins)Character Analysis George Wickham
A charming and well-spoken young man, Wickham uses his charisma to insinuate himself into the lives of others. His behavior throughout the novel shows him to be a gambler who has no scruples about running up his debts and then running away. His mercenary nature regarding women is first noted […]
Read more Character Analysis George WickhamCharacter Analysis Lydia Bennet
Emotional and immature, Lydia is the Bennet daughter who most takes after her mother. Lydia’s misbehavior stems from a lack of parental supervision on the parts of both her mother and father. Her marriage to Wickham represents a relationship that is based on physical gratification. Lydia does not think, she […]
Read more Character Analysis Lydia BennetCharacter Analysis Mrs. Bennet
Silly, emotional, and irrational, Mrs. Bennet’s behavior does more to harm her daughters’ chances at finding husbands than it does to help. She encourages Kitty and Lydia’s bad behavior and her attempts to push Elizabeth into an unwanted marriage with Mr. Collins show her to be insensible of her children’s […]
Read more Character Analysis Mrs. Bennet