Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice
The Classic Romance of Lizzy Bennet and Mr Darcy
Feb 13, 2008 Elizabeth Gregory
Jane Austen began work on the novel that was to become Pride and Prejudice in 1796, and it is widely known that the original title was to be First Impressions. This is certainly an apt title for a book that was to open with one of the most famous lines in English literature: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife".
The novel was eventually published in January 1813, following the success of Sense and Sensibility, which Austen had published at her own expense in 1811. The novel has never been out of print since, and remains widely read to this day.
The Plot
So why has this particular novel been more popular than Austen’s others? The plot, after all, is not so very different from her other works, dealing as it does with the romantic trials and tribulations of a family of young women. The Bennet family consists of five such women: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine (Kitty) and Lydia, the daughters of the easy-going and humorous Mr Bennet, and his ill-bred wife, whose only aim in life is to see her daughters married.
As is often the case with Austen’s work, this desire for marriage is a matter of financial necessity more than romantic ideals: Mr Bennet is a man of modest income, and as he has no son to be his heir, the estate he does possess will pass on his death to the foolish clergyman Mr Collins. Thus does Austen present to us the instability of the Bennet sisters’ situation: they need to find a husband in order to secure their financial future, while the undeserving Mr Collins may indulge a misguided feeling of being quite a catch.
Several of the Bennet sisters do indeed find husbands over the course of the novel: Jane and Mr Bingley, Lydia and Wickham, and, of course, Lizzy and Mr Darcy.
The Characters
The real reason for the enduring success of this novel must be the memorable characters who populate its pages. Lizzy is a refreshingly unconventional heroine, taking an instant dislike to Mr Darcy and having the courage to turn down proposals from both him and Mr Collins even though she knows both would be to her financial advantage. Darcy himself is proud and aloof, commenting on Lizzy that “she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me” (chapter 3).
Other characters are magnificently foolish: Mrs Bennet and her youngest daughter Lydia; the conceited Mr Collins with his devoted worship of the piggish Lady Catherine. Mr Bennet has a nice line in sarcastic wit, particularly when addressing his wife: “ ‘I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least’” (chapter 1).
The Influence of Pride and Prejudice
Many people know the story of Pride and Prejudice through the Andrew Davies BBC adaptation of 1995, in which Colin Firth as Mr Darcy emerges from a lake with his white shirt rendered see-through by the water. Quite aside from this infamous moment, this adaptation is considered definitive, due to the perfect casting of, amongst others, Jennifer Ehle, Julia Sawalha and Alison Steadman. A recent film version (2005) starring Keira Knightley also did well at the box office, and earned Knightley an Oscar nomination.
Austen’s influence also lives on in the form of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones, whose obsession with her own Mr Darcy has introduced the original novel to a whole new audience.
No wonder, then, that when the BBC commissioned a nationwide survey in 2003 to find the UK’s best loved book, Pride and Prejudice came second, pipped at the post only by the mighty Lord of the Rings.
Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, BBC 1995
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