Pride and Prejudice study guide PDF

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Brief Biography of Jane Austen

Jane Austen was the seventh child of the parish rector in the town of Steventon, where she and her family resided until moving to Bath in 1801. Though her parents were members of the English gentry, they remained relatively poor. Modest to a fault about the value of her work, Jane Austen nevertheless produced some of the enduring masterpieces of English literature, including the novels Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Persuasion. Her novels were published anonymously until after her death, when her authorship became known. While it was not unheard of for women to publish under their own names in Austen's lifetime, it was still a rarity. Despite the fact that her books focus on the intricate rituals of courtship and marriage among the British middle class, Austen herself remained single throughout her life, preferring the life of a writer over that of a wife and hostess.

Historical Context of Pride and Prejudice

Austen's novels are famous for the way they seem to exist in a small, self-contained universe. There are almost no references in her work to the events of the larger world. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Austen's depiction of life in the tranquil English countryside takes place at the same time when England was fighting for its life against the threat of Napoleon, and all of Europe was embroiled in war and political chaos. No mention is ever made of the imminence of a French invasion in her novels. Napoleon was finally defeated by the British at Waterloo in 1815, two years before Austen's death.

Between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, English literature underwent a dramatic transition. The 18th century had seen the rise of the novel in the works of writers like Daniel Defoe (Moll Flanders) and Samuel Richardson (Pamela). These novels focused on broad social issues of morality and domestic manners. With the turn of the century and the rise of Romanticism, however, the novel began to explore human relationships with a greater degree of emotional complexity. Neither a Classicist nor a Romantic, Jane Austen is perhaps best thought of as a pioneering figure in the development of the novel, providing the bridge from the often didactic novels of an earlier era to the great works of psychological realism of the Victorian period by writer such as George Eliot and Thomas Hardy.

Key Facts about Pride and Prejudice

  • Full Title: Pride and Prejudice
  • When Written: 1797-1812
  • Where Written: Bath, Somerset, England
  • When Published: 1813
  • Literary Period: Classicism/Romanticism
  • Genre: Novel of manners
  • Setting: Hertfordshire, London, and Pemberley, all in England at some time during the Napoleonic Wars (1797–1815)
  • Climax: The search for Lydia and Wickham
  • Antagonist: There is no single antagonist. The sins of pride and prejudice function as the main antagonizing force
  • Point of View: Third person omniscient

Extra Credit for Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Silver Screen? Pride and Prejudice was first adapted for movies in a 1940 production starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. It was again filmed in 1995, as a mini-series for A&E Television, featuring Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. The most recent production stars Keira Knightley as Elizabeth and was filmed in 2005.

First Impressions: Austen's initial title for her manuscript was "First Impressions." Though the book was eventually published as Pride and Prejudice, the initial title hints at the story's concern for social appearances and the necessity of finding people's true qualities beneath the surface.

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen that was first published in 1813. Read the full text of the novel and explore an in-depth character analysis of Elizabeth Bennet, a plot summary, and important quotes.

Summary

Read our full plot summary and analysis of Pride and Prejudice, chapter-by-chapter breakdowns, and more.  

Characters

Read a complete list of characters from Pride and Prejudice, and in-depth analyses of Elizabeth Bennet, Mr. Darcy, and more. 

Literary Devices

Here's where you'll find analysis of the literary devices in Pride and Prejudice, from the major themes to motifs, symbols, and more.

Questions & Answers

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Quotes

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  • By Symbol

  • Pemberley

Quick Quizzes

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Essays

Get ready to ace your Pride and Prejudice  paper with our suggested essay topics, helpful essays about historical and literary context, a sample A+ student essay, and more.

Further Study

Go further in your study of Pride and Prejudice with background information, movie adaptations, and links to the best resources around the web.

What are the major themes of the novel Pride and Prejudice?

The main themes in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen are family, wealth, reputation, social class, and of course, pride and prejudice. These themes are shown in the novel through the relationships and interactions between various characters.

What is Mr. Darcy's 1st name?

Darcy's first name is Fitzwilliam, that Elizabeth Bennet can power-walk and trade witticisms with the best of them, and that the novel of manners was Jane Austen's second, after Sense and Sensibility.

What is the theme of Pride and Prejudice PDF?

Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a woman's reputation is of the utmost importance. A woman is expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social norms makes her vulnerable to ostracism.

Is Pride and Prejudice a hard read?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic novel you must read at least once in your life. Despite being 200 years old, the language isn't too dated or hard to read. Austen is very funny with her characters and always gives them satisfying endings.