Pride & Prejudice Book Summary with characters PDF

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PRIDE & PREJUDICE

CHARACTERS:

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Elizabeth Bennet: The second-eldest of the Bennet daughters, she is attractive, witty and intelligent. The course of Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship is ultimately decided when Darcy overcomes his pride, and Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice, leading them both to surrender to their love for each other.

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Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy: Mr Bingley's friend and the wealthy owner of the family estate of Pempberley in Derbyshire While he is handsome, tall, and intelligent. A new visitor to the village, he is ultimately Elizabeth Bennet's love interest.

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Mr Bennet: A logical and reasonable late-middle-aged landed gentleman of a more modest income of £2000 per annum. His affection for his wife wore off early in their marriage and is now reduced to mere toleration. He is often described as 'indolent' in the novel.

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Mrs. Bennet: The middle-aged wife of her social superior, Mr. Bennet, and the mother of their five daughters (Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia). Her main ambition in life is to marry her daughters off to wealthy men. Whether or not any such matches will give her daughters happiness is of little concern to her.

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Jane Bennet: The eldest Bennet sister. She is considered the most beautiful young lady in the neighborhood and is inclined to see only the good in others. She falls in love with Charles Bingley, a rich young gentleman who recently moved to Hertfordshire and a close friend of Mr. Darcy.

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Mary Bennet: The middle Bennet sister, and the plainest of her siblings. Mary has a serious disposition and mostly reads and plays music, although she is often impatient to display her accomplishments.

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Catherine ‘’Kitty’’ Bennet: The fourth Bennet daughter. Though older than Lydia, she is her shadow and follows her in her pursuit of the officers of the militia. She is often portrayed as envious of Lydia and is described as a "silly" young woman

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Lydia Bennet: The youngest Bennet sister. She is frivolous and headstrong. Her main activity in life is socializing, especially flirting with the officers of the militia. This leads to her running off with George Wickham, although he has no intention of marrying her.

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Charles Bingley: A handsome, amiable, wealthy young gentleman. He is contrasted with Mr. Darcy for having more generally pleasing manners, although he is reliant on his more experienced friend for advice.

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Caroline Bingley – The snobbish sister of Charles Bingley, with a fortune of £20,000. Miss Bingley harbors designs upon Mr. Darcy and therefore is jealous of his growing attachment to Elizabeth. She attempts to dissuade Mr. Darcy from liking Elizabeth by ridiculing the Bennet family and criticizing Elizabeth's comportment.

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George Wickham: Has been acquainted with Mr. Darcy since infancy, being the son of Mr. Darcy's father's steward. An officer in the militia, he rapidly forms an attachment with Elizabeth Bennet. He later runs off with Lydia with no intention of marriage, which would have resulted in her and her family's complete disgrace, but for Darcy's intervention to bribe Wickham to marry her by paying off his immediate debts.

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Mr. William Collins: Are Mr. Bennet's distant second cousin, a clergyman, and the current heir presumptive to his estate of Longbourn House.

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Lady Catherine De Bourgh: The overbearing aunt of Mr. Darcy. Lady Catherine is the wealthy owner of Rosings Park, where she resides with her daughter Anne and is fawned upon by her rector, Mr. Collins.

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Mr. Edward Gardiner and Mrs. Gardiner: Edward Gardiner is Mrs. Bennet's brother and a successful tradesman of sensible and gentlemanly character. Aunt Gardiner is genteel and elegant and is close to her nieces Jane and Elizabeth.

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Georgiana Darcy: Georgiana is Mr. Darcy's quiet, amiable and shy younger sister and is aged barely 16 when the story begins.

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Charlotte Lucas: Charlotte is Elizabeth's friend who, at 27 years old, fears becoming a burden to her family and therefore agrees to marry Mr. Collins to gain financial security.

SUMMARY BY CHAPTERS Chapter 1: Mrs. Bennet reveals to her husband that Netherfield Park is let at last to Mr. Bingley, a young single man of large fortune from the north of England. She hopes that he will marry one of her daughters and asks Mr. Bennet to call on him immediately. Teasingly, Mr. Bennet resists suggesting she visit in his stead. She must put in a good word for his Lizzy who is not as silly and ignorant as her other sisters. Mrs. Bennet balks at his abusing his children so claiming he has no compassion for her nerves. He claims the contrary. Her nerves are his old friends these 20 years. He does not know how she suffers. Mr. Bennet was such an odd mixture of sarcastic humor and caprice that his wife did not understand even after 23 years of marriage. Chapter 2: Mr. Bennet visits Mr. Bingley which was his intention from the start but withholds the information from his family. Mrs. Bennet laments their not being able to call on Bingley and that she must be introduced to him at the assemblies by their neighbor Mrs. Long. She proclaims she is sick of Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bennet says he is sorry to hear that because it could have saved him the trouble of a visit to him that very morning. Now they cannot escape the acquaintance. His family is astonished and Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic. She claims the credit in persuading him. She praises his excellence to her daughters. The rest of the evening was spent in the conjecture of when Mr. Bingley would return the visit and when they should ask him to dinner. Chapter 3: Mrs. Bennet and her five daughters learn from their neighbor Lady Lucas that Mr. Bingley was young, wonderfully handsome, agreeable, and attending the next assembly with a large party. “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.” If Mrs. Bennet could see one of her daughters happily settled at Netherfield and all the others equally well married she would have nothing to wish for. Mr. Bingley arrives at Longbourn and is invited to dinner which is declined. He must depart for London to collect his friends for the ball. When his party enters the assembly it consists of his two fashionable sisters, the husband of

the eldest, and another young man Mr. Darcy who drew attention by his noble mien and report of ten thousand a year. His proud, arrogant manners gave way to disgust. Not even his large estate in Derbyshire could save him. On the other hand, Mr. Bingley was lively and amiable, offering to give a ball at Netherfield. In contrast, Mr. Darcy slighted Elizabeth by refusing to be a dance with her. She overhears him telling Bingley that she was only tolerable and not handsome enough to tempt him. Mrs. Bennet is the first to openly detest him. Chapter 4: Jane shares with Elizabeth that she greatly admires Mr. Bingley. He is just what a young man ought to be, sensible, good-humored, lively, happy manners, and perfect good-breeding. Jane was surprised by Bingley asking her to dance twice. Elizabeth was not surprised. “Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never.” Elizabeth thinks Jane is too apt, never finding fault and being honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others. The Bingley sisters were agreeable when they chose to be, well educated with a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, not proud it was acquired by trade. Bingley and Darcy are steady friends despite their differences in character. Bingley relied on his judgment. Darcy was clever, “haughty, reserved and fastidious, and his manners, though well-bred, were not inviting.” Bingley saw everyone at the Meryton assembly as pleasant and attentive and the girls pretty. Darcy saw the opposite and had no interest in them. He acknowledged Miss Bennet to be pretty but smiled too much. Bingley’s sisters agreed and pronounced Jane a sweet girl. This gave Bingley the authority to think of her as he chose. Chapter 5: Sir William Lucas was Bennet’s neighbor who had earned a tolerable fortune in trade. In recognition, he had been raised to a knighthood. Their eldest daughter Charlotte was Elizabeth’s particular friend. At age 27 she was considered a spinster. Elizabeth and Charlotte discuss the ball. Bingley was overheard to say that Jane was beyond a doubt the prettiest woman in the room. She commiserates with Lizzy on being only tolerable in Darcy’s eyes. Mrs. Bennet does not want Lizzy to be vexed by him because he is a most disagreeable man. He is eaten up with pride. She warns Lizzy not to dance with him. “I believe, ma’am, I may safely promise you never to dance with him.” Charlotte is not offended by his pride and says because of his family and fortune he has a right to it. Elizabeth retorts “I could easily forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine.” Mary Bennet believes pride is a common failing, but vanity and pride are different though the words are interchangeable. “A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” Chapter 6: The ladies of Longbourn visit Netherfield. The Bingley sisters thought Jane’s manners pleasing, her mother intolerable, and the younger sisters not worth speaking to. Elizabeth saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody. She felt that Jane was yielding to a preference to Bingley though she guarded it against the suspicions of the impertinent. Charlotte felt it a disadvantage to be guarded. “In nine cases out of ten a woman had better show more affection than she feels.” Bingley likes Jane, but he may never do more if she does not help him. “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least…it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.” Preoccupied with her sister, Elizabeth did not notice that she had become the object of Mr. Darcy’s observations. Previously, he had only looked at her critically, now he found her attractive and manner playful. She is unaware. She

notices him joining in her conversations and is puzzled. He has a very satirical eye and if she does not begin by being impertinent she will grow afraid of him. Mr. Darcy passes the evening in silent indignation until Sir William Lucas asks him to dance with Elizabeth. Elizabeth claims no inclination to dance. “Mr. Darcy is all politeness.” She leaves. Mr. Darcy reveals, to Caroline Bingley’s astonishment, that Elizabeth Bennet has fine eyes and a pretty face. She wishes him joy. He expected this reaction. “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.” Sarcastically she reminds him that he will have a charming mother-in-law always visiting at Pemberley. Chapter 7: Longbourn estate earns two thousand a year but was unfortunately entailed by default to the male heir, Mr. Collins a distant cousin. Catherine and Lydia learn from their aunt Mrs. Phillips that a militia regiment has arrived in the neighborhood for the winter. Now they could talk of nothing but officers. Miss Bennet departs on horseback to dine at Netherfield even though it looks like rain. The next morning they learn that Jane is ill. Mr. Bennet chides his wife that she is responsible. Mrs. Bennet does not believe that anyone can die of a little trifling cold. Elizabeth decides to visit Jane and travels on foot. “The distance is nothing when one has a motive; only three miles.” Elizabeth arrives “finding herself with weary ankles, dirty stockings and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise.” Elizabeth feels the Bingley sisters look down on her for it. Mr. Darcy said very little but admired the brilliancy of her complexion from the exercise. Jane is delighted to see her sister even though she has a violent cold. At three, Elizabeth felt she must leave for home but is convinced to stay by Jane and Miss Bingley’s offer. Chapter 8: Elizabeth and Jane returned to Longbour. Lydia suggested walking to Meryton, Elisabeth didn't want to (because she didn't want to meet Wickham). When Elisabeth and Jane were alone, Jane told him about her meeting with Darcy and the letter that she had received that morning. Jane was shocked to learn of Darcy's marriage proposal. She, too, was surprised by the news from Wickham. Elisabeth says that she felt unhappy with him. Lydia was happy when she received an invitation from Mrs. Forster (wife of the colonel of the regiment) to go to Brighton. Before Elisabeth traveled, she received a letter from her aunt (Mrs. Gardiner) to go to Derbyshire and meet friends of hers who lived in Lambton. Elisabeth when she thought of Derbyshire, she thought of Pemberley and Darcy. Her aunt told her that Wickham grew up there. The houses there were very large and their gardens too. Elisabeth asked a servant if Darcy was there, and he told her no. Afterward, Darcy was there. He asked her about his family and Elisabeth introduced him to her friends (Mr.Gardiner). The next morning, Darcy and his sister were in a carriage, and Elisabeth talked to his sister. Darcy invited them to lunch at Pemberley. Elisabeth y Jane regresaron a Longbour. Lydia sugirió caminar hasta Meryton, Elisabeth no quiso (porque no quería encontrarse con Wickham). Cuando Elisabeth y Jane estaban solas, Jane le contó su reunión con Darcy y la carta que le había llegado por la mañana. Jane se sorprendió al enterarse de la propuesta de matrimonio de Darcy. También le sorprendió las noticias de Wickham. Elisabeth dice que con él se sentía infeliz. Lydia se puso feliz cuando recibió la invitación de la señora Forster (esposa del coronel del regimiento) para ir a Brighton. Antes de viajar Elisabeth, recibió una carta de su tía (Sra.Gardiner) para ir a Derbyshire y conociese a amigos suyos que vivían en Lambton. Elisabeth cuando pensaba en Derbyshire, pensaba en Pemberley y Darcy. Su tía le dijo que allí creció Wickham. Las casas de allí eran muy grandes y sus jardines también. Elisabeth le

preguntó a un sirviente si estaba Darcy, y le dijo que no. Después, Darcy estaba allí. Él le preguntó sobre su familia y Elisabeth le presentó a él sus amigos (Sr.Gardiner). A la mañana siguiente, Darcy y su hermana estaban en un carruaje y Elisabeth habló con la hermana de él. Darcy les invitó a almorzar en Pemberley. Chapter 9-10: The next day, Mrs. Bennet arrives with Lydia and Catherine to visit Jane. To Elizabeth’s dismay, Mrs. Bennet spends much of her visit trying to convince Bingley to remain at Netherfield. During her stay, Mrs. Bennet makes a general fool of herself, first by comparing country life to the city and then by prattling on about Jane’s beauty. Near the end of the visit, fifteen-year-old Lydia asks Bingley whether he will hold a ball at Netherfield Park. He replies that he must wait until Jane is fully recovered to hold a ball. In the evening, Elizabeth observes Miss Bingley piling compliments upon Darcy as he writes to his sister. The conversation turns to Bingley’s style of letter writing and then to Bingley’s impetuous behavior, which entangles Elizabeth and Darcy in an argument over the virtues of accepting the advice of friends. Afterward, Miss Bingley plays “a lively Scotch air” on the pianoforte, and Elizabeth again refuses to dance with Darcy. Her refusal only increases his admiration, and he considers that “were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.” Miss Bingley, observing his attraction, becomes jealous and spends the following day making fun of Elizabeth’s family, inviting Darcy to imagine them connected to his proud and respectable line. That night, Miss Bingley begins reading in imitation of Darcy—a further attempt to impress him. She chooses her book merely because it is the second volume of the one that Darcy is reading. Of course, being uninterested in literature, she is quickly bored and says loudly, “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!—When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.’’ Chapter 11: Miss Bingley spends the following night in a similar fashion, trying to attract Darcy’s attention: first by reading, then by criticizing the foolishness of balls, and finally by walking about the room. Only when she asks Elizabeth to walk with her, however, does Darcy look up, and then the two women discuss the possibility of finding something to ridicule in his character. He states that his only fault is resentment—“my good opinion once lost is lost forever.” Elizabeth replies that it is hard to laugh at a “propensity to hate everybody,” and Miss Bingley, observing Elizabeth’s monopolization of Darcy’s attention once again, insists on music. The next morning, Elizabeth writes to her mother to say that she and Jane are ready to return home. Mrs. Bennet wishes Jane to stay longer with Bingley, and she refuses to send the carriage. Elizabeth, anxious to be away, insists on borrowing Bingley’s carriage and she and her sister leave Netherfield Park. Darcy is glad to see them go, as Elizabeth attracts him “more than he liked,” considering her unsuitability as a prospect for matrimony....