Pride & Prejudice Notes: 1 – 6
Ch. 1
1 - “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
irony, hyperbole, sets the tone
2 – Mr. Bennet’s sarcasm about his dear friends Mrs. Bennet’s nerves
Ch. 2
4 – Mr. Bennet’s character: coping strategy to laugh at the follies of the world (and his family)
playfully tricks his wife and daughters
Ch. 3
5 – why is Mrs. Bennet so obsessive about marrying her daughters off? A real duty . . . 5 daughters and the property entailed (no money to support unmarried daughters once Mr. Bennet dies)
The Ball
7 – Mr. Bingley: kind and appreciative “I never met with so many pleasant girl in my life” not blinded by high society snobbery
Darcy’s arrogance “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.” Harsh!
E’s surprisingly carefree response “Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feeling towards him. She told the story however with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively. Playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous.” 7
Ch. 4
Jane sees the good in everyone, even Mr. Bingley’s stuck up sisters “But to be candid without ostentation or design—to take the good of everybody’s character and make it still better . . . belongs to you alone. And so, you like this man’s sisters too, do you? Their manners are not equal to his.”
10 “their brother’s fortune and their own had been acquired by trade”—newly of the gentleman’s class
friendship of Darcy and Bingley
Ch. 5
Eliza promises Charlotte to never dance with Darcy. He may have a right to be proud, but “‘That is very true,’ replied Elizabeth, ‘and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.’” She acknowledges her own pride and weakness just as she despises his—sophisticated
12—Mary’s empty words of book knowledge without any meaning “Pride is a very common failing I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced . . .”
Ch. 6
13- Charlotte on marriage—cynical and practical
thinks Jane is too guarded “If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him”
14 – “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other . . . it does not advance their felicity in the least . . . it is better to know as little as possible of the defect of the person with whom you are to pass your life.” True?
15 “he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. . . her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness.”
E is feisty “Did you not think, Mr. Darcy, that I expressed myself uncommonly well just now, when I was teasing Colonel Forster to give us a ball at Meryton?” 15
16 – Darcy still taciturn and indignant “Every savage can dance.”
17 - "I can guess the subject of your reverie. You are considering how insupportable it would be to pass many evenings in this manner . . . The insipidity and yet the noise; the nothingness and yet the self-importance of all these people! What I would give to hear your strictures on them."
5. What does Austen mean by manners? Why does she emphasize them so much? Do you think manners matter (even today)? Who has good manners in the novel and who does not?