English Classics: Pride and Prejudice

I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice, a novel by English author Jane Austen published anonymously in 1813—with "By the author of Sense and Sensibility" appearing on the title page where the author's name might have been. The novel was written between October 1796 and August 1797 (when Austen was aged 20–21), following the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist who learns about the repercussions of her hasty judgments, namely prejudice, and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial virtue and genuine moral worth. This was the third of Austen's major works I have read recently, after Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. 

Set in the early 19th-century English countryside, the novel begins with one of the most famous first lines in literature: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Revolving around the spirited Elizabeth Bennet and the proud Mr. Darcy, the work explores the complexities of love, class, and social expectations. Deeply embedded in the historical context of the Regency era, Austen's novel offers a keen insight into social hierarchy, marriage expectations, and gender roles of the time. 

In 2003, the BBC conducted a poll for the "UK's Best-Loved Book" in which Pride and Prejudice came second, behind The Lord of the Rings. In a 2008 survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers, the novel came first in a list of the 101 best books ever written. With its enduring romance, social commentary, and beloved characters, Pride and Prejudice is Austen's most adapted novel, spawning countless films, TV series, and modern retellings. In August 2025, Netflix announced a new six-part limited series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice from Lookout Point—a BBC Studios company, starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden.

Exploring the development of the novel, I learned about some interesting anecdotes. At the beginning, the novel was titled by Austen as First Impressions, signifying the way some characters—Elizabeth Bennet in particular—form their judgments in the novel. Later Austen changed the title to Pride and Prejudice, widely believed to have been inspired by Cecilia, a 1782 novel by English author Frances Burney, which ends with the following passage: “remember: if to pride and prejudice you owe your miseries, so wonderfully is good and evil balanced, that to pride and prejudice you will also owe their termination.”

I also learned about the novel of manners, a literary genre that Pride and Prejudice is one of the earliest and most influential examples. A novel of manners is a work of fiction that re-creates a social world, conveying with detailed observation the complex of customs, values, and mores of a stratified society. The behavioural conventions (manners) of the society dominate the plot of the story, and characters are differentiated by the degree to which they meet or fail to meet the uniform standard of ideal social behaviour, as established by society.

The overall style of Pride and Prejudice is ironic and witty. Austen skillfully crafts a narrative that satirizes the societal norms of the time while portraying the individual growth and romantic entanglements of its characters. In the novel, the narrator frequently makes remarks that may seem to mean one thing but actually mean another. The speeches of various characters also contribute to the ironic style by creating gaps between what is literally being said and what the reader can interpret about the reality of the situation. Characters who lack self-awareness make statements that show they are out of touch with what is happening around them. Among many examples, I particularly love Mr.  Bennet's advice to his daughter: "An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins. And I will never see you again if you do." 

The second daughter in the Bennet family and the most intelligent and quick-witted, Elizabeth is the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice and one of the most well-known female characters in English literature. Her admirable qualities are numerous—she is lovely, clever, and, in a novel defined by dialogue, she converses as brilliantly as anyone. Her honesty, virtue, and lively wit enable her to rise above the nonsense and bad behavior that pervade her class-bound and often spiteful society. However, her sharp tongue and tendency to make hasty judgments often lead her astray; Pride and Prejudice is essentially the story of how she and her true love, Darcy, overcome their own personal failings (his pride and her prejudice), among other obstacles, to find romantic happiness.

The son of a wealthy, well-established family and the master of the great estate of Pemberley, Darcy is Elizabeth’s male counterpart. Though Darcy is intelligent and honest, he too has a tendency to judge too hastily and harshly. In particular, his high birth and wealth make him overly proud and overly conscious of his social status. Over the course of the novel, he tempers his class-consciousness and learns to admire and love Elizabeth for her strong character.

Austen depicts her characters so well in the novel that I actually love all of them, including its antagonists and evil characters. In particular, I was impressed by Mrs. Bennet, the mother of Elizabeth and her four sisters and a foolish, noisy woman whose only goal in life is to see her daughters married. Ironically, given her low breeding and often unbecoming behavior, her single-minded pursuit of this goal tends to backfire; her lack of social graces alienates the very people (Darcy and Bingley) whom she tries desperately to attract. 

I was also amused by Mr. Collins, a pompous and obtuse clergyman who is Mr. Bennet's cousin and stands to inherit Mr. Bennet’s entailed property. Mr. Collins’s own social status is nothing to brag about, but he takes great pains to let everyone know that Lady Catherine de Bourgh serves as his patroness. He is the worst combination of snobbish and obsequious among all characters and is the main vehicle of Austen's satire in the novel.

A rich, bossy noblewoman, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is Mr. Collins’ patron and Darcy’s aunt. Lady Catherine epitomizes class snobbery and does not tolerate anyone trying to breach their rank. She perfectly embodies both pride and prejudice. Her pride is exhibited through the congeniality she affords only to those who sufficiently admire her like Mr. Collins, while her prejudice is demonstrated through her attempt to stop the marriage between her nephew, Mr. Darcy, and Elizabeth, due to the latter’s lower social standing.

While ending this blog post, I still find it surreal to have read Pride and Prejudice, Austen's most adapted masterpiece that I first heard of more than 50 years ago but never dared to attempt. The journey would not have been possible without the free, AI-enabled online resources, including study guides and audiobooks, which really made my endeavors easier and more enjoyable. I look forward to exploring the remaining major works by Austen: Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), and Northanger Abbey (1817).