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Review For Pride & Prejudice CHAPTER 1 The Meryton ball ‘Mr Bennet, have you heard the news?’ Mrs Bennet said The language of one day. ‘A young man with a large fortune is coming to q live at Netherfield Park!’ Jane Austen’s time ‘What is his name and is he married or single?’ asked Mr Bennet. Pride and Prejudice was written in 1813. The ‘His name is Bingley and he is single, my dear! What a English that people spoke at that time was a little fine thing forOnly our girls!’ different from modern English. Here are some of the ‘Why is that, my dear?’ differences that you will find when you readPride and ‘Oh, Mr Bennet, you are so difficult! Of course he must Prejudice. marry one of them. You must go and visit him as soon as Jane Austen’s language modern English he arrives.’ did not, are not, etc. didn’t, aren’t, etc. ‘I will tell him he may marry any of our five daughters, I wish to ... I want to ... but I will suggest Lizzy.’ to admire to like or to fancy ‘You will not! Lizzy is no better than the others. She a handsome woman a beautiful woman is not as pretty as Jane and not as much fun as Lydia,’ shall will replied Mrs Bennet crossly. Elizabeth was quick and clever, but Mrs Bennet was not, and she admired Jane and People did not use first names, except with their Lydia more. families. So Mr Darcy calls Elizabeth Miss Elizabeth *** or Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Even husbands and wives Mr Bennet was one of the first of Mr Bingley’s new often called each other as Mrs Bennet and Mr Bennet!Review neighbours to visit him. But Mr Bennet loved to laugh at his wife and did not tell her until after his visit. That evening, the family were in the sitting room. Lizzy was putting some flowers on a hat. ‘I hope Mr Bingley will like your hat, Lizzy,’ said Mr Bennet. For ‘How do we know what Mr Bingley will like?’ cried Mrs Bennet. ‘We are not going to visit him.’

q  ‘When is the next ball, Lizzy?’ continued Mr Bennet. Mr Bingley danced every dance and was charming. He ‘In a fortnight, in Meryton,’ said Elizabeth. was very friendly to Jane, the oldest of the Bennet girls, ‘Yes,’ said Mrs Bennet crossly, ‘and our girls will not and danced with her twice. Mr Darcy danced once with be able to dance with Mr Bingley because you have not each of Bingley’s sisters and refused to speak to any other visited him! Oh, I am sick of hearing about Mr Bingley.’ lady in the room. Nobody liked him and they all hoped he ‘I am sorry to hear that, my dear,’ said Mr Bennet. would never come again. Mrs Bennet disliked him most of ‘Because I wanted to tell you about my visit to him this all, because he did not dance with any of her daughters. morning.’ Elizabeth did not join two of the dances because there The effect was just as Mr Bennet had hoped. The ladies were not enough gentlemen. She heard some of the all called out questions at once. conversation between Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy. ‘Oh girls, what an excellent father you have!’ said Mrs ‘Come, Darcy, you must dance. Do not stand by Bennet, when she was calmer. yourself.’ Only ‘I shall not dance. I hate dancing. I have danced with *** your sisters and I will not dance with any other woman in The Meryton ball had already started when Mr Bingley the room.’ arrived with his two sisters and another young man. Mr Bingley was good-looking and had perfect manners. His friend Mr Darcy was tall and handsome. News quickly went round the ballroom that Mr Darcy had a large fortune and everyone admired him at once. They soon discovered that he was proud, however, and then he was not so popular. Review

‘I have never met so many nice girls in my life. Some of them are very pretty.’ ‘You are dancing with the only pretty girl here,’ said Mr Darcy, looking at Jane. For ‘She is the most beautiful girl I ever saw,’ said Mr Bingley. ‘But one of her sisters is very pretty too. She is

  sitting just behind us.’ CHAPTER 2 Mr Darcy looked round at Elizabeth. ‘She is not pretty Dinners and dances enough to interest me,’ he said coldly. ‘Return to your partner and enjoy her smiles. Do not worry about me.’ The Bennets and the Bingleys met several times over the next fortnight, at dinners given by their neighbours. *** Mr Bingley clearly admired Jane. Elizabeth knew that Jane also admired Mr Bingley. The rest of the world did not know, however, because Jane hid her feelings. She was always kind and charming to everyone. Elizabeth discussed this with her friend Charlotte Lucas. ‘If she hides her feelings too well,’ said Charlotte, ‘Bingley may lose interest. They do not see each other Only often. Jane should make the most of every half hour she has with him. When they are engaged, she will have plenty of time to fall in love.’ ‘Your plan would be good,’ said Elizabeth, ‘if you only wanted to get a rich husband. But that is not Jane’s way. Later that evening, Jane told Elizabeth that she liked Mr She has only known him a fortnight.’ Bingley very much. ‘A fortnight is as good as a year when you are choosing ‘I was very surprised when he asked me for a second a husband. Happiness in marriage happens by chance. dance,’ she said. The less you know about them, the better.’ ‘Were you?’ repliedReview Elizabeth. ‘Nobody else in the room ‘You make me laugh, Charlotte! You know you would was surprised. You were five times prettier than any other never act this way.’ woman there. Well, he is very charming and I will allow *** you to like him. What about his sisters, though? They are Elizabeth watched Jane and Bingley. She did not realise certainlyFor very fine and good-looking, but their manners that someone was also watching her. Mr Darcy had not are not so good. Meryton did not seem good enough for admired Elizabeth at the Meryton ball, but he now began them.’ to change his mind. Her beautiful dark eyes made her face ‘Caroline Bingley was very nice to me,’ replied Jane. look very intelligent. He liked her warm character and ‘She is coming to live at Netherfield with her brother.’ her natural manners. Elizabeth had no idea of his feelings. ‘Dear Jane, you never see a fault in anybody,’ Elizabeth She only knew that she was not pretty enough for him to smiled. dance with.

10 11 FACT FILES

“A young man with a large fortune is coming to live at Netherfield Park! His name is Bingley and he is single! Love Marriage What a fine thing for our girls!’’ & in Regency* England Pride and Prejudice is a book about marriage. Mrs Bennet‘s main goal in life is to have five married daughters. But why was marriage so * The Regency period important to women is the time between 1811 and 1820. King at that time? Only George III’s son, the Money Prince Regent, ruled at In Jane Austen’s time, money was that time. extremely important. Young ladies, like Make the Bennet sisters, did not work or have a list of the their own money. They had to stay with characters in Pride and their families until they got married. This Prejudice who are married. put a lot of pressure on women to accept What kind of marriages do proposals of marriage, especially from they have, do you think? rich men. Are they happy? Elizabeth’s friend, Charlotte Lucas, is neither pretty nor rich. At 27 years old, Being respectable Finding a husband she is also getting too old to be single. In Regency England, respectable unmarried How did young men and women meet and Even when a couple were engaged, they She accepts Mr Collins’s proposal, women did not spend time alone with become engaged in Jane Austen’s time? couldn’t spend lots of time alone together. because she wants a home and a men. When Lydia Dances were very important. Men could Engagements were short. Often when husband. Her own romantic feelings have Review people got married, they didn’t really runs away with show interest in a woman by dancing with nothing to do with her choice. Wickham, it is her several times at a ball. know their husband or wife at all. Lots of The Bennet family and their friends are one of the worst Men and women could also visit each marriages in the 18th and 19th centuries not rich, like Mr Darcy and the Bingleys. things to happen other. The girl’s mother, or a married were very unhappy for this reason. Mr Bennet’s estate will go to Mr Collins to the Bennet female relative, would always be at when he dies, as there are no sons. family. Usually this any meeting. Young women could also What do these words mean? With no real money or property, the would mean that no respectable gentlemen invite each other to their homes. In this You can use a dictionary. Bennet sisters have to depend on their wouldFor want to marry any of the other way, Jane spends time with Bingley at pressure especially property charm good looks and natural charm to find a sisters. Luckily, Mr Darcy’s money and love Netherfield at the start of Pride and respectable period husband – and a place to live. for Elizabeth save the family’s good name. Prejudice. 80 81 Only

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