FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Pride and Prejudice.
By Jane Austen.
Bantam books. 292 pages.

Pride and Prejudice is a fantastic novel written by Jane Austen. This novel is one of the most romantic stories ever written and is still one of the most famous literary works of all time. Pride and Prejudice is set in the small village of Longbourn, England in the 1800s. The main character of the story and second oldest daughter of the Bennet family is Elizabeth Bennet. Throughout the story Austen portrays many examples of pride and prejudice through the main characters, and especially through Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. The theme of this story is shown through the characters, situations, attitudes and social class. The Bennet family is an average English family that consists of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and five unmarried daughters. The oldest being named Jane and also the most beautiful, falls in love from the beginning and has a constant affection for Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth is the second oldest and also is known to be the most wise. The other girls of the family include Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet lead the Bennet family, who evidently love their girls and hope to see them all get married, especially Mrs. Bennet. Pride and Prejudice is the story of these girls finding love, but mainly Elizabeth and her older sister Jane. The two girls face obstacles with their men. The girls attend a ball in their village at which Mr. Darcy refuses to dance with Elizabeth. This causes her to make a hasty judgment about Mr. Darcy and she refuses his proposal later on in the novel.
Elizabeth is the symbol for