Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice, review

An analysis of the theme of love in Pride and Prejudice

The novel by Jane Austen “Pride and Prejudice” is one of her most known literary works, one of the most appreciated by readers so that three films were produced in 1940, 1995 and 2005.
It was published in 1813 and belongs to the novel of manners, a genre of romantic novels.
The plot is set in the rural south east of England in the early 19th century and the narration opens with the moving of Mr. Bingley, a young single man of large fortune, from the north of England. The novel is about four love stories but it can be said that the most important are the former between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, a close friend of Mr. Bingley, and the latter with Jane Bennet.
So, love is the element that drives all the dynamics of the story because at the beginning it manifest itself with a palpable but silent tension between the Bennet sisters and Darcy and Mr. Bingley and then, while the second gentlemen declare freely his love for Jane, the first one is reluctant to admit that he was bowled over Elizabeth.
Later love transform itself in a fight against distance and lack of communication in Jane-Bingley’s story and against social status and family commonness in Elizabeth-Darcy’s story.
In the background two love stories are told: the first one is about Elizabeth’s friend, Charlotte Lucas, who decided to settle for a reasonable but mediocre life with the clergyman William Collins; the second one is about Lydia Bennet who impetuously fall in love and elope with the knight George Wickham.
These two stories are important because allow the other characters to reveal their real selves and show how love can be manifold.
The love story, instead, that never changes but gives origine to all the story is between Mr. Bennet, a placid men who spend most of his time reading in his library, and Mrs. Bennet, a chaotic woman stuck by social conventions who shows her love for her daughters by finding them a good husband.

Some reflections about the characters of Pride and Prejudice

Critics has always been pleasantly surprised by the features of the main characters, that were: Elizabeth, Jane, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley.
Elizabeth, the female protagonist, is an intelligent and brilliant girl, who captured the attention of Mr. Darcy: a rich gentleman, with a contemptuous and proud disposition.
On the other hand, we have Mr. Bingley, that despite his social position, has a friendly personality, that provides him immediate sympathy. He almost fall in love with Jane, firstborn of the Bennet’s family. She is admired for her beauty and esteemed for her sweetness and goodness.
In my opinion, Mrs. Bennet represents the mentality of that century. As a matter of fact the only purpose of her life seems to make her five daughters marry, in order to guarantee them a future. Indeed, it is well known that at that time, having a good marriage was the main achievement of everyone's lives.
On the other hand, readers really felt involved by the Jane Austen’s novel and the way she let them dream about her characters and for this reason they would recommend to read it, in order to get conscious of the 19th century’s mentality about family bonds and find out that both pride and prejudice can be overcome if it’s worth it.