Austen, Jane- Opening of "Pride and Prejudice"

Austen - The opening of "Pride and Prejudice"

In the opening of the novel, Mrs. Bennet tells her husband that a young man, who is quite rich to be interesting, is going to move to the small town they live in. she thinks he is the perfect would-be husband for one of their five daughters. Mrs. Bennet believes that Mr. Bennet should pay a visit to the newcomer in order to understand whether he may be suitable for one of their daughters. But in Mr. Bennet opinion, Mrs. Bennet and the girls should go; he says that Mr. Bingley would be glad to meet them. He adds he will send Mr. Bingley a short note to grant him he’s allowed to marry any of his daughters, for example Lizzy. Mrs. Bennet says Lizzy is not better than her sisters, Mr. Bennet declares they’re all silly and ignorant. Realizing that her husband is teasing her, Mrs. Bennet gets more and more angry. In the final part of the extract the reader is given a precise description of the two characters. They both have their flaws and weaknesses: Mr. Bennet has a complex personality which is a mixture of liveliness, sarcastic humor, self-control and unpredictability; Mrs. Bennet is an ignorant, ambitious and very simple women. From the very beginning of the novel, its main themes are apparent: the problem of finding rich men for single daughters, sense of respectability, the importance of social status.