plot f Pride and Prejudice.docVIP

Plot summary The main plot of the novel is driven by a particular situation of the Bennet family: if Mr. Bennet dies soon, his wife and five daughters will be without home or income, as the laws of the day by which he inherited Longbourn prohibit the women from inheriting it. Instead the estate is entailed to one of Mr. Bennets collateral relatives—male only in this case—by the legal terms of fee tail. Mrs Bennet worries about this predicament, and wishes to find husbands for her daughters quickly. The father doesnt seem to be worried at all.The narrative opens with Mr Bingley, a wealthy young gentleman and a very eligible bachelor, renting a country estate near the Bennets called Netherfield. He arrives accompanied by his fashionable sisters and his good friend, Mr Darcy. Attending the local assembly (dance) Bingley is well received in the community, while Darcy begins his acquaintance with smug condescension and proud distaste for all the country locals. After Darcys haughty rejection of her at the dance, Elizabeth resolves to match his coldness and pride, his prejudice against country people, with her own prideful anger—in biting wit and sometimes sarcastic remarks—directed towards him. (Elizabeths disposition leads her into prejudices regarding Darcy and others, such that she is unable to sketch their characters accurately.) Soon, Bingley and Jane begin to grow close. Elizabeths best friend, Charlotte, advises that Jane should show her affection to Bingley more openly, as he may not realize that she is indeed interested in him. Elizabeth flippantly dismisses the opinion—replying that Jane is shy and modest, and that if Bingley cant see how she feels, he is a simpleton—and she doesnt tell Jane of Charlottes warning. Later Elizabeth begins a friendship with Mr Wickham, a militia officer who is of long personal acquaintance with Darcy—they grew up together. Wickham tells her he has been seriously mistreated by the proud man; Elizabeth seizes on this news as further