Pride and Prejedice character essays

Pride and Prejedice character essays In Jane Austin's novel, Pride and Prejudice, the character portrayed by Mr Darcy embodies many of the values, personality traits, manners, and attitudes that were considered admirable in the period in which novel was set. Initially, his character is decided as proud with a cold demeanour and had he not been rich, hardly worth being acquainted with. Elizabeth's re evaluation of his character later on in the novel, reveals the generosity, respect and dignity that the reader comes to know of Mr Darcy. By comparing Mr Darcy with a comic character such as Mr Collins the reader develops an awareness of the admirable qualities possessed by a man in the eighteenth century. Mr Collins is a self important, tiresome character in whom the reader feels no pity. His absurd attitudes towards love and life can not be likened to our own. Mr Darcy's cold manner is evident from the first dance where his strong face of pride disguises his character. His determination to be distant and unreproachable lost the good opinion of the Bennets when he considered it beneath himself to dance. "...at such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable...I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men." (p59) He was prejudice in his views of Elizabeth, as he believed it would be against his morals to be intimately acquainted with a woman of her status and low connections. He tries to shut out any possible feeling for her. "To this discovery came succeeded some others equally mortifying... he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing... her manners were not of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness." (p70) The use of the words 'mortifying', 'forced' and 'caught' confirms to the reader that his positive comments were from his heart although h is reason and pride rejected the ideas. Through Jane Austin's use of direct and indirect ...