Pride and Prejudice Flashcards
Author
(Pride and Prejudice)
Jane Austen
Elizabeth Bennet
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> Main character, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, intelligent and sensible, well read and quick-witted, with a sharp tongue, Her realization of Darcy’s essential goodness eventually triumphs over her initial prejudice against him.
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Fitzwilliam Darcy
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> A wealthy gentleman, the master of Pemberley, nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, intelligent and honest, his excess of pride causes him to look down on his social inferiors. Over the course of the novel, he tempers his class-consciousness and learns to admire and love Elizabeth for her strong character.
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Jane Bennet
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> The eldest and most beautiful Bennet sister, more reserved and gentler than Elizabeth, The easy pleasantness with which she and Bingley interact contrasts starkly with the mutual distaste that marks the encounters between Elizabeth and Darcy.
Flat?
Charles Bingley
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> Darcy’s considerably wealthy best friend, Bingley’s purchase of Netherfield, an estate near the Bennets, serves as the impetus for the novel. He is a genial, well-intentioned gentleman, whose easygoing nature contrasts with Darcy’s initially discourteous demeanor. He is blissfully uncaring about class differences.
Flat?
Mr. Bennet
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> The patriarch of the Bennet family, a gentleman of modest income with five unmarried daughters, has a sarcastic, cynical sense of humor that he uses to purposefully irritate his wife. Though he loves his daughters (Elizabeth in particular), he often fails as a parent, preferring to withdraw from the never-ending marriage concerns of the women around him rather than offer help.
Flat
Mrs. Bennet
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> Mr. Bennet’s wife, a foolish, noisy woman whose only goal in life is to see her daughters married. Because of her low breeding and often unbecoming behavior, Mrs. Bennet often repels the very suitors whom she tries to attract for her daughters.
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Lydia Bennet
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> The youngest Bennet sister, she is gossipy, immature, and self-involved. Unlike Elizabeth, Lydia flings herself headlong into romance and ends up running off with Wickham.
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Charlotte Lucas
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> Elizabeth’s dear friend. Pragmatic where Elizabeth is romantic, and also six years older than Elizabeth, Charlotte does not view love as the most vital component of a marriage. She is more interested in having a comfortable home. Thus, when Mr. Collins proposes, she accepts.
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George Wickham
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> A handsome, fortune-hunting militaire officer. Wickham’s good looks and charm attract Elizabeth initially, but Darcy’s revelation about Wickham’s disreputable past clues her in to his true nature and simultaneously draws her closer to Darcy.
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Mr. Collins
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> A pompous, generally idiotic clergyman who stands to inherit Mr. Bennet’s property. Mr. Collins’s own social status is nothing to brag about, but he takes great pains to let everyone and anyone know that Lady Catherine de Bourgh serves as his patroness. He is the worst combination of snobbish and obsequious.
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Miss Bingley
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> Bingley’s snobbish sister. Miss Bingley bears inordinate disdain for Elizabeth’s middle-class background. Her vain attempts to garner Darcy’s attention cause Darcy to admire Elizabeth’s self-possessed character even more.
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Lady Catherine de Bourgh
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> A rich, bossy noblewoman; Mr. Collins’s patron and Darcy’s aunt. Lady Catherine epitomizes class snobbery, especially in her attempts to order the middle-class Elizabeth away from her well-bred nephew.
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Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> Mrs. Bennet’s brother and his wife. The Gardiners, caring, nurturing, and full of common sense, often prove to be better parents to the Bennet daughters than Mr. Bennet and his wife.
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Georgiana Darcy
(Pride and Prejudice)
=> Darcy’s sister. She is immensely pretty and just as shy. She has great skill at playing the pianoforte
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