Appendix 1

SHORT SUMMARY (Synopsis)

Pride and Prejudice is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five

unmarried daughters. They live in the estate of Longbourn in Hertfordshire, a

rural district about thirty miles from London. The family is not rich. Their

property is ‘entailed’ to pass to the nearest male heir in the family, in this case to

Mr. Collins. The main concern of Mrs. Bennet’s life is to see that all her daughters

are married, preferably to men with large fortunes. She sees an opportunity for her

eldest daughter Jane when Mr. Charles Bingley, a wealthy gentlemen from the

city, occupies the nearby estate of Netherfield Park. In her excitement, she urges

her husband to visit Mr. Bingley on the very first day of his arrival, before any of

the other neighbors. Mr. Bennet complies to his wife’s request and visits Mr.

Bingley, but withholds information about his visit from the family.

At the next social gathering in Meryton, Bingley brings along his two

sisters, Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst. But more importantly, he brings his

closest friend, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Bingley, who is charming and social, is

immediately attracted to the modest and gentle Jane Bennet. Darcy, in contrast to

Bingley, is proud, rude, and disagreeable. When Bingley suggests that Darcy

dance with Elizabeth Bennet, he refuses and negatively comments on her looks.

Elizabeth overhears the comment and develops a strong prejudice against Darcy.
At the next ball in Netherfield, Darcy feels an attraction for Elizabeth and asks her

for a dance. She refuses to dance with him, thereby avenging the earlier insults.

Jane and Bingley continue to be attracted to one another. Caroline Bingley

invites Jane to Netherfield for a visit. While at Netherfield, Jane falls ill and

Elizabeth comes to look after her sister. While at Netherfield, Elizabeth is forced

to confront Darcy. She approaches him with wit and sarcasm. Since Darcy has

known only flattery from others, he is charmed by Elizabeth’s frankness. During

her short stay at Netherfield, Elizabeth realizes Caroline is very contemptuous of

her family, its social status, and Mrs. Bennet’s vulgarity. Elizabeth concludes that

Caroline’s friendship and cordiality towards Jane is only a pretense.

The male relative to whom the Longbourn estate is ‘entailed’ is Rev.

William Collins of Hunsfort. Mr. Collins pays a visit to Longbourn with the

intention of proposing marriage to one of the Bennet daughters. His pompous

manners and his bloated rhetoric disgust everyone, except Mrs. Bennet, who looks

upon him as a prospective son-in-law. Collins is attracted to Jane, but Mrs. Bennet

informs him that she is about to be engaged. He then turns his attention to

Elizabeth and makes a ridiculous proposal of marriage to her. When Elizabeth

rejects him, he proposes to her friend Charlotte Lucas, who, to everyone’s shock,

accepts him. Mrs. Bennet is distressed by Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Collins

because it is the one opportunity she has of keeping the Longbourn estate in the

family.
 Bingley and his companions soon depart for London. Both Bingley and

Caroline write to Jane to say that they have closed Netherfield and have no plans

of returning to it in the near future. Jane is very disappointed. As Jane feels

frustration over Bingley, Elizabeth finds a new attraction. She meets Mr.

Wickham and is foolishly and magnetically drawn to him. They have a friendly

conversation in which she reveals her dislike of Darcy. Taking advantage of this

information, Wickham concocts a story and tells Elizabeth that he has been

cheated by Darcy. Elizabeth takes pity on him and almost falls in love. Mrs.

Gardiner, however, warns Elizabeth about Wickham, who soon marries Miss

King.

At the invitation of the Gardiners, Jane goes to London for some rest and

change of air. She hopes that she sees Bingley, even accidentally. Jane makes

many attempts to get in touch with him, but Caroline does not even inform her

brother about Jane’s presence in London. Jane is heart broken, but grows to accept

her rejection.

Elizabeth goes to Hunsford to visit Mr. Collins and his new wife Charlotte,

who is Elizabeth’s dear friend. During Elizabeth’s stay in Hunsford, Darcy

happens to visit his aunt, who also lives there, and attempts to build a relationship

with Elizabeth. To her surprise, Darcy proposes marriage to her in a language so

arrogant that Elizabeth turns him down indignantly. She asks him how he dares to

propose to her after separating Jane and Bingley, who were in love with each

other, and after victimizing Wickham. She ends her tirade by saying that she
would not marry him even if he were the last man on the earth. Darcy is upset and

leaves in a huff. The next morning he meets Elizabeth when she goes out for a

walk and hands her a long letter that answers all her accusations. He explains to

her that he did not believe that Jane was really in love with Bingley. He also tells

her the truth about Wickham. Elizabeth is shocked by his answers.

There is also another shock awaiting her. Her youngest sister Lydia has

been invited to Brighton by a young officer’s wife. Lydia is very excited about the

trip; but Elizabeth knows how stupid, scatter brained, and flirtatious Lydia is. She

tries to persuade her father not to allow Lydia to go to Brighton. Her father,

however, dismisses Elizabeth’s fears.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner plan a tour of the Lake District and take Elizabeth

with them. At the last minute, however, the tour is cut short and the Gardiners

decide to restrict their trip to Derbyshire, where Darcy has his vast estate in

Pemberley. Elizabeth makes sure that Darcy is away on business and then agrees

to visit Pemberley, out of sheer curiosity. Pemberley is one of the most beautiful

places she has ever visited, and Darcy’s elegant tastes are evident everywhere. To

top it all, Ms. Reynolds, the housekeeper who has known Darcy since his

childhood, speaks very highly of him, saying he is just and fair. Elizabeth cannot

believe that she has made such a mistake in judging his character. As Elizabeth is

looking over Pemberley’s lovely grounds, Darcy himself appears, returning a day

before he is expected. He looks surprised to see Elizabeth, and she is intensely

is no trace of pride in him.

The following day, Bingley calls on Elizabeth, and his anxious inquiries

about Jane indicate that he is still in love with her. Darcy and his beautiful sister,

Georgiana, also call on Elizabeth at the inn to invite her and the Gardiners to

dinner. Elizabeth accepts the dinner invitation. During the dinner, Caroline tries

her best to destroy the friendly relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth by

running down Elizabeth’s family, but she does not succeed. Darcy is fond of

Elizabeth.

News comes that Lydia has eloped with Wickham, so Elizabeth leaves

Derbyshire with the Gardiners to return home. All attempts at tracing the runaway

couple have failed. Darcy, touched by Elizabeth’s distress over Lydia, seeks to

find her and catches up with the couple in London. Darcy convinces Wickham to

marry Lydia, gives him ten thousand pounds, pays up his debts, and persuades

him to settle in the North of London. Darcy then requests that the Gardiners not

reveal his help to the Bennet family. Elizabeth, however, finds out the truth about

Darcy’s assistance. She is impressed with his kindness.

Bingley makes an unannounced reappearance at Netherfield Park, and

renews his courtship of Jane. They are soon engaged. Lady Catherine also arrives

unannounced and acts very haughty towards the Bennet family. She threatens

Elizabeth with dire consequences if she marries Darcy, but Elizabeth refuses to

promise that she will not accept a proposal from Darcy. A few days later, Darcy
comes to visit and makes a second proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. This time

she accepts wholeheartedly. He thanks Elizabeth for teaching him the lesson of

humility.

The two couples, Jane and Bingley and Elizabeth and Darcy, are married

on the same morning. Mrs. Bennet is overjoyed at having three of her daughters

married, two of them to very rich young men. After a year’s stay at Netherfield

Park, Bingley purchases an estate in Derbyshire. His mother-in-law’s tiresome

company and her vulgar behavior are too much even for his calm temperament.

The novel finally ends on a note of reconciliation with all of the characters trying

to forgive and forget past insults.

Taken from:

http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Pride_And_Prejudice_Austen/Pride_And_Prej

udice_Study_Guide04.html, accessed on 11 June 2013

The Biography of Jane Austen

 Name : Jane Austen

 Occupation : Writer

 Birth date : December 16, 1775

 Death date : July 18, 1817

 Place of birth : Steventon, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

 Place of date : Winchester, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

 Full Name: Jane Austen

Best Known For

Jane Austen was a Georgian era author, best known for her social commentary in

novels including Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma.

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire,

England. While not widely known in her own time, Austen's comic novels of love

among the landed gentry gained popularity after 1869, and her reputation

skyrocketed in the 20th century. Her novels, including Pride and Prejudice and

Sense and Sensibility, are considered literary classics, bridging the gap between

romance and realism.

The seventh child and second daughter of Cassandra and George Austen,

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England.

Jane's parents were well-respected community members. Her father served as the

Oxford-educated rector for a nearby Anglican parish. The family was close and

the children grew up in an environment that stressed learning and creative

thinking. When Jane was young, she and her siblings were encouraged to read

from their father's extensive library. The children also authored and put on plays

and charades.

Over the span of her life, Jane would become especially close to her father

and older sister, Cassandra. Indeed, she and Cassandra would one day collaborate

on a published work. In order to acquire a more formal education, Jane and

Cassandra were sent to boarding schools during Jane's pre-adolescence. During

this time, Jane and her sister caught typhus, with Jane nearly succumbing to the

illness. After a short period of formal education cut short by financial constraints,

they returned home and lived with the family from that time forward.

Literary Works

Ever fascinated by the world of stories, Jane began to write in bound

notebooks. In the 1790s, during her adolescence, she started to craft her own

novels and wrote Love and Freindship [sic], a parody of romantic fiction

organized as a series of love letters. Using that framework, she unveiled her wit
and dislike of sensibility, or romantic hysteria, a distinct perspective that would

eventually characterize much of her later writing. The next year she wrote The

History of England..., a 34-page parody of historical writing that included

illustrations drawn by Cassandra. These notebooks, encompassing the novels as

well as short stories, poems and plays, are now referred to as Jane's Juvenilia.

Jane spent much of her early adulthood helping run the family home, playing

piano, attending church, and socializing with neighbors. Her nights and weekends

often involved cotillions, and as a result, she became an accomplished dancer. On

other evenings, she would choose a novel from the shelf and read it aloud to her

family, occasionally one she had written herself. She continued to write,

developing her style in more ambitious works such as Lady Susan, another

epistolary story about a manipulative woman who uses her sexuality, intelligence

and charm to have her way with others. Jane also started to write some of her

future major works, the first called Elinor and Marianne, another story told as a

series of letters, which would eventually be published as Sense and Sensibility.

She began drafts of First Impressions, which would later be published as Pride

and Prejudice, and Susan, later published as Northanger Abbey by Jane's

brother,Henry following Jane's death. In 1801, Jane moved to Bath with her

father, mother and Cassandra. Then, in 1805, her father died after a short illness.

As a result, the family was thrust into financial straits; the three women moved

from place to place, skipping between the homes of various family members to

rented flats. It was not until 1809 that they were able to settle into a stable living

situation at Jane's brother Edward's cottage in Chawton. Now in her 30s, Jane