Book Review: Pride and Prejudice

The plot deals with the five Bennet sisters, whose fanatic mother obsesses over marrying off the girls as quickly and as advantageously as possible. Her only concern is to have her daughters financially secure by marriages to wealthy and "ideal" men. A happy marriage filled with unconditional love is foreign matter to Mrs. Bennet.

Most of the action of the novel centers on the two eldest Bennet girls: dutiful Jane and practical, quick-witted Elizabeth. These sisters are occupied chiefly in damage control against the various disastrous almost-engagements set up by their mother, by chance, or by mere follies. Jane and Elizabeth pine after their various objects of affection: the dashing yet befuddled Charles Bingley for Jane, and the grave, calculating Mr. Darcy for Elizabeth.

It's Elizabeth and Darcy that really drive the plot through a combination of their compatibility and their total inability to get together due to stubbornness, pride, and prejudice. Once the two characters break down their barriers, try to understand one another, and receive all the facts about one another, they (especially Elizabeth) realize and acknowledge the undeniable love and respect they have for one another.