Pride and Prejudice

A detailed Summary of Pride and Prejudice

Social Atmosphere Portrayed through the Ball Scene

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, contains numerous scenes involving parties or other social occasions. One extremely significant social event is the ball at which Elizabeth first encounters Darcy. This scene thoroughly portrays the society to which they belong, as well as the pride, prejudice, and general feelings of superiority of many of the characters.

The society that the Bennets belong to is the upper middle class; below royalty, but still wealthy. The society in general is extremely superficial. When Darcy, Bingley, and their companions enter the ball, "...Mr. Darcy soon [draws] the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien-and the report which [is] in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance of his having ten thousand a year" (Austen 6). The society is also very capricious; first declaring Darcy to be an exemplary man, then deciding that he is not worth comparing to Bingley.

The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for abo

The society's first prejudgment is that Bingley is very desirable, but after observing his arrogance, they deem him entirely unworthy of notice. The novel's conclusion, however, reflects a much more honorable character. The judgmental society makes two completely false characterizations.

The scene of the ball depicts the pride in the characters, particularly in Darcy. His pride is the reason that his popularity fades so quickly. At this point in the novel, the only thing the reader knows of Darcy is his refusal to associate with people he does not know and his automatic dismissal of the prospect of Elizabeth's company. Darcy portrays his arrogance when he says that "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me..." (Austen 7). Based solely on her looks, Darcy concludes that Elizabeth is not worthy of his attentions. Elizabeth's pride, although not as abundant as Darcy's, is unquestionably put down by this slanderous remark about her looks. After the ball, Elizabeth remarks "...I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine" (Austen 13). Darcy's pride is the most evident in the ball scene, but Elizabeth's is shown through her comments following the ball. The pride of the two leading characters prohibited them from discovering their true feelings for each other. Pride is a momentous obstacle for ma

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Approximate Word count = 907
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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