Characterization of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Jane...

Characterization of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, is an authentic character, allowing readers to identify, sympathize, and grow with her. Unfortunately, Austen does not create a match for Elizabeth who is her equal in terms of characterization. Mr. Darcy, Elizabeths sometime adversary, beloved, and, finally, husband, is not so carefully crafted as she, for his character is somewhat undefined, made up of only mystery, inconsistency, and conventionality. Elizabeth is, initially, quick to make judgments and just as quick to hold fast to those preconceptions. In effect, Elizabeth represents both aspects of the novels†¦show more content†¦The shadowy Darcy is at once a compelling presence in the novel (Auerbach 346), but a mysterious one as well. Reaching nearly mythic proportions, his capabilities are far reaching, but ambiguous; Elizabeth wonders at how much pleasure or pain it was in his power to bestow!--How much of good or evil must be done by him! (Austen 159). Then there is the mystery of his pride. Is he? or isnt he? readers question. His pride is an issue from the start: for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased . . . He was the proudest most disagreeable man in the world (8). Yet as the novel comes to its conclusion, Mrs. Reynolds states that though some people may call him proud, I have seen nothing of it (164), Mrs. Gardiner writes, He has been accused of may faults at different times; but [obstinacy] is the true one (207), and Elizabeth finally pronounces him as having no improper pride. He is perfectly amiable (242). Yet Mr. Darcy himself acknowledges his pride and says, By [Elizabeth], I was properly humbled (237). Therefore, either Mr. Darcy never really was the proud man everyone judged him to be, or he was proud and then humbled. It is difficult to say which is the truth. Other inconsistencies abound in the character of Mr. Darcy. At least one declaration of his strikes an odd note. Quite out of character, he remarks, I have been used to considerShow MoreRelatedPride And Prejudice Analysis813 Words   |  4 PagesPride and Prejudice, published in 1813 by Jane Austen, narrates a love story about Elizabeth and Darcy using a third-person omniscient point of view through Elizabeth. On the other hand, An Assembly Such as This, written in 2003 by Pamela Aidan, narrates their actions focalizing through Darcy’s perspective. Many consider Pamela Aidan’s An Assembly Such as This to be a revision of Pride and Prejudice. 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