Read Jane Austen
Read Jane Austen

 

  1. Would you have enjoyed Pride and Prejudice as much if Jane were its heroine?

 

  1. Does Mr Darcy’s character change throughout the novel, or does Elizabeth’s – and the reader’s – perception of him change? Or both? Discuss how Jane Austen handles both narrative strands.

 

  1. Jane Austen wrote in a letter of March 1816 that ‘pictures of perfection make me sick and wicked’. Can you apply this to Pride and Prejudice?

 

  1. Jane Austen’s original title for the novel was First Impressions. How significant are first impressions in Pride and Prejudice?

     

  1. If ‘Pride’ is an opinion of the self and ‘Prejudice’ an opinion of others, how do the thoughts and actions of Lizzy Bennett, Jane Bennett, Mr Darcy, Mr Wickham and Mr Bingley differ in Pride and Prejudice?

 

Read Jane Austen

 

  1. Is Mr Collins a harmless source of ridicule, or could he be conceived in a more sinister light?

 

  1. In Pride and Prejudice the fortunate – in terms of wealth, beauty and intelligence – are revered and rewarded whereas the unprivileged are ridiculed. Consider this in reference to Charlotte Lucas

 

  1. Do you feel sympathy for Caroline Bingley, or does Jane Austen only include her to be the antithesis of Elizabeth?

 

  1. Mr Bennett is consistently displayed as being sensible, apart from in his choice of a wife. Is this accurate? Is he a good father? Discuss.

 

  1. Is Elizabeth ever cruel in her treatment of Darcy? If so, what techniques does she employ?

 

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