1. Pride and prejudice Jane Austen

2. Characteristics of Her Works Chief Interest: a quiet, prosperous, middle-class circle in provincial surroundings (country life), the kind of life she was quite familiar with, the theme of her works is love and marriage Jane Austen’s main concern is about human beings in daily life. She is particularly preoccupied with the relationship between men and women in love. Nearly all her works are stories of love and marriage. Women are always the major characters. It is reasonable if we consider the time in which Jane Austen lived. At Austen’s time, the young middle-class lady had no other

3. choice in her life but to find a good husband. (women’s position at that time) women had been regarded as second-class citizens. They depended on their husbands, with no right to vote, to inherit the property from their parents, to get a job.

4. Jane Austen is quite different from Charles Dickens. Dickens focused his attention on the society, especially the hypocrisy and corruption of the society. While Jane Austen was concerned about the destiny of an individual, especially the destiny of a particular woman. In Jane Austen’s works, the heroines are usually divided into three types in their pursuit of a happy

5. marriage, a) those who marry for money, position and property, b) those who marry just for passion, this is generally known as “love at first sight”, (What kind of person the man is?) and,c) those who marry for love based on consideration of the person’s personal merit as well as his economical and social status. According to Jane Austen, it is wrong to marry just for money, but it is also wrong to marry without money. Money is not the only thing in the consideration of marriage; However, it is an important factor. Proofs of this are to be found in all her novels.

6. Writing Style Subtlety of observation (observe carefully) That is to say, she focused on the trivial incidents of everyday life, their relations with members of their own family and with their friends, dancing parties, tea parties, picnics, and gossips. Through her truthfully and lively description, all these became very interesting.

7. Questions for discussion on Chapter 1 1. The opening sentence of this novel is probably one of the most famous first sentences found in fiction. What kind of rhetorical device is employed in this sentence? What is the function of this sentence?

8. Key: The first sentence sets the tone for the entire novel, in that the whole work is a masterpiece of irony. (the irony between the first half of the sentence and the second half of the sentence) Irony refers to some contrast or discrepancy between appearance and reality) The sentence begins as though the novel were going to be a great philosophical discourse. “It is a truth universally acknowledged” implies that the novel will deal with great truths, but the second half of the sentence reveals that the great universal truth is no more than a consideration of a common social situation. Thus there is an ironic difference between the formal manner of the statement and the ultimate meaning of the sentence. The “truth” spoken of is that a man in possession of a fortune must need a wife, whereas in reality the sentence means that a woman without a fortune needs a man with a fortune for a husband.

9. 2. What is the difference between Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet in their manner of conversation?

10. Key: Mrs. Bennet just bubbles on (She is talkative, she keeps on talking) and Mr. Benner is more reserved in phrasing his mildly sarcastic statements. Sarcasm: bitter or cutting speech; speech intended by its speaker to give pain to the person addressed ey: Mrs.

11. 3. What is Mr. Bennet’s attitude toward his wife? What kind of relationship do the couple have between them?

12. Key: He was ironic and sarcastic to his wife. Mr. Bennet is skeptical. Mr. Bennet cannot be happy with his wife because he does not respect her. Mrs. Bennet was self-pitying all the time.

13. 4. In the last paragraph of Chapter I, the authoress summarizes the character of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. How is their character revealed in the selection you have read? Find examples. Can you say anything more about their character besides what the authoress summarizes?

14. Key: Mr. Bennet: quick-minded, sarcastic, humorous, reserve, caprice. Intelligent, experienced, realistic Mrs. Bennet: a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper (self-pitying), snobbish, empty-minded, vulgar (material-oriented)

15. 5. Jane Austen is noted for her characterization. How does she depict the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their daughters? Characterization: It refers to the personality a character displays; also, it is the means by which an author reveals that personality. Generally, a writer develops a character in one or more of the following ways:

16. 1) by showing the character acting and speaking; 2) by revealing a physical description of the character; 3) by revealing the character’s thoughts; 4) by revealing what other characters think about the character; 5) by commenting directly on the character. The first four methods are indirect methods of characterization.

17. 6. The novel is also noted for its dialogue. What is the function of dialogue?

18. Key: The novel opens with a talk between Mrs. Bennet and her husband. “My dear Mr. Bennet, said his lady to him one day,…”And in the dialogue which follows we learn a great deal- ---about Mrs. Bennet’s preoccupation with marrying off her daughters, Mr. Bennet’s ironic and attitude toward his wife, and her self-pitying nature. Thus the dialogue has given us information on both incidents of plot and the attitudes which drive the characters.

19. From the questions discussed above, we should be aware that the novel is dealing with a small section of society. The novel handles social relationships in a limited society and investigates them minutely.