Pride And Prejudice Class Consciousness Analysis

When Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is mentioned, immediately the iconic heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, comes to mind. Throughout the novel, Miss Bennet is forced to endure the behavior of many class-conscious people. These people had a great impact on some of the relationships within Pride and Prejudice. Within every character’s romantic life, class-consciousness is proven to have the most prominent role. Some characters that embody the trait of class-consciousness include George Wickham and Fitzwilliam Darcy. First, George Wickham strongly portrays class-consciousness throughout Pride and Prejudice. Upon his first appearance in the novel, he seems to be the perfect gentleman. Later, though, it is revealed that he is a money hungry man with a number of debts to pay off. When Mr. Darcy writes a letter to Elizabeth, he mentions that Wickham was planning on eloping with his fifteen-year-old sister,

At the Netherfield ball, Darcy grasps the attention of many young ladies for his handsome features and wealth; however, is later revealed to be “a most disagreeable, horrid man” (Austen 8). Mr. Darcy was not impressed by the girls at the ball, as he thought none were rich enough nor “handsome enough to tempt [him]” (Austen 7). This initial impression of Mr. Darcy causes Elizabeth to determine him the last man she could envision herself with. When Mr. Darcy later confesses his love to Elizabeth he says that he had fought this attraction against the class-conscious beliefs of his friends, family, and even himself, resulting in Elizabeth’s increasing repulsion towards him. In this discussion, it is also revealed that Mr. Darcy, as well as Caroline Bingley, prevented Mr. Bingley from being with Jane by telling him she did not love him and concealing her being in London. Eventually, Elizabeth forgets this misconduct and falls in love with Mr. Darcy, as well as the beautiful Pemberley