In what ways and for what reasons does the character of Elizabeth Bennet change throughout Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?
posted October 30, 2009 - 5:57am
At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth Bennet is judgemental of other people, often attempting to summarise their character without suitable knowledge. Elizabeth does not recognise the mistakes that she makes in her haste “to sketch [the] character” of people; she believes her judgment to
be flawless.
At the first ball, all the land-owning people i.e. not the peasantry come together as was customary at the time, and Bingley is properly announced to the congregation. This is the first time that we are introduced to the character of Fitzwilliam Darcy. At the time Elizabeth makes a mistake. She perceives his reservation and decorum in not being open and talkative as arrogance. However later on we find out that he admits that he as and still is uncomfortable socialising with those to whom he is unfamiliar. To those who are not in his inner sanctum of friends, Darcy appears unpleasant and exceedingly proud; he exudes aloofness. Miss Eliza Bennet counters this in saying that this is a fault of his character, which he should attempt to iron out by practising the art of conversation with new acquaintance.
When Elizabeth Bennet meets George Wickham for the foremost time, she is drawn to his amiable and easy conversation. Wickham’s character contrasts directly with Darcy’s stiff nature. Miss Elizabeth chooses to trust Wickham when he lies about Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, even though she has only just met him, because she is prejudiced. One way that she changes is that at the end of the novel, she recognises that she is vulnerable to prejudicing as all humans are. She realises that she is liable to make mistakes just like everyone else. She realises her own fallibility.
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