In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice a wide variety of personalities are presented some are well developed while others are just mere caricatures. Some characters in the novel are very well written and psychologically well rounded, meaning they have a balanced and fully developed personality. Austen skillfully presents the personal growth and development of these particular Characters throughout the novel. Other characters remain mere caricatures, simply a comic representation and exaggeration of personality traits. By using a combination of well rounded characters and caricatures Austen is satirizing her society, trying to highlight its flaws and suggest a more meaningful way to live. .
To begin with Mrs Bennet is an example of caricature. She represents the ridiculous treatment of love and marriage in the Regency period. Her obsession with getting all of her five daughters married is illustrated in the quote, "The business of her life is to get her daughters married." She is a foolish and frivolous woman, with no concern for the moral or intellectual education of her daughters. Her sole aim is to see her daughters married and through her shallowness she is in unable to even perceive the shame in Lydia's behavior involving Mr Wickham and is absolutely delighted by the thought of her marrying. In Mrs Bennett's character the ridiculous obsession, during Austen's time, with marriage is highly exaggerated and she is an extremely comic representation and not at all a well rounded character.
Similarly, Mr Collins is also a caricature in Pride and Prejudice. He is a clergyman, his personality a mixture of obsequiousness and pride. His character represents the satirizing of the class system. Austen writes, "Mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth and it was soon done-done while Mr Bennet was stirring the fire." This demonstrates how shallow Mr Collins was, when he finds out that Jane is about to be engaged he moves on to the next sister without a seconds pause.
