Pride and Prejudice was written in the early 1800s and the author is Jane Austen. Jane Austen is a naturally acclaimed author and this title is one of few of her splendid works. The story takes place in England between the times of 1796 and 1813. During this time the Napoleonic wars were taking place and writing was a way for Jane Austen to keep her mind focused. This novel had many conflicting themes characters and it was able to show how the themes of prejudice, pride, and fate were tied in with the relationship between the characters Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. .
Elizabeth Bennet lives in the village on Longbourne with her five sisters, mother and father. Her mother is a very superficial woman and continuously thinks about having her daughters married off to fine, young rich men. Whenever new gentlemen arrived in town the daughters were on a constant lookout. The new talk of the town became the news of Mr. Bingley and his friend, Mr. Darcy, arriving in town. A ball was held where everyone was invited and Mr. Bingley was viewed as a very agreeable man. However, Mr. Darcy was viewed as cold and arrogant, partly because he refused to dance with any of the females. Elizabeth took quick note of this and concluded that he was in fact a very arrogant man.
Elizabeth was later informed by a friend of hers known as Mr. Wickham about particulars of Mr. Darcy's past that were displeasing. This only proved to her that she was right in her previous thoughts about Mr. Darcy and she thought him to not only be arrogant, but also cruel and unjust. Mr. Darcy thoughts for Elizabeth were a complete foil to hers. He was in the meantime falling in love with her and he eventually proposed. She rejected him harshly and was disgusted that he had proposed. She accused him of all the things she had heard about him and that she would never marry him. This is where the theme of prejudice ties in to the story. She had formed an opinion about him without ever being interested in hearing his side of the story.
