Location
Commons
Start Date
10-10-2013 9:00 AM
End Date
10-12-2013 4:45 PM
Description
Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) is most commonly regarded as a story of love. The narrative does indeed follow a marriage plot line, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet do fall in love and get married, but where within the narrative do we see any true sentiment revealed? The linear plot stretches from beginning to end; from their first meeting to their inevitable marriage. The space between must then be filled with the act of courting; each party's attempt at establishing a connection. However, the majority of the development of the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy is devoid of real connection, they are in separate spaces. Furthermore, they are fueled by pride and prejudice, two character defects which would presumably prevent romantic connections between two people. Yet, despite their seemingly debilitating flaws, they ultimately find love, or something like it, with one another.
Repository Citation
Lane, Victoria, "Rules of Engagement: Mr. Darcy's Courtship in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice" (2013). Pride and Prejudice: The Bicentennial. 1.
https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/celia_pride/preconference/posters/1
Rules of Engagement: Mr. Darcy's Courtship in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Commons
Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) is most commonly regarded as a story of love. The narrative does indeed follow a marriage plot line, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet do fall in love and get married, but where within the narrative do we see any true sentiment revealed? The linear plot stretches from beginning to end; from their first meeting to their inevitable marriage. The space between must then be filled with the act of courting; each party's attempt at establishing a connection. However, the majority of the development of the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy is devoid of real connection, they are in separate spaces. Furthermore, they are fueled by pride and prejudice, two character defects which would presumably prevent romantic connections between two people. Yet, despite their seemingly debilitating flaws, they ultimately find love, or something like it, with one another.
