Elizabeth Bennet was a character written from the breed of proud, independently-minded

women who were mightily disapproved of by the majority of gentlemen (and a whole lot of
gentlewomen) during the 18th century. She is, in many ways, diametrically opposed to the ideal
gentlewoman and her genius, of course, is in being appealing nevertheless. As Fullerton says,
“She was a highly unconventional, new sort of heroine, and it is easy for modern readers to
underestimate just how astonishing she was for readers of the time.” What’s interesting is that
Austen made Elizabeth THE favorite daughter of her father and despite all obstacles of
temperament, she is our heroine. As Fullerton points out, according to the values of the time
Jane Bennet would’ve been the appropriate choice. I think we can all say thank goodness she
wasn’t Austen’s choice, as today only Elizabeth would be ours.

Elizabeth bennet
Elizabeth is the central character in Pride and Prejudice – indeed it could be said
that Elizabeth is Pride and Prejudice. She is the main focus of our interest, she
is the novel’s heroine, even though she makes mistakes and is not particularly
heroic. Her personality, her attitudes and her development throughout the novel
bring together the story and all the other characters. The novel is concerned with
pride and with prejudice and she and Darcy are the main players. She is Mr
Bennet’s favourite daughter and her ‘quickness of mind’ is made evident in her
witty and teasing conversations, where she often adopts striking and
independent views. (See Chapters 8,9, and 11, when she is looking after Jane at
Netherfield, in her conversations with Bingley, his sisters and Darcy).
She likes to laugh at people, including herself. She shares her capacity for irony
with her father and the narrator. This allows her to stand back and offer
judgements on certain situations. She often says the opposite of what she really
means. In Chapter 6 (p. 27) she says, ‘Mr. Darcy is all politeness’, as a way of
avoiding dancing with him after his rude remarks earlier.

A key passage in reviewing Elizabeth’s growth is Chapter 36 when we see her

painfully coming to terms with her mistaken understanding of Wickham and
Darcy while reading Darcy’s letter. She is forced here to confront some of her
prejudices and earlier judgements, and in doing so realises that she has not been
as sharp a reader of character as she has previously supposed. She blames
herself for not having recognises the smack of ‘impropriety’ in Wickham’s
behaviour, but had allowed herself to be deceived by his charm.

Elizabeth’s most appealing characteristic is her independent streak, her ‘self-

sufficiency’. She judges things for herself and she is capable of decisive action
as when she calmly, yet firmly, stands up to Mrs Bennet over Mr Collins’s
proposal. She argues later that it is this ‘self-sufficiency’ which made Darcy fall in
love with her.
However, though formidable at times, Elizabeth is also emotional. She feels
great affection for Jane and is concerned for Lydia and Kitty. She is very close
to her father, though she is often exasperated by her mother’s behaviour. She is
very kind-hearted and we see this in her relationships with Charlotte and
Georgiana.

She is not faultless, however, and her main fault is her prejudice. As Darcy is
Pride, so Elizabeth is the Prejudice of the book’s title. She may see and judge
for herself, but often these judgements are based on appearance rather than
reality, on her strong emotions, not on rational thought. The two main targets for
her prejudice are Darcy and Wickham. She tells us that from the beginning she
meant to be ‘uncommonly clever’ in disliking Darcy ‘without any reason’. In fact,
her initial dislike is seen as being justified because Darcy’s first comment was
cruel and offensive. Afterwards, however, she delights in provoking him, and
when he is denounced by Wickham, she is more than ready to believe the
accusations made about him. One moment she is stating firmly that she does
not think Darcy capable of such inhumanity, the next she is totally accepting
Wickham’s story that he is! From the start, she is ‘out of her senses’ about
Wickham’s looks and charm. For the next twenty chapters (!) she takes
Wickham’s side despite warnings from Jane, Mrs Gardiner and Caroline Bingley,
all of whom, ironically, Elizabeth considers to be prejudiced!

Darcy’s letter opens her eyes to the truth. He has already hinted that she only
hears what she wants to hear. She therefore makes a conscious effort to read
his letter openly, and on the second reading does so, analysing it rationally and
she finally begins to notice Wickham’s inconsistencies and the lack of any real
evidence of goodness on his part. She finally realises how ‘blind, partial, and
prejudiced’ she has been. She also realises that she has been guilty of the same
fault she accused Darcy of having – pride. She, too, has believed herself to be
superior to others, and refused to believe she could be wrong, her vanity fuelled
by Wickham’s attentions and offended by Darcy’s. She realises that ‘Till this
moment, I never knew myself’. This is a crucial moment in the novel which
marks her realisation of her faults and her decision to change.

Although she is still angry with Darcy, from this point on in the novel we see that
she has changed and we see that she does try to see things clearly and without
pride. She admits her faults to Jane, tells Wickham she knows the truth about
him, tries to work out her problems honestly and rationally, and from now on
values Darcy. It is her ability to do this which makes her the heroine of the
novel. Faced with the truth about herself, realising she has been badly affected
by both her pride and her prejudice, she accepts the fact, thinks about it and acts
on her conclusions. She has, in effect, become a mature adult.
Her views on love and marriage also change. Jane Austen uses Elizabeth to
show us the mature, ideal marriage, and by contrasting through her eyes other,
less worthy marriages, we ourselves learn what is best. Elizabeth, at first, seems
very clear about what she expects from a relationship. As she tells Charlotte,
she is not seeking a husband, let alone a rich one. She despises courtship
games, wants to know all about her partner, and when she hears of Charlotte’s
engagement, her reaction is ‘impossible!’. She slowly learns that her prejudice
has led her astray. Her visit to Hunsford shows her that such a marriage is not
only possible but a fair compromise. Darcy’s views, Pemberley, and the
elopement show her too that financial and social considerations in marriage are
important. She needs to learn this before she can take a realistic view of
marriage as a social union and become the responsible mistress of Pemberley.
However, her view of marriage as an equal partnership is a very valid one and
her refusal of Mr Collins’s proposal is vindicated. His marriage to Charlotte
works because it is balanced, and all that remains now is for Elizabeth to meet
her equal – quite literally she too must meet her match! Elizabeth needs a real
partner, like Darcy.

It is worth your while trying to pinpoint the exact moment at which Elizabeth falls
in love with Darcy. The fact that she dislikes and provokes him in the early part
of the novel may well be a sign of her attraction, but Elizabeth does not admit
this. She claims to find him obnoxious and certainly has no second thoughts
about refusing his first patronising proposal. Not until her visit to Pemberley does
she appreciate Darcy’s real worth and his change of heart, and she begins then
to feel more for him. Her view of marriage also begins to change. She knows
that Darcy is correct in his assessment of her family, and Lydia’s elopement only
confirms this. The inequalities between herself and Darcy are eventually
overcome, and Elizabeth betters herself by marrying Darcy. However, she never
takes advantage of this. Seeing Pemberley marks the start of her affection for
Darcy because there she begins to appreciate his real character, rather than
simply his wealth.

The elopement crystallises Elizabeth’s view of marriage – she now sees the
ideal, and realises that Darcy could provide it, ‘answer’ her needs. His
generosity on Lydia’s behalf compounds her feelings and when he returns to
Longbourn, Elizabeth is quiet and uncertain; he is now important to her and she
knows that she needs his attention and approval. But first, she must overcome
the twin hurdles of Darcy’s family and her own! She defeats Lady Catherine first,
defending the right of Darcy and herself to choose their own partner. Her
courage here against the formidable Lady Catherine surely encourages Darcy to
propose again. She then overcomes her own family’s prejudice against Darcy,
showing that she is now a truly independent adult and ready to be married.
Her relationship with Darcy is sound. They communicate well, give each other
mutual support and affection and generally are good for one another. She has
found her true partner, with whom she can live at Pemberley, her true home. At
the end of the novel, Elizabeth is the happy heroine, the centre of
everything. She has not only changed herself through her newly found love for
Darcy, but she equally has changed Darcy through his love for her.

Here are nine reasons why Lizzy is a female role model to all readers!

1. She is confident in herself and won’t let others’ biases bring her down.

2. She is fiercely loyal to her sisters…even the annoying one.

3. She refuses to let men intimidate her AND calls them out on their rude
behavior.

4. She challenges others through her witty and intelligent retorts rather
than through anger and petty remarks.

5. She doesn’t conform to others’ low expectations of her.

6. She would rather sacrifice financial security than be stuck in a loveless

marriage with a man unworthy of her.

7. She doesn’t place a man’s value on his appearance. She judges a man
for his morals rather than his attractiveness.

8. She recognizes her faults and tries to right her mistakes rather than stay
in denial.
9. Most importantly, perhaps, is her pride in books!