History Literature / PrideAndPrejudice

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Inverted. Darcy can't stand Caroline Bingley and her obnoxiously obvious attempts to flirt with him, and it's heavily implied that this is not the first time he's had to deal with this. He's so sick of it that he actually views Elizabeth's barely-concealed disdain as a welcome relief. He confirms towards the end that he initially fell for her because she ''didn't'' go out of her way to be nice to him.

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Inverted. Darcy can't stand Caroline Bingley and her obnoxiously obvious attempts to flirt with him, and it's heavily implied that this is not the first time he's had to deal with this. He's so sick of it that he actually views Elizabeth's barely-concealed disdain as a welcome relief. He confirms towards the end that he initially fell for her because she didn't go out of her way to be nice to him.

** We also never learn the first names of Mr and Mrs Bennet, Lady Lucas, Mr Hurst, or Mrs Gardiner (though from her letter to Elizabeth we know her first initial is M). They are all referred by their last name.

* LiteraryNecrophilia:
** There are countless sequels by various authors. Apparently a lot of readers didn't like never seeing Lizzy and Darcy consummate their relationship (though seeing as they got married, it's implied that they did). Hence, many of these sequels revolve around Lizzy and Darcy as newlyweds and all that implies.
** There are also several variations of the original novel told from [[PerspectiveFlip Mr Darcy's point of view]].

** Elizabeth tries to warn her father that if Lydia is allowed to go to Brighton, she will bring scandal on the family by becoming "the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her family ridiculous." Mr Bennet's response is, essentially, "Don't worry, sweetie, nothing bad will happen – and besides, if we don't let her go, she'll throw a tantrum." She is not only correct, but underestimates just ''how'' bad going to Brighton will be for Lydia.

* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: A big part of Darcy's attraction to Elizabeth is the fact that, unlike Caroline Bingley and others of her ilk, Elizabeth sees no need to try and impress him just because he's single and wealthy.

* CharacterDevelopment: Elizabeth becomes a more reliable narrator, as mentioned below. Mary becomes less gloomy and more confident near the end. Kitty steadily grows less like Lydia and more respectable and caring like her role models Jane and Lizzy. Mr Bennet, who had always been "contented with laughing" at the antics of his younger daughters, smartens up and takes his responsibilities as parent much more seriously. Mr Darcy learns to express his HiddenHeartOfGold more outside of those closest to him while acknowledging that he can still be a bit of a pompous, arrogant tool and learning to be a bit more pleasant and polite to people. Even the ever-loving Jane becomes a little less naïve and less willing to make excuses for other people.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Fitzwilliam Darcy

* {{Foil}}: Mr. Darcy, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who initially comes across as very unpleasant but ends up proving the nobility of his character, has a foil in Mr. Wickham, a superficially charming but utterly worthless BitchInSheepsClothing.

* IllGirl: Anne de Bourgh is "of a sickly constitution." Living with Lady Catherine would make anybody ill.
** Implied to a lesser extent with Kitty, as she is constantly coughing and sniffling.

* SiblingYinYang: Jane and Elizabeth Bennet; proud Mr Darcy and timid Georgiana; bookish Mary and irreverent Lydia.

* GiftedlyBad: Mary's singing. She also fancies herself as extremely clever and profound, when her "insights" are usually cases of stating the obvious, and/or obnoxious, unnecessary moralising that no one wants to hear.

** Kitty tends to follow in Lydia's footsteps and as such is a milder version of her. She is also implied, through various comments by other characters, to be of a weak physical constitution (Jane calls her "slight and delicate") which may account for her subjugation by the much stronger-spirited Lydia. Like Mary, she improves at the end of the book, and in fact improves ''dramatically''. She spends most of her time with either Jane or Elizabeth, and without Lydia there to reinforce her old habits, she becomes better educated and more refined. It's also noted that although Lydia keeps trying to invite her to come and visit, their father refuses to allow it.

Possessing one of the best-known opening lines of all time, the story is a sharp, witty, insightful and tremendously funny romance, both mindful and mocking of sexual politics as they relate to social mores. Elizabeth Bennet is the second of the five daughters of Mr and Mrs Bennet, landed gentry who live in Longbourn, a small estate in rural England at the time of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. Her father is a cynical, snarky recluse, her mother is a fatuous, rather ill-bred airhead obsessed with her daughters' futures, and her elder sister Jane is a sweet-natured beauty. Her younger sisters, by contrast, are uniformly "silly": pretentious, grumpy Mary; giggly, easily-led Kitty; and uncontrollable, foolish Lydia.

The story follows the Bennets and their attempts to marry for love, despite being in a position from which this was severely impractical. While Jane quickly falls for the well-off, good-natured newcomer Mr Bingley, Elizabeth is entirely too cynical to attract as sweet a man. Her nature does, however, attract a variety of other suitors: the well-connected but [[SmugSnake unctuous]] [[TheVicar vicar]] Mr Collins, a man without any sense of humour lost in the novel's WorldOfSnark; the dashing, penniless and self-deprecating foot soldier Mr Wickham; and Bingley's friend, Mr Darcy, who to all appearances is a cold-blooded and arrogant bore. Meanwhile, Lydia causes trouble for everyone, and Elizabeth and Darcy learn a lesson or two about first impressions and making assumptions.

Possessing one of the best-known opening lines of all time, the story is a sharp, witty, insightful and tremendously funny romance, both mindful and mocking of sexual politics as they relate to social mores. Elizabeth Bennet is the second of the five daughters of Mr and Mrs Bennet, upper-middle-class gentry who live in Longbourn, a small estate in rural England at the time of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. Her father is a cynical, snarky recluse, her mother is a fatuous, rather ill-bred airhead obsessed with her daughters' futures and her elder sister Jane is a sweet-natured beauty. Her younger sisters, by contrast, are uniformly "silly": pretentious, grumpy Mary; giggly, easily-led Kitty; and uncontrollable, foolish Lydia.

** Caroline Bingley warns Elizabeth about Wickham and tells her that "George Wickham has treated Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner. I do not know the particulars, but I know very well that Mr. Darcy is not in the least to blame..."
Elizabeth doesn't pay these words much heed, because they are delivered in the spirit of Caroline's customary passive-aggressive jabs at Elizabeth's expense. They also turn out to be 100% true.

** In a possible PetTheDog moment, Caroline Bingley warns Elizabeth about Wickham and tells her – quite truthfully, as it turns out – that "George Wickham has treated Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner. I do not know the particulars, but I know very well that Mr. Darcy is not in the least to blame..." As Caroline has already been well established as a conniving and two-faced character, Elizabeth (and the reader) don't give her words much credence.

** In a possible PetTheDog moment, Caroline Bingley warns Elizabeth about Wickham and tells her - quite truthfully, as it turns out - that "George Wickham has treated Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner. I do not know the particulars, but I know very well that Mr. Darcy is not in the least to blame..." As Caroline has already been well established as a conniving and two-faced character, Elizabeth (and the reader) don't give her words much credence.

* CassandraTruth: Elizabeth tries to warn her father that if Lydia is allowed to go to Brighton, she will bring scandal on the family by becoming "the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her family ridiculous." Mr Bennet's response is, essentially, "Don't worry, sweetie, nothing bad will happen – and besides, if we don't let her go, she'll throw a tantrum." She is not only correct, but underestimates just ''how'' bad going to Brighton will be for Lydia.