Brief Summary of Pride and Prejudice

7/27/2019 Brief Summary of Pride and Prejudice

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BRIEF SUMMARY OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Set in the English countryside in a county roughly thirty milesfrom London, the novel opens with the Bennet family inLongbourn and their five unmarried daughters. The familyitself is not nearly as rich as those they interact with andbecause they have no sons, the property is entailed to pass toa male heir, in this case Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet is intent onseeing her daughters married off to wealthy men and when

Charles Bingley arrives at nearby Netherfield Park she isexcited by the prospect of introducing her daughters to him.She immediately sends her husband to visit him on the firstday he arrives.

When he next arrives, Bingley brings with him Mr. Darcy andhis two sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Bingley isimmediately attracted to Jane Bennet, the oldest of the fivesisters. Darcy, unlike the social apt Bingley, is proud and rude,immediately insulting Elizabeth Bennet when someonesuggests he asks her to dance, insulting her appearance. Later,at the next dance after witnessing the sharpness of her mind,Darcy displays an attraction to Elizabeth at a second ball, butshe refuses him because of how the insults he heaped uponher before.

Jane and Bingley however only become closer and when Janebecomes ill on a visit to Netherfield, she stays there for a fewdays, asking Elizabeth to join her and help care for her.During her stay, Elizabeth is forced to confront Darcy againand again and while she is still disinterested in him, he begins


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to fall for her wit and frank approach to conversation, beingso used to pretty words from other women. Elizabeth quicklyrealizes that Miss Bingley largely dislikes the Bennet family

and that she only pretends to be friends with Jane.Soon after, Bingley, his sisters, and Darcy depart for London,announcing to Jane that they have no intentions of returningto Netherfield anytime soon and that Bingley will likely marryanother woman, Mis s Darcy, Mr. Darcys sister. Meanwhile,Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham who she immediately is drawntowards. He tells her falsehoods about his relationship with

Mr. Darcy, that he was cheated out of a piece of inheritancefrom Darcys father. However, Wickham soon takes up withanother woman who he plans to marry and Elizabeth, afterthe careful warnings of her family leaves him be.

Jane goes to stay in London after the Gardiners, her aunt anduncle, arrive and offer their residence for her upon hearing of her plight with Bingley. She tries repeatedly to see him but isrebuked by Miss Bingley from even letting Bingley know she isin London and she slowly begins to accept the rejection.

Elizabeth goes to visit Mr. Collins and her friend Charlotte,recently married and there runs into Darcy again. He proposesmarriage to her, but she flatly refuses, citing his treatment of

Jane and Wickham. He however, gives her a letter explaining

that Wickham had lied and that Jane had seemed largelydisinterested by Bingley so he warned against the match.Elizabeth begins to believe him, but he has already left forLondon again. She returns home afterwards to find that hersister Lydia has been invited to Brighton to stay with a


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Colonel and the moving army regiment, which she advises herfather against allowing. She however, leaves anyways.

After a planned vacation to the lake country is cut short,Elizabeth spends a summer vacation with the Gardiners inPemberley instead where she once again runs into Darcy. Shealso meets his sister who is quite nice and finds that Darcyhimself is much more agreeable than before. Most of the badtraits she had disliked before seem to have vanished.

She is however called back home quickly when it is revealed

that Lydia has run off with Wickham. She returns home whileher father and Mr. Gardiner search for the two in London. Itsrevealed that Darcy actually finds them eventually and helps topay the dowry for Wickham to take Lydia in marriage, an actthat impresses Elizabeth greatly.

Bingley reappears in Netherfield Park for a short while andresumes courting Jane, while Lady de Bourgh arrives and actsrudely towards the Bennet family, warning Elizabeth againstmarrying Darcy, as her daughter is supposed to marry him. Afew days later Darcy returns himself and reproposes toElizabeth to which she now accepts. Jane and Bingley are alsoengaged shortly before Elizabeths engagement.

The two are married on the same day and Mrs. Bennet isecstatic. Bingley and Jane move to Derbyshire after a year andElizabeth and Darcy live together in Pemberley with often

visits from many of her friends. The novel ends with everyonetrying to get along after so many insults and poor relations.

Characters in Pride and Prejudice


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the course of the novel save to visit and discuss matters withher other sisters.

Lydia Bennet The youngest Bennet daughter as well as theleast thoughtful of the five. She makes rash decisions andthough she is Mrs. Bennets favorite, she finds herself shunnedby her father and the rest of her family when she runs off andnearly elopes with Wickham.

George Wickham A childhood acquaintance of Darcy, Wickham is a military officer who pretends to be slighted by

Darcy in order to gain favor with women. He begged moneyof him and almost eloped with his sister before Darcy cut himoff and eventually he does the same with Lydia and the Bennetfamily.

Mr. Collins The cousin and nearest male heir of Mr. Bennet,Mr. Collins will receive the property when Mr. Bennet dies. Heis a clergyman for Lady de Bourghs estate and acts with adegree of self-importance that angers Mr. Bennet.Charles Bingley The first gentleman and suitor introduced inthe book is Bingley, the young gentleman who moves to within3 miles of the Bennets and excites their prospects of a strongmatch with Jane. He falls in love with Jane early but is talkedout of the match by his sisters and Darcy due to the lowstanding of the Bennet family and Janes apparent disinterest.

Mr. Darcy A wealthy gentleman from Derbyshire, Darcy isat first a rude and unpleasant fellow, full of pride and ill will

who eventually comes to love Elizabeth and change hismannerisms for her. He shows his love for her by helping her


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sister in the marriage to Wickham and by being cordial andpolite after her refusal of marriage. He eventually succeeds in

winning her love in return.

Miss Bingley Largely interested in Mr. Darcy as a match,Miss Bingley is shallow and petty, pretending to befriend Janeand Elizabeth while bad mouthing them both behind theirbacks. Her attitude is considered ill by many of the booksother characters and she plays a central role in keepingBingley away from Jane when they move back to London.

Lady Catherina de Bourgh An aunt of Darcy and mother of his prospective match, she is very arrogant and domineeringand goes so far as to travel to the Bennet home and threatenElizabeth when she hears a rumor of her possible marriage toDarcy.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner Elizabeths aunt and uncle, they areinstrumental in assisting with the marriage of Lydia, and thereunion of Darcy and Elizabeth. They are both highly regardedby all members of the family and largely liked.

Chapter Summaries for Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 1

Here we are introduced to Mr and Mrs. Bennet, both of theLongbourn Estate. Mrs. Bennet arrives with some interestingnews that a wealthy gentleman from the north has arrived inNetherfield, moved to a nearby estate. She has plansimmediately to marry him to one of her daughters. She warns


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her husband that she will send him to see the new neighborBingley as soon as he arrives. She also reminds him of theirdaughters while he muses on how Elizabeth is his favorite

daughter with something more of quickness than her sisters.Knowingly he questions why his visit to Bingley is soimportant.

Chapter 2

Elizabeth and three of her sisters are introduced, includingKitty, Mary, and Lydia. After Mr. Bennets early teasing over

visiting Bingley, in chapter 2 it is revealed that he was first inline to meet Mr. Bingley, and subsequently the rest of thechapter is spent considering when Bingley will visit theBennets in response.

Chapter 3

Bingley returns Mr. Bennets visit and the Bennets invite himto have dinner with them but he declines as he has businessin town. When he returns for a nearby ball thrown by Sir

William and Lady Lucas, he brings his own sisters and Mr.Darcy. The first introduction of Darcy is not favorable as the

ladies observe that he is rich and attractive but too proud. Hemakes his own comments on Elizabeth, that she is not quitehandsome enough for his tastes, turning down someonescomment for him to ask her to dance. Jane, meanwhile dances

with Bingley and excites Mrs. Bennet.


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Chapter 4

In each others confidence, Jane tells Elizabeth that sheadmires Bingley and that she enjoys his sisters company as

well. Elizabeth is not so easily charmed and finds her sister tooeasy to impress, blind to the follies and nonsense of others.She finds his sisters proud all by themselves and too eager forBingley to make his own estate (he inherited his money fromhis father). Miss Bingley, the unmarried of his sisters will live

with him in Netherfield and the friendship between Darcy andBingley is revealed to be rather deep with Bingley having ahigh regard for Darcys intelligence.

Chapter 5

Chapter five introduces more of Sir William and Lady Lucasand their family, which is quite large with many children.Their oldest daughter Charlotte is one of Elizabeths bestfriends and the chapter shows the conversations between theLucas and Bennet daughters as they discuss Mr. Darcy and hispride, including his unwillingness to talk to a woman he satbeside for as much as half an hour and how rude he was toElizabeth. They agree however that much of her being upset isbecause he was rude to her.

Chapter 6


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In chapter six, the Bennet sisters spend more time with MissBingley and Mrs. Hurst, although Bingleys sisters are largelydisinterested in spending time with anyone but Jane and

Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Charlotte discuss Janes buddingrelationship with Bingley and the two disagree over how sheshould show her feelings, with Elizabeth agreeing with Janescoy approach and Charlotte thinking she should be morestraightforward, lest nothing come of it.

Also in this chapter, Darcy begins to show a bit more interestin Elizabeth. Beyond his early observations that she was just

tolerable, he begins to find her much more interesting and when he willingly takes her hand to dance at another party atSir Williams, she turns him down. It is here though thatBingleys sisters discover that Darcy has an interest inElizabeth.

Chapter 7The two youngest Bennet sisters, Kitty and Lydia, visit theirAunt (via their mother) Mrs. Phillips in Meryton. There is amilitary base of sorts in Meryton and in due time the twobecome acquainted with the officers in the regiment, learningmore on each visit.

Jane is invited to Netherfield to have supper with Miss Bingleyand Mrs. Hurst (not to mention Bingley himself) and isadvised by her mother to go on horseback so that if there israin, she will be invited to stay the night. In the course of thethree mile ride, Jane is soaked by the rain and does in fact stay


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there, but gets a cold in the process. Elizabeth therefore visitsher to check on her health and ends up staying herself at therequest of her sister.

Chapter 8

Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst however do not fully appreciateElizabeth and take the opportunity to jab at her pride and lackof manners whenever she is not around. They voice theirempathy for Jane as well because of her family and lack of connections. They worry for her chances at making a goodmatch.

That evening, the Bingleys, Hursts, and Darcy have a cardgame in which more details regarding Pemberley Darcysown estate and his sisters are revealed.

Chapter 9

The rest of the Bennet women arrive to visit Jane Mrs.Bennet, Kitty, and Lydia and it is generally decided that sheshould not yet return home as she is not quite perfectlyhealthy. Lydia plays her part well and mentions to Bingley thathe had made mention of a ball being held at his own estate, to

which he agrees when Jane is feeling better. Mrs. Bennetdiscusses the differences between country and city living withthe Bingley sisters, after which they once again take to jabs atthe Bennet family. Darcy, however will not take theopportunity himself to join in mocking Elizabeth.


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Chapter 10

As Jane continues recovering, with the women reading, writing, and playing music, Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance. Sheonce again turns him down, unwilling to allow him thepleasure of despising her and her taste. Miss Bingley growsincreasingly jealous of Darcys attenti ons for Elizabeth, a girlshe finds beneath her.

Chapter 11

With Jane finally feeling better, she arrives in the drawingroom and spends a few hours of the evening talking withBingley in the drawing room. Meanwhile, Miss Bingley engageshim in discussion of the ball, to which he replies that he wasserious about having one. She also notices that Darcy does notpay her any attentions but that when she asks Elizabeth to

walk with her, he takes note.

Darcy and Elizabeth have a conversation of their own on thenature of pride in each of them. She comments that hisproblem is a propensity to hate everybody and he respondsby saying that she tries to willfully misunderstand those

same people.

Chapter 12


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With Janes recovery complete, she and Elizabeth decid e toreturn to the Bennet household. However, their mother makesexcuses as to why they cannot use the carriage to return. Jane

is finally coerced into borrowing Bingleys carriage, but itmeans they will need to wait for one more day to leave.

Meanwhile, Darcy notes that he has been paying too muchattention to Elizabeth and decides to speak with her less. Thenext day the Bennet sisters return home to a mother who isnot entirely happy that Jane has returned, having wanted herto stay with Bingley as long as possible. Kitty and Lydia do

their part by spilling the details of the military officers inMeryton.

Chapter 13

Mr. Bennet announces, after some playfulness in withholding

the name, that his cousin Mr. Collins has written him a letterand will be staying with them for a few days. He is the heir of Mr. Bennets estate because he has no sons. For his part, Mr.Collins is guilty over being the next in line for property thatshould not rightfully be his. He is a man of the church as welland has been given an important patronage. Mr. Bennet doesnot appreciate the letter however and decides that his cousinis too self important. When Mr. Collins arrives, he is thepicture of perfect manners and compliments and it is soonrealized that he intends to marry one of the Bennet girls.


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Chapter 14

Mr. Collins goes on at length during dinner about hispatronage, the Lady Catherin de Bourgh and her residence inRosings Park. He continues on and relays how he isexceptionally well suited at flattering Lady de Bourgh and herdaughter Miss de Bourgh. Mr. Bennet is not impressed andfinds his cousin rather silly.

Chapter 15

Very quickly, Mr. Collins decides that due to his obligation inthe inheritance he will ask for Janes hand in marriage, but isdissuaded when Mrs. Bennet tells him that there is another to

whom she will likely soon be engaged. Quickly, Mr. Collinschanges his choice to Elizabeth. The Bennet sisters,accompanied by Collins take a walk to Meryton where they

run across Mr. Denny, one of Lydia and Kitty s officer friends.He has with him a Mr. Wickham, a recently commissionedcorps member of Mr. Denny, whom Elizabeth finds ratherappealing. As the group meets and discusses matters, Bingleyand Darcy arrive, to which Elizabeth takes note of both Darcyand Wickhams change in color at meeting each other, withDarcy appearing angry at the officer.

The sisters quickly move on with Mr. Collins to visit Mrs.Phillips, who invites them to dinner the next day. At thedinner there will bee numerous other guests including some of the officers and Mr. Wickham.


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Chapter 16

The Bennet sisters and Mr. Collins arrive at Mrs. Phillips fordinner the next day where Mr. Wickham is as well. Wickhamand Elizabeth engage in a long evening of conversation in

which the topic of Mr. Darcy is brought up and her disgust with his pride. Wickham speaks highly of Darcys father asone of the best men that ever breathed, who bestowed uponhis son a decent sum that would have kept him well off for as

long as he lived. He also reveals that he grew up with Darcy ashis father was steward for Darcys father and that in the will Wickham was to receive a post as a Clergy of one the Rectorythat Darcys family oversees. However, Darcy did not honorthe will, which angers Elizabeth to no end. Wickham expandsby adding that Darcys sister is equally full of pride and thathe is Lady Catherine de Bourghs nephew and is intended tomarry Miss de Bourgh. Elizabeth is left for the evening todwell on Wickhams words.

Chapter 17

Elizabeth and Jane d iscuss Wickhams revelations from thenight before. Jane, as one who always looks for the good,entreats Elizabeth to consider that there might be amisunderstanding somehow as no man would disrespect hisfathers wishes in such a manner. Elizabeth believe s Wickhamhowever. The Bingley sisters arrive in the meantime to inviteeveryone to the Netherfield ball, though they leave quickly to


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avoid speaking with the younger Bennet sisters or theirmother. The Bennets are duly excited and all of them agree toattend, even Mary, who never participates in these events. Mr.

Collins asks Elizabeth for the first two dances, which she isdisappointed by as she had hoped to save those for Mr. Wickham.

Chapter 18

Upon arriving at the ball, Elizabeth realizes that Wickham would likely not attend because of Darcy. Mr. Denny relaysthat he had to go to town on business instead. Elizabeth ismortified in the first two dances by Mr. Collins beingawkward and solemn, apologizing instead of attending, andoften moving wrong wit hout being aware of it. Darcy onceagain asks for her hand to dance and she relents this time,offering him the next two dances.

To throw him off, she breaches conversation during the danceand quickly turns to the topic of Wickham, hoping to disrupthim. He only states that Wickham is very good at socializingand making friends, but has problems with keeping thosefriends. Sir William drops nearby and hints at futurecongratulations for Bingley and Jane.

The night continues and Elizabeth is duly embarrassed by herfamily as her mother uncouthly reminds everyone of Jane andBingleys budding relationship and her sister Mary does a poor

job of singing. The last to leave, the Bennets are not missed byBingleys sisters.


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Chapter 19

Mr. Collins arrives to the drawing room and asks Mrs. Bennetand Kitty for some alone time with Elizabeth. She tries to keepher family with her but realizes that she might as well deal

with the inevitable. Collins lays out why he is proposing,including Lady de Bourghs advice to d o so and proposes toher. Elizabeth however, rejects him as she says they would notmake each other happy. Collins finds her rejection to be an

attempt at modesty and decides to wait and ask again. Despiteher avid declaration that she will continue rejecting him,Collins believes that eventually he can woo her by askingagain.

Chapter 20

Mrs. Bennet however is upset by Elizabeths refusal, regardlessof how Collins feels. She decides she must convince herdaughter to marry him and calls on her husband to help. Shestates that if Elizabeth refuses she will never talk to her again.For his part, Mr. Bennet says the opposite, not wanting Collinsto marry into his family. Elizabeth continues to refuse andCharlotte soon arrives and learns of what has happened,taking the opportunity to get to know Collins.

Chapter 21


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After he withdraws his suit to, Collins quickly begins to ignoreElizabeth in favor of Charlotte. The girls visit Meryton again

where they run across Wickham. He relays that his absence at

the ball was due to his desire to avoid Darcy. He walks herback home where she introduces him to her parents. Janereceives a letter shortly from Miss Bingley stating that theBingleys have returned to London indefinitely and that Bingley

will hopefully be marry ing Georgiana, Darcys sister. Elizabethdoes her part by relaying that it is likely the doing of MissBingley and not Bingley himself and that he will returnshortly. However, Jane is incapable of believing that Bingleyssisters could be so deceiving and so thinks that they must belooking out for what is best for him.

Chapter 22

The Bennets visit the Lucass the next day for dinner andElizabeth relays her gratitude to Charlotte for spending time

with Collins. However, it is revealed that much of thatattention is in hopes of garnering his desire to her. They aresoon engaged to be married and Elizabeth is shocked that herfriend would agree to marry someone when there is no loveand almost certain unhappiness. Collins leaves soon thereafterto his parish.

Chapter 23


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When Sir William arrives to announce to the Bennets thatCharlotte and Collins are engaged, Mrs. Bennet is angry all onher own. Charlotte and Elizabeth quickly change in each

others company and Elizabeth believes they can no longer betruly close in light of what has happened. Mrs. Bennet, along with her anger over Collins, wonders if the Bingleys willreturn, upsetting Jane further. Elizabeth begins to fear herself that the Bingley sisters might be successful in their attempt tokeep Bingley away from Jane.

Chapter 24

Miss Bingley sends yet another letter to Jane, informing herthat they will be staying in London for the duration of the

winter. Elizabeth finally tells Mrs. Bennet that her constantlytalking of Bingley is bringing Jane pain. Caught up on her ownproblems, Elizabeth continues to talk against the marriage of Charlotte and Collins with Jane. She also tries to comfort herthough, stating that Bingleys sisters and Darcy are keepinghim away from her. Wickham spends more time with theBennets and soon the stories of Darcys ill treatment of himbecome public knowledge.

Chapter 25Mr. Collins leaves again for his parish and Mrs. Bennetsbrother Mr. Gardiner and his wife arrive for Christmas. Mrs.Gardiner is very close to both Jane and Elizabeth and when


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she learns what has happened with Jane and Bingley andinvites Jane to stay with her in London for a while.

Chapter 26

For Elizabeth, Mrs. Gardiner offers advice as to Wickham,stating that she should not become to infatuated as Wickhamdoes not have any money and she will only disappoint herfather. Later, Collins returns and Charlotte and he aremarried. They return to Kent, and Charlotte appeals toElizabeth to visit her.

It has been four weeks since Jane left for London and sherelays in her letters to Elizabeth that she has yet to see Bingleyor hear from his sister. She eventually decides that he wouldhave come by then if he really cared and that his sister is nota true friend as she continues making excuses not to visit her.

Elizabeth responds to Mrs. Gardiners letters about Wickhamby stating that he has found another woman with money of her own to lavish his attentions on. She is not nearly upset asshe thinks she should be if she was in love with him.

Chapter 27

As March arrives, the winter having been largely uneventful,Elizabeth prepares to visit Charlotte with Sir William andMaria, one of Charlottes sisters. On the way to Kent, theystop in London and visit Jane and Mrs. Gardiner. Jane isevidently quite healthy, but Mrs. Gardiner relays that she is


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often quite upset by the Bingleys and no longer speaks to MissBingley at all. Elizabeth also accepts an invitation to spend thesummer with the Gardiners on a vacation tour.

Chapter 28

Elizabeth and the Lucases arrive in Kent to visit Collins andCharlotte and Collins makes a point of showing off hisParsonage as if Elizabeth is personally missing out. Lady deBourgh invites them all to join her for dinner the next day.

Chapter 29

Collins comments the next day on their luck for so quicklybeing invited to dine with Lady de Bourgh. On the walk, theLucases are duly nervous and after arriving Collins makes ashow of complimenting everything in Lady de Bourghs home,to which she is grateful. She later gives Charlotte her share of advice on running a household and various other domesticconcerns. She turns her attentions then to Elizabeth, surprisedto learn that she grew up with no governess in a house withfive daughters and is shocked by Elizabeths response to herquestions, not as nervous and awestruck as the rest of her

guests. She considers the Bennet girls to have been poorlyraised, with no proper guidance, training, and poor mannersin conversation.


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Chapter 30

After seeing that his daughter is well off with her newhusband, Sir William returns home. Every so often, Lady deBourgh arrives to offer advice to Charlotte and invites them toher home for dinner twice a week or so. A few weeks into herstay, Darcy arrives with his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. After abit, he visits the Collins at their household and talks withElizabeth about how Jane was ignored. She grills him on whyhe did not visit her in three months, to which he looksconfused and states that he did not have the fortune to do so.

Chapter 31

After Darcy and Fitzwilliam arrived, Elizabeth and the othersat the Collins household hardly received any invitations todinner. Lady de Bourgh finally invites them but makes a point

of stating that their company was only enjoyable because of the lack of anyone else. Darcy makes a point of seeing howElizabeth and Fitzwilliam get along during this visit. Settlingcloser to her while she plays the piano, Darcy shows nointerest for Miss De Bourgh, his intended future wife.

Chapter 32 While sitting alone the next day, Elizabeth receives a visit fromDarcy, who states that he was unaware that she was alone.Elizabeth and him are both embarrassed, so she takes theopportunity to inquire as to whether Mr. Bingley will ever


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return to Netherfield. Darcy replies that thinks it is unlikely.As soon as Charlotte and Maria return, Darcy leaves. In thefuture he visits often with Fitzwilliam in tow. She is

completely unsure as to why Darcy keeps coming.

Chapter 33

Having told Darcy that she often walks in the park, Elizabethcannot understand why he keeps going there and they keepcrossing paths. One day in particular she comes acrossFitzwilliam while walking and they walk for a while, eventuallytalking about Miss Darcy. He announces that he has joinedDarcy in caring for her and she guesses correctly that MissDarcy is a difficult lady to handle. She asks about Bingley andDarcy and learns that Bingley is in Darcys debt for his helpingto get him out of an unwanted marriage to an undesirablesuitor. Elizabeth assumes this to mean the marriage to Janeand is upset as to how Darcy has so much control over othermen. The very strong objections against the lady assumesthat Bingley was talked out of the suit. She later refrains from

joining the others for a visit to La dy de Bourghs that evening.

Chapter 34

While alone with the others at dinner, Darcy visits Elizabethalone. During this visit, Darcy shocks her by declaring that henot only admires and loves her, but wishes to marry her. Hehas fought against his feelin gs because of her familys position


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and lesser status, but cannot any longer and in his prideassumes she will accept. She, however does not accept, statingthat he should be ashamed of that speech as well as his

treatment of Jane and Wickham.Darcy freely admits to his separation of Jane and Bingley andhis contempt for Wickham but cannot understand whyElizabeth would hold to these accusations instead of forgivinghim and that she is being prideful about his speech againstthe inferiority of her family. She not only refuses but assureshim that he could not have said anything to make her say yes

to his proposal.

Chapter 35

Dwelling on Darcys visit the next day, Elizabeth decides to gofor a walk. He calls for her as she walks though and she tries

to avoid him. He catches her though and gives her a letter toread that states he will not renew his offer, but that he wantsto explain the situations she has accused him of ill deeds.

The first accusation about Bingley, Darcy claims that he hasseen Bingley fall in love repeatedly in the past. He did notrealize that things had progressed so far with Jane until theball at Netherfield in which every talked about an upcomingmarriage. He observed the two and saw that Bingley wasinfatuated but also saw that Jane was seemingly disinterested.His explanations of Janes family status did not affect Bingley,but telling him that she seemed indifferent did finally convincehim to leave for London.


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In regards to the other charge regarding Wickham, Darcyexplains that Wickham received a sum from the will afterDarcys fathers death. He returned shortly afterward having

spent that sum and asked for more. Darcy refused to give himany more and Wickham soon disappeared. Soon enough, thereis evidence that the Wickham and Da rcys sister are close toeloping, which he stops with barely enough time to spare. Heasks for her removal of suspicion over Wickham, and that shecan converse with Fitzwilliam for corroboration.

Chapter 36

Elizabeth does not believe Darcy immediately in regard to thesituation with Bingley and Jane, assuming that he only usedthe argument against their family status. However, when sheconsiders the situation with Wickham, she realizes that shetook his word at face value the moment they met and neverheard Darcys side of the story. She thinks on how improper it

was for Wickham to speak on such matters to a stranger anddecides that Darcy is likely telling the truth of it. After comingto terms with his description of Wickham, she comes tobelieve his statements about Jane as she recalls Janes seemingindifference. When she finally returns home, she learns thatFitzwilliam and Darcy had stopped by to say goodbye.

Chapter 37


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The next morning, Darcy and Fitzwilliam leave Rosings andLady de Bourgh invite them to dinner. She attempts to keepElizabeth around for one more month, but Elizabeth is intent

on leaving as she had planned. During that last week of theirstay, Elizabeth and Maria are invited to the estate often fordinner for advice on traveling and packing for their returntrip.

Chapter 38

Collins and Elizabeth are alone on a day shortly before sheleaves. He takes the chance to thank her, comment on her luck

with Lady de Bourghs favor and inform her o f his andCharlottes happiness. Maria and Elizabeth leave in short orderand are soon at Mr. Gardiners home where they plant to stayfor a few days before returning home with Jane. Elizabeth isexcited to see Jane and cannot wait to tell her about Darcyand his proposal.

Chapter 39

In May, Elizabeth and Jane are returning home when they runacross Lydia and Kitty, who inform them that the officers in

Meryton are soon leaving. Lydia hopes to convince their fatherto take them to Brighton where they are set to be stationedduring the summer months. She also informs Elizabeth thatthe woman Wickham was looking to marry had left forLiverpool and that they are no longer getting married.


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Chapter 40

Elizabeth finally tells Jane what happened with Darcy, decidingto leave out any part of the story that might upset Jane. Janeis appropriately shocked, and feels bad for Darcy and the painof such a rejection. Elizabeth relates the story of Wickham andthe lies he told and Jane is once again shocked. They decidehowever that they will not share his wickedness as hisregiment is leaving for Brighton very soon. Elizabeth keeps

with her decision not to mention Bingley as s he notes Janessadness.

Chapter 41

After the officers leave Meryton, Kitty and Lydia are quiteupset and set Jane and Elizabeth to task for not caring asmuch themselves. They push for Mr. Bennet to take them toBrighton, but as soon as Mrs. Forster invites Lydia to stay withher family in Brighton, the entire matter is forgotten as she

was pushing the hardest. Elizabeth attempts to tell her fatherhow Lydia is not mature enough to go alone, but he thinks it

will be good for her to see how she fits in with the women inBrighton. When Wickham visits on the final day of their timein Meryton, Elizabeth makes a point of pointing out herimproved feelings toward Darcy so as not to let him believethey are leaving on good terms. Lydia leaves with the officersback to Meryton to travel with Mrs. Forster.


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Chapter 42

After the regiment and Lydia leave, Mrs. Bennet and Kitty arelargely bored and complain often, making Elizabeth wish thather trip with the Gardiners could arrive sooner. The trip ispostponed though and will be shortened to a trip toDerbyshire instead, where Darcy lives with his estate,Pemberley. The Gardiners do finally arrive a few days laterand leave their children in the care of Jane as they leave with

Elizabeth. When Mrs. Gardiner mentions that she would liketo see Pemberley, Elizabeth worries that she will see Darcy when they visit, until she learns that he and his family are alsoon vacation for the summer.

Chapter 43

Elizabeth is excited when she first sees the Pemberley Woodsand notes how nice it might be to be the Mistress of Pemberley. The housekeeper greets them and speaks veryhighly of Darcy, surprising Elizabeth. While walking thegrounds, the party does in fact run across Darcy whoimmediately blushes at her presence. He talks to her though asa gentleman and soon leaves her with the Gardiners to walkthe grounds. When he approaches them again he surprises heronce again with his manners and asks to be introduced to herfriends, a part of her family of which she is not embarrassed.Darcy for his part mentions that he would like to introduce


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Elizabeth to his sister who will arrive the next day. That night,Elizabeth can think of nothing but Darcy and his manners.

Chapter 44

Instead of waiting a day to introduce her, Darcy arrives theday his sister returns home to introduce her to Elizabeth. Sheis surprised that Miss Darcy is shy and not excessively proudas Wickham had claimed. Bingley arrives as well, joining theparty with his sisters. Elizabeth hopes that the situation willlead to the chance to ask Bingley about Jane as he doesntseem to show any interest in Miss Darcy. The Gardiners aresurprised by Darcys actions and decide that he is interested inElizabeth. As he continues trying to please her family,Elizabeth is duly surprised and when he leaves, he invitesthem to dinner at Pemberley. The next day, Mrs. Gardiner andElizabeth will pay a visit to Miss Darcy while Mr. Gardinergoes fishing with Darcy and some other gentlemen on thegrounds.

Chapter 45

Elizabeth decides that Miss Bingley is jealous of her, that being

the source of her dislike. During the visit, Miss Bingley merely watches and stays quiet along with Miss Darcy, everyoneobserving how Darcy himself acts around Elizabeth. When sheleaves, Miss Bingley takes the chance to assault almost every


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aspect of her. Darcy and his sister though do not deign to joinin with her.

Chapter 46

Elizabeth returns to the hotel to find two letters from Jane,prompting the Gardiners to go for a walk and leave her to theletters. The first letter is in regards to Lydia, stating that shehad run off to Scotland to marry Wickham. However, thesecond letter states that she may not have done so and that

Wickham does not plan to marry Lydia at all. The family isthoroughly disrupted of course and Colonel Forster, with

whom Lydia was staying, continues searching for her as Janerequests Elizabeth to return home.

As she prepares to retrieve the Gardiners, she meets Darcy atthe door, sending a servant to get them and then relays the

news of the letters to Darcy. Darcy becomes quiet in hisgrievement for her family and she worries that theirembarrassing behavior is too much for him to want her anyfurther. He decides he cannot help and will be in the way sohe leaves, where after she decides that she does indeed lovehim.

Chapter 47

The trip home is spent pondering what will happen, with bothMrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth wondering if the two will marry.

When they return, they learn that no news has come from Mr.


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Bennet in London and that Mrs. Bennet is ill. Elizabethcontinues discussing whether Lydia would marry Wickham

with Jane. Elizabeth now feels bad for not sharing Wickhams

bad deeds with everyone to prevent such a thing fromhappening.

Chapter 48

Mr. Gardiner leaves for London the next day to see what haskept Mr. Bennet from sending word. Mrs. Gardiner stays withthe Bennets to help and in a few days receives a letter fromMr. Gardiner that he and Mr. Bennet are looking for Lydia inthe citys hotels. Mr. Colli ns sends his own letter that tells Mr.Bennet he has heard of whats happening and that they shouldthrow away Lydia as an unworthy child. Mr. Gardiners nextletter informs them of his lack of progress and that Wickhamhas no family and a handful of gambling debts in Brighton.Mr. Bennet finally returns and tells Elizabeth that she wasright about Lydia and should be more cautious of hisdaughters in the future.

Chapter 49

Two days later, Mr. Gardiner writes that he has found Lydiaand Wickham and that they are not married and have nointentions to do so. Wickham will however marry Lydia for ashare of the 5,000 pounds due to the five daughters whentheir parents pass on and an extra 100 pounds a year


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thereafter. Elizabeth is shocked that Wickham will marry her,and Mr. Bennet is appalled that Wickham would ask for solittle. He wonders how much Mr. Gardiner might have added

to cover it and if he owes him for it. When Elizabeth sharesthe news with her mother, Mrs. Bennet immediately becomeshappy and begins planning the wedding.

Chapter 50

Mr. Bennet is upset by the lack of money he has saved for hisdaughters, having assumed always that he would have a sonsomeday. He decides he must repay Mr. Gardiner though and

writes him accepting the offer of marriage and asking what heowes his brother-in-law. When Mrs. Bennet reappears to startplanning the wedding, Mr. Bennet announces that Lydia and

Wickham will not be welcome in his home.

Elizabeth for her part is upset that she told Darcy what hadhappened with Lydia as she worries he will be less likely toadmire her in light her familys actions. She decides she couldbe happy with him and figures she will never see him again.Mr. Gardiner replies to Mr. Bennet stating that he was happyto help his Niece and will not discuss the matter again.

Wickham has decided to move to the North and so Jane andElizabeth must convince their father to accept Wickham intothe home so they can see their sister once more before theyhead north.


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Chapter 51

When they have been married, Lydia and Wickham arrive tothe Bennet household where Mrs. Bennet is excited and Mr.Bennet is quiet and unhappy. Lydia is anything butembarrassed of her actions and actually brags repeatedly of her match, stating I am sure my sisters must all envy me.She states she will invite them North, but Elizabeth actuallyreproaches her sister and tells her she doesnt approve of hercourting methods. Lydia talks on about the wedding despiteElizabeths disinterest, but when she mentions Darcy having

been at the wedding, she becomes very interested. Having notsupposed to have said anything, Lydia will not elaborate, soElizabeth writes a letter to Mrs. Gardiner to ask her about Mr.Darcys presence there.

Chapter 52

Mrs. Gardiner replies quickly, stating that Darcy had actuallygone to London and found Lydia and Wickham himself,leading Mr. Gardiner to them. He also paid the dowry for hersister to Wickham and gave Mr. Gardiner the credit for doingso and asked to be kept secret. Darcy claims that he helpedbecause he feels guilty for not divulging what he knew of

Wickham earlier, but Elizabeth thinks it might also be becauseof her.

Chapter 53


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After Lydia and Wickham leave, Mrs. Bennet learns thatBingley is returning to Netherfield for a couple weeks. Janedecides she will be friendly with Bingley and ignore everyones

talk of them. Similar to the first chapter, Mrs. Bennet tells Mr.Bennet to visit Bingley when he arrives and after his refusaldecides to invite him to dinner instead. Mrs. Bennet is upset

when Darcy arrives with Bingley and everyone is more or lessequally upset. Bingley speaks to Jane at length in the visit, butDarcy says very little to Elizabeth.

Chapter 54

The two arrive for dinner again on Tuesday and Jane onceagain plays down Bingle ys arrival to keep form beingdisappointed. Mrs. Bennet is excited again though as Bingleysits beside Jane and talks to her at length as he did before.Once again, Elizabeth hopes to talk with Darcy but cannotbecause he shows little interest once more. Jane claims thatshe once again will not be successful with Bingley andElizabeth tells her to quit acting indifferent or stop confidingin Elizabeth at all.

Chapter 55

Darcy returns to London for a few days and Bingley comesagain on his own. Mrs. Bennet does what she can to get Janeand Bingley alone together and embarrasses her daughters bydoing so. When he comes again, she succeeds though and


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when Elizabeth returns to socialize with them, she finds thathe has proposed to her and she has accepted. Jane goes toMrs. Bennet and Bingley to Mr. Bennet to announce the new

engagement, all of them equally happy with the engagement.Neighbors immediately change their opinion of the family, jealous of the match.

Chapter 56

A week later, Lady de Bourgh arrives to question Elizabethabout the rumors that she is engaged to Darcy. She does notthink it a good match because of the inferiority of Elizabethsfamily and shows her anger in doing so. Elizabeth tries todeflect the questions though, angering the Lady who insiststhat Elizabeth just tell her what has happened in sincerity. Shestates that Darcy is destined to be with her daughter andmust know Elizabeths intentions. She finally answers thequestion after irritating Lady de Bourgh, telling her no, butrefuses to promise never to become engaged to Darcy,enraging Lady de Bourgh yet again.

Chapter 57

Elizabeth wonders where the rumor must have come from,and worries that Lady de Bourgh will do what she said andkeep the match from occurring, talking negatively of herfamily to turn him against her. Mr. Bennet confronts her thenext day with a letter from Mr. Collins congratulating the


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family on Janes engagement and Elizabeths futureengagement, having originally believed Elizabeth to despiseDarcy. He is amused by the confusion, which upsets Elizabeth.

Chapter 58

When Darcy returns, he and Bingley visit the estate and headout on a walk with Jane, Elizabeth, and Kitty. Quickly enoughthough, Darcy and Elizabeth are left alone when the rest gooff on their own. She tells him that she knows of his help withLydia to which he insists that her family owes him nothing. Hereiterates his feelings for her but that he will not mentionthem again if her feelings have not changed at all. She makessure he knows that her feelings have changed and that she ishappy his are the same as before. She apologizes for how shetreated him before and he reiterates that her reproaches werehelpful in his changing. He also goes onto admit that he toldBingley of his mistake over Jane and convinced him to proposeto Jane.

Chapter 59

The families do not worry about Elizabeth and Darcy being

absent, sure nothing could happen despite how long they talk with each other. That night, Elizabeth tells Jane whathappened and it takes a while to convince her that Elizabethhas changed her mind and is actually happy with Darcy. Mrs.Bennet continues railing against Darcy though and when he


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arrives the next day to walk with Elizabeth she keeps the restof her family away from him. That day they decide that Darcy

will request her hand from Mr. Bennet that evening.

Darcy talks with her father that evening and receives hisconsent, after which Mr. Bennet questions her about herchange in feelings. She must again convince someone that shehas changed and her feelings for Darcy are positive now. Shealso tells him of what Darcy did for Lydia and he is relievedand appreciative. She then tells her mother that she will bemarried, to which Mrs. Bennet is shocked at first, but then

excited as she realizes that three of her daughters will soon bemarried.

Chapter 60

Elizabeth questions Darcy about his attitudes and reasons for

loving her, including why he was so silent when he firstreturned to visit with her. He states that he was embarrassedand it was the liveliness of her mind that attracted him. Thetwo soon write letters to those far away to announce theirengagement, and their various family members arrive to offercongratulations. Collins arrives as well with Charlotte whoonly wants to esc ape Lady de Bourghs anger over the match.

Chapter 61

Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic on the marriage day of her two oldestdaughters, referring to them as Mrs. Bingley and Mrs. Darcy.


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Mr. Bennet is often in Pemberley to visit his daughter and Janeand Bingley soon buy an estate much nearer to Pemberley.Kitty spends a lot of time with Jane and Elizabeth as well and

is disallowed from visiting Lydia in The North. Wickham andLydia for their part are often in need of money and constantlyask Elizabeth and Darcy for some, which they will oftenprovide. Mary is left alone at home with her mother where sheis forced to stop reading and spend time with Mrs. Bennet.

Miss Bingley attempts to be nice to Elizabeth, despite heranger over the match so she can still visit Pemberley, while

Miss Darcy lives at Pemberley and becomes close to Elizabethimmediately. Lady de Bourghs anger is immense, but after a

while she decides she cannot bear the curiosity and visitsPemberley to see how Elizabeth handles herself. The Gardiners

visit often and are favorites of the Darcys for bringing thetwo together.

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Brief Summary of Pride and Prejudice

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