Life as we know it would have never been the same for us bookworms had Mr Darcy not confessed his feelings for Elizabeth Bennet, perhaps in one of the most cinematic and romantic ways we could only dream of.
What makes this story even more unique though is the plethora of characters and their in-depth exploration. Female Heroines in the Regency era wouldn’t have been the same had Elizabeth been branded as the docile and virginal young woman. Instead, Austen chose to portray a strong woman who needed to find an equally strong man to stand by her side.
In this post, we will discuss each of those meticulously written characters. Moreover, we will address the relationships between them, as well and come to the universal—and completely unbiased—conclusion that Mr Darcy is undoubtedly one of the greatest male heroes of all time. So let’s dive in and explore our character list!
Undoubtedly, the Bennet family is a perfect caricature of the elite. As entertaining as it is to see them interact with others and amongst them, their existence is a blot on society allowing us to see through the facade.
Elizabeth (portrayed by Keira Knightley for the movie adaptation) or Lizzie for short, is the second oldest of five sisters and her father’s favourite. Like all the Bennet daughters she has been educated mostly by reading books while her lack of a governess made aristocrats like Lady Catherine gasp. Unlike her sisters though, Elizabeth is highly opinionated, with a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue.
Despite her initial mortification by Mr Darcy’s comments she does not hesitate to let him know what she thinks of him and the whole aristocratic hierarchy he represents. She demands respect and will gladly risk staying unmarried, by refusing Mr Collins’ proposal, demonstrating great resilience and deeming her a radical thinker. Perhaps that is why Austen deems Elizabeth as the most credible narrator and we see most events through her eyes, even the juicy ones with Mr Darcy.
However, Elizabeth’s heightened perception is also her downfall as she tends to judge people based on their appearance and titles and not so much on their opinions and actions. This will cause her great distress in her interactions with Mr Darcy at least in the first half of the book as she is greatly prejudiced against him. The handsome Mr Wickham will provide a great incentive for her hate towards Darcy, but like all true soulmates, they will find their way to each other.
Mr Bennet is an extremely interesting yet controversial character. All PaP fans have stumbled upon some memes of him and his iconic portrayal in the 2005 film by Donnal Sutherland. Like Elizabeth, he is quick-witted, doesn’t care about social status or decorum, but lets his wife fuss over their daughters’ marriages and social appearances. Sarcasm and passivity are perhaps two words that can better describe his character. Austen has made him a silent spectator of the human folly, rarely participating in anything and he is greatly amused by all of it, to say the least. The only moment he seems to be the standard paternal figure is upon discovering that the apple of his eye, Elizabeth, has fallen for Mr Darcy.
The mother of the Bennet daughters (portrayed by Brenda Blethyn) is the epitome of the silly socialite. Her character is perhaps Austen’s own mockery of the newly risen bourgeoisie and their eagerness to solidify their place in society. Her ambition to see her daughters secure advantageous marriages is prevalent from the start and it is actually heavily judged by Mr Darcy and his lot. She even endorses Lydia’s marrying Mr Wickam despite their elopement and her efforts to promote her daughters are very humorously portrayed by Austen.
Jane Bennet (portrayed by Rosamund Pike) is the traditional virtuous damsel of the time. Unlike her judgy sister, she is soft-spoken, pleasant, friendly, and a delight to be around in general. She is fairly coddled and cherished by her mother as she has the greatest beauty and therefore prospects from the sisters.
It is no wonder that she immediately catches Mr Bingley’s eye, her graceful presence and cheerful disposition make her dear to him immediately. She will be greatly disappointed by Mr Bingley’s leave, but even then her bright spirit and benevolent nature are not overshadowed. She will go to London with Mrs Bennet’s brother and sister-in-law, Mrs Gardiner, where she will have a chance to see life outside of Meryton.
Lydia Bennet (portrayed by Jena Malone) is the youngest of the Bennet sisters and the type of woman their mother pressures the Bennet sisters to be. She is very flirtatious and easily susceptible to male attention. She is still fairly young making her extremely naive and impulsive. Her happiness in having attained a husband and an estate, despite Mr Darcy’s interval and her family’s agony, shows her profanity as perhaps one of the most shallow and silly—as Mr Bennet calls her—PaP characters.
Mary Bennet (portrayed by Talula Riley) the middle Bennet sister is yet another rather controversial member of the Bennet family. At first glance, she seems like the proper young lady, playing her instruments and reading her books, but it is easily detectable that her behaviour towards her sisters is rather condescending. She is actually the least-liked character because of her pretentious propriety and perhaps the polar opposite of Lydia.
Although not the youngest of the Bennet sisters, Kitty Bennet (portrayed by Carrey Mulligan) appears to be naive and playful. She is often paired with her younger sister, Lydia, and even her father categorizes them as the silliest of his daughters. Although she does exude a cheerful yet mischievous aura, she is more sensible than Lydia, perhaps taking after her elder sisters.
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Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley are two young titled gentlemen, whose reputations and large inheritance—especially in Mr Darcy’s case— precede them. Their visit to Meryton quickly becomes the talk of the town.
Fitzwilliam Darcy and his portrayal by Matthew Macfadyen has become the quintessential picture of the English gentleman in the hearts of all PaP and romance fans—especially ours. Nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, he is the personification of pride from the moment he steps into The Netherfield Ball. Moments later he has already dismissed the Bennet family as not worthy of his attention and is pompous enough that he doesn’t care if his comments are overheard.
He is Elizabeth’s male counterpart, both hasty in their judgement but with different assessment points. He plays a decisive role in Mr Bingley leaving Meryton and consequently in Jane’s broken heart, but don’t fret because Elizabeth is there to call him out on it. Despite his immense pride in his own title, he finds himself enchanted by Elizabeth’s witty and sassy disposition and even though she was initially deemed not handsome enough to pay her any attention he is utterly taken by her.
His confession to her is the perfect manifestation of his world views, he tries to woo her by highlighting his love even though she is absolutely unsuitable for him due to her lack of connections. But he does redeem himself when he ensures Lydia’s elopement, will not cause a scandal that could possibly ruin Elizabeth and her family. Although one could say he did it for his own feelings, his actions deem him an honourable man who deserves to get the girl.
Mr Bingley (portrayed by Simon Woods) is not so thoroughly explored by Austen, but he is a dearly beloved PaP character nonetheless. The perfect match for the kind-hearted Jane Bennet without a doubt and even though they were not the couple we were all obsessed with, we all rooted for them. Like Jane, he lacks the undeniable egotism that Elizabeth and Mr Darcy share, which makes him easily approachable and friendly. His kindness, however, causes him to be susceptible to others’ opinions and especially Mr Darcy’s which leads him away from Jane. But he does not disappoint in the end he comes back and proclaims his love for her.
Lady Catherine, Darcy’s aunt, is one of the old aristocrats, desperate to keep her title and name she wants her daughter to marry Mr Darcy. Like him, she is pompous and proud and despite her heavy judgement and her attempts to drive Elizabeth away, she does not get her way.
Caroline (portrayed by Kelly Reilly) is completely different from her brother as she is haughty and pretentious. She befriends Jane who seems like the only salvageable Bennet, but her jealousy for Elizabeth makes her shut Jane out.
Perhaps one of the most relatable Pride and Prejudice characters, Charlotte Lucas (portrayed by Claudie Blakley) Elizabeth’s best friend may seem like a character of trivial importance, but she presents Elizabeth with a pivotal chance to reevaluate her views on marriage and offers her the opportunity to meet Lady Catherine and Mr Darcy again. Charlotte is a more typical female character of the Regency era, greatly affected by her lack of suitors at the age of 27 she manages to get a marriage offer by Mr Collins and establish herself as a lady and please her mother Lady Lucas. She longs to have a place in society, a stark contrast to Elizabeth’s wildness.
The religious quack as many have called him, Mr Collins (portrayed by Tom Hollander) is a very humorously written character. His life’s devotion is servitude to Lady Catherine and civility. As the future heir of Longbourn, the Bennet estate, he deems it only natural he will get to pick a bride among them, but he is unfortunately met with Elizabeth’s refusal. At first, he deems it as female caprice—because, of course, there is no possible way she could refuse such a stud other than playing hard to get— but then he is forced to look elsewhere.
At last, the handsome antagonist arrives. The militia officer, Mr Wickham (portrayed by Rupert Friend) shows up and stirs Elizabeth’s curiosity, his implications with Mr Darcy fascinate her and she becomes his ardent supporter—of course, his handsome face is a plus. Soon, however, his bad habits, such as attempting to seduce Miss Georgiana Darcy, Darcy’s sister, and lies come to the surface and even though he loses Elizabeth’s favour he captures Lydia’s heart and is found with a wife and an estate, all courtesy of the benevolent Mr Darcy.
In order to achieve a more thorough understanding of Austen’s mastery in creating the characters we need to understand the social hierarchy of the era (link crew article). Austen may use some working-class characters such as Mrs Reynolds, Darcy’s housekeeper, but she mostly focuses on the aristocracy, the nobility, and the bourgeoisie or gentry. Lords and titled gentlemen are the target group of young ladies of either money or noble birth and the Bennet sisters are certainly no exception—having a handsome package to go with their money was always a merit.
Pride and Prejudice characters like Mr Collins and Mr Bingley offer some details on the nobility and the inheritance laws as well. Moreover, even though there is social mobility between the classes noted at the time the question of aristocratic birthright is raised with none other than Mr Darcy. Common views on the matters are also explained through the Bennet family, Elizabeth in particular, who is perhaps Austen’s own fight against the determinism of rank. Charlotte and Mrs Bennet are characters who value social class, title and seek a place in society.
Pride and Prejudice characters are inspired by the people Austen herself was surrounded by in the late 18th century, but it seems she was also influenced by Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments. Smith (1723-1790), like Aristotle, claimed that humans were innately social creatures, who were required to show compassion, observe behaviour and become a moral judge of propriety. This way people become masters of their passion and achieve virtue and wisdom.
As a moral thinker herself, Austen made Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, the main Pride and Prejudice characters, undergo interactive and mutually educational progress. By facing disagreements and conflicts due to their mutual disapproval they manage to find themselves and each other. So it is safe to assume that Smith’s claims about prudence, self-estimation, pride, and vanity gave her a lot of material to masterfully construct her own characters.
Pride and Prejudice characters are timeless, endlessly relatable, and capture the essence of human existence.
From walking up the stairs of Pemberley in Derbyshire to dancing at The Netherfield Ball Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has given us great insight into the life of young socialites in the Regency era. Pride and Prejudice remains Austen’s most beloved novel and fairly so. If only it were as easy for all as hopelessly romantic bookworms to meet the dreamy Mr Darcy and be able to stand as fiercely as our dear Elizabeth against any social injustice. To read more juicy details about the masterpiece Pride and Prejudice, like the most interesting quotes and the secrets behind the scandalous marriages of most characters in the novel subscribe to the Crewfiction's newsletter.
Always living in her own enchanted little world, Christina discovered the magic that can be hidden within the pages of a book when one dares to take a closer look from a tender age. An avid reader, she is constantly inspired to delve into the secrets woven between the lines and challenges herself to find her own voice amidst the chaos. She is a dedicated fan of the classics, but the supernatural creatures that have tormented readers for years are her kryptonite. The mastery it takes to infuse the author's essence, molded by the era they grew up in to their innermost desires fascinates her. Undoubtedly, putting her passion and knowledge on paper has a mesmerizing allure on her, and following the steps of so many other dreamers before her she wishes to leave her mark in the literary world. Guided by T.S Eliot’s haunting words: “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” she intends to wreak havoc in the minds of her future readers.
