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Pride and Prejudice – Character & Setting Notes
Chapters 1 – 5(pages 1 – 16)
Characters met so far:
BENNET FAMILY:
- Mr. Bennet – clever, witty, detached, favours “Lizzy”
- Mrs. Bennet – foolish, superficial, obsessed w/ marrying off 5 daughters
- Jane – eldest, prettiest, sweet, shy, trusting, likeable
- Elizabeth (Lizzy) – 2nd eldest, witty, clever, down-to-earth, honest, charming
- Mary – middle child, ‘bookish’, plain, socially-awkward
- Catherine (Kitty) – 2nd youngest, ‘boy-crazy’, giddy, not too bright, a ‘follower’ of her younger sister (Lydia)
- Lydia – youngest, immature, even more ‘boy-crazy’, giddy, and foolish than Kitty, and tends to be more of an ‘instigator’
BINGLEY ‘ENTOURAGE’:
- Charles Bingley – wealthy (‘new’ money), nice-looking, friendly, easy-going, somewhat impressionable or ‘weak’ in character
- Caroline Bingley – Charles’ younger sister, snobbish, ‘catty’, wants Darcy, dislikes Bennets
- Louisa Hurst – Charles’ older, married sister –similar to Caroline
- Mr. Hurst – Louisa’s husband – lazy, lacking in personality, aristocratic
- Mr. (Fitzwilliam) Darcy – very wealthy, handsome, intelligent, proud, reserved, complex
LUCAS FAMILY [neighbours to Bennets]:
- Sir William Lucas – retired gentry, father to several children, reserved
- Lady Lucas – friend to Mrs. Bennet but more intelligent, also keen to marry off daughters
- Charlotte Lucas – eldest Lucas child (27 years), plain but sensible, best friend to Elizabeth Bennet
LOCATIONS MENTIONED SO FAR:
- LONGBOURN (in Hertfordshire): Bennet’s home ‘village’ (includes neighbouring properties, i.e. Lucas’ home)
- MARYTON (in Hertfordshire): Local town (where ‘Assembly’ ball occurs & British troops will be stationed for much of novel)
- NETHERFIELD (in Hertfordshire): Bingley’s large, rented estate a few miles from Longbourn
- PEMBERLEY (in Derbyshire): Mr. Darcy’s enormous, aristocratic, family estate over a day’s journey away
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Additional characters introduced as novel unfolds:
BENNET Family Relations:
Mr. William Collins – Cousin to Mr. Bennet; will inherit Longbourn; foolish, sycophantic, talkative, annoying; Charlotte Lucas’ husband
Mr. & Mrs. Philips – Sister and brother-in-law to Mrs. Bennet; live in Meryton; Mrs. Philips is as ‘vulgar’ and socially inept as her sister
Mr. & Mrs. Gardiner – Brother and sister-in-law to Mrs. Bennet; he’s a London ‘tradesman’, but both are genteel, cultured, and beloved by Jane and Elizabeth
DARCY Family Relations:
Miss Georgiana Darcy – Mr. Darcy’s beloved ten-years-younger sister; sweet, shy, naïve, loyal; musically talented
Lady Catherine de Bourgh – Mr. Darcy’s wealthy, aristocratic aunt; arrogant, class-conscious, meddlesome, and controlling
Miss Anne de Bourgh – Lady Catherine’s shy and somewhat ‘sickly’ daughter; unfriendly and ‘unaccomplished’ (spoiled)
Colonel Fitzwilliam – cousin to Darcy and Georgiana; well-mannered, honest, charming; a ‘second son’ with no inherited wealth
MISCELLANEOUS ‘OTHER’ CHARACTERS:
George Wickham – son of Pemberley’s steward; handsome, personable fortune-hunter; manipulative, deceptive militia man
Miss Mary King – young heiress pursued unsuccessfully by Wickham
Maria Lucas – Charlotte Lucas’ younger, impressionable sister
Colonel and Mrs. Forster – Wickham’s commanding officer and his young wife; act as Lydia’s ‘chaperones’ in Brighton
Mrs. Reynolds – Friendly housekeeper at Pemberley; doting servant of Darcy and Georgiana
Mrs. Jenkinson – serious-minded, over-protective governess to Miss Anne de Bourgh
Mrs. Younge – Miss Darcy’s past governess; corrupt friend of Wickham’s; assisted Wickham in plots against Miss Darcy & Lydia
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FURTHER LOCATIONS MENTIONED:
- Lucas Lodge (in Huntsfordshire): Lucas family home
- Hunsford Parsonage (in Kent): Mr. Collins’ (and Charlotte’s) home
- RosingsPark (in Kent): Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s estate
- Brighton: New location for militia’s encampment (visited by Lydia)
- Lambton (in Derbyshire): Mrs. Gardiner’s hometown near Pemberley, stayed at by Gardiners and Elizabeth while on tour
- LONDON: full-time home to Gardiners & Hursts; part-time home to Bingleys & Darcys; visited by Jane, Wickham & Lydia
- Newcastle (in Northern England): Remote locale ofLydia and Wickham after their marriage