Chapter 1

Summary
We are introduced to the Bennet household. Mrs. Bennet is excited by the news
that Mr. Bingley, a bachelor, is moving into the neighbourhood. With five
unmarried daughters, her mind is preoccupied with finding husbands for them,
and Mr. Bingley would clearly be an excellent ‘catch’.
Commentary
The introduction to a novel is vitally important: it should give some indication
of the theme and grip the reader’s attention. These conditions are admirably
fulfilled here. The very first sentence establishes the dominant theme of
marriage, and does so with wit. It is a generalisation of the kind found in Dr
Johnson and the eighteenth-century moralist tradition, and combines the ring of
truth with irony. The reader’s involvement is achieved by the use made of
dialogue, rather than description and report, and the dialogue itself amuses
because it so tellingly reveals the characters. Mrs. Bennet is obviously an empty-
headed hypochondriac; her husband is no less obviously a tease, especially at his
wife’s expense. They are hardly a good advertisement for marriage, yet they both
assume it to be necessary for their daughters.

Chapter 2
Summary
Mr. Bennet visits Mr. Bingley promptly, but conceals his having done so until
the evening, when he makes a teasingly gradual confession. Mrs. Bennet and her
daughters continue to talk about Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Bennet skilfully
manipulates their discussion so that his news will contradict their expectations
and astonish them.

Commentary
We are given additional insight into the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Only
after provoking his wife into exclaiming that she is ‘sick of Bingley’ will Mr.
Bennet admit to his visit, then quickly make a fine exit, ‘fatigued with the
raptures of his wife’. She, meanwhile, is thoroughly resentful towards her
husband and projects her irritation on to her daughter, Kitty, who gets the sharp
edge of her tongue for coughing; but immediately on learning that Mr. Bennet
has called on Bingley, she praises him as ‘an excellent father’ and is all
benevolence towards everyone. We are afforded some insight into the sheer
uneventfulness of the lives of the middle classes of this period: a newcomer in
the neighbourhood is a preoccupying source of excitement in lives that tend to
monotony.
Chapter 3

Summary
Mr. Bennet eludes the skill of his wife and daughters in their attempts to find out
more about Bingley from him: they have, therefore, to content themselves with
local gossip and a glimpse of him from an upstairs window, when he returns Mr
Bennet’s visit and is kept in the study. However, Bingley attends a ball at
Meryton, and Mrs. Bennet and her daughters can finally satisfy their curiosity.
Bingley is everything he ought to be: handsome, easy in manner, likeable. He
has brought from London his two sisters; Mr. Hurst, the husband-of one of them;
and a close friend, Mr. Darcy. The report that Mr. Darcy has ten thousand pounds
annual income predisposes everyone to regard him as fine, tall, handsome and
noble; in fact, he initially outshines Bingley in person, just as he does in income.
But the company at the ball, once they discover Darcy to be aloof and hard to
please, take offence, abruptly turn against him, and are as quick to condemn as
formerly to praise him. Bingley, who is as easy as Darcy is difficult to please,
tries to get his friend to enter into the spirit of the ball and to dance with Elizabeth
Bennet; but Darcy rudely and pointedly declines. Bingley returns to dancing with
Jane Bennet, to whom he is attracted, and Elizabeth, apparently more amused
than hurt by Darcy’s snubbing her, entertains her friends by giving them an
account of it, even though it is against herself. When Mrs. Bennet and her
daughters return to Longbourn, they find Mr. Bennet still up. For all his pretence
of indifference, he is anxious to have an account of the evening.
Commentary
We are introduced to Bingley and Darcy, but within a framework of irony.
Bingley is presented as the ideal ‘catch’. Darcy, however, has twice his income,
and therefore eclipses his friend in the opinion of society. However, once society
discovers he considers himself above them, they rapidly restore Bingley to their
favour and find the qualities they have just admired in Darcy to be wholly
disagreeable. The deceptiveness of appearances and first impressions, which is
a recurrent theme in the novel, is encountered here for the first time, and it is
clear that Jane Austen is far from endorsing the view that the judgements of
society are either sensible or reliable. Elizabeth’s first encounter with Darcy is
more than enough to establish his pride and initiate her prejudice. The device of
eavesdropping was a convention frequently used by novelists of the period, but
its use here, in a novel that is in general cogently naturalistic, is neither happy
nor convincing. Given that Elizabeth is within earshot of Darcy, it is extremely
unlikely that Bingley, who is entirely good natured, would draw Darcy’s
attention to her in a voice loud enough to be heard. But Darcy’s reply, made after
he has caught Elizabeth’s eye and lowered his own, is so gratuitously insulting
as to be scarcely credible, for surely he would have lowered his voice along with
his eyes. It is difficult not to see this scene, so crucial to the development of the
whole plot, as a curious blemish in a novel that otherwise approximates to
perfection.
Chapter 4
Summary
We are given an analysis of the characters introduced in the previous chapter.
Bingley’s excellent qualities and good breeding are admired by Jane and
admitted by Elizabeth; his manners are presented as a foil to Darcy’s, which
continually give offence. Elizabeth, more critical than Jane, sees through
Bingley’s sisters, who are the worst sort of snobs.
Commentary
The sweetness and modesty of Jane’s character are apparent from her charitable
judgements and from her being surprised at Bingley’s asking her to dance a
second time. Like Bingley, she is unspoiled and well disposed towards
everybody, and what she says is sincere, simple and unqualified by wit.
Elizabeth’s speech, by contrast, is clever and epigrammatic. Typically, Elizabeth
remarks that ‘compliments always take you by surprise, and me never’. But if
compliments never surprise Elizabeth, it is because she has a just appreciation of
her own worth, and for this very reason she is unlikely to forgive Darcy’s snub.
By making it ridiculous, she can preserve her good opinion of herself.
Meanwhile, we have the author’s word for it that Darcy is clever and of superior
understanding to Bingley: ‘In understanding, Darcy was the superior’.
Chapter 5
Summary
The events of the ball are further scrutinised when Lady Lucas, the wife of Sir
William, whose knighthood has gone to his head, visits Longboum with her
daughter Charlotte. Mrs. Bennet, conscious of Bingley’s having honoured
Charlotte by dancing with her first, seeks to be one up by virtually forcing
Charlotte into recounting what she had heard Bingley remark to Mr. Robinson
about Jane’s being the prettiest girl at the ball. The whole company are agreed
that Darcy is eaten up with pride.
Commentary
Our pleasure in reading Jane Austen springs not only from the verbal wit of her
characters, but from her own authorial wit. Of Sir William’s knighthood she
observes: ‘The distinction had perhaps been felt too strongly’, while the feather-
brained Lady Lucas is introduced to us as a woman ‘not too clever to be a
valuable neighbour to Mrs. Bennet’. Nor should one miss the author’s amused
moral condemnation of her characters, as when Mrs. Bennet attributes Darcy’s
not speaking to Mrs. Long to the fact that she does not keep a carriage’. In the
very act of condemning Darcy’s snobbishness, she is snobbishly congratulating
herself on actually having the carriage Mrs. Long lacks. The jest about
Elizabeth’s being ‘only just tolerable ’ reveals an intimacy and cheerful
friendship between Charlotte and Elizabeth, and some insight is given into
Charlotte’s very practical nature when she claims Darcy’s pride does not offend
her, ‘because there is an excuse for it’ in terms of his family and fortune. Finally,
the amusement of the chapter is enhanced by Mary, whom the author satirises by
making her talk pretentiously and sententiously, like a heavyweight book.

Chapter 6

Summary
The affection between Jane and Bingley continues to grow as visits are ide
between Netherfield and Longboum, but Elizabeth remains unconvinced of the
regard for Jane expressed by Bingley’s sisters. She is relieved that Jane’s
subdued manner keeps her from betraying her love for Bingley to the envy and
criticism of society, and says as much to Charlotte Lucas, whose views about
‘fixing’ a husband and about marriage in general are wittily but cynically stated.
Elizabeth rejects such cynicism and does not properly credit what Charlotte says.
Meanwhile, Darcy surprises himself by discovering that he is increasingly
attracted to Elizabeth. The Lucas’s give a party which she attends and he reveals
some interest in her. She however, is convinced that he is implacably
disapproving of her and, from prejudice, misinterprets his actions and words
alike. The blundering Sir William, after a mild snubbing from Darcy, presents
Elizabeth to him as a dance partner. Darcy is ‘not unwilling’ but Elizabeth,
remembering how he had so rudely rejected the suggestion that he should dance
with her at the Netherfield ball, doggedly refuses. When Elizabeth escapes from
him, Darcy is approached by Miss Bingley, who is jealously aware of the
attraction Elizabeth has for him, and who tries to undo it by snobbishly pointing
out the provincial narrowness and social deficiencies of their company. Darcy
frankly admits to his liking for Elizabeth and her ‘fine eyes’. Miss Bingley,
affecting astonishment, declares sarcastically that Darcy ‘will have a charming
mother-in-law’ in the vulgar and empty-headed Mrs. Bennet.

Commentary

The marriage debate between Elizabeth and Charlotte is central to the whole
book. Elizabeth’s relief that Jane’s discretion removes the possibility of gossip
is challenged by Charlotte’s perception that such discretion might also remove
the possibility of a husband, since men need to be actively encouraged.
Charlotte’s recipe for marriage is, first fix your man; later there ‘will be leisure
for falling in love’. But married love is hardly taken seriously by her either.
‘Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of choice,’ Charlotte declares, and
she goes on to argue that ‘it is better to know as little as possible of the defects
of the person with whom you are to pass your life’. Elizabeth laughs at this,
convinced that Charlotte would never act so calculatingly. Marriage for
Elizabeth implies more than landing a rich husband: affection, character, mutual
understanding are necessary, too. Ironically, she is blind to any token of interest
or affection on Darcy’s part, and mocks him by declaring that he ‘is all
politeness’. She is too set on demonstrating to him that she is not looking for a
partner to notice that he would genuinely like to dance with her. We are made
aware of a certain high seriousness in Darcy. He is filled with ‘silent indignation’
at the mindless way in which some of the company prefer dancing ‘to the
exclusion of all conversation’; but his indignation subsides quickly enough when
Sir William proposes he should himself dance with Elizabeth! Even when Darcy
dismissively asserts ‘every savage can dance’, we recognise a turn of phrase and
mind that has something in common with Elizabeth’s cleverness and wit. Some
affinity between them is apparent to the reader long before it is apparent to
Elizabeth herself.

Chapter 7

Summary
The two youngest and silliest Bennet sisters, Catherine and Lydia, persistently
visit their aunt, Mrs. Phillips, in the nearby village of Meryton, drawn there by
their interest in the officers of a militia regiment which has moved into the
neighbourhood. A note is sent to Jane from Miss Bingley, inviting her to dine at
Netherfield, and Mrs. Bennet schemingly insists her daughter should go on
horseback. As Mrs. Bennet hoped, it rains, and Jane is obliged to stay the night.
Next morning, she has a cold and sends a letter to Elizabeth, telling her that the
Bingleys insist on her staying until she is better. Elizabeth sets out and walks the
three miles to Netherfield to satisfy herself about Jane’s health, and her
appearance after her walk surprises everyone. Jane has a fever and Elizabeth sits
with her in the bedroom. When Elizabeth attempts to return home, Jane is
distressed and Miss Bingley, whose kindness to Jane has made Elizabeth think
rather better of her, invites Elizabeth to stay at Netherfield until Jane recovers.

Commentary
The characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are nicely illustrated by their views on
Catherine and Lydia. For Mr. Bennet they are ‘two of the silliest girls in the
country’. For his wife, her daughters ‘are all of them very clever’. The fact that
he is their father does not blind him to his daughters’ faults, but it is wholly
otherwise with Mrs. Bennet, who asserts that if she wished ‘to think slightingly
of anybody’s children, it should not be [her] own . . .’. With heavy sarcasm, Mr.
Bennet flatters himself that ‘this is the only point . . . on which we do not agree’.
The fact is, Mrs. Bennet is as silly as Catherine and Lydia; her indulgence
towards them comes from her still, at heart, liking a red-coat herself. However,
she contrives to combine silliness with cunning. She calculates that it is likely to
rain and deliberately sends Jane to Netherfield on horseback, reasoning that Jane
may have to stay over- right, and so be in a position further to impress Bingley
with her charms. Jane’s cold comes as a bonus to Mrs. Bennet’s scheme, and her
delight is matched only by Mr. Bennet’s contempt. If Jane should die, he
observes, ‘it would be a comfort to know that it was all in pursuit of Mr. Bingley
.. .’. But the chapter also affords us further insight into the characters of the older
sisters. Jane is unprotesting and submissive to her mother’s manipulations.
Elizabeth defies her mother by insisting on walking to Netherfield. Her concern
for Jane makes her indifferent to both convention and her own appearance. When
‘with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing’ she is shown into the
breakfast parlour at Netherfield, the varied responses of the company she finds
there epitomise their characters: the Bingley sisters are contemptuously
incredulous, their brother kind and understanding, and Darcy tom between
admiration and doubt.

Chapter 8
Summary
Jane’s bad cold worsens and Elizabeth realises that only Bingley is sincere in his
anxiety for her sister. Behind her back, Elizabeth is very unkindly criticised by
Miss Bingley, but neither Bingley nor Darcy can be brought to join in the
criticism. After dinner, when Jane is asleep, Elizabeth reluctantly joins her hosts
in the drawing room, and Miss Bingley seeks to expose Elizabeth’s deficiencies
by turning the conversation to the topic of a woman’s accomplishments. This she
does to impress Darcy, but Darcy’s comments, if applied to Elizabeth, are
complimentary, rather than censorious. The chapter deepens our understanding
of the characters of the Netherfield household.

Commentary
Throughout, Elizabeth’s spontaneity is contrasted with the artificial
sophistication of Bingley’s sisters, more especially Caroline Bingley. The sisters
do nothing natural, are always playing a game and are conscious of nothing
except the effect they wish to make. Their concern for. Jane ceases the minute
they close the bedroom door on her; their abuse of Elizabeth begins the second
she leaves the room. It is significant that they think Elizabeth, among her other
shortcomings, has ‘no style’. Caroline Bingley, always seeking to degrade
Elizabeth in Darcy’s eyes, refers to the Bennet’s ‘low connections’. Bingley, all
heart, considers such connections irrelevant; but Darcy, whose head governs his
heart, recognises that they must ‘materially lessen’ the Bennet sisters’ chances
of marrying well. In discussing the ‘idea of an accomplished woman’, Elizabeth
satirically wonders at Darcy’s knowing anyone able to live up to his very high
expectations - to the annoyance of Miss Bingley, who imagines she herself
qualifies. Darcy, gravely speaking of improving the mind through reading,
obliquely compliments Elizabeth, who is, like himself, fond of books; once
Elizabeth leaves them, Miss Bingley accuses her of employing the ‘mean art’ of
winning the approval of men by undervaluing women. Loyal to Elizabeth in her
absence, and angered by Miss Bingley’s all too obvious arts, Darcy retorts that
‘there is meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ
for captivation’.
Chapter 9
Summary
Since Jane continues to be ill, a note is sent to her mother, who is only too happy
to visit Netherfield, accompanied by Charlotte and Lydia. Mrs Bennet is in much
less of a hurry to -arrange for Jane to return home. Predictably, she
misunderstands Darcy’s remark that there is less variety of people in the country
than in the town, and embarrassingly tries to triumph over him by boasting that
society in Meryton and its neighbourhood is equal to any other. Elizabeth tries
desperately to suppress her mother’s indiscretions, but not very successfully.
Before returning to Longbourn with her mother, Lydia has the temerity to ask
Bingley if he will keep his promise of giving a ball, and is assured it shall take
place once Jane is better.
Commentary
Throughout, Elizabeth is aware of how the vulgarity of her mother and the
forwardness of her silly sisters must be judged by the highly critical company at
Netherfield: she trembles ‘lest her mother should be exposing herself again’. Her
own proper pride is threatened, and she resents Darcy’s patronising forbearance.
There is a real point in the brief discussion about character. Bingley is aware of
his own impulsiveness and admits he would be capable of leaving Netherfield
‘in five minutes’. Elizabeth claims to understand Bingley ‘perfectly’ and he
regrets he is ‘so easily seen through’. She denies'that ‘a deep, intricate character’
is necessarily preferable to his own, which by implication is superficial and
straightforward, and it is just possible this denial is made with Darcy in mind,
since he has not her approval, though his character is deep and intricate.
Elizabeth’s preference for more complex characters is justified in terms of the
amusement they afford, and we might recall that she found, or pretended to find,
her first encounter with Darcy amusing. It is also worth noting that Bingley will
later put into practice his claim that he could abruptly leave Netherfield.

Chapter 10
Summary
Jane begins to improve. In the evening, Darcy writes letters, interrupted by Miss
Bingley. Darcy is much more irritated than flattered by the inter- ruptions, and
Elizabeth, sitting nearby with her needlework, is greatly entertained. Bingley and
Darcy exchange criticisms of one another, first in respect of their styles in letter-
writing, then in respect of their characters. Elizabeth tends to side with Bingley.
Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley entertain the company with songs, during which
Elizabeth is puzzled by the way in which Darcy fixes his eyes on her. When
asked by Darcy to dance, she refuses. Afterwards, Miss Bingley, aware of
Darcy’s growing liking for Elizabeth, spitefully taunts Darcy with talk about
Elizabeth’s socially inferior relations. When, next day, Darcy and Miss Bingley
meet Mrs Hurst and Elizabeth walking in the garden, Mrs Hurst links Darcy’s
free arm, leaving Elizabeth to walk behind, since the path is too narrow to permit
more than three to walk abreast. Darcy therefore suggests they all walk in the
broader avenue, but Elizabeth escapes, happy to be free of their company.

Commentary
We share Elizabeth’s amusement at Miss Bingley’s officious display of affec-
tion, and enjoy Darcy’s snub when he asks leave to defer the ‘raptures’ she
wishes him to write on her behalf to his sister. When Bingley jibes that Darcy
‘studies too much for words of four syllables’, we remember that he has no
enthusiasm for books and is at that moment playing cards with the philistine Mr
Hurst. Darcy shrewdly perceives that Bingley’s claim to carelessness, as a letter-
writer and as a man, is ‘an indirect boast’. He puts his finger on a lack of firmness
in Bingley’s character and defeats Elizabeth’s attempts to interpret what he says
as a compliment, since Bingley, he insists, is too obliging, even when there is no
rational basis for him to be so. Bingley banters, with some edge to his accusation,
that Darcy is intimidatingly severe, and Elizabeth checks her laugh at Darcy’s
expense because she perceives he is rather offended. This is the first time in the
novel her sympathy is aroused for Darcy, however briefly. When he watches her
while there is music, she is so far from any suspicion that he has any regard for
her that she imagines there must be something wrong about her appearance or
manner, and she is wholly counter-suggestive to his proposal to dance,
convincing herself he is scheming some means whereby he can despise her. We
remember how he did just that at their first encounter and cannot but suspect that
on that occasion she was more deeply hurt than her making fun of it suggested.
Her prejudice precludes her drawing the obvious conclusions from the attentions
Darcy pays her, and his sensitiveness in suggesting the avenue walk fails to
register with her.