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Jane Austen (short biography)
Jane Austen was a writer (born on the 16th of December 1775, and deceased on the 18th of July 1817). She wrote six major novels, including Pride and Prejudice. Jane and her sister Cassandra both studied at Oxford to study in 1783 (and were educated by Mrs Ann Cawley), however their income was not high enough to stay there, so they ended up returning back home in 1786. Jane had also gone through a heartbreak with a man named Tom Lefroy (1795), with whom she fell in love with. Their relationship never worked out due to marriage being an impractical option for them. In 1796, she started to write her second novel, Pride and Prejudice (which was originally titled as First Impressions).

Plot summary
Pride and Prejudice is a 19th century novel by Jane Austen. The story is about an assertive young woman named Elizabeth Bennet and her reluctant romance with the socially inept Mr Darcy, and the complicated, misogynistic world that surrounds them. Elizabeth, born into a family of all women (except her father of course), navigates an unexpected emotional journey as she finds herself falling for Mr Darcy, after deciding she will never do so, causing an internal conflict and emotional turmoil. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's sister Jane is falling in love with Mr Darcy's close friend, Charles Bingley, and their romance is put to the test as the prejudice and interference of other characters creates difficulties for them.

Austen's Representation of Female Stereotypes
Austen builds the entire novel on different types of femininity, or rather, stereotypical female behaviour, misogynistic behaviour and the challenging of it. Pride and Prejudice essentially highlights how society (particularly during the 19th century) was supported by misogynistic attitudes towards women/the patriarchy. It is made evident that women are constantly looked upon or treated negatively in some way or other, even if they themselves haven't acted shamefully (even if someone associated with a woman acts untowardly, it could affect the woman's chances of being married, or even of being considered worthy enough of marriage, which could, in turn, risk her chances of a financially stable life).

The Defiant (Elizabeth Bennet)
Elizabeth Bennet (the main protagonist in Pride and Prejudice) is one of five sisters, she is the second oldest out of the five. Elizabeth's nicknames are "Lizzie" or "Eliza". Lizzie is the character (out of all the women in the novel) that challenges the female expectations in her society. She makes it clear throughout the novel that she does not want to conform with the traditional idea of marrying for the sake of financial security, or with the idea that women must meet every requirement of an 'accomplished woman' to be desirable. Lizzie is presented as very opinionated and unafraid to share her ideas and thoughts with her peers. This is typically an unagreeable trait for a woman to have in the 19th century, as women were expected to remain passive and quiet to avoid seeming unfiltered and ungraceful. Austen highlights Lizzie's love for reading (a form of education, which was not a thing of importance in terms of an accomplished woman; 'it was important for a well-educated girl to soften her erudition with a graceful and feminine manner' ), it is made clear that Lizzie does not reflect what society wants of a woman, she does not stick to the status quo, making her an interesting character to read about. Although Lizzie is the defiant character throughout the novel, and she becomes a symbol of female empowerment for the readers, she does end up marrying Mr Darcy, who she swore to never marry. On one hand, it could be argued that Lizzie remains a strong and self-assured character (her marriage was her own choice, and for affectionate reasons rather than her need for the security and financial help of a man). On the other hand, it could be the complete opposite, in the sense that Elizabeth, though she had rejected expectations and stereotypes for her whole life, inevitably ended up marrying favourably (and ended up under the control of a man regardless of her intentions and outspokenness). 'From the beginning of the book Elizabeth was merely an outspoken woman with many opinions to express and unafraid of being suppressed by those around her. She never truly equated herself with men or her oppressors, she never truly paved a true road for herself with her own virtues and ideas for success for her future'.

The Ideal Woman (Jane Bennet)
Jane Bennet is the eldest of the five Bennet sisters, and is presented throughout the novel as the most desirable woman in the family. Her main asset is her looks (Jane very much aligns with the idea of a traditional beauty of the nineteenth century; fair, blonde hair etc), which gain her lots of male attention and praise from her mother. A key part of Jane's personality is that she sees the best in other people, making her a convenient and easy woman to be around or even manipulate. Her vulnerability is confirmed when Caroline Bingley uses her serpentine social abilities to try and come between Jane and Charles, and almost succeeds.

The snake (Caroline Bingley)
Caroline Bingley (sister of Charles Bingley) is presented as a very snake-like character, who seems to get involved in affairs that aren't any of her own business (for example, its implied that she tries to separate Charles and Jane/stop them from marrying by meddling. She makes snarky comments about the Bennet family and ridicules them for the sisters being unlike other women of their time (their occasional lack of social etiquette and their disorganisation). She is seemingly pleasant at face-value; smiling and making small-talk, but behind people's backs and implied through her comments, she insults the Bennet family and belittles them.

The flirtatious gossips (Kitty and Lydia)
Catherine (Kitty) and Lydia Bennet are the two youngest sisters of the Bennet family. They are always giggling together, and are known generally to demonstrate antisocial or flirtatious behaviour. Throughout the novel, the two naïve sisters are shown to be strongly interested in finding romance, however Lydia is the more outgoing of the two (Kitty's is mostly led by Lydia and is overshadowed by Lydia's strong characteristics). There are several points in the novel where Kitty and Lydia are swooning over/flirting with officers of the militia regiment, acting as the stereotypical flirt. Their characters are defined by their silliness, flirtatiousness and their inability to act graceful.

The accomplished/heartbroken (Georgiana Darcy)
Georgiana Darcy (Mr Darcy's younger sister) is not one of the more significant characters in Pride and Prejudice, however she is presented as a very accomplished young woman, having learned many favourable skills and talents expected of an accomplished woman in the 19th century, for example her ability to play the piano. It is revealed in the novel that Georgiana was almost manipulated by Mr Wickham (an old friend of Mr Darcy) into marriage, he wanted her dowry, but luckily Mr Darcy stopped this.

The over-emotional wreck/caregiver (Mrs Bennet)
Mrs Bennet is the mother of all five Bennet sisters and the wife of Mr Bennet. She is presented by Austen as the emotional maternal figure. She frets continuously while everyone else seems to remain calm around her. She is always complaining about her "poor nerves" as she worries about the future of her five daughters. Her main concern is ensuring her daughters all marry favourably. Her determination to get all five of her daughters married is so strong, she even sent Jane on a journey knowing she would fall ill from the bad weather, so that she would end up having to stay with Charles Bingley while she recovers. When Lydia (the youngest of the Bennet sisters) runs away with Mr Wickham, Mrs Bennet is so stressed she becomes unwell (even though it could just be her hypochondriac mind making her think irrationally).

The cold and vicious upper class woman (Lady Catherine de Bourgh)
[Lady Catherine de Bourgh]] (Mr Darcy's aunt) is presented to be extremely unforgiving, cold and judgemental. She holds extremely high expectations of women, and doesn't tolerate any sort of disrespect directed towards her. Lady Catherine is rude to those beneath her in class and status, and is the epitome of a stereotypical unwelcoming woman of the upper class.

The desperate (Charlotte Lucas)
Charlotte Lucas is the close friend of Elizabeth Bennet. She's portrayed (unlike Elizabeth) as quite unromantic, and sees marriage as a means to a comfortable life, and a promise of financial security, rather than a gesture of eternal love. Charlotte ends up marrying the snobbish Mr Collins (who nobody else wanted to marry) because she was desperate to stop being a burden to her parents, and to settle down into her own home. 'Early in the book, before Mr. Collins is even introduced, Charlotte tells Lizzy that she believes 'happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.' Since people grow apart anyway, Charlotte reasons, it's best to know as little as possible about another person's faults before making the decision to marry.'