Pride and Prejudice

Key Facts

full title  · Pride and Prejudice

author  · Jane Austen

type of work  · Novel

genre  · Comedy of manners

language  · English

time and place written  · England, between 1796 and 1813

date of first publication  · 1813

publisher  · Thomas Egerton of London

narrator  · Third-person omniscient

climax · Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth (Volume 3, Chapter 16)

protagonist · Elizabeth Bennet

antagonist · Snobbish class-consciousness (epitomized by Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Miss Bingley)

setting (time) · Some point during the Napoleonic Wars (1797–1815)

setting (place) · Longbourn, in rural England

point of view · The novel is primarily told from Elizabeth Bennet’s point of view.

falling action  · The two chapters of the novel after Darcy’s proposal

tense  · Past tense

foreshadowing  · The only notable example of foreshadowing occurs when Elizabeth visits Pemberley, Darcy’s estate, in Volume 3, Chapter 1. Her appreciation of the estate foreshadows her eventual realization of her love for its owner.

tone  · Comic—or, in Jane Austen’s own words, “light and bright, and sparkling”

themes  · Love; Reputation; Class

motifs  · Courtship; Journeys

symbols · The novel is light on symbolism, except on the visit to Pemberley, which is described as being “neither formal, nor falsely adorned,” and is clearly meant to symbolize the character of Mr. Darcy.