Doc Yoder's Notes
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)

Please note that these notes are in progress. Page numbers refer to the Oxford World's Classic 2004 edition, edited by James Kinsley, with Introduction and Notes by Fiona Stafford. If you have any suggestions or corrections, please email Doc Yoder at rpyoder@ualr.edu.

Volume I

Chap. I.1:

• News of Bingley's letting of Netherfield
• Intro Mr. and Mrs. Bennet; Elizabeth is Mr. Bennett's favorite

Chap. I.2:

• Mr. Bennet has met Bingley; teasing Mrs. Bennet

Chap. I.3:

• First Ball: Intro Bingley (4000 or 5000 pounds a year), Darcy (10,000 pounds a year), the Miss Bingleys
• Bingley dances with Jane twice
• Darcy snubs Elizabeth: "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me" (7).

Chap. 4:

• Elizabeth and Jane discuss Darcy and the Bingleys; Bingley apparently likes Jane

Chap. I.5:

• Intro the Lucases: Sir Walter, Mrs. Lucas, Charlotte
• Discussing the ball and Darcy's snubbing Elizabeth

Chap. I.6:

• Elizabeth and Charlotte discuss relationships; the dangers of Jane's reserve -- Bingley might not know she likes him
• Charlotte: "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. . . . it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life" (16). Elizabeth says that Charlotte would never act that way herself -- foreshadows Charlotte's relationship with Mr. Collins.
• Darcy's feelings about Elizabeth are changing; her face "was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes" (16)
• The party at Lucas Lodge; Darcy is willing to dance with Elizabeth, but she refuses

Chap. I.7:

• Bennet family economy; Longbourne House is entailed in default of heirs male; Mr. Bennet has 2000 a year; Mrs. Bennet had been left 4000 pounds total by her father
• Jane is invited to Netherfield; she gets sick; Elizabeth walks to Netherfield in the mud to visit her; Darcy is impressed

Chap. I.8:

• Evening 1 at Netherfield; Miss Bingley is jealous of Elizabeth; discussion of "female accomplishment" (28-9)
• Throughout the chapter, note Austen's use of silences or pauses in the conversation

Chap. I.9:

• Day 2 at Netherfield; Mrs. Bennet comes to check on Jane, "exposes" herself yet again
• Elizabeth's cynicism on poetry and love: if the love be only a "slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away" (33).

Chap. I.10:

• Evening 2 and Day 3 at Netherfield; Miss Bingley is increasingly jealous of Elizabeth; talk of Bingley's rash and quick judgments; Darcy "had never been so bewitched by any woman" as he by Elizabeth, and believes that "were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger" (38).
• Miss Bingley is rude to Elizabeth on a walk, and Darcy recognizes it

Chap. I.11:

• Evening 3 at Netherfield; Darcy and Elizabeth spar about pride and vanity (43); increasing romantic danger for Darcy

Chap. I.12:

• Elizabeth and Jane return to Longbourn; reactions all around

Chap. I.13:

• News of Mr. Collins"s impending visit; his letter; he arrives

Chap. I.14:

• Mr. Collins on Lady Catherine, including how he practices his compliments in advance
• Mr. Collins does not read novels

Chap. I.15:

• Collins and the girls go to Meryton, meet Wickham
• Elizabeth perceives tension between Darcy and Wickham
• Collins announces his plans to choose a wife from among the Bennet girls

Chap. I.16:

• Dinner with Wickham at the Philips house (Mrs. Bennet's sister)
• Wickham is charming, singles out Elizabeth who thinks "that the commonest, dullest most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by the skill of the speaker" (57)
• Wickham draws out Elizabeth on her opinion of Darcy and then tells her his version of their relationship (58-61), followed by comments on Miss Darcy and Lady Catherine
• Elizabeth's bias toward Wickham "whose very countenance may vouch for [his] being amiable" (61)

Chap. I.17:

• plans for the ball at Netherfield; Elizabeth likes Wickham; Elizabeth realizes that Collins has chosen her

Chap. I.18:

• The ball at Netherfield; Wickham does not attend; Elizabeth has to dance with Collins; much gossip about Jane and Bingley; Miss Bingley hints at a dark side of Wickham to Elizabeth; Charlotte does Elizabeth of taking some of Collins's attention from her
• Elizabeth dances with Darcy; Darcy asks Elizabeth if she "talk[s] by rule" (69); Elizabeth wants an "illustration" of Darcy's character, and to "take [his] likeness" (71), all foreshadowing the portrait gallery at Pemberley; they talk of books and Wickham, and part "on each side dissatisfied," although "in Darcy's breast there was a tolerable powerful feeling towards her, which soon procured her pardon, and directed all his anger against another" (72)
• With Mrs. Bennet's behavior, Mary's singing, etc., it seems to Elizabeth "that had her family made an agreement to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening, it would have been impossible for them to play their parts with more spirit, or finer success" (78)

Chap. I.19:

• Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth; hilarious send up of a proposal driven more by dry rhetorical exercise than emotion; because he proposals "by rule" (to borrow Darcy's phrase from Ch. 18), Collins thinks that Elizabeth answers by rule as well, so he doesn't believe her when she says "no"

Chap. I.20:

• Uproar and aftermath of Elizabeth's refusing Collins; first clear insinuation that Charlotte might be interested in Collins

Chap. I.21:

• While Charlotte focuses Collins's attention on her, Bingley leaves suddenly for London, perhaps never to return

Chap. I.22:

• Charlotte and Collins get engaged; she and Elizabeth discuss her choice; great insight into the situation of unmarried, aging women in the period (Charlotte is 27); Charlotte tells Elizabeth, "I am not romantic you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins's character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair, as most people can boast on entering the marriage state" (96).

Chap. I.23:

• The engagement of Charlotte and Collins is announced publicly; news that Bingley actually is unlikely to return; Mrs. Bennet is in a tizzy

Volume II

Chap. II.1:

• News that Bingley will stay in London; Jane's hopes are dashed
• Wickham goes public with his stories about Darcy

Chap. II.2:

• Collins returns home
• Intro the Gardiners (Mrs. Bennet's brother) who invite Jane to London

Chap. II.3:

• Mrs. Gardiner on love and economics, warns Elizabeth, "Do not involve yourself, or endeavour to involve him [Wickham] in an affection which the want of fortune would make so very imprudent" (111).
• Gardiners take Jane to London; Jane is dumped by Miss Bingley
• Charlotte and Collins wed
• Wickham goes after a woman w/ a new fortune

Chap. II.4:

• 2 months pass; Elizabeth leaves to visit Charlotte at Hunsford Parsonage; stops in London to visit Jane, and is invited by the Gardiners to travel with them to the Lakes in the summer

Chap. II.5:

• Elizabeth, Sir William and Maria Lucas arrive at Hunsford
• Charlotte and Collins at home; Elizabeth is impressed with the way Charlotte handles him and their living arrangements

Chap. II.6:

• An evening at Rosings; we meet Lady Catherine and Miss De Bourgh; Lady C is tactless about the entail on Longbourn
• Elizabeth reveals that Lydia is 15 and she is 20

Chap. II.7:

• Exit Sir William
• Enter Darcy and Fitzwilliam

Chap. II.8:

• An evening at Rosings; Elizabeth and Darcy spar, including Elizabeth's remark that she doesn't play piano well because she doesn't practice, and Darcy's return that "neither of us perform to strangers" (135).

Chap. II.9:

• Darcy visits Elizabeth . . . accidently finding her alone
• Charlotte begins to think that Darcy may be in love with Elizabeth

Chap. II.10:

• Elizabeth is clueless about why she keeps running into Darcy on her walks, despite her warnings that she often walks there
• Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam talk; Fitzwilliam notes to Elizabeth that "Younger sons cannot marry where they like" (141); he tells Elizabeth about Darcy's involvement in the Bingley / Jane affair

Chap. II.11:

• Darcy proposes to Elizabeth; the clear contrast is to Collins's earlier proposal: where Collins is cautious about being "run away with by [his] feelings" and intends to "assure [Elizabeth] in the most animated language of the violence of [his] affection" (80-81), Darcy actually is run away with by his feelings and expresses the violence of affections, despite his less than "gentleman-like manner" (148)
• Elizabeth rebuffs him, charging him with undue interference in the Bingley / Jane relationship, and dishonorable treatment of Wickham
• This chapter ends at the exact center of the book, in terms of number of pages

Chap. II.12:

• Darcy's letter of explanation about his influence on Bingley and his treatment of Wickham
• The chapter marks the beginning of the second half of the book in terms of number of pages

Chap. II.13:

• Elizabeth rereads Darcy's letter and begins to be moved by his explanation and feelings; note the process of her reading the letter: she reads the whole thing, then rereads the Wickham section (the latter part), admits the justice there, then returns to the discussion of her family and must admit some truth there; the whole letter serves as a sort of rereading of the first half of the book
• Elizabeth realizes, concerning Wickham, "I, who have prided myself on my discernment! . . . Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind. But vanity, not love, has been my folly. . . . Till this moment, I never knew myself" (159).

Chap. II.14:

• Darcy and Fitzwilliam have left Rosings; Elizabeth broods about the past, and prepares to leave Hunsford herself

Chap. II.15:

• Elizabeth (and Maria Lucas) leave Hunsford, meets Jane in London

Chap. II.16:

• It is the second week in May; Elizabeth, Jane and Maria Lucas return to Hertfordshire
• Lydia and Kitty have come to meet them; the usual silliness, but now seen through Elizabeth's new perspective on her family and Wickham
• Jane's age is confirmed as "almost three and twenty" (168).

Chap. II.17:

• Elizabeth tells Jane about Darcy's proposal and about Wickham's character

Chap. II.18:

• The regiment is relocating; a hint at Mrs. Bennet's youth: at the news of the regiment's removal, she "shared all [her daughters'] grief; she remembered what she had herself endured on a similar occassion, five and twenty years ago" (175). That would be just before she became involved with Mr. Bennet.
• Lydia is invited to accompany Mrs. Forster to Brighton; despite Elizabeth's objection, Mr. Bennet allows Lydia to go; he says that she will not be happy until she makes a fool of herself, and at least this will be out of town and at little expense
• Elizabeth and Wickham talk for the first time since Darcy's letter; she makes him understand that her opinion of Darcy has changed, and that she may know something about Wickham's own past

Chap. II.19:

• Background on the Bennet marriage, and on Elizabeth's opinion of Mr. Bennet
• Lydia leaves for Brighton; mid-June passes (Lydia's 16th birthday, cf. p. 233)
• July -- after a delay, Elizabeth leaves with the Gardiners, but instead of the Lakes, they are only to go to Derbyshire, to Lambton where Mrs. Gardiner was raised, near Pemberley
• Volume ends with plans for Elizabeth and the Gardiners to visit Pemberley

Volume III

Chap. III.1:

• Massively important chapter!
• Elizabeth and the Gardiners tour Pemberley; Mrs. Reynolds shows them the great house, including the portraits of Darcy (cf. the conversation between Elizabeth and Darcy in I.18, p. 71)
• They meet Darcy (!) who has returned early (190); he is very changed, much more personable and eager to be a good host

Chap. III.2:

• Darcy brings his sister, Georgiana, along with Bingley to meet Elizabeth; the Gardiners suspect that at least Darcy is in love
• Elizabeth reflects on her changing feelings, including a meditation on gratitude as a basis for love (201); Elizabeth thinks she might be able to "bring a renewal of his addresses" (201).

Chap. III.3:

• Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner return Georgiana's social call; Miss Bingley is there; a bit of conversational warfare insues
• Later, an increasingly desperate Miss Bingley goads Darcy about Elizabeth; Darcy finally tells her that "it is many months since I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance," leaving Miss Bingley "all the satisfaction of having forced him to say what gave no one any pain but herself" (205-6).

Chap. III.4:

• News that Lydia has run off with Wickham; Darcy walks in just as she finds out; he sends a servant to fetch the Gardiners
• Elizabeth blames herself for not warning everyone about Wickham's character; Darcy is himself clearly upset at the news, and Elizabeth thinks it is because of the implications for their relationship
• Elizabeth realizes that she loves Darcy, but thinks he is lost now for certain; Elizabeth (and the narrator) reject love at first sight as the basis for a relationship, in favor of "gratitude and esteem" (211).

Chap. III.5:

• Elizabeth and the Gardiners return to Longbourn; they get the report on what has happened, including Lydia's letter to Mrs. Forster; Kitty apparently knew also; Mr. Bennet has gone to London

Chap. III.6:

• No news about Lydia; Mr. Collins's letter claiming that "The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison to this" (225). Aside from the general callousness, the letter also shows that the gossip (probably via the Lucas family) has now reached Darcy's aunt
• Mr. Bennet returns home and recognizes his own folly in the matter from the start

Chap. III.7:

• News from Mr. Gardiner that Lydia has been found, and that she and Wickham will get married; Lydia is 16 (232)

Chap. III.8:

• Bennet family financial history
• Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic at the wedding prospects
• Elizabeth realizes that she could be happy with Darcy; it has been 4 months since he proposed (II.11)
• Wickham is quitting the militia and going into the regular army, to be stationed in the North

Chap. III.9:

• Lydia and Wickham stop at Longbourn on their way North
• Lydia lets slip that Darcy was somehow involved in the wedding; Elizabeth writes to Mrs. Gardiner for fuller information

Chap. III.10:

• Mrs. Gardiner's long letter explaining Darcy's role in arranging the wedding
• Elizabeth reflects on Darcy's virtues, and the fact that he may have done it for her
• Elizabeth and Wickham agree to make nice

Chap. III.11:

• Bingley returns to Netherfield; Bingley and Darcy visit the Bennets
• About a year has passed since I.1

Chap. III.12:

• Bingley and Darcy come to dinner at Longbourn; Bingley and Jane flirt, Darcy watches

Chap. III.13:

• Darcy leaves for a day; Bingley and Jane get engaged
• Elizabeth thinks that Jane and Bingley will be happy "because they had for basis the excellent understanding, and super-excellent disposition of Jane, and a general similarity of feeling and taste between her and himself" (265). Compare this with the ideas on marriage from Charlotte in I.6 and I.22.

Chap. III.14:

• Lady Catherine calls on Elizabeth to warn her away from Darcy; Elizabeth admits that they are not engaged, but makes no promises about the future

Chap. III.15:

• Elizabeth broods; Mr. Bennet receives a letter from Mr. Collins warning that Lady C does not approve of a match between Darcy and Elizabeth -- Mr. Bennet thinks the idea of such a match is hilarious; Mr. Collins also chides him for letting Lydia visit, and implies that Charlotte is pregnant

Chap. III.16:

• Darcy proposes a second time to Elizabeth; their love has brought them out into the void; compare their "walk[ing] on, without knowing in what direction" (280) to the warnings of Lady C about their match going beyond any standards of social acceptability in III.14

Chap. III.17:

• Informing the family of the engagement of Darcy and Elizabeth; Mr. Bennet is skeptical, but Elizabeth reassures him

Chap. III.18:

• Elizabeth and Darcy are on a warm footing, flirting -- a scene we want to see
• Informing the extended families: Elizabeth tells Mrs. Gardiner to "indulge [her] imagination as much as you chuse" (293)

Chap. III.19:

• Wrap up; narrator steps forward in first person for the first time
• Catalog of what happens to the various Bennet girls; Elizabeth is a good influence on Georgiana

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