Darcy's proposal

...

- "These bitter accusations... my own" ?

He is plainly stating here that it would have been easy for him to justify himself by explaining the mere facts to her, as well as his reasons for acting so. However he refuses to condescend -he is also too "proud" to talk to her as he fears she would have been too "proud" to hear and accept his reasons, and he could not resort to lying to her (as he also is frank, honest and straightforward.)

- "Elizabeth felt... accept it".

She plainly tells him that she would have refused him anyway, whatever his manner of proposing, however flattering or "false" he may have been, for the simple reason that she disliked him anyway.

- "Again his astonishment... mortification"

He can't believe his ears. He mustn't be used to being treated so abruptly/ bluntly by people who certainly show him a lot of respect.

- "From the very beginning... on to marry".

She carries on insisting that she has disliked him from the start for his excessive pride, his haughty and scornful manners, his rigid temper (caractère). The fact that she insists so much at the end ("the last man in the world") shows however that she is only trying to persuade herself against her own feelings and irresistible attraction to him.

- "You have said... the house."

His last words are that of a gentleman. As abashed /down, sorrful, dismayed, distressed as he may feel, he is compelled to resign himself and leave.

- "The tumult of her mind... excited."

She is also left completely voiceless and "empty", as she now has had the opportunity of letting out feelings and emotions that had long been held back. She is probably partly blaming herself nonetheless (neéanmoins), for being so harsh and pitiless on him. If she was indifferent, she would not repeat (to herself, in her mind) the reasons for hating him so insistently...

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's first novel, published in 1813. Some scholars also consider it one of her most mature novels.

Austen began writing Pride and Prejudice under the title First Impressions in 1796, at the age of twenty-one. She probably wrote the first draft as an epistolary novel 5through an exchange of letters). In 1797, Austen's father offered his daughter's manuscript to a publishing company, but they refused to even consider it.

Austen then began writing Sense and Sensibility, which was not published until 1811. She also wrote some shorter stories during this time, which she later expanded into full novels. Between 1810 and 1812, Austen rewrote Pride and Prejudice : while the original ideas in the novel came from a 21-year-old girl, the final version reflects the literary and thematic maturity of a thirty-five year old woman. Pride and Prejudice became the most popular of Austen's novels.

Analysis

The opening chapters of Pride and Prejudice serve to quickly introduce Austen's principal characters and outline the skeleton of the plot. Austen establishes her primary themes and the stylistic devices through which she will explore the narrative. One of the most famous first lines in literature: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" , this opening line establishes the novel's two major themes - marriage and class (particularly as as defined by money). Most of the characters in Pride and Prejudice are first defined by their financial background and marital status. In these the early chapters, Austen explores the stark contrast between Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth through their opinions on these issues. Mrs. Bennet only cares about marriage and money, while Elizabeth refuses to let these superficial measures control her.

The first line also introduces Austen's use of irony. While she wrote "a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife", Austen shows her readers over the course of the novel that in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, marriage was actually more crucial for young women. If a young woman of a certain class did not find a husband of decent means and status, she risked becoming a powerless and potentially destitute spinster. While Austen in this first line frames the man as the active force in seeking marriage, the plot of Pride and Prejudice emphasizes a woman's role in finding a suitable partner.

This irony leads to the central question surrounding Austen's intent in writing Pride and Prejudice. Was Austen conservative, poking fun at these institutions but ultimately approving of them, or was she progressive and subtly trying to upend those social restrictions? Neither answer has ever produced a scholarly consensus, largely because there is evidence in support of both interpretations. Austen attacks the purely economic, utilitarian motives for marriage as well as the societal constraints which leave many women with little choice but to marry. Yet the plot of Pride and Prejudice seems to suggest that happy unions can exist even within these strict cultural limitations.

In the conversation between Charlotte and Elizabeth in Chapter 5, Austen leads the reader to sympathize with Elizabeth, the novel's protagonist. She argues against the utilitarian motive for marriage and rejects the idea that a women must feign interest in order to secure a man. From a contemporary perspective, Charlotte's attitude is lamentable if not anti-feminist. She believes a woman should get married for the sake of security, which will then allow her the "leisure for falling in love as much as she chuses." Elizabeth speaks up in favor of individuality, refusing to consider that marriage should be founded on anything other than love and respect. While the reader naturally aligns with Elizabeth's opinion, Austen ultimately proves both of Charlotte's arguments to be true. As a result of rejecting Charlotte's advice, Jane almost loses Bingley. Additionally, many moments in Elizabeth's journey towards her relationship with Darcy suggest the importance of class in marriage, at least to some degree.

Critics have praised Austen's ability to bring her characters