Pride and Prejudice was originally titled First Impressions
Pride and Prejudice, originally published in 1813, is a popular classic of literature, still widely loved and enjoyed today. Pride and Prejudice follows the story of Elizabeth Bennet, her family, and Mr. Darcy. Specifically, this story follows the relationship between Ms. Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Pride and Prejudice has even inspired different books like Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. But what was the inspiration behind a book that has inspired so many? What did Jane Austen base her most popular novel off of?
Background
To understand the inspiration of Pride and Prejudice, you first have to know the story. Originally a book published in 1813, it has had two visual adaptions (the 2005 film by Joe Wright and the 1995 series by Simon Langton). In the Bennet family, Elizabeth lives with her parents and four sisters at their family estate. The story follows the growing love path between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, plus her sisters (Jane Bennet) love path with Mr. Bingley. Other than the romantic aspect of the novel, it also covers Elizabeth’s journey with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of British Regency.
The Inspiration
There are many similarities between Jane Austen’s life and the one of Elizabeth Bennet. For example, Jane and Elizabeth, the closest sisters in the Bennet family, are believed to be inspired by Austen and her own sister, Cassandra; Austen even using her own name for her novels character. Austen was described to be a bright, and lively twenty-year-old who enjoyed music, dancing, and laughter like Elizabeth herself. Just like most authors, Austen includes piece’s of her life in with her writing; with no exception for Pride and Prejudice. In fact, the relationship between the character Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet greatly reflect the relationship of Austen and a former lover of hers.
Thomas Langlois Lefroy, an Irish nephew of a family friend, met Austen in 1795 while studying abroad in the area Austen lived in. Austen was twenty at the time, and she and Lefroy spent time together dancing at parties and flirting with each other. In a letter to Cassandra, Austen says this about Lefroy and an upcoming party; “I look forward with great impatience to it, as I rather expect to receive an offer from my friend in the course of the evening. I shall refuse him, however, unless he promises to give away his white Coat“. However, Jane decided against perusing Lefroy.
Austen had met Lefroy in 1795, and began writing Pride and Prejudice in 1796, making the possibility of Darcy being inspired by Lefroy even more believable.
Another character, thought to be inspired by a real person in Austen’s life is Mr. Collins. In the book, Mr. Collins is a distant cousin of Mr. Bennet (Elizabeth’s father), and he makes a proposal to Elizabeth as an act of charity because the Bennet family isn’t the wealthiest. Elizabeth, however, rejects this proposal because she does not love him and finds him to be overbearing. Mr. Collins reflects Harris Bigg-Wither, a brother to one of Austen’s family friends.
In December of 1802, while on a trip to visit old family and friends, Harris Bigg-Wither proposed to Austen. Austen was twenty-seven at the time, and she relied on her brother heavily for financial income, so she accepted it. However, she regretted accepting the marriage and retracted it because it was of a need for money and inheritance, not love. A quote from one of Austen’s nieces describes him as a “very plain in person—awkward, & even uncouth in manner … I conjecture that the advantages he could offer, & her gratitude for his love, & her long friendship with his family, induced my Aunt (Austen) to decide that she would marry him . . . .” This description of Bigg-Wither matches the story and personality of Mr. Collins.
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