Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen torrent

The plot of the novel is driven by a particular situation of the Bennet family: The Longbourn estate where they reside is entailed to one of Mr Bennet\'s collateral relatives—male only in this case—by the legal terms of fee tail. Mr and Mrs Bennet have no sons: this means that, if Mr Bennet dies soon, his wife and five daughters will be left without home or income. Mrs Bennet worries about this predicament and wishes to find husbands for her five daughters quickly.

The narrative opens with Mr Bingley, a wealthy young gentleman and a very eligible bachelor, renting a country estate near the Bennets called Netherfield. He arrives accompanied by his fashionable sisters and his good friend, Mr Darcy. Attending the local assembly (dance) Bingley is well-received in the community, while Darcy begins his acquaintance with smug condescension and \'proud\' distaste for all the country locals. After Darcy\'s haughty rejection of her at the dance, Elizabeth resolves to match his coldness and pride with her own prideful anger—in biting wit and sometimes sarcastic remarks—directed towards him. (Elizabeth\'s disposition leads her into prejudices regarding Darcy and others, such that she is unable to \'sketch\' their characters accurately.)

Soon, Bingley and Elizabeth\'s older sister, Jane, begin to grow close. Elizabeth\'s best friend, Charlotte, advises that Jane should show her affection to Bingley more openly, as he may not realise that she is indeed interested in him. Elizabeth flippantly dismisses the opinion—replying that Jane is shy and modest, and that if Bingley can\'t see how she feels, he is a simpleton—and she doesn\'t tell Jane of Charlotte\'s warning. Later Elizabeth begins a friendship with Mr Wickham, a militia officer who is of long personal acquaintance with Darcy—they grew up together. Wickham tells her he has been seriously mistreated by the proud man; Elizabeth seizes on this news as further reason to dislike Darcy. Ironically, Darcy begins to find himself drawn to Elizabeth, unbeknownst to her.

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