Narrator's Hall of Fame (Part 1)

Our assignment was to create a list of the top sixteen "narrative moments" in Pride and Prejudice, and explain our choices. Here are the first eight in my "Top 16" in no particular order (besides chronological):

1. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families that he is considered as the rightful property of some on or other of their daughters." (page 5)

These lines are the very first in the book, and I chose to include them for a few reasons. I like the fact that the attitude of the narrator is a bit ambiguous here. There is a hint of sarcasm but also a hint of a “But seriously…these families do actually feel this way.” This quote also foreshadows some of the action to come in the book (especially Mrs. Bennet’s attitude), and alludes to the sort of society that the reader will soon encounter.

2. “Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news. (page 7)

In the paragraph the narrator succinctly and accurately describes Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. The reader has already been given clues about these qualities in the dialogue that precedes this paragraph, but these lines make them perfectly clear. This passage also highlights a theme that we discussed in class: “Can people that are not intellectual equals have a happy marriage?” Apparently so.

3. “Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early…What a contrast between him and his friend! Mr. Darcy danced only [with females from his party], declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party. His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there again.” (page. 11)

In this passage the narrator describes Mr. Bingley and makes it extremely clear that he is a foil for Mr. Darcy. (“What a contrast between him and his friend!”) The narrator seems to feel that Mr. Darcy’s actions were rude, but the reader can see in the hyperbolic statements that follow that she may not be condemning him as much as say Mrs. Bennet. The sudden use of exaggerations, generalizations, and more serious wording (“decided” “most disagreeable in the world” “everybody hoped”) somehow make these opinions less serious and make the reader feel that there is more to Darcy.

4. “ [The ladies returned home to find] Mr. Bennet still up. With a book he was regardless of time, and on the present occasion he [was curious about an evening] that had raised such splendid expectations.” (Mrs. Bennet describes Mr. Bingley’s dance partners in great detail) “’If he had any compassion for me,’ cried her husband impatiently, ‘he would not have danced half so much! For God’s sake, say no more of his partners. Oh! That he had sprained an ankle in the first dance!”

I must admit that I chose this passage mainly because it is quite funny, but also because it adds to the characterization of the Bennets. The narrator’s detail of “With a book [Mr. Bennet] was regardless of time” and the fact that this is followed by his wife’s useless jabbering highlight the vast difference in their personalities. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s relationship reminds me of that of my grandparents; my grandpa has developed the ability to stop my grandma’s chattering about trivial things with very few words. Their interactions are incredibly fun to observe.

5. “Miss Bennet’s pleasing manners grew on the goodwill of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and though the mother was found to be intolerable and the younger sisters not worth speaking to, a wish of being better acquainted with them was expressed towards the two eldest. By Jane this attention was received with the greatest pleasure; but Elizabeth still saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody…and could not like them; though their kindness to Jane [had value because it probably arose from their brother’s admiration.]” (page 19)

In this paragraph Jane Austen subtly uses the narrator to reveal some of Elizabeth’s characteristics instead of using the characters’ dialogue to discuss them. This passage shows Elizabeth’s discerning nature, and subtly compares her to Jane. Lines such as these (as well as dialogue between the sisters) show that while Jane is pretty and sweet, Elizabeth is much more intelligent and complex.

6. “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advocate their felicity in the least, They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation, and it is better to known as little as possible of the defects of a person with whom you are to pass your life.” –Charlotte Lucas (page 21)

Here Charlotte Lucas shares her thoughts on a topic that is the main focus of the novel: marriage. She seems to say that “true compatibility” when choosing a husband is not that important because both people will grow to become different. The reader can assume that Charlotte would not be one to insist on “true love” in a marriage, a fact that foreshadows events to come. (i.e who Charlotte ends up marrying…*gags*)

7. “…Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of [Mr. Bingley’s] friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty…But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and to his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying…”

In this passage the narrator begins to unravel some of Darcy’s complexities for the reader. The fact that he is beginning to develop feelings for Elizabeth horrifies him; he seems to pride himself on his personal qualities and social status, and thinks that she is “below him.” The reader gets the feeling that Darcy is the sort of person who would lie to himself about his true emotions if he does not think they are “proper.”

8. “Miss Bingley’s attention was quite as much engaged in watching Mr. Darcy’s progress through his book as in reading her own; and she was perpetually either making some inquiry, or looking at his page. She could not win him, however, to any conversation; he merely answered her question, and read on. At length, quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book, which she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his, she gave a great yawn and said, ‘How pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way! I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading...’ No one made any reply.” (page 48)

This passage shows that Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy are not intellectual equals, and no matter how much she tries to feign interest in his pursuits, he will not like her. The fact that he pays her no attention is a good sign, because it shows (possibly) that he is truly interested in Elizabeth. Unlike Miss Bingley, Elizabeth does nothing to attempt to woo Mr. Darcy; he is attracted to her when she is just being herself.