Key quotes Flashcards
(25 cards)
THEMES: marriage, social expectations, wealth/class, irony/satire
MEANING: suggests that it is a truth when it’s not - its actually societal expectations
ANALYSIS: SATIRE: sounds like a fact, but suggests that it is a reflection of societal expectations rather than truth. CRITIQUE SOCIETY: mocks the way women/their families pursue wealthy suitors highlights their limited options. NARRATIVE TONE: first sentence - sets the witty/satirical tone -the rest of the novel explores how characters conform to or challenge this supposed universal truth. METAPHOR: possession suggests women are owned by their husbands.
(CH1) “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife”
THEMES: pride and prejudice, first impressions/misjudgement, class/social status
MEANING: Darcy is saying Elizabeth is okay but not pretty (“handsome”) enough for him
ANALYSIS: DRAMATIC IRONY: reader knows that Elizabeth overhears the convo, ironic cause he falls in love with her. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: beginning of his arc and their relationship. NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE: free indirect discourse (eg blends in her thoughts) to convey her reaction and amusement/rejection.
(CH3) DARCY ABOUT ELIZABETH: “she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me”
THEMES: marriage and social expectations, practicality vs romance, women’s limited choices
MEANING: Charlotte is saying that marriage doesn’t depend on love but on luck and that romance may develop later - contrasts with Elizabeth’s opinions on marriage
ANALYSIS: FORESHADOWING: foreshadows Charlotte’s marriage to Mr Collins which is based on being practical and not love. JUXTAPOSITION: contrasts Charlotte and Elizabeth’s opinions. SOCIAL CRITIQUE: limited options for women shape marriage as necessity
(CH6) CHARLOTTE: “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance”
THEMES: pride and prejudice, class/social status, love vs reason
MEANING: Darcy is attracted to her but he resists because of her lower social status/family connections. he views falling for her as a mistake.
ANALYSIS: DRAMATIC IRONY: he thinks he can resist his feelings but the reader sees they’re too strong. FORESHADOWING: he’ll confess his love. SOCIAL CRITIQUE: emphasis on wealth in marriage, he prioritises his status over happiness. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: early stage in his transformation
(CH10) ABOUT DARCY “were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger”
THEMES: pride and prejudice, judgement and misunderstanding
MEANING: during a playful fight - saying he’s critical of people he thinks are below him
ANALYSIS: defect = imperfection, flaw. propensity = natural tendency. IRONY - she does the same thing
(CH11) ELIZABETH TO DARCY “your defect is a propensity to hate everybody”
RESPONSE TO ABOVE QUOTE
THEMES: pride and prejudice, judgement and misunderstanding
MEANING: he’s saying her flaw is willingly misunderstanding people because she’s stubborn
ANALYSIS: WILFULLY - intentional. IRONY - again, he does the same thing
(CH11) DARCY TO ELIZABETH: “And yours […] is wilfully to misunderstand them.”
THEMES: marriage and social status, satire, pride and prejudice
MEANING: Mr Collins wanted to marry Jane but realised she was with Mr Bingley so moved on quick - highlights how he doesn’t choose a wife out of love - no emotional depth
ANALYSIS: SATIRE - uses comedy to mock him for moving on so fast - highlighted in ‘and it was soon done’
(CH22) MR COLLINS “Mr Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth - and it was soon done”
THEMES: Human nature, love and marriage, pride and prejudice, disillusionment
MEANING: says this after learning that Mr. Bingley has left Netherfield and is unlikely to return, reinforcing her growing cynicism
ANALYSIS: FORESHADOWING - belief no one is consistent will be reflected in her changing feelings for Mr D. JUXTAPOSITION - with Mr D’s perspective (he refuses to change, contrasting inconsistency). IRONY - her own opinions are super inconsistent
(CH24) ELIZABETH “every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters”
THEMES: love, pride, marriage, social class, miscommunication and misjudgement
MEANING: part of Darcy’s first marriage proposal to Elizabeth which she rejects the first time
ANALYSIS: IMPERATIVE - “must allow me” - commanding her to listen to him showing his desperation. ARDENTLY = passionately, showing his emotions. IRONY - assumes she will be happy. JUXTAPOSES his second proposal - this first one is full of arrogance and his second one is more humble
(CH34) MR DARCY PROPOSING “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you”
THEMES: pride and prejudice, marriage, social expectations, class, misjudgement
MEANING: said during her rejection of Mr Ds proposal
ANALYSIS: IRONY - she later realises he is a gentleman. She also dislikes classism but is telling him he needs to be more like a gentleman eg fit into a certain class/gender norm. JUXTAPOSES Elizabeth and society - many women would’ve accepted but she doesnt
(CH34) ELIZABETH TO MR DARCY (REJECTING PROPOSAL) “had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner”
THEMES: changing perceptions, misunderstanding, love and growth
MEANING: She’s at Pemberley (where Mr D lives) and sees a portrait of Mr D and feels softer for him than originally
ANALYSIS: IRONY - once mocked him for his wealth but now feels closer to him because of his wealth. FORESHADOWING - her change of heart as she once hated him and is slowly falling in love - the fact that she’s at his house as well because she will marry him. JUXTAPOSING - her earlier feelings for him. SYMBOLISM - Pemberley is grand yet tasteful which reflects Darcy’s true character
(CH43) ABOUT ELIZABETH “a more gentle sensation towards the original”
THEMES: gender, reputation, social expectations, morality, marriage, social pressure
MEANING: Mary says this when they learn that Lydia has run off - virtue = morality. she’s saying that in society, losing morality (eg sex before marriage) means a woman is ruined - but no impact on the man (double standards). irretrievable = can’t get it back
ANALYSIS: SOCIAL CRITIQUE - she’s saying a woman will be ruined which reflects societal expectations of women. harsh consequences for womens behaviour (eg she now won’t be marriage material, the family will be ruined). IRONY/FORESHADOWING - it won’t be irretrievable - Darcy will save the day and fix it. CHARACTERISATION - Mary is a very moral and not very emotional character, as shown through this quote
(CH47) MARY BENNET “Loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable”
THEMES: marriage, social status, pride, foolishness, sibling relationship/rivalry, misunderstanding
MEANING: Said after Lydia’s fast marriage - she’s now the only sister married so she’s saying she takes Jane’s role as oldest sister - kind of mocking Jane for not being married yet - she’s being a lil bitchy. Lacks self awareness of how hard her behaviour was on her family. Saying she has higher social status now she’s married
ANALYSIS: DRAMATIC IRONY - the reader knows that her marriage isn’t an accomplishment but something that had to happen because of her behaviour/foolishness. She’s misunderstanding the situation. SOCIAL CRITIQUE - criticising how superficial marriage is, how it’s about reputation not love. CHARACTERISATION - shows how foolish Lydia is, she’s shown to be a shallow character who lacks self-awareness. “you must go lower” highlights her obsession with status.
(CH51) LYDIA BENNET: “Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower because I am a married women”
THEMES: social status, marriage, class, pride and prejudice
MEANING: said by Lady Catherine when she realises that Darcy wants to marry Elizabeth because of her lower social status
ANALYSIS: METAPHOR - shades of Pemberley = the reputation of Darcy’s ancestral/family home. polluted = harsh, implies that Elizabeth will ruin and corrupt his home. SYMBOLISM - Pemberley represents Mr D’s status and class. Fear it will be polluted reflects her belief in Elizabeth lacking morality. CHARACTERISATION - lady catherine reflect entitlement/tradition and symbolises the beliefs of the upperclass while Elizabeth reflects modern values eg love, intelligence, etc
(CH55) LADY CATHERINE “Are the shades of Pemberly to be thus polluted”
THEMES: marriage, security, women’s limited options, practicality vs romance
MEANING: Charlotte says to Elizabeth when she explains her choice to marry Mr C - based around her need for comfort rather than love - wants stabilty and social acceptance
ANALYSIS: CHARACTERISATION - Charlotte juxtaposes Elizabeth with her practical approach vs Elizabeth’s romantic approach to marriage. SOCIAL CRITIQUE - the fact that Charlotte has to choose this option is a criticism of society’s emphasis on marriage for women. ONLY - shows that she’s being practical, all she needs is comfort not love
(CH22) CHARLOTTE LUCAS “I only ask for a comfortable home”
THEMES: marriage as transaction, social expectations, women’s roles, satire, social critique
MEANING: Mrs B’s life revolves around marrying her daughters
ANALYSIS: METAPHOR - ‘business’ shows how important this is to her, economical language to highlight that it’s a transaction. IRONY - Mrs B is ridiculed but not wrong within this context but… SOCIAL CRITIQUE - Austen is criticising that women worth is based on marriage and it’s this serious. CHARACTERISATION - Mrs B is obsessed with marriage, comedic character because of it. NARRATIVE VOICE - uses an omniscient narrator and a sarcastic tone.
(CH1) ABOUT MRS BENNET “The business of her life was to get her daughters married”
THEMES: social expectations on men, male gender norms, class, inheritance, marriage as transaction
MEANING: Lady Catherine’s nephew, part of the upperclass. Saying he can’t marry someone like Elizabeth because she has no fortune and the family money will go to the oldest son
ANALYSIS: FORESHADOWING - Mr D’s first proposal will say something similar. IRONY - Mr D will overcome these class barriers to marry him BUT its because he’s the oldest son. SOCIAL CRITIQUE - of regency values around marriage as a financial transaction
(CH33) COLONEL FITZWILLIAM TO ELIZABETH “Younger sons can’t choose where they marry”
THEMES: class, social hierarchy, snobbery, power, control
MEANING: Mr Collins praises Lady Catherine for wanting to stick to social status norms. aSees this as a moral virtue showing how deeply ingrained social norms are in him
ANALYSIS: SATIRE/SOCIAL CRITIQUE - Austen is mocking both Mr C and Lady C for this by using comedy and over-exaggeration. CHARACTERISATION - Lady C is a rigid believer of social status, Mr C follows her lead and is comedic.
(CH29) MR COLLINS ABOUT LADY CATHERINE “She likes to have […] rank preserved”
THEMES: reputation and reality, character growth, misjudgement and misunderstanding, pride and prejudice
MEANING: Said about Darcy by his housekeeper - shows Elizabeth how highly his servants think of him - changes her opinion of him
ANALYSIS: IRONY - this is the opposite to what Elizabeth thinks of him so far. SYMBOLISM - this happens in Pemberley, Darcy’s home where Elizabeth realises she misjudged him - symbol of Pemberley as honestly showing who he is. TURNING POINT - this is the moment she changes her perspective
(CH43) MRS REYNOLDS ABOUT DARCY “most generous hearted boy in the world”
THEMES: love vs emotional restraint, marriage, pride and prejudice, romantic fufilment
MEANING: Mr D is composed and able to be less emotional and more logical, which Austen poses as the ‘right’ way to deal with things
ANALYSIS: METAPHOR - violently in love - violently juxtaposes the idea of love as soft, etc and emphasises how in love he is. NARRATIVE VOICE - indirect speech, narrator summarises his feelings presenting the omniscient narrative style. JUXTAPOSITION with his earlier self - esp the word WARMLY (he was very cold) revealing his character growth
(CH58) MR DARCY “as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can”
THEMES: pride and humility, forgiveness and change, selfawareness and love
MEANING: Mr D is apologising for his previous behaviours saying they can’t be excused
ANALYSIS: BREVITY - concise and powerful, says his feelings in a short way (also great for quote memorising lol). JUXTAPOSES his earlier behaviours to show CHARACTER GROWTH
(CH58) MR DARCY “It was unpardonable.”
THEMES: love, irony, perception vs reality, marriage and social class
MEANING: Elizabeth says she loved Mr D since she went to his family home - she’s joking but it is kind of true
ANALYSIS: IRONY - it may seem like she’s saying she only loved him for his wealth and home (social norms) but she loved him because of what it revealed about him. Saw beyond the wealth and status. SYMBOLISM - Pemberley symbolises Mr D’s true and honest self - so she means she loved him since she realised who he is. COMEDY - using comedy to mask her true feelings and the truth
(CH58) ELIZABETH “I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.”
THEMES: love at first sight, appearance and judgement, romantic idealism
MEANING: Mr B is immediately captivated by Jane’s appearance, expresses genuine warmth, juxtaposes Mr D (she is tolerable/not handsome quote)
ANALYSIS: EXCLAMATION - expresses his genuine feelings/emotions. ROMANTIC LANGUAGE - most beautiful creature - idealises her, puts her on a pedestal. ANIMALISTIC - creature is a little dehumanising, she’s only judged on her appearance here. FORESHADOWING - his immediate attraction foreshadows that beauty will play a big role in their romance.
(CH3) MR BINGLEY ABOUT JANE: “oh! she is the most beautiful creature i ever beheld!”
THEMES: marriage and love, individual choice, sisterly relationship
MEANING: Jane believes emotional connection is important in marriage, juxtaposes Mrs B’s perspective and aligns with Elizabeth’s. She’d rather face social challenges then marry for money/not for love.
ANALYSIS: DIRECT - very clear opinion, empathetic, emphasises her emotional character and suggests she knows what she wants. CRITIQUE social norms - Goes against the social norms and kind of bold for a character who is quiet. Challenges Mrs B and Charlotte’s perspectives. FORESHADOWING - both her and Elizabeth will have happy marriages that faced social challenges (esp the sisters class vs Mr Bingley/Mr Darcy’s)
(CH59) JANE: “Do anything rather than marry without affection.”
