Pride+and+Prejudice+Project&nbsp;

__Pride and Prejudice__
Pride and prejudice are the best words to choose for the title of this book. They help capture the essences of the different characters. One of the main characters, Mr. Darcy, was a very proud man. During one of the first balls, Mr. Darcy refused to dance with women he didn't know, so he barely danced with anyone that night. This was so odd for that time period, because usually the men danced with numerous women at the balls. Mr. Darcy was also full of pride, because he had a lot of money. He used that excuse to set himself above other people. Miss Bingley, another character, was a proud woman in this book. She thought she was better than everybody else, because she had money and could afford many things. Elizabeth Bennet was prejudiced towards Mr. Darcy, at first. She had heard rumors about him, and once she met him, she assumed these rumors were very true because of his attitude. Elizabeth didn't give Mr. Darcy a chance to get to know him or become friends. She talked to him when she had to, but because she trusted the rumors, Elizabeth didn't like him. Her prejudice towards Mr. Darcy later vanished, because he helped clarify some rumors. He explained situations that helped Elizabeth understand what he was really like, and this totally changed her opinion of him.

**__Author Biography__**
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775. Her father, George Austen, was a minister, and her mother, Cassandra, raised her along with six other children. Jane Austen got little formal education, because her dad believed that women were born to be mothers who cooked, sewed, and took care of the children. Her family very much enjoyed learning history and the Italian language. Austen's family also read a lot, so she wasn't suppressed when it came to reading. From 1787 to 1793, Jane Austen wrote many books that were critical of that time's culture and what society thought was acceptable for a woman. In 1795, she started to write a book called __First Impressions__, whose title was later changed to __Pride and Prejudice.__ She wanted to publish it, but it was rejected on her first try, so she gave up for a while. In 1801, Jane moved with her family to Bath, where she started to write a book called __The Watsons__, but she never finished it. Her father passed away during this time. Then, in 1809, Austen and her family moved to Chawton. From 1813 to 1815, Austen published __Sense and Sensibility,__ __Pride and Prejudice,__ __Mansfield Park,__ __and__ __Emma.__ In 1815, Jane Austen's health began to fail. She kept getting sick, and these sicknesses would last a while. Austen died on July 18, 1817.

__Notable Events__ (basically a summary)
1. The books begins with the likeable Mr. Bingley coming to town. The Bennet family is elated about this and excited to hear of Mr. Bingley's wealth, especially Mrs. Bennet. This proves to be the pivotal event and driving force of the first part of the book. Mr. Bennet also happens to bring a friend, Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet hopes that one of his daughters will catch the eye of Mr. Bingley.

2. There is a ball that the Bennet family and Mr. Bingley and his party, importantly consisting of Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley, attend. At this ball, Mr. Bingley asks Jane to dance with him. This is a huge honor considering his wealth and class status. He is obviously charmed by Jane and asks her for a second dance, which is considered a huge honor, as discussed in later chapters. Meanwhile, almost everyone notices that Mr. Darcy is only dancing with women from the party he arrived with, though there are many young ladies that are without a dancing partner. Elizabeth immediately sees him as a prideful, arrogant man. Mr. Bingley later insists on Mr. Darcy dancing instead of being a boring wallflower. Mr. Bingley commands Darcy to dance, but Darcy claims that he doesn't dance with anyone with whom he is not well acquainted. Then Bingley suggests that Darcy pick a pretty girl, as he states there are so many, and dance. Yet, Darcy says the Jane is the only pretty girl at the ball. Bingley counters by saying the Elizabeth is very pretty, but Darcy rudely says "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt //me..."// Little does Darcy know, Elizabeth was sitting close enough to them to catch the whole exchange. She tells the others about it and makes it seem like she doesn't care, as she belives he is a just a rude man. This ends the note on a slightly sour note for Elizabeth. Soon after the ball, Jane gets a letter from Miss Bingley, asking her to dine with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, the other Bingley sister. She says that Mr. Bingley will be dining with the officers who have come to town. Mrs. Bennet insists on Jane going on horseback, for it is to rain and Mrs. Bennet hopes that Jane would be forced to stay the night. The next day, Elizabeth gets a letter from Jane saying that Jane got very sick from the rain. Elizabeth wants to visit Jane immediately and decided to walk to Netherfield, the Bingley residence.Elizabeth was accepted well by the Bingley party and Jane was told she needed to stay in bed, for she had caught a violent cold. Miss Bingley bashes Elizabeth in front of Darcy, for she wants to marry him with no obstacles. Jane soon returns home, but not before earning Bingley's affections.

3. Sir William Collins enters the picture next. He is Mr. Bennet's cousin and will claim their territory when Mr. Bennet eventually dies. He writes them a letter telling of his imminent visit. He seems a pompus man from his letter, as Elizabeth points out. Mr. Collins makes it clear that he intends to marry one of the Bennet ladies. He annoyingly talked of Lady Catherine, his patroness, and how well he was with the ladies. Jane was his first victim and asked Mrs. Bennet of her thoughts. She kindly declined, saying that Jane would most likely soon be engaged, but suggested Elizabeth as a suitable match. The sisters and Mr. Collins journey to Meryton, where the officers are still stationed. They soon meet Mr. Denny, whom Lydia has met before, and his acquaintance, Mr. Wickham. Wickham turns out to be VERY agreeable and Elizabeth takes note of that.

4. Enter Mr. Wickham. The Bennet ladies and some officers, including Wickham have gathered to play cards. Earlier, Wickham and Darcy had a stiff exchange, so Elizabeth presses for details. Wickham tells her a sob story about how close he was to the late Mr. Darcy. He also tells Elizabeth that when Mr. Darcy died, the young Darcy didn't give any of his rightful inheritance to Wickham. He then had to become a footsoldier to make any living at all.

5. Mr. Bingley holds a ball at Netherfield. Elizabeth looks for Mr. Wickham but with no avail. Mr Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance with him at the ball! Elizabeth attempts to make conversation but Darcy proves that he has little to say. After they finish dancing, Darcy feels a "tolerable feeling" toward Elizabeth. Miss Bingley then attempts to correct the story of Darcy and Wickham so that Wickham is a stealer and Darcy tried to do the right thing, but Elizabeth will have none of it and is ultimately insulted by Miss Bingley's remarks. She then asks Jane about the Wickham situation, but Jane knows nothing of it and says Bingley doesn't know the story but would vouch for Darcy's kindness. Mr. Collins then decides to introduce himself to Darcy, for Darcy is Lady Catherine's nephew. This is an awkward and embarassing meeting but Darcy handles it with the utmost civility. Mr. Collins later embarasses himself by telling Elizabeth about his romantic intentions. He also says he intends to stay close to her for the night, but Elizabeth tries to dissuade him with no avail.

6. The next morning, Mr. Collins enters at breakfast. He asks to speak with Elizabeth privately, but everyone knows what this is about. Elizabeth tries to persuade someone to stay, but their mother forces them out, for she is excited. Mr. Collins the proposes to Elizabeth. She kindly declines but he will not let it go. Eventually, Elizabeth just ups and leaves after much arguing with Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet is outraged at her daughter's behavior and demands that she accept. Mr. Bennet is asked to help with the persuading but ends up telling Elizabeth that if she doesn't want to marry Mr. Collins, she doesn't have to.

7. Meanwhile, Jane recieves a letter from Miss Bingley. It simply states that the Bingley party is leaving Netherfield for an unknown amount of time and has no intention of returning. This confuses all of the Bennet clan. They thought Bingley was ready to propose to Jane. Naturally, she is crushed. The women come up with a theory. They believe that Miss Bingley has influence Bingley into leaving Netherfield. They think it is because she wants her brother to marry Miss Darcy, for they are good acquaintances. They also believe that Miss Bingley doesn't think that the Bennets are good enough for them because of money and social status. 8. Mr. Collins sure moves on quickly. Soon after the Bingleys leave, Mr. Collins visits the Lucases. He professes his undying love for Charlotte while inconspicuously bashing Elizabeth for the Lucases sakes. The whole Lucas clan is now relieved because Charlotte will no longer be an old maid, as they see her now. Mr. Collins promised not to say a word to the Bennets until she had had time to talk to Elizabeth. Elizabeth exclaims the idea as foolish at first, but then realizes that it is happening. Elizabeth was happy that Charlotte had found a man, but embarassed that said man was Mr. Collins. Charlotte makes Elizabeth promise to visit soon.

9. Jane is still stressed by the absence and all around disappearance of Bingley, so she writes to Miss Bingley. This letter "put an end to doubt." They were settled for the winter in London and had no intentions of returning any time soon. The Gardiners, relation to Mrs. Bennet, arrive for Christmas. The Gardiners offer to take Jane to London with them and she accepts. Elizabeth gets some letters telling of how Bingley completely ignored her on the street. Jane continues to be crushed.

10. Elizabeth decides to fullfill her promise to Charlotte and visit Hunsford, and Rosings Park, Lady Catherine's residence. She finds that Charlotte seems happy with her married life and has adjusted well to life on the parsonage. The trio are invited to Rosings for dinner, something Mr. Collins seems very delighted about. At this dinner, Elizabeth is embarassingly forced to play the piano for an extended period of time. For Easter, the trio again visit Rosings for a meal. This time, Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam (a cousin of Darcy's) are in attendance. Elizabeth finds Fitzwilliam to be amiable. Meanwhile, Darcy was quiet and mostly conversed with Lady Catherine. After this dinner, Darcy converses civilly with Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam. The next morning, Darcy visits the parsonage and talks with Elizabeth then abruptly leaves. Charlotte says the look on his face tells her it is love. Elizabeth takes a walk one day and runs into Fitzwilliam. He tells her that Darcy recently saved Bingley from an unfit marriage. This only further fuels her hate for Darcy. Later, Elizabeth started feeling sick from what could only be her recent knowledge of Darcy's actions, so she stays home from Rosings that night. Darcy visits the parsonage soon after the Collinses leave for dinner. He goes on to profess his undying love for Elizabeth, though saying that it is against his better judgement that he likes Elizabeth. She confronts him about the Wickham and Bingley issues, but he doesn't answer, merely storming off. She goes for a walk and sees Darcy. He hands her a letter, says a few words, and swiftly departs. As it turns out, the letter explains everything. He claims that he did not see Jane showing any affections for Bingley. He didn't want Bingley to get hurt and advised him against marrying Jane. Also, he says that Wickham had decided to study law, using his inheritance, but found it an unsuitable study. So came back, wanting more money to change his life's direction. Darcy refused. A few years later, Wickham came back only to set up an elopement with Miss Darcy. Miss Darcy, however, couldn't handle hurting her brother and confessed a few days before eloping. Darcy soon leaves Rosings before Elizabeth has a chance to talk with him. Elizabeth's opinion of Darcy completely turns around and she feels bad about so brutally blaming him for her problems.

11. When Elizabeth returns, Lydia has been given permission to go with the officers to Brighton. Elizabeth then accompanies her aunt and uncle on a tour of the countryside. They stop in Pemberley, Darcy's residence. He is not supposed to be home, but when wandering the gardens, the trio spot him. She was mezmerized by his kindness and they took a walk around the lake together. They then decide to meet the next day and Elizabeth can meet Miss Darcy. She is a charming girl and she and Darcy invite Elizabeth and the Gardiners to dinner the next night. At the inn later, she finds a letter.

12. The aforementioned letter tells that Wickham and Lydia have run away together. They have disappeared and Darcy blames himself for not exposing Wickham sooner. They immediately leave Pemberley and Mr. Gardiner flies off to look for the two. Mr. Bennet also has gone looking. Mr. Gardiner eventually finds the two, and pays Wickham to marry Lydia. He agrees.

13. Elizabeth then finds out that it was Darcy who found Wickham and Lydia and Darcy who paid Wickham to marry Lydia. Darcy is at the wedding and soon dines with the Bennets. Darcy travels back to London while Bingley calls on Jane alone. They get engaged and married soon afterward. Darcy and Elizabeth soon meet up and decide they're in love. We find out that Darcy convinced Bingley to come back and marry Jane and that he really did save Lydia's reputation. They get Mr. Bennet's permission, then marry.

__Victorian Era Poem__
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They streteched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousane saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them dance; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

__Poem We Created__
Jane Austen sat down one day, To write a story you might say, about five girls and their mother, who is really quite a bother.

She nags and complains; "Finding a rich husband is such a pain!" All the men lline up and the girls deny, "I want to find the right guy."

Mr. Bingley comes, but then has to move away, Mr. Collins proposes, "I want to stay."

Then comes the shameful news, the youngest has eloped! "We need to find her!" (They can only hope.)

Mr. Bingley comes back, And professes his love to Jane, Their mother and Lady Catherine will be a pain. They forbid Lizzy to marry Mr. Darcy, Who confronts them and says; "O love him, don't you see?"

Their mother is stifled, But only for the moment The girls are happy, And everybody is joyous.

__Costume & Dress of the Victorian Era__
During the Victorian Era, there were many balls, so the men and women had to dress elegantly. The women would wear elaborate dresses that had many ruffles, frills, and intricate designs. They would be very big, heavy, and they would sometimes have trains. The men would wear nice, black jackets, black pants, and a white button-up shirt underneath. Also, they would wear a bow tie and sometimes a top hat. When they weren't at these amazing dances, the people would wear much plainer clothing. The women would wear dresses that had long sleeves and puffy shoulders. These dresses were often colorful. Men would wear regular pants and shirts, but sometimes they would wear a nice jacket. The children wore clothes similar to the adults.



__Entertainment__
The Victorian Era offered various forms of entertainment for men, women and children. Public amusements often included shows and plays. Some went to the lyceum where they could hear speakers expand on many subjects. And since Africa and Australia were places that most people would never see in their lifetime, exhibits of exotic animals were also popular. Since Sunday was the only day a man had to relax, religious families usually spent their days doing Sunday activities such as, church and gatherings with close family friends. But a lot of these pastimes were only available to men. The lives of women mostly revolved around the church. Another thing the women did were quilting bees, where they could socialize with other women. children of middle class families were only allowed to play after chores were done.Those living in the country had activities, such as swimming and horseback riding. Many city kids had to be content with playing inside or on the stoop. Popular games between boys were marbles, pegs, or board games. Girls would normally play with dolls and learning needlework. Unwed couples usually amused themselves with sleighing, sledding, and skating in the winter, and in the summer and spring, they would have picnics, go to balls, and play croquet.

__Victorian Era Artworks__
"The Foundling" by Evert Jan Boks

"A Widow" by James Jacques Joseph Tissot

"The Cowherd" by Theodore Robinson "Woman with Opera Glasses" by Frederick Hendrik Kaemmerer