Elizibeth Bennet

Elizibeth Bennet.

Elizibeth Bennet is the main protagonist in Pride and Prejudice, it is through her eyes we view most of the events that occur throughout the novel and it is her whose travels we usually follow. She is the second oldest of the Bennet sisters and is presented as an intelligent, witty, good humoured girl. She is considered good looking, although Mr Darcy at first rejects her as "not handsome enough" but is later drawn to her "fine eyes" and "light and pleasing" figure.

She has a "playful disposition which delights in anything ridiculous" which we find out when Darcy insults her, as she proceeds to retell the story to her friends with great amusement.

We find out she is strong in her opinions which we see when she debates about marriage with Charlotte, showing she is an intelligent, opinionated girl and not frightened of sharing her views. This is also shown when the imposing character of Lady de bourgh argues with her, but

Elizibeth holds her own.

Although she is intelligent and quick-witted, she is not without fault. She has a tendency to make rash, hasty judgements which lead her astray. She is quick to believe Wickham's allegations about Darcy without knowing both sides or much about either person. Her willingness to accept Wickham's lies probably stemmed from her previous brief encounters with Darcy, at which he came across as proud and rude.

She is not the most feminine of the Bennet's. We see this when rather than taking the carriage to Netherfield, she walks across the fields, arriving dirty and red in the face. She does not care about other's opinions of her character, strengthening this idea of her being a strong character.

When Darcy first proposes, Elizibeth rejects him. This would be quite shocking in those times, given Darcy's wealth and social superiority. The fact Elizibeth rejects him shows her to be a proud character, as when he proposes, he also insults her. This shows she holds strong ideas and values that she lives to, one of them being she must be in love with the man she marries, or at least feel some affection towards them. Elizibeth later changes her views on Darcy, showing that although she is strong in her opinions, she is not unable to change and also shows she is able to accept her mistakes and move on.