P + P Characters.

How does Austen create her characters in chapter 11?

In chapter 11 Austen uses a variety of techniques to create her characters. For example, at the very start of the chapter, Elizabeth’s opinions are merged with the narrator’s, which gives them authority. This creates Elizabeth as a character whose opinion is very important in the novel, and because she could be seen as the main character, this makes sense.

Elizabeth’s opinions also shows the behaviour of some of the other characters, namely Miss Bingley. Elizabeth says she has “never seen them so agreeable as they were during the hour...before the gentlemen appeared” but when the gentlemen do appear “Miss Bingley’s eyes were instantly turned towards Darcy”. This shows that Miss Bingley is attracted to Darcy, and so much so that she quickly changes her focus to him, completely ignoring the other characters. This could also show that she is a fickle character, as her interest changed so quickly. Also, the fact that this happens right at the start of the chapter sets up the rest of the chapter as we can assume her primary focus will be to get Darcy to pay her attention.

The way the men introduce themselves also gives us a small insight into their characters. Darcy introduces himself with “polite congratulation” which shows him to be a formal character. Austen then uses the word “but” to show contrast between Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley, as Mr Bingley is “full of joy and attention” which is the direct opposite of what Mr Darcy is.

The omniscient narrator gives us extra information on the characters, allowing the reader to see the subtle behaviour of the characters that would have otherwise been missed. For example, “Darcy took up a book, Miss Bingley did the same”. This shows that Miss Bingley followed Darcy’s example and mimicked him, which in turn shows her attraction to him as she may be trying to show him that she has similar interests. We then discover she is “quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book” which shows her to be a deceitful and inconsistent character as she feigned interest in her book so as to appear appealing to Mr Darcy. Also, later on when Elizabeth stands up, “Mr Darcy looked up”. This subtle movement shows his attraction to her and we would not have known about it if the narrator had not informed us of it.

Dialogue in the chapter shows the character’s opinions of one another. For example, when Elizabeth and Mr Darcy engage in a relatively long conversation, the word “said” is removed, so that their speech directly follows on from what the other person has said. This makes the conversation seem more intimate. Also, Elizabeth causes Darcy to change his mind, “But pride – where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will always be under good regulation” which shows she has an affect over his opinion, which causes us to think that he is attracted to her. Miss Bingley is shown to be a jealous character through her speech, “Your examination of Mr Darcy is over, I presume”. This line shows her resentment at the fact that she is not included in their conversation and her eagerness to end it, which also shows her to be quite a rude character.