Essay on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (9780393976045).
MLA Format.
Topics include (can use all or just a few):
Scene and Encounter: Lady Catherine’s visit to Longbourn (III.14; Chapter 56) Study the various insults offered by Lady Catherine, and examine the style of responses from Elizabeth. Compare Lady Catherine’s critique of the Bennet family to Darcy”s. Overlap? What is the setting?
Repeated Episodes: Compare the styles of Darcy’s first and second proposals.
Characters: Compare the characters of Lydia and Elizabeth. Are the differences or the similarities more useful?
Study the development of Elizabeth’s reading(s) of Darcy’s letter. Recall that there has been some discussion of letter-writing in the novel.
The use of Mr. Collins as a perspective on events in the novel.
The business of marriage: the London work of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Gardiner. Why kept “off-stage”? How does Elizabeth learn of this work?
What are Darcy and Elizabeth like as lovers? Examine the conversations after the second proposal and its acceptance.
Study the evolution of Darcy’s character and attitudes. Do his several absences from the novel’s foreground—after Rosings in Vol. II; or after Pemberley in Vol. III–help or hinder this process?