Elizabeth Bennet | |
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Elizabeth Bennet, a fictional character appearing in the novel Pride and Prejudice, depicted by C. E. Brock
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Full name |
Mrs Elizabeth Darcy Miss Elizabeth Bennet, formerly |
Gender | Female |
Age | 20 |
Income | £50 per annum (Interest on £1,000 from her mother's fortune by settlement upon her death.) |
Primary residence | Longbourn, near Meryton, Hertfordshire |
Family | |
Spouse | Fitzwilliam Darcy |
Romantic interest(s) |
Mr. William Collins Lt. George Wickham Col. Fitzwilliam Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy |
Parents | Mr. and Mrs. Bennet |
Sibling(s) | Jane Bennet Mary Bennet Catherine "Kitty" Bennet Lydia Bennet |
Mrs Elizabeth Darcy
Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circumstances of the time and environment push her to seek a marriage of convenience for economic security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love.
Elizabeth is regarded as the most admirable and endearing of Austen's heroines. She is considered one of the most beloved characters in British literature because of her complexity. Austen herself described Lizzy as "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print."
Elizabeth is the second eldest of the five Bennet sisters of the Longbourn estate, situated near the fictional market village of Meryton in Hertfordshire, England. She is 20 years old at the beginning of the novel. Elizabeth is described as an intelligent young woman, with "a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous". She often presents a playful good-natured impertinence that does not offend. Early in the novel she is depicted as being personally proud of her wit and her accuracy in judging the social behaviour and intentions of others.
Her father is a landowner, but his daughters cannot inherit because the estate is entailed upon the male line (it can only be inherited by male relatives). Upon his death, Longbourn will therefore be inherited by his cousin and nearest male relation, Mr. William Collins, a clergyman for the Rosings Estate in Kent owned by Lady Catherine de Bourgh. This future provides the cause of Mrs. Bennet's eagerness to have her daughters married off to wealthy men.
Elizabeth is her father's favourite, described by him as having "something more of quickness than her sisters". In contrast, she is the least dear to her mother, especially after Elizabeth refuses a marriage proposal from Mr Collins. Her mother tends to contrast her negatively with her sisters Jane and Lydia, whom she considers superior in beauty and disposition, respectively, and does not understand her father's preference. Elizabeth is often upset and embarrassed by the impropriety and silliness of her mother and three younger sisters.