Elizabeth Bennet is a fictional character and the main character in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Her friends and family often call her Eliza or Lizzy. Elizabeth is the second daughter in a family of five girls. Even though the situation during that time and where she lived encouraged her to find a marriage that would help with money and security, Elizabeth wanted to marry for love.
Elizabeth is considered one of the most admired and liked characters in Jane Austen's stories. She is also one of the most beloved characters in British literature because of her cleverness and personality. Jane Austen once said Elizabeth was "delightful a creature as ever appeared in print."
Background
Elizabeth is the second oldest of the five Bennet sisters who live at Longbourn, a real estate near the fictional village of Meryton in Hertfordshire, England. She is 20 years old when the story begins. Elizabeth is described as smart, with a cheerful and humorous personality. She enjoys teasing others in a friendly way that is not mean. Early in the story, she is shown to be proud of her ability to understand people’s actions and intentions clearly.
Her father owns the land, but the estate cannot be inherited by his daughters because it is passed only to male relatives. If Mr. Bennet has no sons, Longbourn will go to his distant cousin, Mr. William Collins, a clergyman in Kent. This situation makes Mrs. Bennet very eager to marry her daughters to wealthy men.
Elizabeth is her father’s favorite child, as he says she has more quickness and intelligence than her sisters. However, her mother does not favor her, especially after Elizabeth refuses Mr. Collins’ proposal. Mrs. Bennet often compares Elizabeth unfairly to her sisters Jane and Lydia, believing Jane is more beautiful and Lydia is more pleasant. She does not understand why her husband prefers Elizabeth. Elizabeth is often troubled by her mother’s and younger sisters’ unacceptable behavior and lack of proper manners.
In her community, Elizabeth is known as a beautiful and kind young woman with "fine eyes," which first catch Mr. Darcy’s attention. Later, Darcy is drawn to her graceful figure, friendly and lively manner, and sharp mind. He eventually considers her one of the most attractive women he knows.
Analysis
From the beginning, people have had different opinions about Elizabeth Bennet’s character. Anne Isabella Milbanke praised the novel, while Mary Russell Mitford criticized Elizabeth for not having good taste. Modern scholars are divided between admiring Elizabeth’s lively personality and being disappointed that she seems to hide her energy and give in to male authority. In Susan Fraiman’s essay “The Humiliation of Elizabeth Bennett,” the author points out that Elizabeth must stop growing as a woman to help men like her father and Mr. Darcy achieve their goals. The Bennet sisters have a small dowry of £1,000, and since their father’s estate will go to someone else when he dies, the family’s social position will drop. This puts pressure on the Bennet girls to find husbands quickly. About feminist views on Elizabeth, French critic Roger Martin du Gard said Jane Austen’s main goal was to entertain readers, not to teach lessons. However, Elizabeth manages to express her interests within a society that favors men like Mr. Darcy and her father. Gard noted that the novel does not support male dominance, as it is clear that Mr. Bennet’s poor financial choices caused his family’s problems. Elizabeth also criticizes her father for not teaching her sisters, Lydia and Catherine, the importance of good character, which led to Lydia’s scandalous elopement with Wickham. Unlike characters like Lydia, Wickham, Mr. Collins, and Charlotte, who see marriage as a way to satisfy their own desires, Elizabeth thinks deeply about marriage and its meaning.
British critic Robert Irvine explained that the novel’s mention of the militia needing to set up camps in the countryside instead of using barracks dates the story to 1793–1795. This is because the militia was mobilized in 1793 after France declared war on Britain, and barracks were completed by 1796. Irvine argued that during the 1790s, when Austen wrote the first version of Pride and Prejudice (called First Impressions), British leaders were focused on uniting against the threat from France. It is known that Austen worked on First Impressions between 1796 and 1797. Irvine noted that Elizabeth is middle-class, while Mr. Darcy is aristocratic. He wrote that Elizabeth is impressed by Mr. Darcy’s wealth and power, and she ends up marrying him out of gratitude. Elizabeth’s love for Darcy is influenced by their social differences, which could be seen as supporting the existing class system. Irvine also pointed out that Mr. Darcy lives in London, which is far from Meryton, while the Bennets use a local apothecary when someone is sick, unlike Mr. Darcy, who calls a surgeon from London. This shows that Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage represents the joining of local and national leaders in Britain, working together against the French Republic’s challenge to traditional society.
In contrast, American scholar Rachel Brownstein said that Elizabeth refuses two marriage proposals before reaching Pemberly. She noted that when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collins, the narrator quotes Mary Wollstonecraft, a feminist, saying Elizabeth cannot love him because she is “a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart.” Brownstein also mentioned that after reading Mr. Darcy’s letter, Elizabeth realizes she understands herself better, saying, “Till this moment, I never knew myself.” She added that Austen uses irony to show Elizabeth as both a strong, independent woman and a character in a romantic story. Later, Elizabeth tells Mr. Darcy that she might be wrong in thanking him for helping Lydia marry, asking, “What becomes of the moral, if our comfort springs from a breach of promise?”
Brownstein argued that Austen’s use of irony allows Elizabeth to be both a “proto-feminist” and a “fairy-tale heroine.” At one point, Elizabeth says, “I am resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any other person wholly unconnected with me.” American scholar Claudia Johnson said this was a strong statement for a woman in 1813. Elizabeth also refuses to obey traditional elites, telling Lady Catherine, “Neither duty nor honor nor gratitude have any possible claim on me, in the present instance.” She defends her love of laughter, saying, “I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good.” Elizabeth believes she can judge what is wise and good, and she refuses to let others decide what she should laugh at, making her one of Austen’s most independent heroines. However, Johnson noted that Austen avoided controversial ideas, such as challenging family obedience, by having Mrs. Bennet push Elizabeth to marry Mr. Collins while her father opposes it. The way Elizabeth’s parents are shown as flawed suggests that she is more sensible than them, making her the best choice to decide her own future. Johnson also wrote that Elizabeth’s description of Bingley as a “slave of his designing friends” might reflect Austen’s support for ending slavery.
Susan Morgan said Elizabeth’s biggest weakness is that she is “morally disengaged,” meaning she does not take a strong moral stand. She observes others but does not feel obligated to act. Elizabeth sees herself as a humorous observer of the world, making fun of those around her. Her attitude is one of doubt and resistance to being told what to do.
In popular culture
The character of Elizabeth Bennet, known for her intelligence and ability to think for herself, and her relationship with the proud Mr. Darcy have appeared in many plays and movies. In 1901, a play called The Bennets, adapted by Rosina Filippi, was performed at the Royal Court Theatre. The play was directed by and included Harcourt Williams and Winifred Mayo, who played Elizabeth Bennet.
Helen Fielding’s book Bridget Jones’s Diary and the films based on it are modern versions of Pride and Prejudice. In this story, Elizabeth Bennet is played by Renée Zellweger. In the Bollywood film Bride and Prejudice, directed by Gurinder Chadha, Aishwarya Rai plays the Elizabeth character, named Lalita Bakshi. In the 2008 movie Lost in Austen, Gemma Arterton acts as a version of Elizabeth who swaps places with a modern young woman. Lily James portrayed Elizabeth Bennet in the film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is based on a book by Seth Grahame-Smith. The movie Fire Island is a modern version of Pride and Prejudice, changing the Bennet family into a group of friends who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. In this film, Joel Kim Booster plays the character similar to Elizabeth.
One of the most famous portrayals of Elizabeth Bennet was by Jennifer Ehle in the 1995 BBC television series Pride and Prejudice, directed by Simon Langton. Ehle won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress in 1996. Keira Knightley played Elizabeth in the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright. Knightley was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role.