Line #27 Characters/PrideAndPrejudice


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder: Miss Elizabeth Bennet]]
4
5	The heroine, the Bennet family's second daughter. She is intelligent and independent-minded, but has a tendency to jump to conclusions and continuously judge people by her first impressions of them.
6	----
7	* BelligerentSexualTension: With Mr Darcy, except that it's one-sided. He's charmed, but she really ''doesn't'' like him, and doesn't begin to warm to him until he improves his own behavior.
8	* BirdsOfAFeather:
9	** With Mr Darcy, though she learns it only later.
10	** With Charlotte, in the platonic version; though Elizabeth loves her sister Jane dearly, she and Charlotte have much more similar personalities in most respects.
11	* {{Bookworm}}: She shares her father's love of books. Caroline Bingley "[[SugaryMalice compliments]]" her on deriving enjoyment ''only'' from reading, which is untrue.
12	* BrainyBrunette: She's commonly portrayed as such in film adaptations; her actual hair color is never mentioned in the narrative. Most likely it's meant to be a juxtaposition to Jane's HairOfGoldHeartOfGold depictions.
13	* CoolBigSis: She becomes this to Georgiana Darcy and is also a literal example to her younger sisters, even though none of them ever acknowledge it.
14	* DaddysGirl: Mr. Bennet outright calls her his favourite child.
15	%%* DeadpanSnarker: One of the biggest in literature. She gets it from her father.
16	* FirstNameBasis: The fact that she and Charlotte address each other by first names alone, without a "Miss" to be seen -- and that Charlotte actually addresses Elizabeth by the diminutive "Eliza" -- is, given Regency etiquette, an indication that the two are on ''very'' close terms, and are in fact nearly family.
17	* TheGadfly: Like her father, she sometimes likes to prod people into demonstrating their ridiculousness. It backfires on her early on when Mr Collins uses one of her baited questions to oblige her to dance with him.
18	* HeelRealization: While not a villainous example, after Elizabeth rejects Darcy's ([[{{Jerkass}} admittedly pompous]]) proposal, it takes a while for [[JerkassHasAPoint his (valid) points]] about her pride, unfair prejudice against him, and the depth of her [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents family's]] terrible [[BrattyTeenageDaughter conduct]] to sink in. When it does, it hits like a bolt of lightning, and she's deeply humbled afterwards.
19	* HeterosexualLifePartners: She's best friends with Charlotte Lucas. It takes some time for their relationship to recover after Charlotte accepts Mr Collins' proposal for purely pragmatic reasons, though.
20	* InSeriesNickname: Her family calls her "Lizzy," and longtime family friends the Lucases, who have known her since childhood, call her [[AffectionateNickname "Miss Eliza"]] (their eldest daughter Charlotte leaves off the "Miss" as a sign of [[HeterosexualLifePartners how close they are]]). Caroline Bingley, however, intends to be rude when she calls Elizabeth "Miss Eliza" because they are not ''nearly'' close enough for nicknames.
21	* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Father, Like Daughter]]: She is the closest to her father's temperament--intelligent, very witty, and given to be amused at others' folly.
22	* LoveEpiphany: She has a ''very uncomfortable'' one after she learns that Lydia has eloped with Wickham, realizing that she loves Darcy in the same moment that it seems impossible that he'd ever marry her thanks to the social stigma of a ruined sister and the connection to Wickham, who he has good reason to hate.
23	-->"It was [...] exactly calculated to make her understand her own wishes; and never had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him, as now, when all love must be vain."
24	* MarryForLove: What she very much would like to do, although she jokes that she probably won't marry at all with such a standard.
25	* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: While Darcy bears some of the responsibility for misjudging Elizabeth's attitude towards him, she's not blameless. For example, when she runs into him while taking her stroll through Rosings Park, she makes sure to tell him this is her favorite place to walk. Her goal was to make him avoid the area, but it's no surprise he assumed she was inviting him to meet her there and thereafter constantly shows up to walk with her.
26	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After reading Darcy's letter, she comes to very much regret her contempt and the way she declined his first proposal.
27	* ObliviousToLove: Elizabeth initially has no idea that Darcy is interested in her and mistakes his interest as disapproval, which is justified given his unkind remarks at the first ball and tendency to stare at her without smiling.
28	* OnlySaneWoman: Although she has her blind spots, she's keenly aware of what Lydia's behavior may cost the family and makes a heartfelt but unsuccessful attempt to get Mr Bennet to check her.
29	* OppositesAttract: She also has this dynamic with Mr.Darcy, despite both being Deadpan snarkers and the voice of reason in their social circles. Elizabeth is more agreeable, adventurous and couldn't care less about the opinions of others while Darcy lacks social skills, is brutally honest to the point of unintentionally insulting people he considers beneath him and very image conscious regarding his social circle, hence why Darcy clashes with her when he first proposes.
30	* ParentalFavouritism[=/=]TheUnfavourite: She's her father's favourite child, but at the same time she's her mother's least favourite... up until she tells her that she's engaged to the richest man they know, anyway.
31	%% * PluckyGirl
32	* SelectiveObliviousness: While Elizabeth knew her parents and younger sisters behaved embarrassingly in public, she convinced herself it wasn't that bad and that a prospective suitor's only objection could be their lack of fortune. When [[JerkassHasAPoint Darcy spells out]] her family's poor conduct[[note]]her mother's GoldDigger behavior that has already cost Jane one engagement, her father's ParentalNeglect in reigning in his {{Bratty Teenage Daughter}}s, etc[[/note]] as part of the reason he separated Jane and Bingley, she initially thinks he's full of it. When she reflects on it, she realizes he's ''right''--her family's poor social conduct in a society where etiquette and reputation are everything ''would'' look bad enough from the outside to drive away respectable suitors. She then becomes more conscientious about her family's conduct from then on.
33	* SiblingYinYang: With Jane, although they are much closer to each other than their younger sisters. She's much more willing to see people's flaws (without excusing them) than Jane, for good and ill.
34	* SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: Her cynical outlook on life allows Wickham to completely dupe her about Darcy's true nature. The irony is that she acts as she does in order to avoid being played for a fool, but it happens in a different way than she is prepared to combat.
35	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She's determined to only marry a man she's in love with. She follows up by saying that this means she'll be an old maid and governess to Jane's children.
36	* TheSnarkKnight: She's got a quip for just about every situation and folly, including her own--after Lydia marries Darcy's ArchNemesis, Lizzy readily sees the irony that she would have rejoiced in being severed (she assumes) from any acquaintance with Darcy a few months ago, compared to her present regret.
37	* SpiritedYoungLady: Although she doesn't get up to the derring-do usually associated with the trope, she does display an assertiveness and independence that is uncharacteristic of approved "feminine" behavior of the time (and indeed, Bingley's sisters criticize her independence and self-sufficiency).
38	* SurroundedByIdiots: And her father practically tells her as much from time to time.
39	* ThisIsUnforgivable: Her initial reaction to Darcy after learning that he purposefully sabotaged Jane and Bingley's relationship, but she still falls in love with him in the end.
40	* WellExcuseMePrincess: Darcy is surprisingly taken with the "liveliness" (read: impertinence) of her conversation, which surprises her since she really was trying to needle and offend him.
41	* WhatBeautifulEyes: Even before he realized his feelings for her, Mr Darcy admired her eyes.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder: Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy]]
45
46	The romantic lead, an ''extremely'' proud and wealthy gentleman who owns a lavish estate, Pemberley, in Derbyshire. He is a close friend of Mr Bingley and regards his association with the Bennets with suspicion, even as he first grows intrigued by and then is attracted to Elizabeth.
47	----
48	* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Darcy's first proposal is more accurately an Anguished Declaration Of Why I Love You Even Though You And Your Family Are Clearly Beneath Me. As usually with this trope, it fails to impress Elizabeth. His second proposal is a much more nicely worded LoveConfession.
49	* BelligerentSexualTension: With Elizabeth Bennet...except that it's one-sided on his end. He's charmed by her lively wit and her unabashed willingness to tease him, but she really ''doesn't'' like him, and doesn't begin to warm to him until he improves his own behavior.
50	* BigBrotherInstinct: He's very protective of his little sister Georgiana. He also tries to protect his close friend Bingley, who regularly appeals to him for advice and whom he does his best to shield from the possible ill consequences of his overly pliant personality.
51	* BigDamnHeroes: Though it's entirely from a social standpoint, Darcy's arranging the marriage between Lydia and Wickham saves the Bennets from their DarkestHour. Particularly in the 1995 serial, where we see him personally find the fugitives and is ''right'' behind Wickham in the church--with an expression as though he's prepared to pummel him right there and then if he hesitates in repeating the vows.
52	* BirdsOfAFeather: With Elizabeth, both being creatures of sense among many who aren't. However, Elizabeth isn't initially aware of this while Darcy is from the moment they meet.
53	* CoolBigBro: To Georgiana, on whom he dotes. His most recent gift to her is a pianoforte.
54	* DeadpanSnarker: "Her, a beauty? I would soon as call her mother a wit." (Although this particular example, at least, is played with in that he later comes to admit that he considers the woman in question quite beautiful indeed.)
55	* DefrostingIceKing: One of his lessons during the book is that he actually has to ''act'' as though he likes the people he likes.
56	* EarnYourHappyEnding: He has to both change himself and make a big sacrifice that links him forever to the man he loathes more than anyone else, but he ends the book a better man and married to the woman he adores.
57	* HeelRealization: Not surprisingly, Elizabeth's rejection of his marriage proposal prompts a bit of soul searching on his part. Although he's revealed to be ultimately more decent than Elizabeth first realised, he admits at the end that her criticisms of his character were not entirely unjustified and that he had a lot of improving to do.
58	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Mr Bingley is his intimate friend. Judging from Darcy's extended stay in his household and their frequent visiting each other, they're just as close as family.
59	* HiddenDepths: His goodness, as well as the fact that he's been harboring very strong feelings for Elizabeth. She's flabbergasted when he proposes.
60	* {{Hypocrite}}: Darcy doesn't feel Jane Bennet is a suitable match for his friend, given her embarrassing family and low connections, but he'll fall on that particular sword to marry her sister Elizabeth! In his (slight) defence, he honestly thought Elizabeth reciprocated his attraction to her.
61	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Initially justifies his being a [[RelationshipSabotage relationship saboteur]] in this way, before later acknowledging that he was wrong.
62	* IRegretNothing: His initial feelings about breaking up a couple in love, because he believed that the gentleman's feelings weren't reciprocated. Later changes to I Regret It Quite A Lot.
63	* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: After they admit their feelings for each other, Lizzie theorizes that he fell in love with her because, unlike every other eligible woman he's acquainted with, she never once pandered to his whims, hesitated to speak her mind in his presence or call him out on his more ungentlemanly behavior. Darcy doesn't exactly deny it:
64	-->'''Darcy:''' For the liveliness of your mind, I did [fall for you].\
65	'''Elizabeth:''' You may as well call it impertinence at once; it was very little else.
66	* ItsAllAboutMe: Basically his entire objection to openly courting Elizabeth, aside from his lack of social skills, is her family's social standing and how it will affect him. Which is why he is so astonished at her rejection of him because he was so focused on how their supposed marriage will affect him rather than caring about how she actually feels about him. He realizes his mistake later on.
67	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Why he does everything in his power to bring about the marriage of Lydia to Wickham - so Elizabeth won't be tainted by her sister's scandal, or at least not as severely.
68	* JerkassHasAPoint: Detailing criticisms about Lizzy's family are a terrible way to ''propose marriage,'' but his points are not completely without merit, and she knows it. She's also forced to concede that while his meddling in Jane and Bingley's relationship was high-handed and based on an incorrect view of her sister's feelings, it's not hard to see where he was coming from.
69	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He really is a nice guy at heart, but he's got his own share of flaws that make him awful at showing it. He gets better at showing his nice side to more people. He strives to behave like a true gentleman -- he was very hurt by Elizabeth's remark that he didn't behave like a gentleman when he first proposed.
70	* MeaningfulName: "Fitzwilliam Darcy" is derived from the surnames of two famous, wealthy, and well-connected Whig families (the Whigs were a political party supported by the aristocracy, in opposition to the gentry and the monarchy), the Earls Fitzwilliam and the Earls of Holderness.
71	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
72	** He's less dramatic about it than the usual example of the trope, but he clearly comes to regret his hasty meddling in Jane and Bingley's relationship once he learns that Jane actually does have genuine feelings for Bingley. Not least because this completely poisons any chance he might have of convincing her sister to marry him.
73	** He also tells the Gardiners that he blames himself for Lydia's elopement with Wickham, since he was too proud to respond to Wickham's slander or tell the world what Wickham tried to do to his family.
74	* NiceToTheWaiter: One of the solid clues we get that Darcy is actually a decent man is that, when asked about him, his servants sing his praises. It seems while he has no qualms about being rude to those he considers a cut beneath him, ''noblesse oblige'' requires him to be courteous and considerate to those who are very much his social inferiors and dependent on him. He also appears to be well-respected by the locals of the area surrounding Pemberley, suggesting that part of his problem is unfamiliar company and surroundings.
75	* NoSocialSkills: To quote the man himself, "[He does] not have the talent of conversing easily with people [he has] never met before." Elizabeth gently but firmly points out that it's a skill he never bothered to cultivate. She's pleasantly surprised to find out that he ''is'' capable of holding a conversation with people who don't ruffle his feathers, like her aunt and uncle.
76	* OppositesAttract: With Elizabeth Bennet, despite both being [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snarkers]] and the voice of reason in their social circles. Elizabeth is more agreeable, adventurous and couldn’t care less about the opinions of others while he lacks social skills, is brutally honest to the point of unintentionally insulting people he considers beneath him and very image conscious regarding his social circle, hence why he clashes with Elizabeth when he first proposes to her.
77	* PracticallyDifferentGenerations: With his only sibling, Georgiana. He is twenty-eight at the end of the novel while she is sixteen, making it a twelve-year age difference.
78	* PromotionToParent: Becomes somewhat of a father figure to his sister Georgiana after both of their parents die. He and his cousin Fitzwilliam become her legal guardians. He's very fond of her and takes care of her every comfort. Georgiana likes him, too, but she's implied to be a bit intimidated by her aloof big brother.
79	* TheProudElite: He is perceived as extremely arrogant and completely uncaring of those around him to the point that even those who acknowledge his good looks and wealth dismiss him as proud and disagreeable. He eventually admits all of this to have been ''entirely true'' during his giant The Reason I Suck speech:
80	-->“I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately an only son (for many years an only child), I was spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves (my father, particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable), allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own.”
81	* RelationshipSabotage: He breaks up Bingley and Jane by telling Bingley that Jane does not love him, which Bingley believes because it was ''Darcy'' speaking and Jane is so reserved. Darcy later regrets doing it and helps them to get back together.
82	%% * SmallNameBigEgo: Subverted.
83	* StealthInsult: Inverted as a stealth ''compliment'' during the discussion of what qualifies a young lady as "accomplished" at Netherfield--after he and then Caroline make a huge list of somewhat nebulous virtues, he ends by adding that she also must improve her mind through extensive reading. Elizabeth had chosen a book for her occupation upon entering the room. Although it also works as a straight example of the trope, since among her PassiveAggressiveKombat strategies Caroline had chosen to make several snide comments about Elizabeth's 'obsession' with reading.
84	* SugarAndIcePersonality: Ice in public, sugar at home with his servants and sister (and eventually Elizabeth).
85	* TallDarkAndSnarky: He offends all of Hertfordshire because, when he ''does'' speak, it's usually to make a cutting remark.
86	* UptownGuy: The wealthiest person in the book falls in love with Elizabeth, who's from the same landed gentry but arguably lower economic class, compounded by the fact that while Darcy's mother was the daughter of an earl, Elizabeth's mother was the daughter of an attorney. This proves to be one of the factors why he hesitates to pursue her. In addition, and although Darcy never brings it up, compared to his own vast income Elizabeth's dowry of fifty pounds a year is absolutely ''miniscule''.
87	* WallGlower: When Bingley drags him to a party, Darcy has a tendency to hang around away from people, looking forbidding and unapproachable and refusing to dance or chat with anyone.
88	* WealthyPhilanthropist: He's acknowledged to be a liberal man who does much good among the poor that live near his estate.
89	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Part of the tipping point for Elizabeth falling for him was his forcing Wickham to marry Lydia, thus saving Lydia (and by extension, the entire Bennet family)'s reputation. He never says a word about this to Elizabeth -- Lydia was the one to inform her that Darcy was involved at all -- i.e., he wasn't doing this just to get on Elizabeth's good side, he was doing this because he genuinely cared about her and wanted to help her.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder: Mr Bennet]]
93
94	The Bennet patriarch, an indolent gentleman with a rather more modest income than Mr Darcy. Of his daughters, he is closest to Elizabeth.
95	----
96	* {{Bookworm}}: Often found in his library, usually in retreat from the silliness of his wife and younger daughters.
97	* BrilliantButLazy: He's an intelligent man who loves to read, but he hates writing letters or conceding to societal demands (like calling on new neighbor Bingley). And he certainly doesn't put much effort at all into parenting his three youngest daughters.
98	* CoolOldGuy: His biting wit and kinship with Elizabeth makes him a very likable character, as does his enjoyment of the silliness of others.
99	%% * DeadpanSnarker: Even in a WorldOfSnark, he reigns supreme.
100	* DeconstructedTrope: If one gathered all the contemporary wisdom of what a Regency era country squire was supposed to be (educated, witty, living on his estate, unemotional, uninvolved in his daughters’ education, and unwilling to get his hands dirty with actual work) and distilled it into a single character, one would get something very much like Mr Bennet. Unfortunately.
101	* DotingParent: He dotes on Elizabeth (and, to a lesser extent, Jane) but ignores his three other daughters. It's not hard to see why, but it's also brought up that he could have helped them not ''be'' so silly if he hadn't given up on parenting them. (In the 2005 film, though, he is seen genuinely consoling Mary after she embarrasses herself at a ball.)
102	%% * HenpeckedHusband: It can't be easy being married to Mrs Bennet.
103	* TheGadfly: Straddles the line between this and {{Troll}}, depending on whom he's speaking to. He likes to prod people into amusing reactions, whether he's being contradictory to provoke them (with his wife) or encouraging them to make a display of their foolishness (with Mr Collins).
104	* IgnoredEpiphany: At first it seems that he's going to settle back into his apathetic attitude towards his family, even after the near disaster of Lydia's elopement -- even saying to Elizabeth that his shame over his handling of the matter, and (apparently) having to be bailed out by his brother-in-law, will no doubt pass more quickly than it should. However, the final chapters tell us that he does make more of an effort with Kitty in particular, forbidding her to visit Lydia and get into bad company, meaning she has a chance to improve.
105	* ItsAllMyFault: He acknowledges that he really should have followed Elizabeth's advice regarding Lydia.
106	* LastNameBasis: His first name is never mentioned.
107	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The mess with Lydia and Wickham shows him that his hands-off approach to parenting has materially harmed his daughters. If he had shown his younger three the same affection and attenton that he did to Jane and Lizzie (instead of alternately ignoring and mocking them) Lydia probably would never have been silly enough to fall for Wickham in the first place. And if he had at least made proper financial provision for them, they wouldn't face certain destitution upon his death despite Lydia disgracing her sisters into ineligibility.
108	* ParentsAsPeople: Mr Bennet copes with his ill-matched marriage by finding refuge in his books and sarcasm. He is indifferent to the fact that this exposes his wife to the ridicule of their children, and their family to the ridicule of the world. By the end of the novel, though, he accepts responsibility for his daughter's mistakes and furthermore, takes measures to instill some sense in his two unmarried daughters.
109	* ParentalFavouritism: Elizabeth is his admitted favourite of his daughters, as she's the one most like him in personality. And to be fair, he is kind of right when he says his three younger daughters are "silly". Jane also holds a close second in his affections, as she is the only other child with her head screwed on right.
110	* ParentalNeglect: If he'd kept a closer eye on his daughters (especially Lydia), quite a few problems might have been avoided.
111	* TheSnarkKnight: He derives a great deal of amusement at the expense of others, but when forced to confront his own mistakes with Lydia, he makes a number of pithy jibes against himself.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder: Mrs Bennet]]
115
116	The Bennet matriarch, a dramatic woman who is obsessed with marrying her five daughters off to rich men, and sees the arrival of Darcy and the Bingleys as an opportunity.
117	----
118	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Oh yes. She's simpering when talking to someone she wants to impress (like Bingley), barely conceals her hostility towards Darcy; worst of all, she loudly and indiscreetly talks about her daughters' marriage prospects in public. She's also a bit of a hypocrite and has a tendency towards SelfServingMemory.
119	* BrainlessBeauty: She was apparently pretty and silly in her youth. Mr Bennet married her for the "beauty" part, then learned the hard way that beauty fades with age, leaving the bookish and intelligent man with an ill-suited wife. However, the text suggests Mrs Bennet is still a good-looking woman for her age.
120	* DeconstructedTrope: If one gathered all the contemporary wisdom of what a Regency era country squire’s wife was supposed to be (uneducated and yet wholly responsible for her daughters’ education, blissfully ignorant of the world outside her circle, fixated on getting her daughters married off no matter to whom, interested only in traditionally female subjects like fashion, housekeeping, and gossip, not overly troubled by logic or reason) and distilled it into a single character, one would get something very much like Mrs Bennet. Unfortunately.
121	* TheDitz: She's flighty, overreactive, easy prey to Mr Bennet's taunts, and doesn't comprehend how her behavior is embarrassing to her family.
122	* DotingParent: Dotes on Lydia and, usually, ''only'' Lydia. She is, however, excessively proud of how beautiful and sweet-natured Jane is.
123	%% * DramaQueen: The first passage of the book notes her to be one.
124	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Her single-minded obsession with finding her daughters a good match and her endless badgering of her husband on the subject (despite his [[TheGadfly apparent]] lack of interest) is established on the first page.
125	-->'''Mrs Bennet:''' My dear Mr Bennet, have you heard that Netherfield is let at last? ... [''impatiently''] Do not you want to know who has taken it?\
126	'''Mr Bennet:''' ''You'' wish to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.\
127	'''Narrator:''' This was invitation enough.
128	* EveryoneHasStandards: She's an inveterate matchmaker for her daughters, particularly eager to see them wed to wealthy men. Darcy is rude to one of her daughters -- her least favorite, at that -- and, despite his eligibility and his great fortune, she never considers him as a potential son-in-law.
129	* GoldDigger: It's not clear if her reason for marrying Mr Bennet had anything to do with money, but if nothing else she's certainly a GoldDigger by proxy, and is loudly and shamelessly vocal about the fortunes of any eligible men in the vicinity and the likelihood of marrying her daughters to him. This is not without reason, though, given that the entailment on Longbourn means the girls ''must'' marry in order to have their livelihood assured -- though as Darcy points out to Elizabeth, her over-eager efforts have succeeded in driving off at least two potential suitors, suggesting that while her underlying concern is valid she'd be better served dialling down the avariciousness a little.
130	* {{Hypocrite}}: Mrs Bennet has the habit of changing her views to best suit her purposes at any given moment. For example, she is full of bitterness, resentment and dislike towards Mr Collins for the crime of being the next heir to Longbourn... until he demonstrates an interest in marrying one of her daughters, at which point she quickly becomes his biggest admirer in the Longbourn household. She also expresses intense dislike for Mr Darcy for his cold demeanor, until she learns that he has proposed to Elizabeth, to her great delight (Darcy is even richer than Bingley).
131	* ItsAllAboutMe:
132	** Her main concern is how things are going to affect ''her''. She does care about her children, however, and has a total breakdown when Lydia elopes with Wickham. Essentially, she's trying to protect her children from losing their home and starving to death in the streets or worse when their father dies, so it's understandable why her nerves are constantly frayed, even if she does play it up.
133	** When her brother tells the family that he's discharged Wickham's debts (which came to about 10,000 pounds), she dismisses the shame that Lizzy and Jane feel by saying that he ''ought'' to lay down that much for his sister and niece without qualm, because if he hadn't had any children, all of his money would have gone to them anyway.
134	* JerkassHasAPoint: She's not wrong to be concerned about the prospect of her daughters marrying well, and the unfortunate fates that may await them if they fail to do so. The problem is that she fails to go about securing the former in a particularly effective or tactful way, and ironically hindering her daughters' prospects rather than helping them. The fact that she's a rather socially uncouth woman and frequently gives off the impression of being just a tad more concerned about the effect all this will have on her doesn't help either. And to wrap it up, she at times seems less concerned about her daughters marrying ''well'' as much as them just marrying, as is witnessed in her silly fawning and giggling over the marriage of Lydia and Wickham long after the point when it should be abundantly clear that, valid concerns about her single daughters aside, this particular marriage is something to be endured more than celebrated.
135	* LastNameBasis: Her first name is never mentioned in the book. In ''Series/PrideAndPrejudice1995'', her brother calls her "Fanny" (likely short for Frances), and the companion book of ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'' calls her Marilyn, but neither name is canon.
136	* TheMatchmaker: Subversion. She attempts to arrange a match between Elizabeth and Mr Collins, but it fails miserably. She's more likely to ''ruin'' a match by supporting it, as nearly happens with Jane and Mr Bingley.
137	%% * MsRedInk
138	%%-->Mrs Bennet had no turn for economy, and her husband's love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding their income.
139	* NoIndoorVoice: Seen more in film adaptations than in the actual book, but Elizabeth even notes that her mother tends toward violent hysterics of either delight or despair.
140	* ParentsAsPeople: Mrs Bennet is unambiguously a shallow airhead who loads her daughters down with bad advice; but when Lizzy tries to call her out on her single-minded matchmaking, she delivers a riposte that reveals her very real fear that she and her daughters will be utterly destitute if they do not marry well.
141	* ParentalFavouritism: She openly says that Lydia is her favourite daughter, with Jane coming a close second. However, at the end of the book, the narrator slyly comments that when Lizzy gets engaged to Mr Darcy, a man of immense wealth, it is she who becomes her particular favourite.
142	* PlayingSick: Her "poor nerves". She always complains about those whenever she's slightly dissatisfied, which is often. She however thinks she never complains about it.
143	* SelfServingMemory: During the crisis of Lydia's elopement, Mrs Bennet and her sister declare that they ''never'' trusted Wickham and ''definitely'' tried to warn everyone else about him.
144	* SocialClimber: She herself married above her station (she is middle class; Mr. Bennet is a member of the landed gentry) and tries to make sure her daughters all marry well.
145	* UnwantedAssistance: Mrs Bennet's all-consuming obsession is getting her daughters married, which she plunges into with single-minded drive. As Darcy points out in his letter to Elizabeth, however, her lack of tact and manners and tendency to come off as a GoldDigger-by-proxy have in fact had the effect of discouraging at least two would-be suitors to her eldest daughters, suggesting that her goals would be a lot more effectively achieved if she pursued them with less zeal (or if she directed her energies into improving her character and that of her youngest daughters instead).
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder: Miss Jane Bennet]]
149
150	The eldest Bennet daughter, a sweet and gentle beauty.
151	----
152	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: In her case, it does. She's the prettiest and the nicest of the Bennet girls, as well as the nicest character in the book as a whole.
153	* BetaCouple: With Bingley; they fall in love almost at once and the complications in their relationship all come from the outside.
154	* BirdsOfAFeather: Jane Bennet and Bingley hit it off immediately when they meet. They are both sweet, kind-hearted and uncomplicated.
155	* CoolBigSis: To Elizabeth. She tries to be this to the other girls too; they just don't give her credit for it.
156	* EnglishRose: Jane is a kind, polite, intelligent, well-mannered young woman from the English country gentry, and considered the most beautiful young lady in the neighbourhood. Her character is contrasted with Elizabeth's as sweeter, shyer, and equally sensible, but not as clever; her most notable trait is a desire to see only the good in others.
157	* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Jane's hair color is not described in the book, but both the [[Series/PrideAndPrejudice1995 1995]] and [[Film/PrideAndPrejudice2005 2005]] versions make her the only blonde among the Bennet sisters to emphasize how she's considered the loveliest.
158	* FriendToAllChildren: Unsurprisingly, she's very good with her young cousins, who all adore her.
159	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Almost through force of will, although in the case of Bingley's sisters she has to admit that they are indeed awful. Even when Elizabeth shares the real story of Darcy and Wickham's past, Jane tries to rationalize a way to not doubt either and speculates that [[ConspiracyTheorist interested persons sowed discord between them]]. Elizabeth laughs and points out that going on this road means that Jane will have to find a way to excuse said hypothetical "interested persons".
160	* LoveAtFirstSight: Jane falls in love with Charles Bingley when they meet at the Meryton ball.
161	--> ''"When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr Bingley before, expressed to her sister just how very much she admired him."''
162	-->'''Jane:''' He is just what a young man ought to be. Sensible, good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! — so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!
163	* MarryForLove: Like her sister Elizabeth, she very much wants to marry a man she would love. She also knows that as the acknowleged "most beautiful" Bennet daughter, it's probably up to her to secure their future by marrying a weathy man, but Elizabeth reassures her that being so kind and beautiful, she'll probably find a husband who is both rich ''and'' loving. Happily, she gets her wish.
164	* NiceGirl: Jane is ''extremely'' nice, to the point that she would totally defend any poor defenseless hellspawn (read: even Caroline Bingley). She's not StupidGood, however. Even Jane realizes what bad eggs Bingley's sisters are when they deign to visit her in London.
165	* ProperLady: Widely respected and considered the best Bennet daughter. Not only is she intelligent and mature, she doesn't have an ungenerous bone in her body.
166	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Like Elizabeth, she wants to have a partner in life whom she genuinely loves and respects, not wanting a gender-flipped version of her parents' marriage.
167	* WideEyedIdealist: Absolutely hates to think badly of anyone, which puts her into some mental contortions when Elizabeth tells her about Darcy and Wickham's past.
168	[[/folder]]
169
170	[[folder: Miss Lydia Bennet]]
171
172	The youngest of the Bennet sisters. She is spoiled and impulsive.
173	----
174
175	* AllTakeAndNoGive: Her relationship with everyone. When she "treats" Lizzy and Jane to lunch at an inn, she follows up by saying they'll have to lend her money because she's spent hers already.
176	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Elizabeth and Jane are both constantly trying to check her wild behavior to little effect.
177	%% * AttentionDeficitOohShiny: "Ha I win again... oh let's have a dance!"
178	* AttentionWhore: Her favourites among the officers change constantly depending on who flatters her the best.
179	* AwfulWeddedLife: Austen details how her marriage to Wickham gradually sours as he very soon loses whatever small affection he had for her; while her devotion to him lasts a bit longer, their life together is fraught as they're constantly having to rely on the charity of her sisters and never have a stable home.
180	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: She's selfish, completely self-involved, materialistic, and cares absolutely nothing about the people who are hurt because of her, the trouble she causes for her family, or the consequences of her stupid actions. What's worse is that she won't even acknowledge that her actions ''were'' stupid or had damaging effects, and she's helped along in this by Mrs Bennet, who has a similar personality type.
181	* BuxomBeautyStandard: Austen describes her as "a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen". Note "well-grown" as a euphemism for having large breasts.
182	* DeconstructedTrope: If you take Mr and Mrs Bennet as distillations of all the contemporary wisdom on what a proper Regency country squire and his wife should be, Lydia would be the child produced by that couple.
183	* TheDitz: Spendthrift and obsessed with redcoats with no idea why people keep asking her to stop acting so silly.
184	* DomesticAbuse: This is implied to be her future with Wickham in the 2005 adaptation, as while she's waving goodbye from their carriage as they set off from Longbourn to begin their married life, Wickham clearly grows annoyed at her behaviour and grabs her, roughly sits her down and starts scolding her.
185	* ItsAllAboutMe: She is totally self-involved and is incapable of seeing anything wrong with her behavior whatsoever.
186	* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: She originally appears to be an outright KarmaHoudini; she receives no obvious comeuppance for her behavior, marries the soldier she always wanted, and her sisters constantly support her. But the book's epilogue reveals that the couple are always spending more than they should and are never able to make a stable home for themselves. Hence, they have to rely on her family's charity, who put up with the pair rather begrudgingly and prefer to have as little contact with Lydia as possible, and Wickham very soon loses whatever regard he had for her. This leaves her stuck in a loveless marriage with relatively little money, no way of getting free, and no real prospects.
187	* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Mother, Like Daughter]]: She's her mother's favourite because of this.
188	* ParentalFavouritism: She's Mrs Bennet's favourite daughter - and Mr Bennet's least favourite.
189	* TheRunaway: Elopes with Wickham near the end of the story.
190	* ShotgunWedding: She's not pregnant, but for her (and the rest of her family) to have a hope of preserving reputation, Darcy and Mr Gardiner force them to tie the knot.
191	* SpoiledBrat: One of the reasons Lydia's so out of control is because her mother is too indulgent towards her and her father is too disinterested to put his foot down with her.
192	* StatuesqueStunner: Lydia in the book - at least, she considers herself to be tall and beautiful. Early in the book, on the prospect of whether or not Mr Bingley will dance with her, Lydia remarks, "Oh, I am not afraid, for though I ''am'' the youngest, I'm the tallest!"
193	* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: After the main events of the novel she continuously bugs Elizabeth and Darcy (now a couple) to let her stay with them on their estate, despite being married to Wickham. She is occasionally allowed to come, but only if he doesn't come with her. Jane and Bingley, being much more accommodating, are subjected to their overlong stays.
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder: Miss Mary Bennet]]
197
198	The middle Bennet sister. To compensate for being considered the plainest of the five, she tries more intellectual pursuits, and is prone to acting preachy as a result.
199	----
200	%% * AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Due to her pomposity.
201	* AttentionWhore: In a different fashion from Lydia. Mary takes every opportunity to try to show herself off as intelligent and moral, and also jumps at the chance to perform musically whether anyone wants her to or not.
202	* {{Bookworm}}: She's always seen reading, but she doesn't appear to think much about what she reads. She just wants to have the appearance of someone intelligent and deep.
203	* TheBore: Her recitations of what she's read are usually found to be tiresome by the rest of her family.
204	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Mary is one because of her pompous moralizing and general self-involved attitude; she works too hard for accomplishments and praise because she's the least attractive of the five girls, and receives less attention than her prettier sisters. Mary does get better over time since she becomes her mother's companion once her sisters are married off, so she's forced to socialize more; what's more, without her sisters to be compared to she's no longer reduced to "the plain daughter," which makes her feel better about herself.
205	%% * CaptainObvious: Most of her speeches.
206	* DreadfulMusician: In many adaptations. In the novel she's technically passable (as long as she sticks to playing the piano and not singing), but uninspired and thus not very interesting to listen to.
207	* GiftedlyBad: She practices constantly and jumps at the chance to display her skills, but her performances are not appreciated by anyone.
208	* HolierThanThou: She moralizes at the family at every opportunity, even while they're all wracked with anxiety over Lydia and Wickham.
209	* ItsAllAboutMe: During Lydiagate, her main reaction is to keep moralizing and show herself in a better light.
210	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Mary reads a lot, but she doesn't actually think about it and just parrots the text back.
211	* LonersAreFreaks: In that time and place, this is more justified than usual--balls and parties are the ''only'' places to interact with the rest of society, so her shunning them both makes her appear rude and makes it more difficult to secure her future.
212	* MiddleChildSyndrome: With her elder sisters being beautiful and respected, while her younger getting attention wherever they go (though not for good reasons), she's frequently ignored.
213	* PlainJane: She's the only Bennet sister that is not pretty. Because she's plain and her sisters are beautiful, she tries for more intellectual pursuits.
214	* SmallNameBigEgo: She's the most pious and preachy of the Bennets.
215	* ThrowTheDogABone: WordOfGod says she eventually married a clerk, so she doesn't end up as a spinster, and is satisfied to be a star in Meryton society.[[invoked]]
216	* TheUnfavourite: She's not appreciated by either of her parents, her younger sisters dismiss her, and her older sisters are often exasperated with her.
217	[[/folder]]
218
219	[[folder: Miss Catherine "Kitty" Bennet]]
220	The second-youngest Bennet sister, who is sweet and excitable, but very impressionable.
221	----
222	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Kitty tends to follow in Lydia's footsteps and as such is a milder version of her. Kitty does improve over time due to the considerably-better influence of her two oldest sisters, once Lydia is out of the picture (and her parents strictly forbid Kitty from answering her invitations).
223	* MiddleChildSyndrome: Kitty catches the worst of this. She's overshadowed by Jane, Elizabeth and Lydia, and she's ignored by everyone as a result. She spends most of the book trailing in Lydia's wake until Lydia goes to Brighton.
224	* OnlyKnownByHerNickname: Her name's actually Catherine, but everyone calls her Kitty.
225	* SatelliteCharacter: Spends most of the book hovering around Lydia.
226	* TookALevelInKindness: WordOfGod says that she improved her manners after being separated from her obnoxious sister and companion Lydia. She eventually improved them enough to [[ThrowTheDogABone attract a country gentleman for a husband.]][[invoked]]
227	[[/folder]]
228
229	[[folder: Mr Charles Bingley]]
230
231	An amiable young man whose family fortune is fairly new. He leases the estate Netherfield and gets along with Jane.
232	----
233	%% * BetaCouple: With Jane.
234	* BirdsOfAFeather: With Jane, and it's why they fall in love. Mr Bennet jokes that they're both so obliging that nothing will ever be agreed on and so generous that servants will always cheat them.
235	* ExtremeDoormat: An unusually cheerful (and male) version, but he yields easily to persuasion. Darcy even points this out as a fault, saying that if Bingley made every preparation to go on a journey and had one foot in the saddle, just a word from a friend could stop him.
236	* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Darcy.
237	* LoveAtFirstSight: With Jane.
238	* NiceGuy: Like Jane, he believes the best of people. He also hates arguing and the most proof of his exasperation with the Wickhams' overlong visits is ''talking'' of making a ''hint'' that they should go.
239	* OddCouple: Observers wonder how such a likable fellow could be best friends with a man like Darcy. The story does go on to show that while Darcy might be socially awkward and awful with people, he really ''does'' care about Bingley, and Bingley is well aware of it.
240	* PerpetualSmiler: In the A&E adaptation, anyway, played by Crispin Bonham-Carter.
241	* TokenGoodTeammate: While the other members of the Darcy[=/=]Bingley party who arrive at Netherfield aren't exactly ''evil'', Bingley is the only one of them who isn't a socially aloof, arrogant snob. Certainly, unlike his snide, bitchy sisters and the cold, aloof Darcy, he's friendly, humble, warm and inviting to his new neighbours and never shows a hint of disdain or condescension towards them.
242	[[/folder]]
243
244	[[folder: Mr George Wickham]]
245
246	A charming militia officer who has a bitter past with Mr Darcy.
247	----
248	%% * ArchEnemy: To Mr Darcy.
249	* BitchInSheepsClothing: As Elizabeth says later, he has all the ''appearance'' of goodness, not goodness itself. He easily charms Hertfordshire society with his pleasant and charming manners, but at the core he's a selfish bastard.
250	* TheCasanova: Among the complaints about him is that he seduces (or tries to) every young woman in Hertfordshire.
251	* EvilFormerFriend: To Darcy. They grew up together as family friends.
252	* FauxAffablyEvil: Wickham is terribly charming and impeccably polite, even after everyone knows what a scumbag he is.
253	* TheGamblingAddict: The real reason he runs from the militia regiment is because he's hugely in debt to many of them, and just took Lydia with him because he might as well have fun too. In fact, he runs up huge gaming debts ''everywhere'' he goes.
254	* GoldDigger: Wickham hopes to secure his fortune by marrying a woman with money. According to Mrs Gardiner's information, he was still hoping to do this even ''after'' eloping with Lydia.
255	* {{Hypocrite}}: Although he protests that modesty and honour forbid him from revealing the details of how Darcy spitefully ruined him, he takes every possible opportunity to reveal the details of how Darcy spitefully ruined him. Wickham also proudly declares that since he knows he's in the right and has nothing to hide, then let it be Darcy who avoids him, not the other way around. He proceeds to openly avoid Darcy, ditching social events he knows Darcy will be attending and letting the hosts know that it's because Darcy is there that he is not.
256	* KarmaHoudini: For his misdeeds, he... has all of his debts settled, keeps his job, and has a modest but guaranteed income from his young wife. However, how much karma he's escaped when said young wife is Lydia might be debatable...
257	* KnightOfCerebus: Particularly as the story progresses, his role makes a funny and witty narrative deadly serious. His actions could have led to genuine ruin for the Bennets. In the backstory he came ''very'' close to destroying Georgiana's life.
258	* MaliciousSlander: Wickham accuses Darcy of denying him a valuable living out of petty spite; this is SeriousBusiness for the times.
259	* OfficerAndAGentleman: Subverted, but he'd tell you otherwise. He joins the regiment stationed in Meryton and he acts like a gentleman, but he's actually a dishonourable scoundrel who makes debts everywhere he goes.
260	* RomanticFalseLead: Elizabeth was initially interested in him and possibly vice versa (he at least enjoyed flirting with her, and it was enough that people close to her warned her that it was beginning to look serious). It didn't last long.
261	* ShotgunWedding: With Lydia. She's not pregnant, but even if she was, it wouldn't make the damage to her reputation much worse.
262	* SmugSnake:
263	** Congratulate yourself on deceiving naive teenage girls into thinking you're in love with them... while you ruin your good name in town by partying and running up huge debts. And definitely don't be careful of the people who know your true character.
264	** He even tries fishing for pity from Elizabeth over his would-be parish living ''after'' his true character has been revealed to all and he's forced to marry Lydia. Needless to say, it goes over like a lead balloon.
265	* TheSociopath: One could definitely make a case for Wickham. He's [[AffablyEvil superficially charming]] and [[BitchInSheepsClothing has all the appearance of goodness]] but is a completely [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] {{consummate liar}}, shows [[LackOfEmpathy no remorse]] for the people he hurts or lives he ruins with his selfish actions, is [[AllTakeAndNoGive only out for himself]], constantly uses and discards his "friends" the moment he's done with them (in Darcy's words, he's good at making new friends but terrible at retaining them), constantly [[TheHedonist seeks stimulation]] in the form of [[TheGamblingAddict gambling]], spending, and [[TheCasanova sleeping around]], and seems to see all people he encounters (fellow regiment soldiers, female lovers, new aquaintances he makes like the Bennets) as disposable pawns to provide his said short-term fixes.
266	* TrialBalloonQuestion: After he marries Lydia, his last conversation with Elizabeth includes several questions about how she found Darcy, Georgiana, and Pemberly because he's trying to suss out how much of the ''true'' story was unfolded to her when she visited there. She replies to his hinting questions with answers that hint she knows everything, which convinces him never to bring it up again.
267	* VileVillainSaccharineShow: He's a surprisingly dark character for a romantic comedy.
268	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He takes full advantage of his affability and Darcy's lack of it to paint people's opinions.
269	[[/folder]]
270
271	[[folder: Mr William Collins]]
272
273	Mr Bennet's nearest male relative, who is to inherit Longbourn after his passing. In the meantime, he has become a clergyman under the patronship of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
274	----
275	* BabiesEverAfter: The last letter that Mr Bennet is shown receiving from him in the story mentions that he is expecting his first child.
276	* BirdsOfAFeather: He thinks his marriage is this, commenting to Lizzie that he and Charlotte "seem to have been designed for one another." In reality, Charlotte just agrees with everything he says because it keeps him from bothering her.
277	* TheBore: He prattles on endlessly (usually about Lady Catherine), leading the Bennets to hide from him as best they can while he's a houseguest. His wife deals with it by encouraging him to do all sorts of healthy, worthwhile activities - reading, walking to Rosings, tending to his garden - which conveniently limits their interaction as much as possible.
278	* TheDitz: He has no idea, first of all, that Mr Bennet is mocking him ruthlessly, nor that his wife only married him out of practicality.
279	* EntitledToHaveYou: He displays this sort of attitude towards Elizabeth when he proposes to her, arguing that she has no choice but to accept him because he's going to be the best offer she'll ever get. [[spoiler: He's wrong. Elizabeth gets a much, much better offer.]]
280	* {{Foil}}: He's one of two [[{{Pride}} proud]], pompous men who give a backhanded marriage proposal to Elizabeth, crowing about what a great catch he is and how sure he is that she'll say "yes" since she obviously doesn't have any better prospects, only to be blindsided when she says "no" and gives a ReasonYouSuckSpeech. The difference is that Mr Collins never had any real affection for her, doesn't learn anything from the encounter, and marries her best friend behind her back. Meanwhile Darcy genuinely loves her under it all, takes the lesson to heart, and takes the time to improve himself and help her family behind her back with no expectation for personal reward because he just wants his love to be happy.
281	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: In his own way. Mr Bennet, his cousin, admits to Elizabeth that even though he hates maintaining correspondence, he wouldn't give up exchanging letters with Mr Collins for anything because they're so unintentionally funny to a SnarkKnight like himself.
282	* HappilyMarried: Like Charlotte Lucas, Mr Collins is perfectly content with his marriage of convenience. The fact that his wife has arranged for them to spend little time in each other's company clearly agrees completely with his own ideas of the married state.
283	* {{Hypocrite}}: He tells Elizabeth, when he proposes, that he had planned on marrying her almost from their first meeting. This is a ''lie'', as he initially planned on courting Jane (due to her being both the oldest daughter and also the prettiest and sweetest), but was discouraged by Mrs Bennet so that he wouldn't get in Bingley's way. He conveniently forgets this when pleading his case with his second choice.
284	* IgnoredEpiphany: After Elizabeth turns him down by spelling out why she wouldn't make him happy, the narrative notes that none of her ReasonYouSuckSpeech sunk in. His pride was hurt, and that was all. He then slinks off to propose to her best friend because Charlotte flattered his vanity by listening to his long and boring speeches.
285	%% * InnocentlyInsensitive: Frequently. While he can be a jerk, he never means any harm.
286	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's an obnoxious, brown-nosing jerk, but as Charlotte Lucas notes, there's no real malice or malevolence to his character. When married, he treats his wife kindly and with affection. He's a bit pompous, but not a bad guy. Case in point: The narration reveals that he's fully aware that, by inheriting Longbourn from Mr Bennet because it's entailed, he's robbing Mr Bennet's five daughters of their financial future, and sets out to marry one of them to try to mend this. This is a genuinely considerate gesture, or at least it would be if he went about it the right way. Unfortunately, due to his slimy and somewhat entitled nature, he singles out the prettiest one for himself, settles for the somewhat second prettiest one after that, and then when she turns him down he decides, "To hell with it!" and proposes to her best friend behind her back instead.
287	* LastNameBasis: His first name is never shown being used by anyone, not even his wife. We only know that it's William from the signature on his first letter to Mr Bennet.
288	* ProfessionalButtKisser: Mr Collins is so devoted to sucking up to Lady Catherine that he shamelessly grovels over her when she's not even present. Elizabeth conjectures at one point that this is at least partially because Lady Catherine could, potentially, bestow another family church living on him, thus increasing his income.
289	* RejectionAffection: Mr Collins initially takes Elizabeth's first rejection as encouragement to continue courting her (see article quote), he soon finds out that she is serious. But his initial interpretation of her rejection as a positive step in their relationship reflects on his views of women in their culture.
290	* RomanticFalseLead: After being rejected by Elizabeth, there are hints that he might pursue Mary, who hints in return that she would be amenable to that situation. Instead, he marries Charlotte Lucas behind everyone's backs. (In the BBC miniseries, Mary can be seen [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness primping her hair and getting close to him]] in an attempt to get his attention.)
291	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: People would probably find him less of a bore if he used short, declarative sentences.
292	* SettleForSibling: Attempted. He initially wanted Jane, but Mrs Bennet convinced him to propose to Elizabeth instead (as she was hoping to keep Jane free for Mr Bingley). However, Elizabeth refuses him outright, subverting this trope. Mrs Bennet is ''sure'' Mary could be persuaded to accept him, and the narrative suggests that she might be right, but at this point, he's had enough.
293	* SmugSnake: And often unintentionally so. He does use Elizabeth's visit to Hunsford as a way of showing off what she missed out on by refusing his hand, but she's quite unaffected.
294	[[/folder]]
295
296	[[folder: Miss Caroline Bingley]]
297
298	Bingley's unmarried sister [[note]]he has a married one, Louisa, but adaptations tend to {{Composite\|Character}} the two as Louisa is very much a background character and pretty much vanishes during the second half of the story[[/note]]. She desires to marry Mr Darcy and is thus jealous of his connection to Elizabeth.
299	----
300	* AccidentalTruth: She "warns" Lizzy to stay away from Mr Wickham, having no idea just how right she is.
301	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Very friendly and attentive to Jane... until she learns of Jane's "low" connections.
302	* ClingyJealousGirl: Frequently disparages Lizzy and her family in front of Darcy.
303	* EveryoneHasStandards: Even Snobs Have Standards. The narration notes that, had she known how much it would hurt Georgiana, even Caroline wouldn't have stooped to making a crack about Mr Wickham in front of her.
304	* FauxAffablyEvil: Like everyone else she speaks in a civil tone... but is still unfailingly rude and snobby.
305	* GoldDigger: Although it's never said outright, her desire to marry Darcy does not inolve any actual sentiment on her part and she's able to get over it pretty quickly once her hopes are definitively dashed--indeed, she very ''quickly'' becomes cordial to Elizabeth so as not to be banished from Pemberly, suggesting that becoming the lady of a great estate was more important that Darcy's personal qualities.
306	* GracefulLoser: Or at least, does a good impression of it.
307	-->Miss Bingley was very deeply mortified by Darcy's marriage; but as she thought it advisable to retain the right of visiting at Pemberley, she dropt all her resentment; was fonder than ever of Georgiana, almost as attentive to Darcy as heretofore, and paid off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth.
308	* GreenEyedMonster: Towards Elizabeth, since Caroline wants to marry Darcy herself.
309	* {{Hypocrite}}: She's disdainful towards the Bennets in part because their family connections are tradesmen. However, it's made abundantly clear that the Bingley family also made its money in trade, and Caroline and her sister are simply the type of people who try and cover up that embarrassing fact with excessive snobbery.
310	* HypocriticalHumor: Because she wants Darcy for herself, she tears down Elizabeth every chance she gets; most notably, she claims that Elizabeth is one of those women who try to get men's approval by putting down other women.
311	* KickTheDog:
312	** Regularly in her interactions with (and gossip about) Lizzy and her family.
313	** Inadvertently does this to Georgiana by bringing up Mr Wickham in an attempt to discomfort Elizabeth.
314	* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After Lizzy marries Darcy, Caroline quickly starts acting a lot more civilly towards her, and is suddenly ''very'' fond of Georgiana. Not marrying Darcy is bad enough; Caroline's not about to lose her rights to visit Pemberley on top of that!
315	* MoralMyopia: Her would-be PetTheDog moment of warning Lizzy about Wickham was really about trying to hurt and mock her.
316	* PetTheDog: About the only good thing you can say about her is that she seems to genuinely like Georgiana.
317	* RichBitch: She's an incredible snob and tosses over Jane after determining that her close relatives are in trade. (As noted above, this is rather hypocritical as the Bingleys' father actually made his fortune in trade.)
318	* SmugSnake: Very smug. Never quite realizes that disparaging Elizabeth in front of Darcy will ''always'' result in him cutting her down, not agreement.
319	* SugaryMalice: Especially towards Jane. Also to Elizabeth, when her being in the room prevents direct insults. Elizabeth is better able to see through it.
320	[[/folder]]
321
322	[[folder: Mr Edward Gardiner]]
323
324	The Bennet sisters' maternal uncle, who is a tradesman.
325	----
326	* CoolUncle: He's very affectionate toward his nieces, especially Elizabeth and Jane, and he's much more levelheaded than his sisters.
327	* HappilyMarried: He and his wife have a loving relationship. They have several small children. They serve as an example of a good marriage of affection to the Bennet sisters.
328	%% * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He acts as Lydia's guardian in London, but she sees him as extremely ''un''reasonable.
329	* SelfMadeMan: He's in trade and lives in sight of his warehouses, so the Bingley sisters look down on him, but he's very successful and well-off; he can afford servants and vacations.
330	[[/folder]]
331
332	[[folder: Mrs Gardiner]]
333
334	The Bennet sisters' maternal aunt.
335	----
336	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Inverted. She and her husband are the only members of Elizabeth's family she never blushes over. {{Lampshaded}} by Elizabeth herself when they meet Darcy.
337	* GoodParents: To her and her husband's several children, who are good and well-behaved.
338	* NoNameGiven: Her first initial is M. Other than that, we don't know. The 1995 miniseries names her "Madeline," but that is very unlikely for the era; more likely options are Mary, Margaret, etc. (Most likely it's Mary and her niece Mary was named after her.)
339	* ParentalSubstitute: To Elizabeth. She's got an excellent head on her shoulders, far better than Mrs Bennet, and both respects and advises her niece.
340	* ShipperOnDeck: She sees the attraction between Elizabeth and Darcy and suggests it as his motive for saving Lydia from Wickham.
341	[[/folder]]
342
343	[[folder: Lady Catherine de Bourgh]]
344
345	Darcy's maternal aunt, an imperious and snobby old woman. She, like Darcy's mother, is the daughter of an earl, and wants Darcy to keep the wealth in the family.
346	----
347	* BullyingADragon: Thinks Elizabeth is doing this by being in love with Darcy, but when she tries a HannibalLecture on Elizabeth, she finds herself [[ShutUpHannibal quite spectacularly out of her depth]].
348	%% * DeadpanSnarker: Has her moments.
349	* GrandeDame: Wealthy, imperious, and entirely unprepared for anyone crossing her will.
350	* HairTriggerTemper: A hint of resistance will make her come down hard.
351	* HannibalLecture: Gives Elizabeth a particularly nasty one but soon [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu gets her ass handed to her]].
352	%% * ItsAllAboutMe: Has the worst case of this in the book - and that's saying something!
353	* {{Jerkass}}: That's probably the nicest thing you can say about the woman.
354	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Is incapable of ''not'' offering advice (read: instructions) on every subject imaginable, many of which she is established to have no real knowledge of whatsoever. She claims that she would be a great musician... she's just never learned any instruments, that's all!
355	* {{Narcissist}}: Certainly thinks highly of herself and expects everyone else to suck up to her. It's probably why she keeps Collins around.
356	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: After failing to make Elizabeth swear not to marry Darcy, she goes to Darcy and rails at him never to propose. He's well aware Elizabeth would not hesitate to tell Lady Catherine that she wouldn't marry him to save her life if that was still how she felt, so hearing from his aunt that Elizabeth refused to promise ''not'' to accept a proposal from him only gives Darcy reason to hope that he might still have a chance, and encourages him to try proposing to her again.
357	* ParentalMarriageVeto: A variant in that she's his aunt, but as such she considers herself entitled to have a say in his life. Her wish is to have him marry her own daughter Anne.
358	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: "Heaven and earth! Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"
359	* SmugSnake: She thinks the strength of her rank will be enough to cow Elizabeth and her authority as aunt to cow Darcy, but her high-handed actions actually drive them together.
360	[[/folder]]
361
362	[[folder: Miss Georgiana Darcy]]
363
364	Darcy's beloved younger sister, an accomplished yet shy lady.
365	----
366	* BigBrotherWorship: The reason she's so eager to meet Elizabeth is because she takes Darcy's opinion as gospel.
367	* ElegantClassicalMusician: She is an accomplished pianist.
368	* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: In the 1995 miniseries and the 2005 adaptation.
369	* HeroWorshipper: She ''adores'' her brother and adores Elizabeth even before meeting her because Darcy likes her.
370	* MeaningfulName: "Georgiana Darcy" is derived from Georgiana Cavendish (nee Spencer), Duchess of Devonshire, who was a prominent Whig supporter, as well as the surname of the Earls of Holderness, also a Whig family. Unlike her namesake the glamorous Duchess of Devonshire, however, Georgiana is a shy, high-strung girl, which might be a dig from Austen, whose family supported the Tories.
371	* MoralityPet:
372	** For Darcy. Even Wickham owns that Darcy is a very attentive and affectionate brother.
373	** Also, even Caroline likes her. When Caroline brings up Wickham, Elizabeth takes this as proof that Caroline doesn't know about the whole Wickham/Georgiana debacle, since Caroline ''definitely'' wouldn't have mentioned Wickham if she knew how badly he'd hurt Georgiana.
374	* NiceGirl: She's a very sweet person.
375	* PracticallyDifferentGenerations: With her only sibling, Fitzwilliam. She is sixteen at the end of the novel while he is twenty-eight, making it a twelve-year age difference.
376	* ShrinkingViolet: Rather than being proud, she's just extremely shy and can barely speak to anyone without her brother around.
377	* StatuesqueStunner: Georgiana is described as tall, womanly, and graceful, though the narrator does note that she is less handsome than her older brother.
378	[[/folder]]
379
380	[[folder: Miss Charlotte Lucas]]
381
382	Elizabeth's best friend.
383	----
384	* FirstNameBasis: With Elizabeth. Notable because this is an era where you call everyone but your family or your absolute closest friends "Miss X", "Mrs Y" or "Mr Z". Not only does she call Elizabeth by her first name, she calls her by the diminutive "Eliza", showing that they're on ''very'' close terms and are practically family.
385	* {{Foil}}: To Elizabeth. Although they're great friends, Elizabeth is determined to MarryForLove, and Charlotte is determined to [[MarriageOfConvenience Marry For Eminently Practical Reasons]].
386	* HappilyMarried: Played with. She is happy ''to be'' married and finds her situation quite comfortable, but she quietly arranges her married life to have as little actual contact with Mr Collins as possible. Interestingly Mr Collins seems every bit as happy with this arrangement as she is.
387	* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Elizabeth. Both of them are grumps who find each other to be far more sensible company than their family or general acquaintance, and have a lot of fun snarking about it.
388	* MarriageOfConvenience: As she herself says, she isn't romantic. She sets out to catch Mr. Collins' attention after his proposal to Lizzy fails, knowing that he's too foolish and shallow to have anything more than an "imaginary" affection. Charlotte picks him becaue he has a respectable, stable home and income, and he is simply annoying rather than abusive (and she can easily mitigate ''annoying'' through careful time management).
389	* MassiveNumberedSiblings: She's the eldest of Sir William and Lady Lucas's children, and while we don't know exactly how many younger siblings there are, the narrative makes it clear that she has multiple brothers and sisters.
390	* TheLancer: While she's just as snarky as Elizabeth, she's a good deal more pragmatic and thinks that love is a minor consideration in marriage.
391	* OldMaid: In the novel, she's twenty-seven and not getting any younger.
392	* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: Her father and younger sister are nice, but not very bright. Her mother seems to be cut from the same cloth as Mrs Bennet. And then she marries Mr Collins. Charlotte is, furthermore, one of the most observant characters in the early stages of the novel, correctly pointing out that Jane would do well to be more expressive of her feelings for Bingley and speculating that Darcy has feelings for Elizabeth well before anyone else has even begun to twig to what's going on.
393	* PlainJane: She knows that she's plain and passing out of marriageable age.
394	* RomanticRunnerUp: Charlotte is well aware that she was Mr Collins's second choice following Lizzy's rejection. (Third, actually, since Mrs Bennet talked him out of proposing to Jane first.) Not only is she not the least bit bothered by this, she immediately views it as an opportunity to secure the stable if unromantic marriage she desires.
395	* ShipperOnDeck: During Elizabeth's stay at Hunsford, Charlotte thinks very seriously about whether it would be better for her friend to catch Colonel Fitzwilliam or Mr Darcy's eye. She also observes Darcy ''very'' closely to see if the constant staring is a LongingLook or just absentmindedness. (However, she proves incorrect in her belief that Lizzy's dislike of Darcy would end if Darcy declared an interest.)

Context Characters / PrideAndPrejudice