Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, as a novel written by a woman who lived in Regency England and taking place in that same setting, contains many social values that are difficult for modern audiences to grasp, but are nevertheless important to understanding the story.
- Despite Mr. Darcy instantly standing out as the richest and most handsome man at the ball when he first arrives in Hertfordshire, the ladies quickly lose interest because he's a haughty, brooding loner... which would only serve to augment, rather than diminish, his appeal today. Many a girl and many a woman swoons over Tall, Dark, and Snarky men. Which explains why so many women today are in love with Darcy. That attitude started with Romanticism, which was in its early stages by the time Austen was writing. It wasn't mainstream yet, but even Austen has characters who express those feelings, such as Marianne from Sense and Sensibility (which is all about Romanticism Versus Enlightenment, represented by Marianne and Elinor respectively).
- In these days when Tall, Dark, and Snarky has become such a popular character type for male romantic leads, readers are likely to wonder just what Lizzie's problem with Darcy is, when at the time the book was written his wisecracks would just seem horribly rude to both a character and an audience who were raised on good manners and courtesy. They also tend to overlook the fact that he insulted her personally (Elizabeth: "I would be able to forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine."); modern culture tends to position the Deadpan Snarker as a rather admirable character, but it's a different story when you're on the receiving end of his insults.
- Charlotte's quick marriage to Mr. Collins. She can't stand him as a person, but her prospects are so poor (she's the ripe old age of 27 and only average if not plain in looks with little money) and his are so good that she actively encourages him to propose to her after Elizabeth turns him down; these values seem rather off-putting to modern female readers. This is lampshaded by Austen through Lizzy, who is appalled that her best friend would stoop so low just to secure her own comfort. Charlotte was Austen's commentary on the plight of the average woman during the Regency, who would sadly often sell themselves to the highest bidder in an effort to avoid ending up on the streets or worse.
- Charlotte's being regarded as verging on spinsterhood when she's in her late twenties is somewhat recognisable today, if far less common. On the other hand, Jane being regarded as getting up there when she's only 22 (23 at the end of the book) is bizarre to modern readers; while in the present day many people of that age are getting married, the vast majority are only just finishing their education or starting out upon their careers.
- Everyone's reaction towards fifteen-year-old Lydia running off with mid-twenties Wickham. Today, it would be more like "arrest that creeper!" But Lydia's family gets them quietly married so as not to arouse suspicion and gossip, which would have ruined the family. (It should also be noted that by the standards of the day, Lydia was not considered a child and very much was considered of an age to marry; she wouldn't have been "out" in society, attending balls and being invited to Brighton without her family if she wasn't.) Darcy is ahead of the times by trying to get Lydia to leave Wickham when he first finds them, only arranging their marriage after she refuses to come to her senses and go home, and he also did manage to get his own sister away from Wickham. While all the characters with any sense are unhappy about the wedding, they also acknowledge that it's the best solution they've got — because at the time, once things had gone that far it really was. (Blink and you'll miss it, since it's in old Regency slang, but at one point the gossips of Meryton consider the possibility of Lydia having to go into sex work; that or be banished to some house far from society like a hermit.) Lydia is very often sympathised with these days, as a naïve and headstrong girl who lacked parental guidance and discipline, who was preyed upon by a much older man and doesn't think about the consequences of her actions, with the result that she ends up stuck in a loveless and unsuccessful marriage. Austen and her Regency readers are more critical of Lydia, as she's still blatantly selfish and her actions could have destroyed not only her reputation but that of her family, which she never expresses any regret for or even acknowledges; and even then, her terrible marriage is not so much a punishment as the inevitable result of such an ill-matched union."And they are really to be married!" cried Elizabeth, as soon as they were by themselves. "How strange this is! and for this we are to be thankful. That they should marry, small as is their chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are forced to rejoice! Oh, Lydia!"
- Part of the reason Mary has such a Misaimed Fandom is because of the range of things other characters get down on her for — everything from the truly obnoxious, like her moralizing lectures, to hogging the piano to... not being interested in balls. And this is used as grounds to say she's as bad as Lydia and Kitty. One has to consider, though, that balls were the primary way for young single people in the English countryside to meet and mingle (those in the city had other opportunities), and for girls like the Bennets, who would be penniless upon their father's death if they didn't marry well, getting to know men at balls was crucial both for their own welfare and that of their family. So it was rather presumptuous of Mary not to at least make an effort to dance and socialize. (This is diminished in the 2005 film, where she genuinely does make an effort to practice music and sing at Bingley's ball and ends up humiliating herself.) Modern introverted readers who've been mocked for not being outgoing tend to see themselves in Mary, and forget how different their situations are.
- While Mrs. Bennet was always intended to come off as silly, she comes off as significantly more so to modern readers than she did to readers in Austen's time, when marrying well was actually essential to a woman's future financial security. This is especially true with the Bennet sisters, who would lose everything upon their father's death (since the estate is passing to Mr. Collins) if they have not yet married, and who would have a very difficult time supporting themselves or gaining employment (the upbringing of a Regency gentlewoman wasn't exactly geared towards actual work, except maybe being a lady's companion or a governess, and the younger girls are not nearly mature or well-educated enough for either of those roles). To put it in perspective, a modern analogue would be the "helicopter parents" who obsess over their kids getting into a good university. Bride and Prejudice notably makes her obsessed with securing green cards so the daughters can go to America. What she wants isn't silly and embarrassing—it's how she acts when she's trying to get it.
- Following on from that, modern readers can take a while to realise that Mr. Bennet, while he makes some hilarious quips, proves to be a fairly shrewd judge of character (especially when it comes to Wickham) and is a loving father to Jane and Elizabeth, is also a prime example of a bad husband and father. The reason Mrs. Bennet is so desperate to get her daughters married is because Mr. Bennet hasn't done nearly enough to secure their future, and a Regency audience would recognise just how badly he failed in his role as 'head of the household'.
- Mr. Bennet states that Lizzy is the kind of woman who would not be happy in marriage unless she "looked up to [her husband] as a superior", and Lizzy assures him that she does see Mr. Darcy that way. Although this one does depend on whether you think they mean that Darcy is socially or emotionally superior to Lizzy in standing or import (as in, Darcy is superior to Lizzy), or rather that they mean that he'd appear so when compared to the rest of the men around (as in, Darcy is superior to any other man Lizzie might be interested in), or just that Darcy is someone she can admire as a person. When Elizabeth first realizes that, yes, Darcy is exactly the kind of man she wants to marry, she muses to herself that she would have taught him to be more relaxed and willing to laugh at himself, and that she could have learned a lot from his experience and understanding of the world— i.e. he is someone she could look up to as a superior, in the sense that he is one of the few people she knows who is as smart or smarter than she is.
- Those adaptations which don't just outright ignore the fact that Jane is supposed to be more beautiful than Lizzy tend to call on the values dissonance between Regency and modern standards of female beauty to play with it, by casting an actress who is beautiful in the classical sense favoured in the early nineteenth century (as typically found in Greco-Roman art) to play Jane while casting someone who is beautiful in a more modern sense to play Elizabeth.
- When Lady Catherine says that marrying Darcy would be marrying outside her social class, Elizabeth doesn't say anything along the lines of "Social class doesn't matter," but responds that such a marriage would not be out of her class: "He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter; so far we are equal." Elizabeth assumes, as Jane Austen and her readers probably did at the time, that marriage between two people of different social classes would be unacceptable or at least unwise.
- To effectively banish Wickham, Darcy purchases him a commission in Newcastle; to become an officer in the regular army in this time period, you either needed a large amount of money or someone willing to spend that money on your behalf to get a good position, and retiring officers would sell their positions accordingly. While it doesn't come up in the story itself, even to be an officer in the militia (where you couldn't buy a commission) meant you had to be a landowner with property worth at least £50 a year. This meant that it was very difficult for men of lower standing or income to progress very far in the army, unless they received a field commission for outstanding bravery — witness the career of Richard Sharpe — and the officer class was usually restricted to wealthy gentlemen, as opposed to the modern armed forces where promotion is ideally due to individual merit rather than your family name or the size of your bank account.
