Elizabeth Bennet

Also known as: Eliza / Eliza Bennet / Elizabeth / Lizzie / Lizzy / Miss Bennet / Miss Eliza / Miss Eliza Bennet / Miss Elizabeth / Miss Elizabeth Bennet / your Elizabeth · Family: Bennet · Role: daughter · First appears: Chapter 1

At the beginning, Elizabeth is one of the Bennet daughters, supported by Mr. Bennet and opposed by Mrs. Bennet’s judgments about marriage and beauty. She is compared with Jane Bennet and Lydia Bennet, shares the family’s astonishment with Catherine Bennet and Mary Bennet, and anticipates meeting Charles Bingley at the assemblies. Her intimate friendship with Charlotte Lucas is important, while her first encounters with Fitzwilliam Darcy leave her offended by his pride and by his failure to ask her to dance. At Netherfield she remains beside the ill Jane Bennet, accepts Caroline Bingley’s invitation to stay, and later returns home with Jane.

As the visits and dances continue, Mr. Collins changes his intention from Jane to Elizabeth, seeks her dances, and proposes marriage; Elizabeth refuses him despite pressure from Mrs. Bennet, while Mr. Bennet supports her decision. She is courted by George Wickham, dances with Darcy, and becomes absorbed in Wickham’s account of Darcy, though her friendship with Charlotte Lucas is strained when Charlotte accepts Mr. Collins. With Mrs. Gardiner’s warning in mind, Elizabeth later recognizes Wickham’s conduct and Darcy’s explanations as she reads his letter, admitting, “But vanity, not love, has been my folly.” She also accepts the account of Darcy’s actions concerning Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley, and refuses Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s invitation to prolong her stay.

At Pemberley, Elizabeth visits with Mr. Gardiner and Mrs. Gardiner, hears Mrs. Reynolds praise Darcy’s generosity, and observes Darcy’s changed civility toward her relations. Darcy introduces her to Georgiana Darcy, and Elizabeth’s connection with both Darcys grows through their invitations and visits. When Lydia Bennet elopes with George Wickham, Elizabeth tells Darcy the news; after learning that he secretly found the couple and helped secure their marriage, she shares this with Jane, Mr. Bennet, and the Gardiners, while refusing to expose his private communication publicly. She also supports receiving Lydia and Wickham at Longbourn but later rejects their expectations of financial assistance.