Pride and Prejudice Main characters

Main characters

Elizabeth Bennet - main female protagonist. The reader sees the unfolding plot and the other characters mostly from her viewpoint. The second of the Bennet daughters at twenty years old, she is portrayed as intelligent, lively, (somewhat) attractive and witty, with her faults being a tendency to judge on first impressions and perhaps being a little selective of the evidence she uses to base her judgments upon. As the plot begins, her closest relationships are with her father, her sister Jane, her aunt Mrs. Gardiner and her neighbour Charlotte Lucas. Because of his ingratiating manner, Elizabeth believes the words of Mr. Wickham over the terse but honorable Mr. Darcy.



Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy - main male protagonist. More than twenty-six years old, unmarried, the wealthy owner of a beautiful, fictional estate in Pemberley. Portrayed as handsome (far more so than Elizabeth) and intelligent, but not convivial. His concern with moral rectitude and decorum is easily confused with an excessive concern with social status. He makes a poor impression on strangers, such as the people of Meryton, but is valued by those who know him well. Initial close relationships are with his friend Charles Bingley, who has rented an estate in Hertfordshire, near Meryton.



Mr. Bennet - Has a wife and five daughters. Portrayed as a bookish and intelligent man somewhat withdrawn from society who dislikes the frivolity of his wife and three younger daughters, but offers nothing but mockery by way of correction. He is closest to his older daughters, but especially Elizabeth.



Mrs. Bennet - Wife of Mr. Bennet and mother of Elizabeth and her sisters. Her main objective in life is to find (wealthy) husbands for her five daughters, but she lacks the subtlety to execute her goals. She is portrayed as frivolous, excitable and narrow-minded. She is susceptible to attacks of tremors and palpitations, and her public manners are embarrassing to her eldest daughters. Her favourite daughter is the youngest, Lydia.



Jane Bennet - The eldest Bennet sister. Twenty-two years old when the novel begins, she is 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 good in others. Jane is closest to Elizabeth.



Mary Bennet - The middle Bennet sister, aged around eighteen. The only plain one of the five, she strives to be the most accomplished. She spends most of her time reading and studying, but without understanding. Of the sisters, she thought most highly of Mr. Collins.



Catherine (Kitty) Bennet - The fourth Bennet sister, aged seventeen. Portrayed as a less headstrong but equally frivolous shadow of Lydia.



Lydia Bennet - The youngest Bennet sister, aged fifteen. She is repeatedly described as frivolous and headstrong. Her main activity in life is socializing, especially flirting with the military officers stationed in the nearby town of Meryton. She dominates her older sister Kitty and is supported in the family by her mother.

Charles Bingley - Has just rented the Netherfield estate near Longbourn when the novel opens. Twenty-two years old at the start of the novel, handsome, good-natured and wealthy, he is contrasted with his friend Mr. Darcy as being less intelligent but kinder and more charming (and hence more popular in Meryton). He lacks resolve and is easily influenced by others.



Caroline Bingley - Unmarried sister of Charles Bingley, who accompanies him to Netherfield to keep house for him. Accustomed to fashionable society in London and looks down on Meryton people. She is jealous of Darcy's regard for Elizabeth. Closely associated with Darcy, her sister, Mrs. Hurst, and her brother, Charles.



George Wickham - A militia regiment lieutenant touring Meryton early in the novel. He was also the son of Darcy's father's steward. Charming and handsome, he makes a good impression in Meryton society, and his reports that Darcy has cheated him out of a rightful inheritance serve to damage Darcy's reputation there. He is later revealed to be financially irresponsible and morally bankrupt with a tendency to believe the stories he spins.



William Collins - A cousin of Mr. Bennet, and the entailed heir of Longbourn. At twenty-five years old, has recently obtained a clerical living on the estate of Lady Catherine De Bourgh in Kent. Travels to Hertfordshire intending to look for a wife among his cousin's daughters. They find him pompous, dull and sycophantic.



Charlotte Lucas - The clever and astute daughter of the Bennets' neighbours, Sir William and Lady Lucas. Still unmarried at the age of twenty-seven, she engineers her marriage to Mr. Collins. She is Elizabeth's best friend until Elizabeth loses respect for her when she accepts Mr. Collins' offer of marriage.



Lady Catherine De Bourgh - Darcy's widowed aunt, mistress of Rosings Park in Kent and Mr. Collins' patroness. She is arrogant about her social rank, but takes a controlling interest in the personal affairs of those beneath her, particularly the Collinses. She intends Darcy to marry her daughter, Anne.



Anne De Bourgh- Said to be the daughter of Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Anne is portrayed as fragile and poorly, yet in rather a good disposition, due to the wealth she is expected to accumulate upon an arranged marriage to Fitzwilliam Darcy. All does not go to Lady Catherine's plans.



Georgiana Darcy - Darcy's younger sister and only sibling, age sixteen; she is also the ward (jointly held) of Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, her cousin. She is very accomplished, especially at the piano. Wickham faults her as being very proud, but her later appearance in the story discloses she is sweet-tempered and shy.



Colonel Fitzwilliam - Another of Lady Catherine's nephews. He and Darcy are joint guardians of Georgiana. He befriends Elizabeth while she is in Kent. A charming and kind young man, he is the younger son of an Earl; he circumspectly tells Elizabeth that he must marry prudently.