COMIC STRUCTURE IN PRIDE AND PREJUDICE LORETTA LOGGIE KAPLAN, B.A. A THESIS IN ENGLISH I/LA.STER OF ARTS - by Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of ...

COMIC STRUCTURE IN PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

                  by
      LORETTA LOGGIE KAPLAN, B.A.

               A THESIS
                   IN
                ENGLISH

   Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
      of Texas Tech University in
        Partial Fulfillment of
         the Requirements for
             the Degree of
            I/LA.STER OF ARTS
               Approved

                May, 1971

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dop, Z                 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 I. NORTHROP PRYE'S ANALYSIS OF COMIC STRUCTURE . . .    1
II,     TOM JONES AS A TYPICAL COMIC NOVEL               7
lil.    PRIDE AND PIffiJUDICE AS A VARIATION ON
        TRADITIONAL COMIC STRUCTURE                     21
NOTES                                                   53
BIBLIOGRAPHY                                            59

                               11

CHAPTER I
        NORTHROP FRYE'S ANALYSIS OF COMIC STRUCTURE

     In The Rise of the Novel Ian V/att states:
     From Sterne and Jane Austen to Proust and Joyce
     the Aristotelian priority of plot over charac-
     ter has been v/holly reversed, and a new type of
     formal structure has been evolved in v/hich the
     plot attempts only to embody the ordinary pro-
     cesses of life and in so doing becomes wholly
     dependent on the characters and the development
     of their relationship.'
Careful examination of Pride and Prejudice, hov/ever, re-
veals that the skeleton of the novel is none other than
a traditional comic plot.   Perhaps it is better hidden
than the plot in Tom Jones;   but it is, nevertheless,
present and not wholly dependent upon the development of
the characters for its shape and direction.   True, Miss
Austen's major characters are better developed than the
major ones in Tom Jones, but this development is a bonus
for the comic novel.   And just as Tom Jones uses the comic
plot to make a social commentary upon the class system.
Pride and Prejudice uses it for social commentary upon
the marriage institution.

     Using Northrop Frye' s discussion of "Tiie Mythos of
                                             2
Spring: Comedy" in The Anatomy of Criticism as the framework

for typical comic structure and Tom Jones as the example
of an eighteenth-century novel with a typical comic plot,
one can illustrate how this same comic plot exists at
the heart of Pride and Prejudice.
    Frye points out that fictional comedy mainly descended
from dramatic comedy.    The plot structure follows a simple
pattern.    A young man wants a young woman.   Their desire
for each other is blocked by some opposing force, usually
a parental one, but a manipulation of the plot allows the
hero to have his will.    The stable order of the older
established society is disrupted by a human foible of the
younger society.    Order is later restored but by the tri-
umphant society of the young.    In comedy the movement is
generally from one kind of society, which the obstructing
characters are in charge of, to a nev; society in the end
which crystallizes around the hero and heroine.     The ap-
pearance of this new society is signalized by a party or
ritual, especially a wedding or a dance.
     The obstacles to the hero's desire form the action
of the comedy, and overcoming these obstacles results in
the resolution of the comedy.    The father is xhe most
common obstacle; but when it is not the father, it is a
father surrogate, usually older and ricner than tne hero.
This usurper who claims the girl must be exposed as an
imposter.    Frye suggests that to whatever extent tiie

usurper enjoys real power some criticism is implied of
a society which would allow such a pretender his power.
     The tendency of comedy, according to Frye, is to
include as many people as possible in its final society.
There is often a scapegoat in this society, whose ultimate
expulsion gets rid of this irreconcilable character.     One
of the conventions of comedy says that the braggart must
be exposed, ridiculed, swindled, and beaten, but the
principle of conversion becomes clearer with those charac-
ters whose primary purpose is amusing the audience, as
unlikely conversions, miraculous transformations, and
providential assistance are earmarks of comedy.   The
tendency of comedy is to include rather than exclude as
many characters as possible in its final society.
     In comedy the most common device for bringing about
the comic discovery is the use of witnesses, people v.ith
special knowledge or overhearers of conversations.      Com-
pacts are generally conspiracies formed by the hero's
society, and ordeals are the tests of the hero's character
     Frye states that there are two ways to develop the
form of comedy.   One is to throw the main empnasis on
the blocking characters; the other is to throw it forward
on the scenes of discovery and reconciliation.    The first
is characteristic of comic irony, satire, realism, and

studies of manners.    The other is characteristic of
Shakespearean and other types of romantic comedy.
     The comic effect in comedy is derived from various
techniques.   One is the use of complicated plots because
there is something inherently absurd about complications.
Another device is repetition of a character trait or a
ruling passion v;hich is overdone and not going anywhere;
repetition relies upon the principle that laughter is
partly a conditioned reflex.    Often the humorous charac-
ter is someone v^ho has social prestige sufficient enough
to force much of the comedy's society into line with his
obsession.    Humor is also connected with the theme of
the absurd or irrational law that the action of the comedy
moves toward*^breaking because a society which allows
itself to be governed by ridiculous rules is one v/hich
deserves to be ridiculed and censored.    It is this ir-
rationality which comedy seeks to lampoon and destroy
with the triiimph of the new society.
     Fictional comedy often groups its more interesting
characters around a "somewhat dullish pair of technical
leads"; both the hero and heroine are often played dov/n.
Mr. Frye divides the other principal characters of corr.edy
into four groups:     the impostors, the self-deprecatorn,
the buffoons, and the churl or rustic.     Central to the
impostor group is the heavy father; a female character

of this type is rare, although Lady V/ishforts do exist.
Also of this same group is the pedant and the fop or cox-
comb.    In the self-deprecator group is the tricky slave
or the scheming valet who hatches schemes that bring about
the hero's victory.    Another self-deprecator is the vice
who loves mischief but of a benevolent kind; this charac-
ter often resorts to disguise.     Still another is the older
man who begins the action and withdraws and then returns
at the end of the story.     The third comic type is the
buffoon; he increases the mood of festivity.      The oldest
of this group is the parasite.     Sometimes there is a
cook who acts as master of ceremonies; a similar role is
played by a jovial host.     The fourth tj^^DC, the churl or
rustic, has a variety of faces.     He is the gull or straight
man, the killjoy, the prig, the snob, the miser; or he
can be the country bumpkin in the city (the rube or hay-
seed), or even the "plain dealer" type.

        Frye observes that comedy usually moves toward a
happy ending, which is brought about by a manipulation of
the plot.    He comments that happy endings do not impress
us as true but desirable, and the audience simply under-
stands that the newly-weds will live happily ever alter.
The society emerging at the end of a comedy represents by
contrast a kind of moral norm; it is a movement ii-om a
society controlled by habit, ritual bondage, arbitrary

law, and older characters toward a society controlled by
youth and freedom.   It is essentially a step av/ay from
illusion to reality; hence the importance in comedy of
dispelling illusions caused by disguises, obsessions,
hypocrisy, or unknov/n parentage.   Comedy raises emotions
of sympathy and ridicule and casts them out, thus making
greater use of social and moral judgment than tragedy.

CHAPTER II
             TOM JONES AS A TYPICAL COMIC NOVEL

     Frye notes that fictional comedy is mainly descended
from dramatic comedy, and in the case of the author Henry
Fielding, an established dramatist, one sees his skill
with the dramatic comic plot directed toward a novel,
Tom Jones.   In this novel, the young man, Tom, wants a
young woman, Sophia.     His desire for her is resisted by
the opposition, her father Squire Y/estern and Squire
Allworthy's nephew, Blifil; but in reality it is the
society in v/hich they live which is the opposition,       Tom's
birth is too base to allow him entry into the world of
the landed gentry to which Sophia belongs.     The twist
in the plot which allows the hero to have his will is
the revelation, after a lengthy series of diversions and
escapades, that Tom is the bastard child of a woman of
this aristocratic class.     This origin, though illegitimate,
the inheritance he receives from his uncle. Squire All-
worthy, and Tom's improved character are sufficient to make
Tom v;orthy of Sophia.

     Tom Jones has some of the properties of both tne
romantic comedy and the comedy of manners.     The tendency
of romantic comedies is to throw the main emphasis forward

8

on the scenes of discovery, and the reader of Tom Jones
finds himself threading his way through the episode with
Molly Seagrim, those with Mrs. Waters on the road to
London, the encounter with Lady Bellaston, in addition
to a number of subplots in v/hich Tom is involved, and
looking forward to the final scene in v/hich Tom is vin-
dicated and Blifil exposed.    It is this final unraveling
of the plot that the reader anticipates throughout the
novel; the reader never fears that Sophia vdll fall prey
to Blifil, for the author reassures him on that score,
nor does he doubt that Tom will ultimately be successful
in securing Sophia.    However, it is the anticipation of
this resolution that engages much of tne reader's at-
tention.
     Nevertheless, in Tom Jones the blocking characters
are not neglected.    Frye states that the heavy father
is central to the group of com.ic characters known as the
impostor group.      Squire Western is one of the most
important characters of this group, and his flamboyant man-
ner and ranting serve to enhance his comic possibilities.
He is opposed to his daughter's marrying the bastard
Tom, largely because Tom has no property.     However,
Squire Allworthy also serves in this role as a blocking
character because he drives Tom away from home and helps
arrange the distasteful match between Blifil and Sophia.

Blifil also is a blocking character because he suc-
cessfully blocks the match between Sophia and Tom by
concealing from Squire Allworthy the letter which revealed
the nature of Tom's birth.    Too, had it not been for
Blifil's desire to marry the lovely Sophia so that he can
rule over both estates. Squires Western and Allworthy
would probably never have been called into their blocking
roles at all.   They attempt to further the match because
of a misunderstanding regarding Sophia's feelings, but
also because Blifil has managed to disguise his deceit
and ingratiate himself with them.    Much of the action
and complications of the plot turn upon the attempts made
to bring about this undesirable marriage.

     Comedy plots are complicated because something about
                         2
complications is absurd.   As Watt notes. Fielding ex-
hibits "a remarkably fine control over a very complicated
structure."   He also observes that the simple central
action is super-imposed with a series of relatively inde-
                                4
pendent sub-plots and episodes.
     The simple central action in Tom Jones revolves around
Tom and Sophia's love for each other, which is forbidden
by the parents and society primarily because of the ac-
cident of Tom's birth.   There are numerous episodes con-
nected with this main plot.    Tom's early affair with r.'olly
Seagrim and the incidents surrounding that relationship,

10

Square's exposure in Molly's room, and the bloody fight
Molly gets embroiled in at church, are examples of di-
gressive episodes.   Later, the reader sees Jones become
involved with Jenny Waters while he is on his way to
London; and upon arriving in London Jones soon enters
into a liaison v/ith Lady Bellaston, which further compli-
cates his already impossible situation v/ith Sophia.

     In addition to the episodes Tom is involved in,
there are also some virtually independent sub-plots.     The
early portion of the book relates the background of
Bridget Allworthy's marriage as v/ell as the alleged in-
discretion of Jenny Jones.   There is also the story within
a story device employed v/hen Tom meets The Old Man of
the Hill, and here the reader is treated to a long history
of this character who actually has very little relation-
ship to the rest of the novel.   The stormy marriage and
life of Mrs. Fitzpatrick, Sophia's cousin, is another sub-
plot which diverts the reader's attention when Sophia
encounters her on the way to London.   At the end of the
novel Tom finds himself the mediator in a love triangle
similar to his own when he meets the Millers and the
Nightingales.   Although these sub-plots have little bear-
ing on the main plot of the novel, they do often help
illumine the character of Tom.   Also Watt points out that
they are variations on the main theme of boy wants girl.

11

    Besides the numerous sub-plots, characters, episodes,
and complications which add humor to the plot. Fielding
adds more absurdity by creating individual scenes fraught
vdth complications and coincidences.    The scene in the
inn when Tom and Sophia stay under the same roof and some-
how manage to bump into everyone else they know but not
each other is a good example of Fielding's effective
absurdity.

     Watt further notes that the complex plot structure
tends to make characters passive agents; but, on the
other hand, it also gives the author more chances to
introduce a greater variety of minor characters.    In
these comic novels v/ith elaborate plots the creative
portrayal of characters devolves more upon the minor
characters, who are not deeply involved v/ith the working
                7
out of the plot.   For example, the reader knows Mrs.
Honour, Sophia's maid, better than he really knows Sophia.
Mrs. Honour comes alive because of her human weaknesses,
like switching her loyalty to Lady Bellaston for the sake
of money.    Molly Seagrim is also portrayed more vividly
than Sophia, who unlike the lusty Molly, apparently nac
no vices.    Even Mrs. Wilkins, who is seen only briefly
in the opening of the book and then left behind, is a
real character made believable because of her self-righteous,
bigoted attitude.

12

The fact that the minor characters seem more real than
the major ones is, according to Frye, in keeping with
the comic tradition, the practice of grouping its interest-
ing characters around a somewhat dullish pair of technical
         o

leads.       He points out that no name could be more common-
place, associated with the typical and the ordinary,
than Tom Jones. Watt says that the fimction of the major
characters seems to be limited; they should be labeled
appropriately and then should continue to speak and act
                 Q

consistently.^       Tom is the lovable rake, v/ho, in spite
of his best intentions, cannot resist an attractive,
flirtatious woman.       Sophia is the lovely maiden of ir-
reproachable virtue; she may run away from home, but she
will never be immoral.       Squire V/estern is the most un-
realistic character of all, but also the most lively,
with his constant blustering and ranting.       Squire Allv/ortr.y,
as his name implies, is the personification of goodness;
he is not only all-understanding but also all-forgiving.
     The unrealistic behavior of the major characters
furthers the comedy of the situations.       Even the pas-
sionate meeting between Jones and Sophia when they have
learned that Squire Western wants Sophia to marry Blifil
is too eloquent and formal to evoke anything but laughter
from the reader.       Y/estern's exaggerated cruelty to his
daughter almost verges on the melodramatic v.hen he locks

13

Sophia in her room and resolves to force her to marry
Blifil.    Such barbarity of a father toward a daughter in
parody of Clarissa is almost beyond belief and provokes
smiles instead of tears.
     In addition to the sometimes unbelievable characters
whose behavior borders on the absurd, comedy often uses
another kind of absurdity for the sake of plot resolution.
This device is the use of unlikely conversions, miraculous
transformations, and providential assistance. 10 At the
end of Tom Jones, P/Irs. Waters is heard praising Tom's
virtues.    "Indeed he is the v/orthiest of men.   No young
gentleman of his age is, I believe, freer from vice, and
few have the twentieth part of his virtues; nay, whatever
vices he has had, I am firmly persuaded he hath now taken
                               11
a resolution to abandon them."    Mrs. Waters's predic-
tion comes true, for at the end of the book the reader is
told that:
     Whatever in the nature of Jones had a tendency
     to vice, has been corrected by continual con-
     versation with this good man, [Squire Allworthy]
     and by his union with the lovely and virtuous
     Sophia. Pie hath also, by reflection on nis past
     follies, acquired a discretion and prudence very
     uncommon in one of his lively parts.''^
The reader is further amazed by tne docile transformation
of Squire Western who is content to retire to a "lecser
house of his in another part of the country" and only

comes to visit and play with his grandchildren while

14

Jones takes over his family seat and the management of
his estate. ^

     Another characteristic of comedy is the theme of
the absurd or irrational law that the action of comedy
moves toward breaking.   This law is usually imposed by
someone with a good deal of social prestige and power
who can force the other characters in the society to
comply. 14 In Tom Jones Tom is not eligible to marry
Sophia, not because he is an illegitimate child, but be-
cause he is of low origins.   Once his relation to the
powerful and prestigious Allworthy is revealed, he becomes
eligible in the eyes of the society in spite of his il-
legitimacy; it is genteel illegitimacy.
     The revelation of Tom's birth comes about by means
of another typical comic device, the overhearers of
conversations or people v/ith special knov/ledge.15 In
Tom Jones Mrs. V/aters, v/ho was in on the early conspiracy
to protect Bridget Allworthy's reputation, reveals that
she is not Tom's mother lest Tom think that he has com-
mitted incest.   The final exposition is the v/ork of the
lawyer Dowling, who not only reveals Tom's origin but the
duplicity of Blifil, wno concealed the letter Bridget
left Allworthy telling about Tom's birth.   These "witnesses"
with special knowledge are instrumental in the final un-
raveling of the plot.

15

     The supposed incest between Mrs. Waters, the former
Jenny Jones, and Tom suggests another minor theme of
comedy, the possibilities of incestuous combinations.
Frye says that the presiding genius of comedy is Eros,
who has to adapt himself to the moral facts of society.
For a time the reader is unaware that incest has not
truly taken place; but as Watt points out, comedy often
involves a certain complicity in acts and sentiments v/hich
                                                  17
we might not treat so tolerantly in ordinary life. '
     The reader of Tom Jones is required to exercise a
great deal of tolerance, especially where Tom is concerned.
He is asked to overlook his flings with Molly Seagrim,
Lady Bellaston, and Mrs. Waters and yet never doubt his
undying love for Sophia.   It is, of course, nothing more
than an acceptance of the old sexual double standard.
But V'/att also points out that to take Tom's faithlessness
too seriously v/ould jeopardize Fielding's comic intention.
Watt feels that one of the classical ingredients of
comedy is a relish for wholesome bav/dy and sees it as a
necessary part of the moral education of a sex-bedevilled
          18
humanity.
     Comedy often makes use of ordeals or tests of the
hero's character. 19
                   -^ In Tom Jones Tom must prove himself
in order for him to show that ne is worthy of Sophia.

Fielding portrays Tom's generous spirit in several incidents

16

Tom's thoughtful treatment of the Old Man of the Hill
shows evidence of his concern for others simply because
he is unafraid to approach this lonely hermit and because
Tom is willing to devote some time to listening to the
old man.   Later in the book Tom feels called upon to
intervene in the matter of Nancy Miller and Nightingale.
It is Tom who encourages Nightingale to do the honorable
thing by Nancy and arranges the situation with Nightingale's
father so that their union v/ill be approved.   There is
also the matter of Arabella Hunt, the rich widow, who
offers herself and her bank account to Tom.     Tom, however,
having finally disentangled himself from Lady Bellaston,
refuses Mrs. Hunt's offer.   Though tempted by it because
of his poor financial situation, he turns it dov/n out
of love for Sophia.   This is Tom's first refusal of a
woman's wares, and the reader begins to wonder if Tom
is finally growing up and achieving maturity.     The real
test and ordeal that Tom must endure is being cast out
of Allworthy's home and favor.   Yet, Tom is unv/avering
and unstinting in his love for Allworthy and, instead of
being bitter and resentful tov/ard Allv/orthy, cnastises
himself for his ungrateful behavior.   Tom is even more
charitable by forgiving and aiding Blifil, who has wronged
Tom grievously.

17

     Generally comedy has a scapegoat whose ritual of
expulsion gets rid of this irreconcilable character.^^
In Tom Jones the scapegoat is Blifil.   Blifil is an im-
postor, an usurper whose claim to Sophia must be shown
to be fraudulent.   Only the reader can know the full ex-
tent of Blifil's villainy, but Fielding is quick to
reassure him early in the book that Blifil will never
be successful in gaining Sophia.   Nevertheless, Blifil
occupies an influential and pov/erful position until the
very end of the book; and Frye says that when a despicable
character is allowed real power, some criticism of a
society which would allow such an unv/orthy individual
this pov/er is implied.^   Frye goes on to say that the
comic convention demands that a presumptuous character
                                       22
must be exposed, ridiculed, and beaten.    Y/hen Dowling
tells Allworthy that he had given Bridget's letter to
Blifil to deliver, Allv/orthy knows that he has been de-
ceived by Blifil and that he has wronged an innocent man.
He tells Sophia, "I have discovered the wretch I'or v.hom
you have suffered all this cruel violence from your father
to be a villain." -^ At the end of the novel when Blifil
knows he has been found out, he discards all his rride
and dignity.   "He then asked pardon of his brother in
the most vehement manner, prostrated himself on the ground,
and kissed his feet; in short, he was now as remarkabay

18

mean as he had been before remarkably wicked."^^    Thus
is Blifil completely exposed and beaten.
     In what Frye refers to as the mythos of comedy, the
hero's society rebels against the society of the old
and triumphs; the rebellion is necessary because the
older order is ruled by folly, obsession, forgetfulness,
or events not understood by the characters themselves;
but ultimately a desirable order is restored.^
     The cognitio of comedy is concerned with the emergence
of the new society and the straightening out of its de-
      2fi
tails.    In Tom Jones the stable order of society is
represented by Squire Allworthy and Squire Western who
uphold the idea that only suitable members of the same
class may form alliances.   Sophia and Tom disrupt the
stable order by falling in love and refusing to follow
the dictates of their parents.   liather than marry Blifil,
Sophia runs away to London.   Tom, because he cannot
control his lust for the local wenches, is a victim of
his own folly.   He is eventually framed by Blifil and
cast out by Allworthy.   The cognitio occurs when Dov.-ling
exposes Blifil's deceit to Allworthy.   After ivirs. Waters,
Square, and Mrs. Miller vouch for Tom's character by
pointing out his generosity, thoughtfulness, courage, and
concern for others, and especially his love for Allworthy,

Tom is restored to the good graces of society.     Tom's

19

genteel birth, newly revealed, makes him acceptable to
Western and society.    Thus, the groundwork has been laid
for Tom and Sophia to establish a new society together.
       Frye states that the movement of comedy is from one
kind of society to another.    In the beginning the ob-
structing characters are in charge of society, but at the
end a new society crystalizes around the hero and heroine.'^
Once the obstructing characters, Allworthy, Western, and
Blifil, have been deposed, Sophia and Tom take over.      The
appearance of this new society is generally signalized by
                                            pO

a party or a ritual, especially a wedding.       At the end
of the novel Fielding tells us that there is no happier or
worthier couple.    Squire Western has turned over his
estate to Jones, and Allworthy has been very generous to
Tom.    Thus, their marriage establishes them as the new
center of society for the surrounding area, and the reader
learns of Tom and Sophia in their new position.
     And such is their condescension, their indulgence,
     and their beneficence to those belov; them, that
     there is not a neighbor, a tenant, or a servant,
     v/ho doth not most gratefully bless the day when
     Mr. Jones was married to his Sophia.^^^
       Comedy's ideals are seldom defined or formulated; the
reader simply understands tnat the nev/ly married couple
will live happily ever after.-^    Even though this nappy
ending does not necessarily impress us as being true or
even believable, it is desirable.    Comedy usually moves

20

toward a happy ending even though it often must be obtained
by a manipulation of the plot.-^^
     Since comedy shows a movement from a society con-
trolled by "habit, ritual bondage, arbitrary law," and
older characters to a society controlled by youth and "prag-
matic freedom," the society emerging at the end represents
by contrast a kind of moral norm, or a "pragmatically free
society."-'   Frye further contends that the action of
comedy moves from lav/ to liberty because in the law there
is an element of "ritual bondage."-^-' This "bondage" to
society's laws and traditions is abolished by Tom and
Sophia's marriage.   Hence, they achieve their freedom from
staid tradition and create a nev/ morality and a practical
society which, to a degree, accepts a man for his intrinsic
worth rather than his origins.      Thus, Fielding can compro-
mise two points of view.   He can democratize society by
allowing Tom, the illegitimate child, to triumph; but P'ield-
ing does not completely demolish the rigidities of aristo-
cratic society because Tom is the bastard of aristocracy.

CHAPTER III

         PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AS A VARIATION ON
                TRADITIONAL COMIC STRUCTURE

    In Pride and Prejudice the typical comic theme of a
young man wants a young woman focuses upon Elizabeth
Bennet and Mr. Darcy.   However, just as Watt has observed
regarding the sub-plots of Tom Jones, all of the sub-plots
                                                      1
of Pride and Prejudice echo this boy wants girl theme.
The most important other amplification of this theme,
outside of Elizabeth and Darcy, is the alliance between
Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley.    However, the excitement
caused by the elopement of Yvickham and Lydia cannot be ig-
nored, as it is a variation on the same theme.    Even the
dispassionate match between Collins and Charlotte offers
another aspect of this theme.
     The action of the comedy arises from the obstacles
                                                 2
to the hero's desire and his overcoming of them.   In Pride
and Prejudice the obstacles take the form of blocking
characters, and there seems to be more emphasis in tnis
novel on blocking characters than in Tom Jones and less
clear-cut scenes of discovery than in Tom Jones.    Generally,

                               21

22

the blocking characters are parental, but in Pride and
Prejudice they more often take the form of relatives and
friends.   Also, when the obstacles are not fathers, they
are usurpers, whose claim to the girl must be shown to
be fraudulent.^    Like Blifil, the impostor of Tom Jones,
V/ickham plays a usurper-impostor role in Pride and Pre-
judice.

     Wickham is one of the most significant blocking
characters of Pride and Prejudice because of his ability
to engage the affections of Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine.
When she is first introduced to him, she is very taken
v/ith his amiable manner and dreams of dancing with him at
Mr. Bingley's ball, only to be bitterly disappointed when
he does not appear.    Her attachment is sufficiently ob-
vious to disturb her sensible Aunt, Mrs. Gardiner.
     . . . Mrs. Gardiner, rendered suspicious by
     Elizabeth's warm commendation of nim, narrowly
     observed them both. V/ithout supposing tnem,
     from v/hat she sav/, to be very seriously in
     love, their preference of each other v/as plain
     enough to make her a little uneasy; and she
     resolved to speak to Elizabeth on the subject
     before she left Hertfordshire, and represent
     to her the imprudence of encouraging such an
     attachment.^
Her anxiety is ill-founded as V/ickham soon deserts Elizabeth
in favor of a young lady v/ho has just inherited ten tnousand
pounds.    Elizabeth contents herself by noting tnat "ner
heart had been but slightly touched, and her vanity was

23

satisfied with believing that she would have been his only
choice, had fortune permitted it."^   Although V/ickham's
role as a blocking character is not precisely the tradi-
tional one, he still functions in that capacity because it
is Elizabeth's strong affection for him which prejudices
her so strongly against Darcy..

     Frye notes that the extent to which impostors like
Blifil and Wickham are allowed real power implies some
criticism of the society which allows them their pov/er.
Wickham's ready acceptance by society and its quick con-
demnation of the proud Darcy for his alleged maltreatment
of V/ickham strongly indicts that society for its obtuse-
ness and shortsightedness.   It is too ready to believe
the glib, attractive Wickham.
     His appearance was greatly in his favour; he
     had all the best part of beauty, a fine counte-
     nance, a good figure, and very pleasing address.
     The introduction was followed up on his side by
     a happy readiness of conversation—a readiness
     at the samg time perfectly correct and unassum-
     ing,• • •
When Y/ickhara tells Elizabeth Bennet that Darcy has cheated
him out of his inheritance, she believes him without
question.   It is only much later that she learns Darcy's
version of Wickham's iniieritance and realizes that she has
seriously misjudged Y/ickham's character.   Tne rest of
society is content to believe nothing but good of nim until
he elopes with Lydia Bennet with no intention of marrying

24

her.   Then his duplicity is fully revealed to many.    Yet,
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are both too imperceptive to condemn
him for his worthlessness, for Mr. Bennet comments, "I
admire all my three sons-in-law highly," said he.    "Wickham,
perhaps, is my favourite; but I think I shall like your
husband [Darcy] quite as well as Jane's."
       In addition to Wickham, Collins, the Bonnet's cousin,
also acts briefly in the role of usurper.    He has been
instructed to marry by his patroness. Lady Catherine de
Bourgh, and Elizabeth Bennet is his choice.    Hov/ever, as
with Blifil in Tom Jones, the reader never fears that
Elizabeth v/ill fall prey to this pretender.   Fielding
intervenes with Sophia and Blifil and tells the reader not
to fear, but in Pride and Prejudice the reader sees immedi-
ately that Elizabeth is far too sensible even to hesitate
to refuse Collins's suit, for she realizes the distasteful-
ness of being married just for the sake of being married.
       Besides Wickham and Collins, the blocking character
which poses the greatest threat to the alliance between
Elizabeth and Darcy is Darcy's aunt. Lady Catherine de
Bourgh.    She has long planned that her ov/n daughter be Darcy's
wife, and she is highly incensed by Elizabeth's presumptu-
ousness.    She does not hesitate to visit Elizabetn and tell
her that she is socially unworthy of being Daixy's wife and
demands that Elizabeth promise not to marry him.

25

    My daughter and my nephew are formed for
    each other. They are descended on the
    maternal side, from the same noble line; and,
    on the father's, from respectable, honour-
    able, and ancient, though untitled families.
    Their fortune on both sides is splendid. They
    are destined for each other by the voice of
    every member of their respective houses; and
    what is to divide them? The upstart pre-
    tentions of a young woman without family,
    connections, or fortune. Is this to be en-
    dured! But it must not, shall not be. If
    you were sensible of your own good, you would
    not wish to quit the sphere, in v;hich you have
    been brought up.9

Lady Catherine's indignation upon their marriage is ex-
cessive, and for some time she discontinues all relation-
ships with them.
     The only other blocking character who attempts to
intervene between Darcy and Elizabeth is Miss Bingley,
Bingley's sister.   She has singled out Darcy for herself
and is exceedingly jealous of Elizabeth and cannot resist
making snide remarks about her to Darcy.
     Miss Bingley saw, or suspected enough to be
     jealous; and her great anxiety for the recovery
     of her dear friend Jane, received some assist-
     ance from her desire of getting rid of Elizabeth.
     She often tried to provoke Darcy into disliking
     her guest, by talking of their supposed marriage.
     and planning his happiness in such an alliance. "^
In spite of her constant attempts to engage Darcy's atten-
tion, walking with him in the sitting room, pretending to
read with him, taking his arm for v/alks in the garden, in-
quiring after his sister, Georgiana, r.'iss Bingley ic

26

unsuccessful in winning his favor; thus she never poses
a very great threat to Elizabeth as a rival.
     Miss Bingley is, however, a more successful blocking
character in the relationship between her brother, Bingley,
and Jane Bennet. It is Caroline Bingley, allied with her
sister, Mrs. Hurst, who openly voices her disapproval of
Jane's suitability,
     "I have an excessive regard for Jane Bennet, she
     is really a very sweet girl, and I wish with all
     my heart she v/ere well settled. But with such a
     father and mother, and such low connections, I
     am afraid there is no chance of it."''''
Together with Darcy they persuade Bingley to stay in London
and return to Netherfield no more that winter. Elizabeth
is unsuccessful in convincing the sweet Jane of the sisters'
duplicity regarding her and their brother.
     The united efforts of his two unfeeling sisters
     and of his overpowering friend, assisted by the
     attractions of Miss Darcy and the amusements of
     London, might be too much, she feared, for the
     strength of his attachment.^2
Jane is later convinced of their feeling toward her when
she receives such a cold reception from them while visiting
with her relatives, the Gardiners, in London. Miss Bingley
and Mrs. Hurst never reveal to Bingley that Jane is in town,
and Jane never bumps into him accidentally.    She is certain,
however, that he must know of her presence.    Failing to
tell their brother about Jane's being in London is tne most
damaging effect the Bingley sisters have as blocking charac-
ters.

27

     The most effective blocking character in Jane and
Bingley's relationship is Bingley's sisters' ally, Darcy.
Darcy is convinced that Jane enjoys Bingley's strong af-
fection but that she does not really care for him.     It is
this conviction that prompts him to ally himself with
Bingley's sisters in persuading him to stay in London.
Darcy relates his role in preventing Bingley from return-
ing to Jane in the letter he writes Elizabeth.
     His sisters' uneasiness had been equally ex-
     cited with my ov/n; our coincidence of feeling
     was soon discovered; and, alike sensible that
     no time v/as to be lost in detaching their
     brother, v/e shortly resolved on joining him
     directly in London . . . and there I readily
     engaged in the office of pointing out to my
     friend, the certain evils of such a choice.
     . . . I do not suppose that it would ulti-
     mately have prevented the marriage, had it not
     been seconded by the assurance v/hich I hesi-
     tated not in giving, of your sister's indif-
     ference. . . . There is but one part of my con-
     duct in the whole affair, on v/hicn I do not
     reflect v/ith satisfaction; it is that I conde-
     scended to adopt the measures of art so far
     as to conceal from him your sister's being in
     town.^^
     In addition to the abundance of blocking characters
seen in Pride and Prejudice, there are also some buffoon
characters, a third category Frye mentions, which help
to "polarize" the comic mood.     These characters, I.'r-s.
Bennet, Mr. Collins, Lydia Bennet, may be likened to the
similar roles of Square, Thwaclcum, and Partridge in Tom
Jones.   They help increase the comic mood of the novel and

are responsible for much of the humor.

28

     Mrs. Bennet is the most obvious buffoon in the novel,
for all of her antics are humorous; the only serious over-
tone to her ridiculous behavior is the negative effect her
poor taste has on Elizabeth and Jane's chances for mar-
riage.    The reader wonders how a fairly sensible and intel-
ligent man like Mr. Bennet could have ever married so
flighty and empty-headed a woman but learns that he "cap-
tivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good
humour, which youth and beauty generally give, had mar-
ried a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind,
"had very early in their marriage put an end to all real
 affection for her." 15
                      ^ One of the earmarks of comic humor
is repetition overdone, v/hose simple repeated pattern en-
                          16
courages reflex laughter.     Mrs. Bennet's dominant humor
is her desire to marry off her daughters.    Whenever things
do not go her way, she complains of her "poor nerves,"
which she accuses her husband of having no compassion for.
He is quick to reply, "I have a high respect for your
nerves.    They are my old friends.I have heard you mention
them with consideration these twenty years at least." 17
When Elizabeth refuses to marry Collins, she expostulates,
"People who suffer as I do from nervous complaints can
have no great inclination for talking.    Nobody can tell
what I suffer! . . . Those v/ho do not complain are never
         Ifi
pitied."     Nevertheless, she never ceases to chatter on

29

and on.   When Lydia runs away with Wickham, Mrs. Bennet
retires to her room for days in a state of hysteria, and '
here she remains until told that Lydia is to be married.
She cannot contain herself; her recovery is instantaneous.
Instead of feeling any remorse for her daughter's im-
proper behavior, she brushes all decorous conduct aside
and immediately begins planning Lydia's trousseau.

     Lydia is as ridiculous as her mother, so much so
that she is almost pathetic instead of funny.   She runs
after the officers stationed nearby, and her behavior ex-
cites much gossip.   She and Kitty treat Jane and Elizabeth
to a meal, v/hich they wind up paying for because Xitty and
Lydia have spent all their money on new hats and their
trimmings.   Y/hen Elizabeth tries to persuade her father
not to allow Lydia to go off to Brighton v/ith the Forsters,
he replies, "Lydia will never be easy till she has exposed
herself in some public place or other. . . . "1Q^ V/hen she
returns home with V/ickham, the new husband, in tow, her
effrontery is almost beyond belief to Jane and Elizabeth.
Completely oblivious of the pain and suffering her shame-
less behavior has caused her family, "she turned from sis-
ter to sister, demanding their congratulations." 20
     She and V/ickham both become parasites on society,
another type important to comedy.   Wickham is accomplished
in the role, for he has long been trading upon his father's

30

relationship to the Darcys in order to secure money to
support his profligate life-style. When hard-pressed
by his creditors, he simply moves on, leaving them hold-
ing their bills. Lydia is quick to fall in with his ir-
responsible approach and is not shy about soliciting funds
from Jane and Elizabeth, who have married money. Upon
Elizabeth's marriage to Darcy, Lydia writes,
     I am sure Wickham would like a place at court
     very much, and I do not think we shall have
     quite money enough to live upon without some
     help. Any place would do, of about three or
     four hundred a year; but, however, do not
     speak to Mr. Darcy about it, if you had rather
     not.21
Elizabeth finds the idea unthinkable but saves money out
of her ov/n spending money to send them.   She and Jane are
constantly being applied to by them; yet, they continue to
move about from place to place in spite of all the help
the two older sisters give them.
     The other character whose conduct makes him a natural
candidate for the buffoon role is Collins. His obsequi-
ousness toward Lady Catherine de Bourgh makes him one of
the outstanding sycophants of comic literature. He has
decided to marry largely because Lady Catherine de Bourgh,
his patroness, has advised him to.   "Twice has she conde-
scended to give me her opinion (unasked too!) on this sub-
              22
ject. . . . "    When Elizabeth refuses his hand, he can-
not believe her denial and informs her of her great luck

31

in being chosen by him with his connections with the De
Bourgh family.   He even is pompous enough to inform her
that she may never receive another offer from anyone, con-
                        2^
sidering her poor dowry. -^ Later when Elizabeth visits
him after his marriage to Charlotte Lucas, he greets her
and welcomes her "v/ith ostentatious formality to his
                      2A
humble abode. . . . " ^    When Lady Catherine invites them
all to dinner, Collins is ecstatic.
     "V/ho could have foreseen such an attention as
     this? V/ho could have imagined that we should
     receive an invitation to dine there (an invi-
     tation moreover including the v/hple party) so
     immediately after your arrivall"^^
At the dinner itself Collins "carved, and ate, and praised
                                                        26
with delighted alacrity; and every dish was commended."
V/hen Elizabeth's visit v/ith them draws to a close, Col-
lins boasts to her.
     Our situation v/ith regard to Lady Catherine's
     family is indeed the sort of extraordinary ad-
     vantage and blessing v/hich few can boast. You
     see on what a footing we are. ^You see how con-
     tinually we are engaged there.^^7
When Lydia elopes, Collins is quick to v/rite to lecture the
Bonnets as to where they v/ent wrong v/ith Lydia.   He also
cannot resist telling them hov/ satisfied he is that Eliza-
beth would not marry him; for if she had, he would have
been involved in the disgrace and sorrow Lydia has caused
the family.

32

    The humor in comedy is a character who uses his in-
fluence to force most of the comedy's society into line
with his obsession; this character is generally someone
with a great deal of power and prestige.     Lady Catherine
de Bourgh is just such a character in Pride and Prejudice.
Humor is generally connected with the theme of the ab-
                                                               29
surd or irrational lav/ which comedy moves toward breaking.
Lady Catherine's obsession is class and position.   She at-
tempts to manipulate all of those about her and to keep
them in their place.   She is intent upon making the other
characters perform in a manner befitting their station in
life without allowing them to overstep the confines and
limitations of their social class. After Collins marries
Charlotte Lucas, she condescends to offer much unsolicited
advice upon her method of housekeeping.
     Now and then, they were honoured with a call
     from her Ladyship, and nothing escaped her ob-
     servation that was passing in the room during
     these visits. She examined into their employ-
     ments, looked at their v/ork, and advised them
     to do it differently; found fault with the ar-
     rangement of the furniture, or detected the
     housemaid in negligence; and if she accepted
     any refreshment, seemed to do it only for the
     sake of finding out that Mrs. Collins's joints
     of meat were too large for her family.-^^
Even though Lady Catherine is not a county official, she
takes it upon herself to be the most active magistrate of
her parish.   "V/henever any of the cottagers were disposed
to be quarrelsome, discontented, or too poor, she sallied

33

forth into the village to settle their differences, silence
their complaints, and scold them into harmony and plenty."^^
When Elizabeth Bennet and Mary Lucas prepare to return
home, Lady Catherine insists that they be accompanied by
a manservant because she says that it is "highly improper"
for two young girls of their class to travel post by them-
selves.   "Young women should always be properly guarded
and attended, according to their situation in life."^^
Her main objection to Darcy's marriage to Elizabeth is
that Elizabeth's family background and social and financial
positions are not good enough to be connected with her
family.   It is Lady Catherine's "absurd and irrational laws"
that Elizabeth successfully breaks.
     Elizabeth's ability to resist tne pressure Lady Cathe-
rine exerts against her is an example of another comic
principle, the ordeals or tests v/hich try the hero's charac-
ter.-^-^ When Elizabeth is first introduced to Lady Catherine
while visiting the Collinses, she sweetly declines to con-
fess her age when asked by Lady Catherine.   "Lady Catherine
seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer;
and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature
who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified im-
pertinence."    However, Elizabeth's true test comes v^^hen
Lady Catherine learns that Darcy plans to marry hei^. Lady
Catherine demands that Elizabeth promise never to become

34

engaged to Darcy.   Elizabeth promptly replies, "I will
make no promise of the kind."^^     Lady Catherine answers,
"Miss Bennet I am shocked and astonished."^^     She accuses
Elizabeth of having no regard for "the claims of duty,
honour, and gratitude."^'^ Elizabeth holds her ground and
exhibits her spirit:
     "Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude," re-
     plied Elizabeth, "have any possible claim on me,
     in the present instance. No principle of either,
     v/ould be violated by my marriage with Mr. Darcy.
     And with regard to the resentment of his family,
     or the indignation of the world, if the former
     were excited by his marrying me, it would not
     give me one moment's concern—and the world in
     general would have too much sense to join in the
     scorn."38

     Elizabeth is not the only main character who must prove
herself; Darcy must also endure some "ordeals" which il-
luminate his strong character.     He first of all must endure
V/ickham's slander and does so without attempting to defend
himself until actually confronted by Elizabeth regarding
Wickham.    Then he clearly and fairly explains his role in
Wickham's life, and Elizabeth learns that Darcy has really
done more for V/ickham than v/as required or than Wickham
deserves.   The most significant test of Darcy*s character
comes when Lydia Bennet elopes with V/ickham.    It is Darcy
who quietly intervenes, puts up the money for Lydia, and
arranges for their marriage without allowing anyone but
the Gardiners to knov/ about it.    He, too, resists his aunt's

35

wrath when she learns of his intentions toward Elizabeth,
but he is perfectly v/illing to let Lady Catherine cut her-
self off from them.    He prefers estrangement from her to
giving up Elizabeth.

     There is no question but what Elizabeth and Darcy
are the hero and heroine of the. novel.   Frye places the
hero and heroine in the self-deprecator group of comic
characters and notes that they are both often played down
                        •JO

and are neutral types.-^^ In fact, he goes so far as to
state that fictional comedy often follows the practice
of grouping its interesting characters around a somewhat
dullish pair of technical leads.      It v/ould be unfair to
think of Elizabeth Bennet as being dull, or even Darcy,
for that matter.   However, neither are really colorful
characters the way Lydia or V/ickham are.   In fact, Darcy
and Elizabeth are both the most stable and sensible of
the characters.    In the midst of all the emotional confu-
sion that results from Lydia and Wickham's elopement, it
is Elizabeth who is called home to cope because Jane and
the other girls are not up to the situation.    It is Darcy
who straightens the disaster out.    Neither is swayed by
the other characters as are Bingley and Jane; they both
know their own minds and stick to their convictions.      When
Collins proposes to Elizabeth, she coolly refuses him be-
cause she sees the reality of being married to him just

36

for the sake of being married.    The rantings of her family
do not affect her calm decision.    Darcy also displays calm
restraint in the face of Elizabeth's unfair rebuffs.
     In spite of the fact that they are the hero and
heroine of the novel, the overt action seems to be focused
upon the other characters, leaving Elizabeth and Darcy as
the stable forces in the center of the whirlpool.    The
point of view does not really begin to focus upon them until
the last half of the book.    Early in the novel most of
the attention is directed toward the love affair developing
between Jane and Bingley.    V/hen it reaches a temporary
stalemate, the action shifts to the marriage of Collins
and Charlotte Lucas and to Lydia and V/ickham's spectacular
scandal.   Only when Elizabeth has been to Pemberley, Darcy's
estate, v/ith her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, and has
encountered Darcy once again, does the action begin to
shift and become more concentrated on Elizabeth and Darcy.
Of course, the novel is told from Elizabeth's point of
view, and in the opening chapters of the book, her atten-
tion is directed more outwardly toward the other characters
where she is not so directly involved.    When her emotional
entanglement v/ith Darcy becomes more apparent to herself
toward the end, the reader sees more action concerning tne
hero and heroine.   Though they are not dull, they are
played down until the latter part of the novel.

37

     As Elizabeth and Darcy discover each other, they also
discover themselves. Generally, the comic discovery is
brought about by compacts or conspiracies formed by the
hero's society or through people with special knov/ledge.
In recalling Tom Jones, the reader remembers Mrs. Waters'
revelation of Tom's true identity and Dowling's exposure
of Blifil's treachery.   In Pride and Prejudice the heroine
learns something about the true nature of the hero through
a letter he v/rites her revealing his part in Wickham's
life and in Bingley's. The most redeeming discovery for
Darcy occurs when Mrs. Gardiner betrays Darcy's role in
rescuing Lydia. It is these two disclosures which begin
to alter Elizabeth's opinion of him.   Once Darcy has
learned about Jane's true affection for Bingley from Eliza-
beth, he goes to Bingley and informs him so that Jane and
Bingley are at last reunited.   Darcy dares to ask for
Elizabeth's hand a second time only because his aunt, Lady
Catherine, has told him of her failure to secure a promise
from Elizabeth that she will not marry Darcy.   Thus, in
the process of discovering revealing facts about each other,
Elizabeth and Darcy learn much about themselves. In this
respect Pride and Prejudice differs from Tom Jones; there
are in Pride and Prejudice two kinds of comic discovery
rather than just one. There is the outward and obvious
disclosure of hitherto concealed facts but also the less

38

obvious, inner realization that the two main characters
experience.
     After the cognitio comedy is concerned with straight-
ening out the details of the new society.       However, in
Pride and Prejudice much of this straightening out is of
an internal nature which takes place within the hero and
heroine.     This aspect v;ill be dealt with more fully later.
On the surface, though, the reader sees that V/ickham and
Lydia's marriage is finally successfully arranged; Bingley,
having been encouraged by Darcy, courts Jane again and
wins her hand; Elizabeth and Darcy overcome their "pride
and prejudice" and marry.     Thus, the society of the young,
v/ho have rebelled against the old, established society,
triiAmphs.    For a time the stable order has been disrupted
by the folly of V/ickham and Lydia, and the "pride and
prejudice" of Elizabeth and Darcy, but stability is re-
stored, and a nev/ society "crystallizes" around the hero
and heroine.     The obstructing characters like Lady Catherine
and Bingley's sisters are no longer in charge.      Like Tom
and Sophia in Tom Jones, Elizabeth and Darcy, but also
Bingley and Jane, become the new social centers.      Binrley's
sister attempts to acquire status in the new society by
writing her congratulations to her brother which "were all
that was affectionate and insincere." -^ "Miss Bingley was
very deeply mortified by Darcy's marriage; but as sne

39

thought it advisable to retain the right of visiting at
Pemberley, she dropt all her resentment."     Lady Catherine
finally overcomes her resentment and condescends "to wait
on them at Pemberley, in spite of that pollution which its
woods had received. . . . "^^
     The appearance of the new society is generally "sig-
nalized" by a party or ritual, especially a wedding.
In the case of both Tom Jones and Pride and Prejudice,
the ritual is the wedding of Tom and Sophia and the mar-
riage of Jane and Bingley and Elizabeth and Darcy. As
Frye observes, comedy usually moves tov/ard a happy ending
which is considered desirable in comedy.    The reader also
understands that the newly married couples will live hap-
pily ever after. ' Miss Austen does not leave the reader
to wonder about the results much, for she summarizes the
rosy situations of Jane and Elizabeth for some years in
the future.   Fielding does much the same with Tom and
Sophia.
     To conclude, as there are not to be found a
     worthier man and woman than this fond couple,
     so neither can any be imagined more happy.
     They preserve the purest and tenderest affec-
     tion for each otner, an affection daily in-
     creased and confirmed by mutual endearments and
     mutual esteem.^^
Of course, the reader is not completely certain that sucn
bliss will be sustained by the three couples "ever after,"
but the authors attempt to convey such an impression.

40

     One of the conventions of comedy is that the braggart
or usurper must be exposed and beaten and that such a
scapegoat is expelled from the final society.^^   In Tom
Jones this character is Blifil. In Pride and Prejudice,
V/ickham is the character whose deceit is revealed. He
is not, however, completely expelled from the new society
established by Jane and Bingley and Elizabeth and Darcy
by virtue of his marriage to Lydia Bennet. Elizabeth and
Darcy do not ever receive him at Pemberley because of
Wickham's former deceptions with Darcy; thus, he is not
welcomed to the new society of the hero and heroine, even
though Jane and Bingley reluctantly accept his presence
occasionally for Lydia's sake.
     The tendency of comedy is to include as many people
as possible in its final society.50 More characters in
Pride and Prejudice are included in the final society than
in Tom Jones. Not only does Elizabeth move into a new in-
fluential station as Darcy's v/ife, but Jane also acquires
new position as the v/ife of Bingley.   The Gardiners, Eliza-
beth's aunt and uncle, become great favorites of the Darcys,
though of a lower class, and are frequent visitors at
Pemberley.   Even V/ickham and Lydia are not totally excluded.
Georgiana Darcy becomes a member of the circle at Pemberley
and makes her home there. Kitty Bennet is allowed to bene-
fit from the company of her two older sisters and is thur,
protected from the bad influence of Lydia.

41

     The new and final society which evolves in comedy
reflects a movement from one social center to another.
In Pride and Prejudice the movement is from the respect-
able middle class upward to the landed aristocracy.     This
upward movement is evidenced by the marriages of Jane and
Elizabeth to the wealthy and aristocratic Darcy and Bingley.
The new society established represents a movement from
the old society, controlled by "habit, ritual bondage,
arbitrary lav/, and the older characters" to one controlled
by youth and "pragmatic freedom."^52 Bingley's sisters

and Lady Catherine find it unthinkable for Darcy and Bing-
ley to marry below their station and alv/ays follow the
rigid laws of their society.   Lady Catherine feels that
even the woods of Pemberley have been tainted by "the
presence of such a mistress."5^ Even Darcy early in the
book voices the opinion that the "lov/ connections" of the
Bennet girls "must very materially lessen their chance of
marrying men of any consideration in the world."54 However,
his marriage to Elizabeth frees him from his former rigid
standards, and ^e finds himself really loving the Gardiners,
Elizabeth's aunt and uncle who brought them together.
V/hat occurs is a more democratic blending of the two
classes, middle and aristocratic, v/hich leads to a freer
society, similar to the one established by Tom and Sophia

in Tom Jones.

42

     It is the interesting characterizations of the hero
and heroine in Pride and Prejudice which distract the
reader from the comic structure of the novel itself.      The
other characters are types and not fully explored as
Elizabeth and Darcy are.   Mary Bennet is the pretentious
intellectual who is constantly moralizing.   Jane Bennet
is sweet, simple, naive and offers pone of the complexity
of Elizabeth.   Kitty and Lydia Bennet are flighty, silly
young girls very much like their vapid, "nervous" mother.
Bingley is the "hale fellow well met" type whose amiable
manner endears him to everyone, but the depth of his
character is never exposed to the degree Darcy's true
nature is.
     Elizabeth Bennet is the acknowledged favorite of her
father, who admits that "Lizzy has something more of
quickness than her sisters."55 Of all the Bennet girls
she is the one who casts the most realistic eye on the
world about her.   In observing the Bingley sisters "v/ith
more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper
than her sister, and with a judgment too unassailed by any
attention to herself, she was very little disposed to ap-
            56 She discerns their supercilious treatment
prove them."^
of everyone, even the sv/eet Jane, v/ho for a very long
time will not acknowledge their falseness.   Even the friends
Elizabeth chooses reflect her own sensible, "do^^^l to earth"