Her Characters are never repeated: despite such a narrow range.

Not a single character has been repeated in any of her six

books. The snobbishness of the Vicar, Mr. Collins in P&P is unlike that of Mr. Elton, the Vicar in Emma. Similarly, there is a

great difference between the vulgarity of Mrs. Bennet and that of Mrs. Jennings. Macaulay declares that her characters are

commonplace, ‘Yet they are all as perfectly discriminated from each other as if they were the most eccentric of human beings.’

State different psychological habits and emotions of Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane, Mrs. Bennet.

Her characters - individualized yet universal: Jane Austen has so comprehensive and searching a view of human nature

that she invests them with a universal character. Her characters are universal types. Thus, when Mr. Darcy says, ‘I have been

selfish all my life in practice but not in principle’ he confesses the weakness of high minded dominating males in every age and

climate. Wickham represents all pleasant-looking but selfish, unprincipled and hypocritical flirts. Mr. Bennet is a typical cynical

father. These qualities of Austen’s characters make them universal and individualized.

Realistic portrayal of her characters: Her characters impress us as real men and women since they are drawn to

perfection. They are never idealized. Even her most virtuous characters have faults. Jane Bennet, being a virtuous and sweet-

nature girl, never thinks ill of others. This makes her lack proper judgment. Elizabeth, herself is a conventional heroine. She has

faults of vanity and prejudice. Her mother, at a such a high level of responsibility as a mother, exhibits vulgarity and indecorous

manners. Darcy and Lady Catherine’s manners reflect aristocracy so realistically. The impartiality with which Jane Austen

depicts her characters imparts a touch of realism and volume to them.

Her characters are three-dimensional: Her world of reality is never disturbed for all its romances, elopements and

dejection because of the convincing reality of her characters. Her characters are three-dimensional portraying various human

traits. Collins doesn’t commit suicide when her proposal is rejected by Elizabeth, but settles down with Charlotte. Darcy shows

his unexpected trait after his proposal is rejected. The psychological and realistic portrayal of her characters is what makes them

according to David Ceil, ‘Three-dimensional’. The characters come alive in flesh and blood as it were because of their realistic

portrayal. Jane Austen reveals her characters dramatically through their conversations, their actions, and their letters or

gradually through a variety of point of view and this adds to their three-dimensional effects.

Characters revealed through conversations: She makes very careful use of conversations. Thus, the dialogue between

Elizabeth not only reveals effectively the antagonism between the two of them, but also the intelligence of the both. Collins and

Lydia are revealed through their letters. And we learn of Elizabeth Bennet, the most striking of Jane Austen’s heroines through

her speech and actions and the remarks of such people as Mr. Darcy, her father and Miss Bingley. Thus, in the first chapter of

P&P the vulgarity and stupidity of Mrs. Bennet and the sarcastic humour of Mr. Bennet have already been revealed in their

dialogues. The characters of Austen frequently gossip with one another about other characters. This makes the plot even more

gripping, realistic and touching.

Revealed through comparison and contrast: Lady Catharine balances with Mrs. Bennet. Wickham serves a contrast

while Bingley a foil to Darcy. Elizabeth with Jane. In P&P, Elizabeth echoes Austen’s own sense of humor and ironic wit and the

ability to laugh at whims and inconsistencies, but it is preposterous to assume that Jane Austen herself suffered from such

prides and prejudices. The sympathy and partial identification help Jane Austen in delineating the character faithfully.
Elizabeth: Jane Austen said of her heroine, “I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in

print”. To create a charming heroine is one of the rarest achievements in fiction. Jane Austen’s liking is borne out by the

countless other readers who have fallen in love with her for more than a hundred and thirty years. A.C. Bradley wrote, “I am

meant to fall in love with her and I do”. Her charm arises to a great extent from her intricacy, her intellectual complexity. She is

profound and perceptive with the ability to discern people and situations extraordinarily well. She comprehends the merits and

demerits of the Bingleys almost at once; she knows Mr. Collins to be an affected fool and judges Lady Catherine at the first

meeting. She understands her family is conscious of the vulgarity of her mother. She has the ready gift of repartee and a perfect

command of epigrammatic expression. She is not intimidated by Lady Catherine to her enquiry whether Darcy had made a

proposal to Elizabeth and she answers, “Your ladyship has declared it to be impossible”. Despite all these characteristics,

Elizabeth is not an idealized or perfect heroine of a romantic novel. She is prone to errors and mistakes of every day life.

However, she learns from her mistakes and tends to correct them. It is true that Elizabeth blinds herself absurdly because of

prejudice. Thus, her intelligence, high spirit and courage, wit and readiness, her artistic temperament and her ability to laugh

good-humouredly at herself is the specialty of Elizabeth. Indeed, the popularity of the novel rests on the brilliant portrayal of its

charming and captivating heroine.

Darcy: to many readers and critics, the great blot on the book is the author’s portrayal of Darcy. To all appearances, there are

two Darcys that we meet in P&P, the Darcy in the first half of the play – proud, cold, haughty and unfriendly and the Darcy of

the second half – warm, loving and considerate, kind, hospitable and eager to please. These seeming incorrigible aspects of

Darcy’s character are taken to be a failure on part of Jane Austen’s art of characterization. Jane Austen was in her early twenties

when she wrote P&P, so this failure is as a result of her immaturity. However, critics believe that Darcy is a credible character

and has these incorrigible aspects as a result of our misread Darcy’s character along with Elizabeth. Darcy is proud in the

beginning. He acknowledges his own. At Netherfield, he tells Elizabeth, “My opinion once lost is lost forever”. And finally his

proposal to Elizabeth at Hunsford parsonage is more eloquent on the subject of pride than of tenderness, but he is sensitive,

intelligent and complex. He is not morally blind either and recognizes the vulgarity of ill-manners of the Bingley sisters and is as

much embarrassed by Lady Catherine’s behavior as he had been by Mrs. Bennet’s vulgarity.

Jane & Bingley: At first glance, it is Bingley and Jane that capture our attention as the main characters and become the center

of attraction for every one. Elizabeth says of Jane, “You are too good. Your sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic.”

Jane is a foil to Elizabeth. She, however, enjoys the admiration of both Elizabeth and Darcy and highlights their pride and

prejudice. Similarly, Bingley is only a foil to the more forceful personality of Darcy despite all his cheerfulness. The Jane-

Bingley romance also presents a contrast to the turbulent relationship of Darcy and Elizabeth. Their relationship is based upon

harmony arising out of a similarity of natures. Jane and Bingley are both characters, not intricate or complex.

Conclusion: Jane Austen’s major characters are intricate; however, there are some failings. Darcy is real and convincing, but

appears only in scenes with Elizabeth. The minor characters are usually flat but they also develop when we meet them. Thus

each of these wide range of characters are multi-dimensional with a mix of the good and bad qualities, exhibiting strong

individual idiosyncrasies and traits, at the same time typical of universal human nature.