The Discriminating Character of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Within Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice novel, Elizabeth Bennet illustrates her discerning personality in a number of ways. In other words, Bennet evaluates situations and comes up with reasonable conclusions. To this, end Bennet concludes that she can only unite with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy on the basis of three cardinal principles. Moreover, even though Mr. Collins is oblivious of this fact, Bennet notices that Mr. Darcy dislikes Mr. Collins. Further, Bennet detects that Miss Bingley trails Mr. Charles Bingley for ulterior motives. This essay explores Bennet’s discerning personality within Pride and Prejudice by analyzing the following behaviors: Bennet concludes that she can only marry Mr. Darcy on the strength of three basic principles; Bennet realizes that Mr. Darcy detests Mr. Collins, although Mr. Collins is unaware of this fact; and Bennet notices that Miss Bingley follows Mr. Bingley for concealed motives.

Given that she concludes that she can only unite with Mr. Darcy on the basis of three cardinal principles, Bennet illustrates her discerning personality. In this regard, Bennet concludes that, for her marriage with Mr. Darcy to be successful, this duo needs to complement one another. Further, both Mr. Darcy and Bennet should have the ability to take care of themselves in the financial sense. Moreover, Bennet needs to respect Mr. Darcy (Austen, 2011). It is important to note that, in her analysis of this marriage, Bennet does not hold that the concept of love is essential. By leaving out love, Bennet underlines her discerning personality. This is because Bennet views love as the outcome of the combination of the elements of financial stability, respect, and harmony. If she were not discerning, Bennet would hold that love is a core building block of a successful marriage. From this analysis, it is clear that Bennet is a discerning character.

Bennet further illustrates her discerning personality by noticing that Mr. Darcy dislikes Mr. Collins, even though Mr. Collins is oblivious of this fact. Bennet arrives at this discovery after observing a particular interaction between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Collins. From Mr. Darcy’s actions, Bennet deduces that Mr. Darcy despises Mr. Collins. Strikingly, Mr. Collins who is right beside Mr. Darcy, does not notice this fact (Ibid.). While appraising this situation, a reader would validly contend that Bennet is discerning. Such discerning ability enables Bennet to notice a fact that evades Mr. Collins who is right next to Mr. Darcy. If she were not discerning, Bennet would not notice Mr. Darcy’s contempt for Mr. Collins. This analysis shows that Bennet has a discerning personality.

In addition, Bennet illustrates her discerning personality by detecting that Miss Bingley trails Mr. Bingley for ulterior motives. To this end, Bennet deduces that, by following Mr. Bingley whenever he goes to town, Miss Bingley seeks to delay Mr. Bingley’s return home. Further, Miss Bingley intends to convince Jane Bennet that Mr. Bingley does not love Jane (Ibid.). Here, Bennet uses her observation to unearth the real reason why Miss Bingley trails Mr. Bingley. Through this revelation, Bennet illustrates her discerning personality. If she were not discerning, Bennet would assume that Miss Bingley follows Mr. Bingley as a show of love. Given that she transcends this pedestrian assumption and thus discloses some Miss Bingley’s motives, Bennet comes out as a discerning character.

In conclusion, Bennet demonstrates discerning traits within Pride and Prejudice. In this regard, Bennet concludes that she can only marry Mr. Darcy on the strength of three basic principles. Moreover, Bennet realizes that Mr. Darcy detests Mr. Collins, although Mr. Collins is unaware of this fact. Further, Bennet notices that Miss Bingley follows Mr. Bingley for concealed motives. It would be insightful to investigate why Austen depicts Bennet, a woman, as a perceptive character.