Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is an excellent example of the early/Romantic novel and it is the purpose of this paper to discuss two or three of the characteristics that link the novel with the Romantic form. The Romantic Movement was a result of a revolt against the Neo-Classic tradition. Instead of portraying great or typical characters, writers would seek out lowly and eccentric ones.
Eccentricity is certainly a mark of Pride and Prejudice, a portrait of the Bennet family with their five young women all eligible for marriage. It should be noted that Jane Austen was a contemporary of the Romantics though she is a child of the l8th century, particularly in its Neo-Classical aspect. So the novel might be considered as being influenced by both traditions. How-ever, because Pride and Prejudice has an essential realistic (and therefore modern) style to it, she will be considered as a Romantic. Austen has more in common with Flaubert and Hawthorne than she does with Neo-Classicists like Moliere and Swift.
Austen immediately shows her wit and eccentricity in the novel when she describes one of the Bennet sisters Mary, "a young lady of deep reflection" (Austen 4). Her father, Mr. Bennet allows Mary to drift off into her own world by saying: "'While Mary is adjusting her thoughts, let us return to Mr. Bingley'" (Austen 4).
The Romantic tradition also placed an emphasis on cultivat-ing the everyday speech of actual people as opposed to using an established type of lofty poetic diction. This is quite apparent in the main love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Austen shows the "price and prejudice" that both of these characters exhibit toward each other, and in the process she creates a timeless story about love.
Elizabeth Bennet is one of the most delightful heroines in all literature. When she encounters Mr. Darcy early on at a dance, she finds that he is snobbish and prejudiced against what he feels are "common...