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Jane Austen 's Pride And Prejudice

Decent Essays

In Regency England, the gentlemen played a crucial role in everyday society as demonstrated by some of the key characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The character Mr. Bingley could be considered gentlemen because of his manners, and the way he treats others. Mr. Darcy was not a gentleman to start, but changed by the end of the story, while the character of Mr. Wickham shows no resemblance to gentlemen at all. The title of gentlemen had a lot of rules and responsibilities that had to be kept in order to garner the respect of the people in the community (Gentleman). The majority of the male characters in Pride and Prejudice show one or more of the requirements that are expected of gentlemen.
Jane Austen’s character of …show more content…

Through Mr. Bingley’s relationship with Jane, the reader can see that he matches all of the descriptions of his character perfectly. He treats her with kindness, and they seem to be truly in love with each other. In his conversations with other characters it can be determined that Charles Bingley fits the definition a true gentleman.
Charles Bingley’s closest friend is named Fitzwilliam Darcy, and he comes close to carrying the title of a gentleman, but due to his poor manners and attitude of superiority, he cannot be considered one at the outset of the story. Mr. Darcy tries to be a man that people enjoy being around just as all gentlemen strive to have a likable reputation, but his focus on social class keeps him from being a true example of personal refinement (gentleman’s manners and etiquettes). He has a large sum of money which, for a while, does bring him respect but once people get to know him, his underlying personality is revealed through is disagreeable and rude actions. Mr. Darcy realizes his many problems, but does nothing to change them.
“I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little yielding— certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of other so soon as I ought, nor their offenses against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper

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