Jane Austen's use of coincidence in Pride and Prejudice
The use of Chance & Coincidence in Pride & Prejudice By Jane Austen
The plot of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice relies heavily on what we call chance and coincidence. Jane Austen’s prime objective seemed to be establishing circumstances, through “chance and coincidence” which enabled opportunities for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to get together. She used major characters such as Mr. Collins, Mr. Wickham and Mrs. Gardiner to appear at the exact moment they were needed to establish situations that brought Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth into close proximity with one another. Through this, Ms. Austin, linked all the characters in the book to one another in some form or another. Mr. Collins is a coincidence himself. He might be an obsequious, pompous fool, who lack’s common sense but he just so happens to be the heir to Longbourn and a clergyman for Lady Catherine de Bough who just so happens to be the aunt of Mr. Darcy. His existence creates opportunities for Elizabeth and Darcy to interact. For example, at Mr. Bingley’s party in Netherfield, Mr. Collins brought the reluctant lovers together by unwillingly and unconsciously embarrassing himself. In Jane Austen’s time, social classes were treated with the highest respect. Those higher up the social ladder take great care in keeping their position. This requires years of lessons on the proper etiquette and manners on how to behave in public. Mr. Collins, at the time had not been introduced to the prideful Mr. Darcy. Trying to start a conversation with someone of higher stature was a grave offence. Jane Austen used Mr. Collins to create opportunities where Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were forced to interact, forcing them to get closer to each other. A couple of months after Charlotte had moved in with Mr. Collins, Elizabeth decided to visit her friend and check on how she was doing now that she was living with Mr. Collins. This visit gave Jane Austen all the freedom to let her characters run free. However, the way
The plot of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice relies heavily on what we call chance and coincidence. Jane Austen’s prime objective seemed to be establishing circumstances, through “chance and coincidence” which enabled opportunities for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to get together. She used major characters such as Mr. Collins, Mr. Wickham and Mrs. Gardiner to appear at the exact moment they were needed to establish situations that brought Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth into close proximity with one another. Through this, Ms. Austin, linked all the characters in the book to one another in some form or another. Mr. Collins is a coincidence himself. He might be an obsequious, pompous fool, who lack’s common sense but he just so happens to be the heir to Longbourn and a clergyman for Lady Catherine de Bough who just so happens to be the aunt of Mr. Darcy. His existence creates opportunities for Elizabeth and Darcy to interact. For example, at Mr. Bingley’s party in Netherfield, Mr. Collins brought the reluctant lovers together by unwillingly and unconsciously embarrassing himself. In Jane Austen’s time, social classes were treated with the highest respect. Those higher up the social ladder take great care in keeping their position. This requires years of lessons on the proper etiquette and manners on how to behave in public. Mr. Collins, at the time had not been introduced to the prideful Mr. Darcy. Trying to start a conversation with someone of higher stature was a grave offence. Jane Austen used Mr. Collins to create opportunities where Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were forced to interact, forcing them to get closer to each other. A couple of months after Charlotte had moved in with Mr. Collins, Elizabeth decided to visit her friend and check on how she was doing now that she was living with Mr. Collins. This visit gave Jane Austen all the freedom to let her characters run free. However, the way