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- INTELLIGENT - Her father says that 'Lizzy has something more of a quickness than her sisters'
- Attitude to Marriage - Lizzy thinks that people should marry for love, even though she is aware of her financial situation, and she refuses the proposal of Mr Collins, saying 'you could not make me happy' and 'my feelings forbid it'
- PREJUDICED - Lizzy realises later, following Darcy's letter that 'she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd'
- PROUD - After Mr Darcy calls her 'tolerable, but not handsome enough to temp me', Lizzy takes a huge dislike to him and later refuses to dance with him. She even says in private 'I could easily forgive his pride, had he not mortified mine'
- Against Social Norm - Lizzy is an outspoken female who is not afraid to voice her feelings and thoughts; this is interesting because at the time young ladies were expected to be modest etc. An example of Lizzy's disregard for what other people think is when she insists on walking from Longbourn to Netherfield, and the Bingley sisters said that 'she looked really almost wild'
- OUTSPOKEN - Lizzy is not afraid to voice her opinion and gets angry at Mr Darcy in chapter 34 when he proposes to her. She even says 'I have every reason in the world to think ill of you' and proceeds to list her reasons
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- Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist of the novel, and the story is presented from her point of view
- The main focus of the novel for Lizzy is her relationship with Mr Darcy and the obstacles that come between the two characters. She begins hating him and later learns not to be so quick to judge
- One of the key obstacles that Lizzy has to overcome is her own mistaken impressions of Fitzwilliam Darcy
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- Elizabeth begins by hating Mr Darcy after he said 'she is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me'. She decides never to dance with him and even turns him down once at Lucas Lodge
- Lizzy hates Mr Darcy so much that despite his wealth and status, she turns down his offer of marriage, especially as he made it clear that he loved her unwillingly - 'in vain I have struggled'
- After reading Mr Darcy's letter or explanation, however, Lizzy understands a lot more and realises she has been judgemental without knowing the full picture. In Chapter 36 'she grew absolutely ashamed of herself (...) she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd'
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- CONTEXT - Lizzy and Jane Bennet are clearly very close, and they exchange letters when they are apart such as when Jane visits London; this is a similar relationship as Jane Austen herself and her sister Cassandra
- CONTEXT - Lizzy is aware of her situation regarding marriage: due to English Regency laws of entailment, the estate of her father would go to the nearest male heir, disregarding the five Bennet girls
- CONTEXT - at the time it would have been unusual for a woman to turn down an offer of marriage because it was essential (as Charlotte says, it's 'the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune'
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