Pride And Prejudice
Social Atmosphere Portrayed through the Ball Scene
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, contains numerous scenes involving parties or other social occasions. One extremely significant social event is the ball at which Elizabeth first encounters Darcy. This scene thoroughly portrays the society to which they belong, as well as the pride, prejudice, and general feelings of superiority of many of the characters.
The society that the Bennets belong to is the upper middle class; below royalty, but still wealthy. The society in general is extremely superficial. When Darcy, Bingley, and their companions enter the ball, ??Mr. Darcy soon [draws] the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien?and the report which [is] in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance of his having ten thousand a year? (Austen 6). The society is also very capricious; first declaring Darcy to be an exemplary man, then deciding that he is not worth comparing to Bingley.
The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half
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