读书报告
I. Introduction
The English author Jane Austen lived from 1775 to 1817. Born on December 16th, 1775 at Steventon, Hampshire, England. Austen was one of eight children of an English clergyman, and given the accomplishments of her novels. She was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family's entertainment. As a clergyman's daughter from a well-connected family, she had ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. She lived a remarkably quiet and domestic life in the rural south of England. She never married and was only 41 when she died.
Jane Austen's novels were witty, warm and ironic portraits of the privileged classes of 18th- and 19th-century England. Her novels are highly prized not only for their light irony, humor, and depiction of contemporary English country life, but also for their underlying serious qualities.
Novels
∙ Sense and Sensibility (1811)
∙ Pride and Prejudice (1813)
∙ Mansfield Park (1814)
∙ Emma (1815)
∙ Northanger Abbey (1817) (posthumous)
∙ Persuasion (1817) (posthumous)
Short fiction
∙ Lady Susan (1794, 1805)
Unfinished fiction
∙ The Watsons (1804)
∙ Sanditon (1817)
Other works
∙ Sir Charles Grandison (1793, 1800)
∙ Plan of a Novel (1815)
∙ Poems
∙ Prayers
∙ Letters
II. Summary
The story shows the British society's life at that time by describing the marriage problems. It mainly describes the love story of Bennet ’s several daughters. Mr. Bingley is newly from London and falls in love with the biggest daughter, Jane. His friend Darcy is sweet u
pon the second daughter Elizabeth, but their marriage moves slowly for some reasons. After a range of interesting troubles, the misunderstandings are finally removed. With Darcy overcomes his pride, and Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice, they get together finally. By describing different marriages, Austin expresses her opinions of the marriage which insist on the understanding to each other. To a certain extent, this novel also reflects the wish for the independent marriage for women at that time.
Mr. Bennet is an English gentleman living in Hertfordshire with his overbearing wife. The Bennets 5 daughters: the beautiful Jane, the clever Elizabeth, the bookish Mary, the immature Kitty and the wild Lydia. Unfortunately for the Bennets, if Mr. Bennet dies their house will be inherited by a distant cousin whom they have never met, so the family's future happiness and security are dependent on the daughters making good marriages. 
Life is uneventful until the arrival in the neighborhood of the rich gentleman Mr. Bingley, who rents a large house so he can spend the summer in the country. Mr. Bingley brings with him his sister and his friend clergymanMr. Darcy.
One night, at a dancing party, Mr. Bingley is well-received in the community; but Mr. Darcy is very proud and indifferent to other people. Mr. Bingley falls in love with Jane immediately, and so does Jane. Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet begin to grow close relationship despite Mrs. Bennet's interference and the opposition of Bingley's sister. Because of Mr. Darcy’s pride, Elizabeth is stung by his haughty rejection of her and decides to match his coldness with her own wit. Sometime later, Mr. Darcy begins to develop interests in Elizabeth. At another dancing party, Mr. Darcy invites Elizabeth to dance only to be refused. Mr. Darcy is in a difficult position. At the same time Elizabeth begins a friendship with Mr. Wickham, a militia officer who relates a prior acquaintance with Darcy. Wickham tells her that he has been seriously mistreated by Darcy. Elizabeth immediately seizes upon this information as another reason to hate Darcy.
Bingley's sister has pursuit Mr. Darcy for a long time, but when she finds that Mr. Darcy is fond of Elizabeth. The anger makes her prevent the development of their relationship. In addition, Mr. Darcy also dislikes Elizabeth’s mother and sisters for their vulgarism. Finally, Mr. Bingley leaves London under the persuasion of his sister and Mr. Darcy. Before Bingl
ey leaves, Mr. Collins, the male relative who is to inherit Longbourn, makes a sudden appearance and stays with the Bennets. He is a recently ordained clergyman employed by the wealthy and patronizing Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Collins has another reason for visiting: he wishes to find a wife from among the Bennet sisters. Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth are amused by his self-important and pedantic behavior. He immediately enters pursuit of Jane; however, when Mrs. Bennet mentions her preoccupation with Mr. Bingley, he turns to Elizabeth. He soon proposes marriage to Elizabeth, only to be refused again. Collins quickly recovers and proposes to Elizabeth's close friend, Charlotte Lucas, who immediately accepts him. Once the marriage is arranged, Charlotte asks Elizabeth to come for an extended visit.
In the spring, Elizabeth joins Charlotte and her cousin at his parish in Kent. The parish is adjacent to Rosings Park, the grand manor of Mr. Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, where Elizabeth frequently invites. While calling on Lady Catherine, Mr. Darcy encounters Elizabeth. She discovers from a cousin of Darcy that it is he who separates Bingley and Jane. Soon after, Darcy admits his love of Elizabeth and proposes to her. Ins
ulted by his high-handed and insulting manner of proposing, Elizabeth refuses him. When he asks why she should refuse him, she tells him the story of Bingley and Jane, furthermore, she also takes Mr. Wickham’s story as an example to blame Mr. Darcy.
Deeply shaken by Elizabeth's vehemence and accusations, Darcy writes her a letter justifying his actions and decides to change himself. In the letter, he says that it is Wickham who uses up all the legacy-settlement.  As for Bingley and Jane, Darcy justifies his actions from having observed that Jane does not show any reciprocal interest in his friend; thus his aim in separating them is mainly to protect Bingley from heartache. Darcy admits he is concerned about the disadvantageous connection with Elizabeth's family, especially her embarrassing mother and wild younger sisters. After reading the letter, Elizabeth begins to question both her family's behaviors and Wickham's credibility; she concludes that Wickham is not as trustworthy as his easy manners would indicate, and that her early impressions of Darcy may not have been accurate. Soon after receiving the letter Elizabeth returns home.

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