Pride and Prejudice: Possible inspirations from Jane Austen's life
Jane Austen wrote about what she knew, which makes reading into her life and times all the more fascinating. But what parts of Pride and Prejudice seem to draw inspiration from events in her life? This is not to say that she consciously took these events or characters directly or consciously, the following is mostly speculation.
Jane and Elizabeth's relationship Jane, much like Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, had a very close relationship with her sister Cassandra. Although Jane used her own name for the elder Bennet sister, Jane Bennet is not a direct reflection of her own character.
Elizabeth Bennet I, like many, often see parts of myself in Elizabeth Bennet, and many people believe that she is a respresentative of Jane Austen herself. Jane would speak her mind in her letters, much as Elizabeth speaks hers. Social Status Jane was herself a gentleman's daughter as her father was a clergyman, and the Bennet sisters are also daughters of a gentleman. Mr Bennet is part of the landed gentry making him a gentleman. Country Life Jane grew up in Steventon, a small village in Hampshire and so was well knowledged in the ways of country and village life. Steventon did not have many amenities but other villages nearby may have assisted in Jane's picture of Meryton and Longbourn. Clergy Jane's father and two of her brothers, James and Henry (eventually), were clergymen. This meant that Jane had good knowledge of the clergy in writing her character of Mr Collins. I wonder what her clergymen relations thought of this character. Her family were very supportive of her writing so I imagine they would have found Mr Collins character funny, rather than offensive, as he is the comic relief. Militia Jane was alive at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, although she does not mention them in her novels. This meant that seeing Militia in the countryside would have been a common sight. Her brother Henry Austen joined the Oxfordshire Militia in 1793, rising to lieutenant before resigning in 1801. Henry helped Jane publish her novels, and sought to it that Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published after her death, so they were presumed to be very close. Pemberley It has been speculated that Chatsworth was the inspiration for Pemberley as Jane is likely to have visited here when she travelled to Derbyshire. Georgiana Darcy also shares the same forename as the Duchess of Devonshire who lived there for part of the year until her death in 1806. However, there are many news articles out there that claim to have found the real inspiration for many of Jane Austen's locations, and Jane actually mentions Chatsworth as one of the locations that Mr and Mrs Gardiner and Elizabeth Bennet visit on their tour of Derbyshire.
Some now speculate that Wentworth House in South Yorkshire is actually the inspiration for Pemberley. The house was also known as Wentworth Woodhouse, two names of which you may notice have connections with Persuasion and Emma. I don't have any details of Jane going as far north as this so I don't know what to believe with this one.
Mr Darcy An academic, Dr Susan Law, claimed in 2013 to have found the real Mr Darcy - the Earl of Morley John Parker. I personally find this a load of nonsense as no Jane Austen character was a direct representation of a real life person, only elements. Mr Bingley Similar to Mr Bingley's arrival, several years before writing Pride and Prejudice, there was a young man of fortune, William Chute, who moved into The Vyne nearby in Basingstoke.
Catherine de Bourgh's disapproval Many assume that Pride and Prejudice is inspired from Jane's relationship with Tom Lefroy. Tom visited his aunt Anne Brydges Lefroy in Ashe in December 1796. As it was Christmas, there were many balls and Jane danced with Tom many times, and they shared an interest in books. It is thought that Tom's aunt disapproved the match, like Catherine de Bourgh. This is fictionalised in the film Becoming Jane where it also suggests that Jane was thinking about eloping with Tom. ------------------------------- You may notice more similarities with Jane's life and Pride and Prejudice. Let me know your observations.
