The Margin

Person Anne de Bourgh Lady Catherine's only child: a thin, pale, sickly young woman, silent and cross, whom her mother has long intended to marry to Mr. Darcy. Place Brighton The seaside town to which the militia removes for the summer. Person Caroline Bingley Mr. Bingley's handsome, fashionable sister, proud of her family's fortune and forgetful that it was made in trade. Person Catherine Bennet The fourth Bennet daughter, called Kitty, weak-spirited and fretful, led entirely by her younger sister Lydia and the lure of the officers at Meryton. Person Charles Bingley A young man of large fortune from the north of England who takes Netherfield Park and sets the neighbourhood astir. Person Charlotte Lucas Elizabeth's closest friend, a sensible, plain woman of twenty-seven with no fortune and few illusions. Person Colonel Fitzwilliam Mr. Darcy's cousin, met by Elizabeth at Rosings: a gentleman of about thirty, not handsome but easy and well-bred, and far more talkative than his cousin. Event Darcy's First Proposal Calling on Elizabeth at the Hunsford parsonage, Mr. Darcy astonishes her by declaring that he loves her against all his better judgement, dwelling on the inferiority of her… Event Darcy's Letter The morning after his proposal, Mr. Darcy gives Elizabeth a long letter answering her two charges: his hand in separating Mr. Bingley from Jane, and the true history of his… Person Elizabeth Bennet The second of the five Bennet daughters and her father's favourite, quick, ironic, and clear-eyed. Person Fitzwilliam Darcy A tall, handsome gentleman of very large estate in Derbyshire and the friend of Mr. Bingley. Person George Wickham A charming young officer newly come to the militia at Meryton, with a handsome face and easy, winning manners. Person Georgiana Darcy Mr. Darcy's younger sister, more than ten years his junior, spoken of as very handsome and highly accomplished. Place Gracechurch Street The home of the Gardiners in the City of London, near Cheapside and within sight of Mr. Gardiner's warehouses. Place Hunsford The Kent parsonage given to Mr. Collins by Lady Catherine, and the home Charlotte makes there after her marriage. Person Jane Bennet The eldest Bennet daughter and the great beauty of the family, gentle, even-tempered, and unwilling to think ill of anyone. Event Jane's Illness at Netherfield Hoping to throw Jane in Mr. Bingley's way, Mrs. Bennet sends her to Netherfield on horseback in threatening weather; Jane is caught in the rain, takes cold, and must stay to be… Person Lady Catherine de Bourgh Mr. Collins's great patroness, a wealthy, imperious noblewoman of Rosings in Kent, and aunt to Mr. Darcy. Event Lady Catherine's Visit to Longbourn On a rumour that Elizabeth is to marry her nephew, Lady Catherine descends on Longbourn and demands she promise never to accept him. Place Lambton The small Derbyshire town where Mrs. Gardiner spent her girlhood, some five miles from Pemberley; it is the travellers' base while they tour the county. Place Longbourn The Bennet family home, a modest estate in Hertfordshire a mile from Meryton. Place Lucas Lodge The home of the Lucas family, about a mile from Longbourn, where Sir William plays host to the neighbourhood and much of its gossip is exchanged. Person Lydia Bennet The youngest Bennet daughter at fifteen, tall, high-spirited, and heedless. Event Lydia's Elopement Word reaches Elizabeth at Lambton that her youngest sister Lydia has run away from Brighton with Mr. Wickham, unmarried. Person Maria Lucas Charlotte's younger sister, a good-humoured but empty-headed girl, who travels with Elizabeth and Sir William to visit the newly married Charlotte in Kent. Concept Marriage and the Marriage Market The social and economic machinery the whole novel turns on. Person Mary Bennet The middle Bennet daughter, plain among handsome sisters and bookish to make up for it. Place Meryton The market town near Longbourn, the centre of the Bennets' small society: its assemblies, its card parties, its shops, and its aunt Mrs. Philips. Person Mr. Bennet The master of Longbourn, a dry, retiring gentleman who takes refuge in his library and in laughing at his wife and the world. Person Mr. Collins A pompous young clergyman and the cousin who will inherit Longbourn under the entail, since Mr. Bennet has no son. Event Mr. Collins's Proposal Secure of success, Mr. Collins makes Elizabeth a long and pompous offer of marriage, treating her refusals as the coyness of an elegant female. Person Mr. Gardiner Mrs. Bennet's brother, a sensible, gentlemanlike London merchant who lives near his warehouses, and a man of far more breeding than his sister. Person Mrs. Bennet The mistress of Longbourn, a woman of mean understanding and uncertain temper, whose whole business in life is to get her five daughters married. Person Mrs. Gardiner Mr. Gardiner's wife, an amiable, intelligent, elegant woman and a particular favourite with her nieces Jane and Elizabeth. Person Mrs. Hurst Mr. Bingley's married elder sister, much of a piece with Caroline: fashionable, proud, and contemptuous of country society, married to an indolent man who cares chiefly for cards… Person Mrs. Philips Mrs. Bennet's sister, married to an attorney in Meryton. Person Mrs. Reynolds The housekeeper at Pemberley, a respectable elderly woman who shows the house to visitors. Place Netherfield Park The great house near Meryton taken on a lease by Mr. Bingley. Place Pemberley Mr. Darcy's great estate in Derbyshire, spoken of with admiration long before it is seen. Place Rosings Park Lady Catherine de Bourgh's imposing seat in Kent, near Mr. Collins's parsonage at Hunsford. Person Sir William Lucas Charlotte's father, a good-natured man knighted for an address to the king and rendered useless ever after by the honour, full of civility and the memory of his presentation at… Family The Bennet Family The family at the heart of the story: Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five unmarried daughters, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, of the small Hertfordshire gentry at… Concept The Entail The legal settlement by which Longbourn must pass to the nearest male heir, Mr. Collins, rather than to Mr. Bennet's daughters. Family The Lucas Family The Bennets' nearest neighbours, at Lucas Lodge: the good-natured, ceremonious Sir William, his wife, and their children, the eldest of whom, Charlotte, is Elizabeth's closest… Event The Meryton Assembly The neighbourhood's first public ball, held in the assembly rooms at Meryton, where the new tenants of Netherfield are looked over. Organization The Militia The regiment quartered at Meryton for the winter, its officers a fresh supply of partners and red coats that delights the younger Bennet girls and unsettles the neighbourhood's… Event The Netherfield Ball The long-promised ball Mr. Bingley gives at Netherfield. Event The Visit to Pemberley Touring Derbyshire with the Gardiners, Elizabeth is persuaded to see Pemberley only after making sure its master is away.