Pride and Prejudice

In rural England around 1813, the Bennet family has a problem: five unmarried daughters and a small estate that will pass to a distant male cousin when their father dies. Mrs. Bennet is desperate to marry them all to rich men. Her chance arrives when a wealthy young gentleman, Mr. Bingley, rents the great house of Netherfield next door. He brings with him his proud, even wealthier friend, Mr. Darcy.

At the first village ball, Bingley dances all night with the eldest Bennet sister, gentle Jane. But Darcy refuses to dance with the second sister, the clever and quick-tongued Elizabeth, and insults her in her hearing. Elizabeth decides at once that she dislikes him. When a handsome young soldier named Mr. Wickham tells her a long sad story about how Darcy cheated him, her dislike turns to hatred.

Two other men complicate her life. The pompous clergyman Mr. Collins, the cousin who will inherit her father's house, proposes to Elizabeth and is refused; he then marries her practical friend Charlotte Lucas. And the Bingleys suddenly leave the country for London, taking the brokenhearted Jane's hopes with them. Elizabeth goes to visit Charlotte and meets Darcy again at the home of his frightening aunt, Lady Catherine. There, to her shock, Darcy proposes — and she refuses him with anger. The next day Darcy gives her a letter that changes everything: Wickham is a liar and a fortune-hunter, and Darcy interfered with Bingley and Jane because he thought Jane did not love him.

Months later, Elizabeth tours Darcy's grand estate at Pemberley and finds him utterly changed — gentle, hospitable, and clearly still in love with her. Then disaster strikes: her foolish youngest sister Lydia runs away with Wickham. Quietly, Darcy hunts the pair down, forces Wickham to marry Lydia, and pays off all his debts. Bingley returns and proposes to Jane. Lady Catherine arrives in fury to forbid Elizabeth from marrying Darcy — which only proves to Elizabeth that Darcy still hopes. When he proposes again, she joyfully accepts. Two sisters, two weddings, two great houses, and the truth that pride and prejudice can both be overcome.