4.1.2. Physical Character
There is no physical appearance of Elizabeth Bennet which is directly described by the author. Jane Austen gives the physical description of Elizabeth
Bennet mostly from opinion of other character, such as her mother, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy.
Elizabeth Bennet is described as a beautiful woman with her intelligent face and attractive manners; but not for her mother. According to her mother, Elizabeth is
not so pretty as her sister, Jane. It can be seen from her mother comment on her: “…. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half as handsome as
Jane, nor half so good humored as Lydia.”…5. Although Elizabeth is not as pretty as Jane, she becomes her father’s number one daughter because of her thought and
intelligence. For Mr. Fitzwilliam, a wealthy gentleman, the master of Pemberley, and the
nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Elizabeth is not quite pretty to attract him, but not for Bingley. He considers that Elizabeth is pretty too and probably very
agreeable. It can be seen in their conversation when Mr. Bingley offers his help to introduce his friend, Darcy, to Elizabeth:
“… But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce
you”. …, he looked for moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his
own and coldly said, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to temp me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are
slighted by other men” …11-2.
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Though Darcy is intelligent and honest, his excess of pride causes him to look
down on his social inferiors. But after several meetings, Elizabeth becomes an object of Mr. Darcy’s interest. He begins to admire her. It can be seen through what he
thinks about Elizabeth: Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her
without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticize. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friend that
she had hardly a good feature in her face, that he began to find it what rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes.
Though he had detected with a critical eye more that one failure of perfect symmetry in pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not
those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness 22.
On the surface, Elizabeth is just ordinary but she possesses qualities which make her attractive in a traditional way. Elizabeth is not a fashionable woman and not
as beautiful as Jane but Darcy shows his interest with her especially because her expressive eyes: “I have been mediating on the very great pleasure which a pair of
fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow” 26. He loves Elizabeth not because of her physical appearance but because of her intelligence. She has attractive
manners and she shows her strong character. She is endowed with certain graces and talent, but not unusually gifted; she is appealing without being exquisite.
4.1.3. Psychological Character
There are some psychological characters that can be found in Elizabeth Bennet as the main character of this novel. From the author comment and from
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