Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a satirical tale of courtship in 19th century England. The novel focuses on the development of the relationship between the two main characters, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. The novel's protagonist, Elizabeth, and the novel's antagonist, Mr Darcy, are two very contrasting characters; although they face many problems and challenges, they discover that they love each other and that their love is enough to overcome any obstacle seen in the novel. Before Elizabeth and Mr Darcy's relationship has a chance to develop, their first meeting at the ball creates the first obstacle. Their first impressions of each other are completely negative. Elizabeth develops her first prejudice against Darcy when she hears his judgmental description of her “she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me.”(p.13) this comment develops both Elizabeth's and the readers' opinion of Mr Darcy; he is portrayed as an arrogant, antisocial and stubborn man. This unpleasant first meeting between Elizabeth and Darcy leaves the reader more than doubtful about anything that might break out between them in the future. Austen portrays Elizabeth as witty, intellectual and playful, through her characterization she ensures that the reader becomes attached to Elizabeth and sides against Darcy. Darcy soon becomes attracted to Elizabeth at the beginning of the novel. When she arrives at Netherfield he admires her appearance commenting that the walk has improved her appearance. Being a self-proclaimed judge of good character, Elizabeth is completely unaware of Darcy's attraction to her and continues to criticize and mock him for his pride and ideas of the perfect woman. Darcy is painfully aware of Elizabeth's lack of sociability... middle of paper... letters in Pride and Prejudice play an important role, they allow Austen to convey important information and reveal the characters' feelings and emotions quickly and allow the plot to escalate quickly without spending several pages recounting the events. Additionally, the letters also help the reader see each character's motivation behind their actions. For example, Mr. Darcy's letter after the failed proposal reveals his true nature. Austen often criticizes customs and social structure and is quite brutal in her description of some characters. For example, Mr. Collins is depicted as ignorant and pompous, Lady Catherine embodies class snobbery, and Miss Bingley is a snobbish and jealous character who holds excessive contempt for Elizabeth and her family. It is through these characters that Austen is able to show her point of view on what she considers to be the worst qualities in people.