Throughout Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice the estates and houses vary from person to person, station to station. A house can tell a lot about its occupants, and give us hints about their personalities.
Pemberley is Mr. Darcy’s home. Proud and stately, it echoes the man’s character. It is well decorated, handsome beyond belief, and filled with hidden treasures. It shows his extreme wealth, and while beautiful and extravagant in size, it is not overdone. Much like his house, Mr. Darcy is well dressed, astonishingly good looking, and often surprises people with his true nature, rather than what he commonly shows.
Netherfield Park is where Bingley spends most of the book. It is a beautiful house, with wonderful grounds. It is well furnished and grand, but still a home that allows “lesser” people to feel more comfortable than they would in a house as grand as Pemberley. Like his house, Bingley is well dressed, and shows his wealth, but it isn’t his focal point. And then of course Mr. Bingley is at ease with everyone he meets, and at all times the perfect gentlemen.
Longbourn is a well picked name for this house, as well as a play on words. It has long born every ridiculous act with silence. This trait is most personified in Mr. Bennet, the head of the house. Through most of his family’s scandals, escapades and adventures, he remains a silent bystander, more content in the realm of his book, than in his own house. But he is a gentlemen, and though the house is not luxurious, it is well kept and looked after, and not all together lacking in beauty.
Rosings Park. A grand estate to be sure, and the home of Lady Catherine De’bourgh. But although we are awed by the magnificence, we do not care about this manor as we care about Longbourn, Pemberley, or Netherfield, because we do not care about its occupants. Lady Catherine is a proud busy-body who sticks her nose into everyone’s business, and is too controlling for her own good. While her house is splendid, it holds no grandeur for us, as we are too focused on our dislike for its owner.
Last and quite possibly least, is Hunsford. It is a tidy house with beautiful gardens, several rooms, and let us not forget, shelves in the closet. Hunsford shows some of the eccentricities that its owners possess. It is well kept, and pretty, offering consolation and peace to Charlotte, and happiness to Mr. Collins at it being so close to Rosings Park. It shows Mr. Collins character in that it is very clean and well looked after, providing all the comforts he could desire.
Well do the houses and manors fit their characters. From grand mansions to beautiful cottages, all the houses of Pride and Prejudice are perfect for the people who inhabit them. From their character, to their sense of style, each house is thoroughly its own.
~ Calleigh
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