A large part of the plot of Pride and Prejudice has to do with class distinction. Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys are landed gentry, meaning they have large amounts of property and wealth. They are distinctively above the Bennet family, who own a small estate and can only provide a small amount of money for the daughters when they all get married. A lot of emphasis is placed on the people they are connected with. One of the reasons why Mrs. Bennet is so adamant about having Jane marry Mr. Bingley is to allow her daughters to enter into higher society to make better connections-to hopefully marry rich. There is a certain hyperawareness in the novels and historical adaptations about the differences in class between the Bennets and Mr. Bingley and his party. Mr. Darcy and Caroline especially note it in their initial interactions with the Bennet family. Mr. Darcy is more apparent about his dislike being in ‘inferior’ company, while Caroline Bingley is more polite at first, but her distaste for her company becomes evident the longer she stays. Her distaste for the lower class is best exemplified when she tries to warn Elizabeth about Mr. Wickham, saying he cannot be trusted because he is a servant’s son. Mr. Darcy’s awareness of class distinction is at the forefront during his first proposal in which he admits to loving Elizabeth against his better judgement because she does not come from the same social sphere as the woman he should marry would come from.
Scene from Pride and Prejudice (1995)
In The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, the Bennet family is part of the american middle class and Lizzie, Jane, and Lydia all still live at home, even though they are adults, due to crippling student debt and not many good job prospects. Darcy is the CEO of a large multimedia corporation, Bing Lee is studying to be a doctor, and Caroline Lee’s work is unspecified, but all three are supported by rich families. This again places the Bennets and Bing Lee and company in two different social spheres. Darcy again alludes to the difference in social status based on wealth when declaring his love for Lizzie. Though he is no longer landed gentry, he still runs in different social circles than Lizzie. She does not have the same connections as him due to her lack of wealth. Another example of this gap in wealth occurs when Lizzie is talking with Bing Lee and Darcy's sister, Gigi, and they mention almost offhand about their
The ideas of class are a bit more layered in Bride & Prejudice. Lalita’s family owns farmland in Amritsar, a poorer city in India, while Balraj is a wealthy barrister and Will Darcy is an international hotel mogul. Not only is there a disparity in wealth between the two parties, but there’s also a large gap in their culture and lifestyle. Darcy and Balraj are from America and England respectively, which is known as the West to many indians. It is believed that all the wealth lies in the West, which is one of the reasons why Lalita’s mother wants her daughters to marry westerners. Will Darcy suspects that Jaya’s interest in Balraj is based on her mother’s obsession with her daughters marrying for money, not love. Though Will Darcy pulls Balraj and Jaya apart for this reason, his mother expects him to marry for wealth and connections rather than love. He admits as much when he first professes his love for Lalita, who calls him out on this irony and turns him down. Another aspect of class is the clash of eastern and western cultures, which is brought up many times throughout the movie. When Mr. Kohli, a character based on Mr. Collins, says that India will never become wealthier country, Mr. Bakshi reminds him that they are still a relatively new independent country that could still prove to have a thriving economy. Will Darcy’s ignorance of indian traditions causes him to come off as arrogant, which is one of the major reasons fuelling Lalita’s dislike for the man. One example is when Lalita and Will Darcy get into a heated argument about whether Darcy should buy an indian hotel, which he argues will bring more jobs to the area, but Lalita argues that he will be taking away all the aspects of indian culture that make India such an amazing place to visit, effectively creating something toned down that is closer to what Americans expect India to be. These clashes over culture eventually lead to them having a better understanding of each other, which in turn strengthens their love.
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