Pride and Prejudice

Mr. Bennet’s estate—its farms and properties—earns £2,000 a year. As he has no sons, it’s entailed to a distant male relation. Mrs. Bennet’s own inheritance is not enough to support her daughters. It is implied that because this male relation will inherit the estate, the security of the Bennet daughters rests in his hands.

The Bennet girls enjoy walking into the town of Meryton, where their aunt, Mrs. Philips, who is Mrs. Bennet’s sister, resides. Kitty and Lydia, the two youngest, especially like to pass their unoccupied time there, visiting a hat shop and listening to gossip. When a militia regiment makes Meryton its headquarters, Kitty and Lydia are overjoyed. Every day brings officer-related gossip. Mr. Bennet says they are “two of the silliest girls in the country” (29), earning the ire of Mrs. Bennet, who assures him that their behavior is age-appropriate and that “if a smart young colonel, with five or six thousand a year, should want one of my girls, I shall not say nay to him” (30).

One morning a message arrives for Jane: Bingley’s sisters have invited her for dinner while the men visit Meryton. Jane asks for use of the carriage.