Who it is for
Readers following character development, social satire, and the changing relationships around Chapter 39 will find this chapter especially useful.
English reader · Project Gutenberg #1342
Chapter 39
Pride and Prejudice. English-only reading by default; switch among English, Chinese, and Spanish, or compare languages side by side.
Chapter summary
This chapter advances the novel’s social and emotional action around Chapter 39, using dialogue, family expectations, and manners to reveal character motives and relationships. Its opening movement begins: It was the second week in May, in which the three young ladies set out together from Gracechurch Street for the town of ----, in Hertfordshire; and, as they drew near the appointed inn where Mr. Bennet’s carriage was to meet them, they quickly perceived, in token of the coachman’s punctuality, both Kitty and Lydia looking out of a dining-room upstairs.
Modern reader note
Read this chapter in its Regency social context. Courtship, inheritance, gender expectations, class manners, and family authority around Chapter 39 reflect the novel’s historical world rather than present-day norms.
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