A Simplified Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 1

It is something that everybody knows, a rich single man must want a wife.

It doesn't matter how this man feels about the subject, everybody believes it so much, that when he moves into a new neighborhood people begin to see him as the property of their daughters.

"My dear Mr. Bennet," said his wife to him one day, "Have you heard that Netherfield Park finally has been rented out?"

Mr. Bennet replied "I have not."

"It is" returned she, "Mrs. Long just visited and told me."

Mr. Bennet said nothing.

"Don't you want to know who has rented it?" cried his wife impatiently.

"Well you obviously want to tell me, and I have no reason not to know"

This was enough of an invitation for her.

"Why my dear, Mrs. Long says it has been rented by a young rich man from the north of England. He saw it on Monday and was so pleased with it that he rented it immediantly, he will be coming soon, and his servants are suppose to be here before him by the end of next week!"

"What is his name?"

"His last name is Bingley"

"Is he married or single?"

"Oh single my dear! A rich, single young man who earns four or five thousand pounds a year! What a fine thing for our daughters!" said she.

"How could that affect our daughters?" he asked

"My dear Mr.Bennet," replied his wife. "How can you not see it? You must know that I am planning for him to marry one of them!"

"Is that why he came here?" asked Mr. Bennet, "To marry one of our daughters?"

"No, of course not! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them. You must go introduce yourself as soon as he comes."

"I don't see any reason for that, you and the girls may go, or better yet,  you can send them by themselves. You are as beautiful as our daughters, and if you go Mr. Bingley may like you the best."

"My dear you flatter me," said Mrs. Bennet, "I have had my fair share of beauty in the past, but I am nothing extraordinary now. When a women has five grown up daughters, she ought to stop thinking of her own beauty."

"In those cases, the women usually doesn't have much beauty to think of."

"You are too kind my dear, but you must go see Mr. Bingley when comes into the neighborhood."

"I have no desire to go."

"But think of your daughters! What an opportunity for them! Our neighbors Sir William and his wife Lady Lucas are going to visit them, in hopes of him loving their daughter. Besides, if you don't go introduce yourself, it will be impossible for us to visit him!

"You think too much, I am sure Bingley will be very glad to see you, and I will write a letter to tell him he marry whomever he chooses of our girls, but I must throw in a good word for my dear Elizabeth." said Mr. Bennet

"No you will not! Elizabeth is not a bit better than the others, she isn't half as pretty as Jane, nor funny as Lydia, but you always give her the preference."

"None of them are very extraordinary, they are irresponsible and ignorant like other girls, but Lizzy has something more of a quickness than her sisters."

"Mr. Bennet how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take joy in making me distressed! You have no compassion for my poor nerves."

"That is not true my dear, I have high respect for your nerves. You have mentioned them so often that they are old friends"

"Ah! you don't know what I suffer!" said she.

"Well I hope you will get over it soon, so you may live to see many young men of four thousand pounds a year move to the neighborhood."

"It won't make any difference if twenty men come, since you refuse to meet them!"

"Trust me, when there are twenty, I will met them all."

Mr. Bennet was an such odd mixture of quick parts, sarcasm, and reserve that even after twenty three years of marriage, that his wife still didn't quite understand his character. His wife was much simpler, she wasn't very smart, got nervous very often, and her goal in life was to get her daughters married. Her free time was spent visiting and gossiping.