Pride and Prejudice Book Club Kit

Discussion Questions

1. Which character would you most enjoy spending an evening with—and which would you avoid?
2. Do Elizabeth and Darcy make convincing romantic partners, or does the novel ask us to overlook too much?
3. Whose pride causes more harm: Elizabeth’s, Darcy’s, or someone else’s?
4. Is Mrs. Bennet ridiculous, practical, or both? How fair is the novel’s treatment of her?
5. Which character makes the most reasonable decisions given the social and financial pressures of the time?
6. Does Elizabeth’s wit reveal truth, or does it sometimes shield her from self-examination?
7. Is Charlotte Lucas’s marriage a sensible act of self-preservation or a troubling surrender?
8. Does Darcy genuinely change, or does Elizabeth simply learn to interpret him more generously?
9. How much moral responsibility should individuals bear for choices made within restrictive social systems?
10. Is the novel ultimately conservative—rewarding suitable marriages and social harmony—or radical in its critique of class, gender, and power?

Themes and Provocations

1. First Impressions and Self-Deception

Provocation: Intelligence does not protect people from prejudice; it merely helps them justify it more persuasively.

2. Marriage, Money, and Security

Provocation: In the world of the novel, marrying for love is a privilege available mainly to those with enough money to risk it.

3. Class, Manners, and Moral Worth

Provocation: Austen criticizes class snobbery without seriously challenging the class system itself.

Passage-Type to Revisit Together

Choose a scene built around conversation in a social setting—such as a ball, dinner, visit, or drawing-room exchange. Read it aloud, then examine what each character says, what they avoid saying, and how Austen uses irony, silence, and manners to reveal power.

60-Minute Session Structure

• 0–5 minutes: Quick check-in: one-word reaction to the novel
• **5–12 minutes