MEJE PROCESS · Pride and Prejudice Worldbuilding Data (74 chapters)

Pride and Prejudice — Complete Miscellany

MEJE Works · Chapter 32

Pride and Prejudice — Complete Miscellany

A comprehensive catalogue of institutions, customs, concepts, events, time markers, and other elements that do not belong under people, places, objects, or groups.

A. Legal and Economic Institutions

#	English	Designation	Definition	Function in the Novel	Details
1	Entail	Entail	A legal settlement by which real estate descends only to male heirs	A central driver of the novel's conflict and the cause of the Bennet family's financial insecurity	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
2	Settlement	Marriage Settlement	An agreement over property made as part of a marriage contract	Central to the terms of Lydia and Wickham's marriage	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
3	Pin-money	Pin Money	A wife's personal annual allowance	Mentioned when Mrs. Bennet imagines Darcy's wealth	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
4	4 per cents	Four-Per-Cent Government Stock	British government bonds	The means by which the Bennet sisters' fortunes are invested	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
5	Presentation of the living	Right of Presentation to a Living	The right to appoint a parish clergyman	Central to the conflict between Darcy and Wickham	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
6	Patronage	Patronage / Right of Presentation	An aristocratic patron's right to appoint a parish clergyman	Lady Catherine's patronage of Collins and Darcy's control of several livings	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
7	Tithes	Tithes	A levy paid by parishioners to their clergyman	A source of Collins's income; he must avoid “offending his patroness”	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
8	Taking orders	Ordination	Admission to holy orders	The career Wickham relinquishes	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
9	Commission (military)	Officer's Commission	An appointment as an army officer	Wickham joins the militia; Darcy purchases him an ensigncy	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
10	Purchase system	Purchase of Commissions	The system of buying and selling military commissions	Darcy purchases Wickham's ensigncy	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
11	Special licence	Special Marriage Licence	An unrestricted marriage licence issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury	Mrs. Bennet, intoxicated by Darcy's wealth, demands one	[Institutional/Economic Terms]
12	Banns	Marriage Banns	Public notices read in the parish church on three successive weeks	The ordinary marriage procedure, contrasted with a special licence	—
13	Marriage articles	Marriage Articles	A legal document governing the distribution of property upon marriage	Drawn up by the solicitor Haggerston in Mr. Gardiner's letter	—
14	Manor	Lordship / Manor	An estate together with attendant rights, including sporting rights	What Bingley enjoys at Netherfield	—
15	Window Tax	Window Tax	A tax assessed according to the number of windows	Explains why the windows at Rosings signify wealth	—
16	Debts of honour	Debts of Honour (Gambling Debts)	Gambling debts between gentlemen; not legally enforceable, but default brings social ruin	Wickham's debts in Brighton and Meryton	—

B. Social Rituals and Customs

#	English	Designation	Definition	Context in the Novel
17	Assembly	Assembly / Public Ball	A public social dance	The Meryton assembly (EVT-003)
18	Ball (private)	Private Ball	A formal dance hosted at a private house	The Netherfield ball (EVT-016)
19	Coming out	Coming Out in Society	A young unmarried woman's formal entry into society	Lady Catherine asks, “Are they all out?” of the five Bennet sisters
20	Accomplishment	Accomplishments	Skills that enhance a woman's value in the marriage market	The “accomplished woman” debate in Chapter 8
21	Introduction	Formal Introduction	The beginning of a social acquaintance; speaking without an introduction is improper	Collins introduces himself to Darcy without permission (EVT-016)
22	Visiting / Calling	Visits / Calls	Ceremonial visits between neighbours, governed by rules of precedence and return calls	Bingley's visit to Longbourn and Mr. Bennet's first visit to Bingley
23	Dining out / Dining in	Invitations to Dine Out / At Home	Social meals; dining with “four-and-twenty families” defines the extent of one's circle	Mrs. Bennet's boast
24	Walking out	Walking Out	A man and woman walking together may signal courtship	Darcy and Elizabeth's repeated “accidental” meetings
25	Duel	Duel / Affair of Honour	A pistol duel prompted by injury to a family's honour	Mrs. Bennet fears a duel between her husband and Wickham in Chapter 47
26	Elopement	Elopement / Runaway Marriage	Fleeing to marry without parental consent	Lydia and Wickham (EVT-038); Georgiana's attempted elopement (EVT-029)
27	Presentation at Court	Presentation at Court	A formal appearance before royalty and an entry into court society	Sir William receives his knighthood

C. Types of Dance

#	English	Designation	Nature	Context in the Novel
28	Reel	Reel	A lively Scottish dance	Darcy provocatively invites Elizabeth to dance it in Chapter 10
29	Boulanger	Boulanger	A group dance performed by everyone at the end of a ball	The last dance Mrs. Bennet names when recounting Bingley's partners
30	Country dance	Country Dance	A general term for English social dances	The standard form at balls
31	Scotch and Irish airs	Scottish and Irish Airs	Tunes Mary plays for the young people to dance to	The party at Lucas Lodge in Chapter 6

D. Time Markers and Calendar

#	English	Designation	Date	Function in the Novel
32	Michaelmas	Michaelmas	September 29	A quarter day for renewing leases and employment; the time of Bingley's arrival
33	Easter	Easter	Spring; a movable feast	The time of Darcy and Fitzwilliam's visit to Rosings
34	Christmas	Christmas	December 25	The time of the Gardiners' visit to Longbourn
35	"Monday, November 18th"	Monday, November 18	The date Collins's letter arrives	The day Collins visits Longbourn; the novel's only fully specified date
36	"the 26th of November"	November 26	The date of the last meeting Bingley remembers	“We have not met since the 26th of November”
37	"Monday, August 2"	Monday, August 2	The date of Uncle Gardiner's letter	Notice of the marriage agreement between Wickham and Lydia
38	"Sept. 6"	September 6	The date of Mrs. Gardiner's letter	Reveals the full story of Darcy's secret intervention
39	"October 15"	October 15	The date Collins writes his letter	His first letter from Hunsford

E. Abstract Concepts and Motifs

#	English	Designation	Literary Function
40	Pride	Pride	One half of the novel's title; applies to both Darcy and Elizabeth
41	Prejudice	Prejudice	One half of the novel's title; chiefly Elizabeth's errors of judgment
42	Vanity	Vanity	Mary defines it: “Pride relates to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” Elizabeth's feeling toward Wickham was vanity, not love (EVT-030)
43	Sense / Sensibility	Sense / Sensibility	Also the title of another Austen novel; Jane represents sensibility and Elizabeth sense
44	Propriety / Impropriety	Propriety / Impropriety	Darcy's key terms of criticism for the Bennet family
45	Connexion(s)	Connections / Family Relations	“Low connexions” means inferior family connections, central to Darcy's objections
46	Establishment	Marriage / Establishing a Household	Mrs. Bennet's lifelong purpose: desired in Chapter 1 and achieved in Chapter 61
47	Fortune	Fortune / Dowry	In the context of marriage, it must be understood as property or wealth
48	Character	Character / Reputation	“His character was decided” means that his reputation was settled (Chapter 3); the word carries both senses
49	Design	Plan / Intention	“Is that his design?” means “Is that his intention?”, not visual design
50	Consequence	Importance / Social Standing	“Give consequence to” means to treat as important; a key word in the “tolerable” remark