How does Jane Austen use Letters to develop the plot in Pride and Prejudice?
Jane Austen uses letters to very good effect in several of her novels, including Pride and Prejudice. She shows that Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, at first, are willing to extend a sort of friendship to Jane Bennet (and nobody else in the neighborhood) by the letter they send asking her to dine with them while the men were out. The fact that the men were out at the time shows that, while a friendship of sorts was extended, their brother was not for Jane, as far as they were concerned. Jane Austen uses the letter Jane sends to her family when she is ill to show how loving Jane is. She keeps from them how sick she really feels. She also shows how close Jane and Elizabeth are by having Elizabeth being able to read between the lines and knowing Jane feels worse than she’s acknowledging. Jane Austen uses a letter to reveal Wickham’s defection from Elizabeth to Miss King, who had just come into an inheritance. Jane Austen uses several letters to make clear the very nature of Mr. Collins; show
