What is the significance of letters in Pride and Prejudice?

In Regency society, letters were very important because they were the only way to send information to someone far away. This meant that letters were used more often and featured more heavily in contemporary novels. An entire genre, epistolary novels, was formed in which the story was told almost entirely through letters. Austen uses letters in Pride and Prejudice to show relationships between characters and the characters personalities and advance plot. Letters are useful devices for this because the characters reactions to the letters do not have to be controlled because the sender is not with them while they are reading it and news can be delivered from a long way away and can also be easily delayed to suit the storys purpose, for example, Janes first letter to Lizzy when she was at Pemberley. Jane writes letters to Lizzy when she is in distress and needs help or advice. Jane writes to Lizzy when she is ill at Netherfield and when she cannot see Mr. Bingley in London and fears that he is deliberately avoiding her. She also writes to Elizabeth explaining Lydias elopement. She writes, shall I own that I long for your return? This shows that although Jane is the elder sister and should, therefore, be more dominant or responsible, she sees Lizzy as someone who is reliable and can help or comfort her. So Janes letters give a greater understanding of her character as she does not otherwise say much which could reveal her character other than that she is very kind. Caroline Bingley manipulates people through her letters, specifically Jane. She invites Jane to Netherfield, to befriend her. Then she tries to damage the relationship of her brother and Jane, in her letter informing Jane that the Netherfield party left for London. She writes, My brother admires her [Georgiana Darcy] greatly to try and convince Jane that Mr. Bingley was not interested in her. The motives and lack of certain courtesies in these letters to Jane shows that Caroline does not consider Jane to be a friend or even an equal. Janes reaction is also interesting because she is very upset by these letters, which suggests that she viewed Caroline as a real friend. As readers we can read Carolines letters differently because we see her thoughts and her motives behind them. Austen uses Mr. Collins first letter to the Bennets to introduce him to the novel and also to tell the reader almost everything about his character. The letter also introduces several important plot elements to the novel such as Longbourn being entailed away from the Bennet sisters and Collins visit to Longbourn. His two later letters show the general feeling of society over Lydias elopement and the rumours of Darcys proposal to Elizabeth. Mr. Collins writes his first letter to introduce himself to the Bennets and he succeeds but not in the way he probably hoped for as Mrs. Bennet is the only person who is impressed while the others are all amused by his pomposity but dislike him. The two other letters are written to advise the Bennets and in some instances, berate them. However, the letters are interesting from the readers point of view because they often represent what the community may be thinking, particularly when Collins writes, this licentiousness of behaviour in your daughter has proceeded from a faulty degree of indulgence. The Bennet sisters react to these letters with contempt, clearly showing that they were ill judged and unsympathetic. Mr. Collins letters give a very different view on events than most readers have and as such are useful reference points for how people outside the Bennet family may view the events in Pride and Prejudice. Darcys letter to Elizabeth explaining why he had acted as he had is the most important letter in the nov el and is, perhaps, the pivotal point in the novel at which the readers and Lizzys perceptions are changed. These words had to be written because only by considering and reasoning with herself and the letter could Elizabeth change her opinions so thoroughly on Darcy and Wickham. This required from her much rereading of the letter. The letter is also almost an argumentative essay in which Darcy clearly lays out his motives and explanations for why he had behaved so badly because he realizes that Elizabeth, while a romantic, is a creature of logic and reason and would have to accept what he wrote, as long as it was true. Elizabeth, the primary protagonist in the novel does not write a single quoted letter, although she is mentioned writing or thinking about writing letters several times. This is probably because as we see her thoughts most often, either directly or through free indirect speech, and Austen feels that we do not need further insights into Elizabeths character. Also, another role of letters in Pride and Prejudice is to advance the plot and introduce new information to the story. As the reader sees mostly from Lizzys viewpoint or from a viewpoint that is biased towards her opinions, showing one of Lizzys letters would only be retelling what ha s already happened. Austen uses letters in Pride and Prejudice to show many things including character interaction and to advance the plot. The significance of letters in the novel is shown by how many important moments in the book are instigated or explained in a letter. These include the letter that tells of Lydias elopement and the letter from Mr. Collins to Mr. Bennet foreshadowing Elizabeths engagement. Letters were just how news and gossip spread in Regency society. However, the letter from Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth was the most important letter because it completely changes the direction of the novel and is the first step to Elizabeth growing to love Darcy.