| Chapter | Summary | Key Themes | Character Development | Narrative Conventions |
| Chapter 50 | Lydia and Wickham’s marriage is judged before the pair are ‘banished to the North’. Elizabeth finally reaches the much anticipated epiphany that she loves Darcy. | Prejudice and marriage. | Lydia and Wickham negatively reinforce each other. | Epistolary form. (Mr Gardiner’s letter). |
| Chapter 51 | Lydia is married, and it is revealed Darcy was at the wedding. Elizabeth writes to Mrs Gardiner for answers. | Marriage, love (or lack thereof), and family. | The mystery of Darcy’s character is furthered. Wickham is revealed to be as shallow as ever and Lydia echoes her mother’s negative traits. | Authorial voice. |
| Chapter 52 | Mrs Gardiner replies, detailing Darcy’s antics in pursuit of Elizabeth. He convinced Wickham, with the help of large amounts of money, to marry Lydia and settle down, hiding the whole ordeal with the help of Mr Gardiner. Mrs Gardiner begins to suspect Darcy and Elizabeth. Wickham and Elizabeth catch up. | Class, wealth, marriage, pride, and prejudice. | Darcy’s benevolence is revealed to Elizabeth, allowing her to accept her new feelings for him. Furthermore, his prejudice against her low family is now clearly gone. Elizabeth is not overly prejudiced against Wickham either, despite having good reason to be. | A lot of epistolary form. |
| Chapter 53 | Bingley returns! And Darcy, but he may as well have not bothered, giving how much he talks to Elizabeth. Jane and Bingley begin to rediscover their severed love. | Masculinity and emotion, love, class, pride, and prejudice. | Darcy is clearly a different person when he’s not in the comfort of his own home, but his awkwardness continues to be endearing. Elizabeth’s feelings for him are developed through his inaction, as she becomes frustrated. | Narrative voice. |
| Chapter 54 | Jane and Bingley continue to develop their romance, as he takes a seat by her. Elizabeth and Darcy are separated at the table and she begins to doubt his affections. Darcy is forced to endure the conversation of Mrs Bennet. | Prejudice, love, class, masculinity and male emotion. | Darcy’s continued silence provides Elizabeth with a lot of time to dwell on his potential feelings. She scarifies her pride and accepts that rejecting his proposal was a mistake, as she might have jeopardised her chance at a loving marriage. | Narrative voice. |
Pride and Prejudice – Chapters 50 to 54 Analysis Grid
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