Elizabeth's Noticeable Difference

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a change of pace from Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.  The first few chapters of Austen's novel center around the newly arrived Mr. Bingley, a wealthy man in search of a wife.  The talk of marriage and the idea that a wealthy man and a single woman are undoubtedly searching for a spouse makes it seem stereotypical of its time period.  Mrs. Bennett is concerned only with marrying off her daughters.  However, Austen does not portray Mrs. Bennett as a wallflower; when she hears of Mr. Bingley's arrival, she is quick to ask her husband to go visit him, and expresses her disappointment when he expresses that he has no intention to do so.  I found it shocking that Mr. Bennett clearly states that his favorite of his daughters is Elizabeth (Lizzy).  As I continued to read, I found that Elizabeth has a rather astounding personality of her own.  She certainly does not have the quiet, coy demeanor of a single woman searching for her husband.  She forms strong opinions of other people, usually not giving them the benefit of the doubt and considering them to be good people like her sister Jane does.  Elizabeth considers Jane to be too kind.  She has some of her father's personality, such as his sarcasm and wit, which I believe is why it is important that he stated that she is his favorite.  Her relation to her father's personality more so than her mother's, and her tendency to be outspoken and opinionated, give her an edge that is not typical to a woman of the 18th century.