Question

Which lines in these excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are examples of free indirect speech?

1. Within a short walk of Longbourn lived a family with whom the Bennets were particularly intimate. Sir William Lucas had been formerly in trade in Meryton, where he had made a tolerable fortune, and risen to the honour of knighthood by an address to the king during his mayoralty. The distinction had perhaps been felt too strongly. It had given him a disgust to his business, and to his residence in a small market town; and, in quitting them both, he had removed with his family to a house about a mile from Meryton, denominated from that period Lucas Lodge, where he could think with pleasure of his own importance, and, unshackled by business, occupy himself solely in being civil to all the world. For, though elated by his rank, it did not render him supercilious; on the contrary, he was all attention to everybody. By nature inoffensive, friendly, and obliging, his presentation at St. James's had made him courteous.

2. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained. "If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield," said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, "and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for."

Answer 1

An example of free indirect speech in the provided excerpts from Pride and Prejudice is in the second excerpt, reflecting Mrs. Bennet's thoughts on the delights of dancing and Mr. Bingley's potential affection for her daughter.

Step-by-step explanation:

Free indirect speech blurs the line between the narrator's voice and a character's direct speech. In the provided excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, an example of free indirect speech can be seen in excerpt 2:

“Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained.”

This passage flips between the narratorial voice and what appears to be the thoughts or spoken reflections of a character, likely Mrs. Bennet, without clear demarcation. It shows Mrs. Bennet's attitudes and desires for her daughters in a way that seems both told by a narrator and internally reflected upon by the character, typical of Austen's technique of presentation of character consciousness.

Answer 2

Answer: Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained.

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