THE DESCRIPTION OF WOMEN AND REALISM IN THE NOVEL "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE"

This article explores the representation of female character and the features of realism in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The novel is examined as one of the most significant works in English literature in which women are portrayed not as passive decorative figures, but as intelligent, emotionally complex, and socially conditioned individuals. The paper argues that Austen’s realism is rooted in her close observation of everyday life, family relations, class distinctions, marriage expectations, and the moral development of her characters. Special attention is given to Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Bennet, Lydia Bennet, Charlotte Lucas, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh as different models of womanhood within early nineteenth-century English society. The article shows that Austen presents female experience through realistic domestic situations and subtle psychological insight rather than dramatic events. It concludes that Pride and Prejudice remains a powerful realist novel because it reveals the social pressures surrounding women while also emphasizing their individuality, judgment, and inner growth.