A Departure from Romantic Novel in Pride and PrejudiceIn Pride and Prejudice, Austen describes the union of 4 couples: namely, Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, Lydia and Wickham, Charlotte and Collins. For the Elizabeth-Darcy relationship, it is clearly a reversal of romantic expectations, and Austen makes it clear that this stable, rational relationship is desirable, yet the Charlotte-Collins relationship, [very rational] while being unconventional, suffers some criticism. Jane and Bingley, while very much respecting the expectations of a romantic story, are treated kindly and not rudely by Austen. The same kind of tempestuous emotional impulsiveness of Lydia and Wickham, so typical of romantic novels of the time, is clearly criticized. Many critics in the nineteenth century approved of Austen's work, as she was very different from other novelists, injecting little of the "screaming down the hall" variety of novels suited only to "waiters and waitresses". This is characterized largely by the story of Elizabeth and Darcy, which is an inversion of the romantic expectations of the books. Unlike the instant, fiery passion that Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights had for Catherine, [not true, but I understand what you mean] for this couple, it was more like an extreme dislike at first sight. The haughty and reserved Darcy, without revealing the exuberant and wonderful sentiment of "she is the most beautiful creature in the world," caustically notes that she is "tolerable... but not beautiful enough to tempt Me." Elizabeth, rightly enraged, has a "decided dislike" for him throughout much of the novel's first two volumes. This inauspicious start in no way signifies to readers the first... half of the paper... Ald Gray. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996. Hennelly, Jr., Mark M. “Pride and Prejudice.” Jane Austen: New Perspectives. and. Janet Todd. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1983. Jane Austen information page. Henry's Cemetery. University of Texas, Austin. November 23, 2000. .Monaghan, David. Jane Austen's structure and social vision. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Poplawski, Paul. An encyclopedia of Jane Austen. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. Reidhead, Julia, ed. Norton Anthology of English Literature vol. 7, 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.Ward, David Allen. "Pride and Prejudice". Explainer. 51.1: (1992). Wright, Andrew H. "Sentiment and Complexity in Pride and Prejudice." Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1966. 410-420.