《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and prejudice)是简·奥斯汀最早完成的作品。这部作品以日常生活为素材，一反当时社会上流行的感伤小说的内容和矫揉造作的写作方法,生动地反映了18世纪末到19世纪初处于保守和闭塞状态下的英国乡镇生活和世态人情.这部社会风情画式的小说不仅在当时吸引着广大的读者,时至今日，仍给读者以独特的艺术享受。

奥斯汀在这部小说中通过班纳特五个女儿对待终身大事的不同处理，表现出乡镇中产阶级家庭出身的少女对婚姻爱情问题的不同态度，从而反映了作者本人的婚姻观：为了财产、金钱和地位而结婚是错误的;而结婚不考虑上述因素也是愚蠢的。因此，她既反对为金钱而结婚，也反对把婚姻当儿戏.她强调理想婚姻的重要性，并把男女双方感情作为缔结理想婚姻的基石。
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NOT all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her five daughters, could ask on the subject was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley. They attacked him in various ways; with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all; and they were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbour Lady Lucas. Her report was highly favourable. Sir William had been delighted with him. 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."

In a few days Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet's visit, and sat about ten minutes with him in his library. He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much; but he saw only the father. The ladies were somewhat more fortunate, for they had the advantage of ascertaining, from an upper window, that he wore a blue coat and rode a black horse.

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and already had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all. Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and consequently unable to accept the honour of their invitation, etc. Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted. She could not imagine what business he could have in town so soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear that he might be always flying about from one place to another, and never settled at Netherfield as he ought to be. Lady Lucas quieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to get a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Mr. Bingley was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly. The girls grieved over such a large number of ladies; but were comforted the day before the ball by hearing that, instead of twelve, he had brought only six with him from London, his five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered the assembly room, it consisted of only five altogether; Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the oldest, and another young man.

Mr. Bingley was good looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion. His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien; and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.

Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of giving one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves. What a contrast between him and his friend! Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party. His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never come there again. Amongst the most violent against him was Mrs. Bennet, whose dislike of his general behaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by his having slighted one of her daughters.
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尽管班纳特太太有了五个女儿帮腔，向她丈夫问起彬格莱先生这样那样，可是丈夫的回答总不能叫她满意。母女们想尽办法对付他－－赤裸裸的问句，巧妙的设想，离题很远的猜测，什么办法都用到了；可是他并没有上她们的圈套。最后她们迫不得已，只得听取邻居卢卡斯太太的间接消息。她的报道全是好话。据说威廉爵士很喜欢他。他非常年轻，长得特别漂亮，为人又极其谦和，最重要的一点是，他打算请一大群客人来参加下次的舞会。这真是再好也没有的事；喜欢跳舞是谈情说爱的一个步骤；大家都热烈地希望去获得彬格莱先生的那颗心。

“我只要能看到一个女儿在尼日斐花园幸福地安了家，”班纳特太太对她的丈夫说，“看到其他几个也匹配得这样门当户对，此生就没有别的奢望了。”

不到几天功夫，彬格莱先生上门回拜班纳特先生，在他的书房里跟他盘桓了十分钟左右。他久仰班纳特先生几位小姐的年轻美貌，很希望能够见见她们；但是他只见到了她们的父亲。倒是小姐们比他幸运，他们利用楼上的窗口，看清了他穿的是蓝外套，骑的是一匹黑马。

班府上不久就发请贴请他吃饭；班纳特太太已经计划了好几道菜，每道菜都足以增加她的体面，说明她是个会当家的贤主妇，可是事不凑巧，彬格莱先生第二天非进城不可，他们这一番盛意叫他无法领情，因此回信给他们，说是要迟一迟再说。班纳特太太大为不安。她想，此人刚来到哈福德郡，怎么就要进城有事，于是她开始担心思了；照理他应该在尼日斐花园安安定定住下来，看现在的情形，莫不是他经常都得这样东漂西泊，行踪不定？亏得卢卡斯太太对她说，可能他是到伦敦去邀请那一大群客人来参加舞会，这才使她稍许减除了一些顾虑。外面马上就纷纷传说彬格莱先生并没有带来十二个女宾，仅仅只带来六个，其中五个是他自己的姐妹，一个是表姐妹，这个消息才使小姐们放了心。后来等到这群贵客走进舞场的时候，却一共只有五个人－－彬格莱先生，他的两个姐妹，姐夫，还有另外一个青年。

彬格莱先生仪表堂堂，大有绅士风度，而且和颜悦色，没有拘泥做作的气习。他的姐妹也都是些优美的女性，态度落落大方。他的姐夫赫斯脱只不过像个普通绅士，不大引人注目，但是他的朋友达西却立刻引起全场的注意，因为他身材魁伟，眉清目秀，举止高贵，于是他进场不到五分钟，大家都纷纷传说他每年有一万磅的收入。男宾们都称赞他的一表人才，女宾们都说他比彬格莱先生漂亮得多。人们差不多有半个晚上都带着爱慕的目光看着他。最后人们才发现他为人骄傲，看不起人，巴结不上他，因此对他起了厌恶的感觉，他那众望所归的极盛一时的场面才黯然失色。他既然摆起那么一副讨人嫌惹人厌的面貌，那么，不管他在德比郡有多大的财产，也挽救不了他，况且和他的朋友比起来，他更没有什么大不了。

彬格莱先生很快就熟悉了全场所有的主要人物。他生气勃勃，为人又不拘泥，每一场舞都可以少不了要跳。使他气恼的是，舞会怎么散场得这样早。他又谈起他自己要在尼日斐花园开一次舞会。他这些可爱的地方自然会引起人家对他发生好感。他跟他的朋友是多么显著的对照啊！达西先生只跟赫斯脱太太跳了一次舞，跟彬格莱小姐跳了一次舞，此外就在室内踱来踱去，偶而找他自己人谈谈，人家要介绍他跟别的小姐跳舞，他怎么也不肯。大家都断定他是世界上最骄傲，最讨人厌的人，希望他不要再来。其中对他反感最厉害的是班纳特太太，她对他的整个举止都感到讨厌，而且这种讨厌竟变本加厉，形成了一种特殊的气愤，因为他得罪了他的一个女儿。