Houses characterisation

• Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Austen pays particular attention to the manner and style of the Characters' homes or estates
• A small-scale home like the Bennet's is presented as suitable, if modest, dwelling place in which to raise five daughters. Though it's somewhat plain, it's still respectable
• In contrast, larger manors like Bingely's at Netherfield Park, Lady Catherine's estate of Rosings, or Darcy's palatial home of Pemberley are showcases for their owner's enormous wealth and are conspicuous symbols of social prestige
• Elizabeth's reaction on first seeing Pemberley and her imagining how it would be to live there illustrates that even her calm, cool sense of detachment is awed by the beauty and size of the estate. In a way, houses and estates function as the outward signs of their owner's inward character
• The house itself can also serve as an extension of its occupant's personality - Mr Collins's cramped little parsonage reflects his own narrow mind and lack of imagination; while Elizabeth's family home is comfortable but unremarkable, reflecting both her father's limited means and her mother's lack of taste.
• they carry an almost spiritual significance. Rosings may be grand, but it does not possess the tasteful elegance of Pemberley. ELizabeth's revelation from Longbourn to Pemberley marks not only a rise in her social position, but an advance in her moral growth as well