The following collection of thematically related readings is available in Pride and Prejudice and Related Readings in McDougal Littell's Literature Connections series.


Excerpt from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool, © 1993
Summary: The 19th-century custom of paying social calls is described in this excerpt, which also includes basic rules of conduct for English ladies and gentlemen.

"Mademoiselle Pearl" by Guy de Maupassant
(from The Collected Novels and Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant, © 1922)
Summary: In this story, a trivial incident at a holiday dinner leads to revelations of long-suppressed love.

"You Have What I Look For" by Jaime Sabines,
(from W.S. Merwin: Selected Translations 1968-1978, © 1979)
Summary: The speaker of this poem expresses his gratitude and longing for the woman he loves.

"The Magic Barrel" by Bernard Malamud
(from The Magic Barrel, © 1950)
Summary: At first, the rabbinical student in this story searches for a wife simply to improve his career prospects. His encounters with a marriage broker help him realize what is really missing from his life.

"About Marriage" by Denise Levertov
(from Poems: 1960-1967, © 1961)
Summary: This poem uses an extended image of a walk through a park to express the speaker's thoughts about marriage and independence.

Excerpt from Jane Austen by Virginia Woolf
(from The Common Reader, © 1925)
Summary: One master of the English novel pays tribute to another in this essay, which explores Austen's development as a writer and a person.

The Princess and the Tin Box by James Thurber
(from The Beast in Me and Other Animals, © 1976)
Summary: The spoiled princess in this fable is offered valuable gifts and one common object that fascinates her most of all. Which one will she choose?