Character Analysis
Sweet Jane. Sweet, lovely, patient, beautiful, caring, generous Jane. We'd think of a few more positive adjectives for her but they're pretty much all covered here in our guide to Jane Bennet in the original version of Pride and Prejudice.
So how is this Jane different here? Well, she's not much different. She's still naïve and soft-hearted. The only thing is that in this book, there are zombies, and those qualities don't make for much of a warrior:
Elizabeth raised her musket, but Jane was quick to grab the barrel.
"You mustn't!"
"Have you forgotten your oath?"
"It's an infant, Lizzy!"
"A zombie infant—no more alive than the musket I mean to silence it with." (21.10-14)
Yeah—not only is Jane ready to believe the best of Caroline Bingley, but she's also ready to believe the best of a zombie. A zombie.
(For the record—she was right about the zombie, but Caroline could use a serious butt whooping.)
Jane's character also gets a little tweak when she catches her cold at Netherfield Park. She gets sick while she's fighting off some zombies, so Mr. Darcy suspects that she might have been bitten by one, which would eventually turn her into a zombie, too. It's not an unreasonable fear, but Mr. Darcy uses it against her later:
I was certain that she had been stricken with the strange plague. Not wishing to trouble you or any of the Netherfield party with my theory, I endeavoured to smother Bingley's affections, thus sparing him the agony of watching your sister succumb. (35.6)
It's a noble thought, but it turns out Mr. Darcy is wrong. Way wrong. Luckily, he's man enough to admit it, and he brings Mr. Bingley back to Hertfordshire to propose to Jane. Everyone is happy, and Jane spends the rest of her life thinking that everyone—zombies included—is nice in his or her own way.
Oh, come on. Even in a zombie-infested dystopia, wouldn't you want a little Jane Bennet to brighten your day?