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GCSE English Literature · key term
Cultivated, considerate manners. Austen tests whether genuinely good behaviour corresponds to privileged birth or fashionable appearances.
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Paper 1
Revise: Class and wealthThe Gardiners’ good breeding is also practical. Mrs Gardiner tactfully redirects Mrs Bennet’s complaints to spare her nieces discomfort. Later, she and her husband avoid forcing Elizabeth to explain her feelings about Darcy.
Paper 2
Polished, considerate conduct that makes others comfortable. In Austen’s novel, it can be distinguished from high birth or fashionable appearance.
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Good breeding is shown through what the Gardiners do for others, not simply through elegant appearances.
Paper 1
Polite, considerate and socially skilful behaviour. Austen tests whether this comes from inherited status or from personal character.
Revise: Class and wealthAusten makes good breeding a matter of consideration, not simply money or position.
Component 2
Refined, considerate social behaviour. In Austen’s novel, being well-bred is not the same as being wealthy or highly born.
Revise: Class and wealthGood breeding concerns refined, considerate behaviour. Characters often assume that these qualities belong together. Austen’s contrasts expose that assumption as unreliable.
