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Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML: Mr and Mrs Bennet have five unmarried daughters. When the amiable Mr Bingly moves into the neighbourhood, Mrs Bennet therefore feels entirely sure that he is meant for one of her girls. Her eldest Miss Bennet captures his attention, but Mr Bingley's proud friend Mr Darcy does not approve the match and takes his friend away to London. Though not before losing his own heart to the second eldest, Lizzie. With an indolent father on one side and a nervous, ignorant mother on the other, the girls soon find themselves in the middle of a disaster which throws them back in with the two gentlemen. All parties must re-think their pride and the prejudice of first impressions. Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's most famous novel..… (more)
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Pride and Prejudice suckers you. Amazingly – and, I believe, uniquely – it goes on suckering you. Even now, as I open the book, I feel the same tizzy of unsatisfied expectation, despite five or six rereadings. How can this be, when the genre itself guarantees consummation? The simple answer is that these lovers really are ‘made for each other’ – by their creator. They are constructed for each other: interlocked for wedlock. Their marriage has to be.
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What is worth noting about the structure of the plot is that Austen is playing with the notion of femininity here, especially insofar as it relates to love. Elizabeth, an absolutely wonderful character, is intelligent, witty and confident. While she nevertheless has a keen understanding of the manners and expectations of the day, she refuses to be self-effacing and empty in pursuit of a husband. It is not (as I had thought when I first read the novel) that Elizabeth buys into the traditional notions, but that she succeeds in spite of those notions. The happy ending may be less dark than one in which Elizabeth is ground under like her friend Charlotte, but it is no less an indictment of tradition for it.
It is the conversation with Lady Catherine de Bourgh towards the end of the novel which demonstrates this point. In particular, I was struck by the following passage:
"Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude', replied Elizabeth, 'have any possible claim on me, in the present instance. No principle of either would be violated by my marriage with Mr. Darcy. And with regard to the resentment of his family, or the indignation of the world, if the former were excited by his marrying me, it would not give me one moment's concern - and the world in general would have too much sense to join the scorn" (338).
In particular, it is the last bit. The first point - that Elizabeth does not care to defy tradition - is what we might expect out of this sort of novel. We might expect the plucky heroine to defy the traditional forces arrayed against her and choose her own happiness. It is the last part, though, that seems to better reflect the force of the novel. It is a challenge to the reader. It is not merely that Elizabeth is willing to take that action, but that it is irrational for us (say, as the traditional reader) to oppose it. It's this appeal to reason that is particularly interesting and thoughtful. Rather than simply appealing to our own emotional connection to Elizabeth, Austen challenges us to defend the tradition by the force of reason. It is this challenge which the entire book has developed.
The characters that inhabit this world are also wonderfully realized and really interesting people. Consider the case of Mr. Bennett. His lines are, by and large, the funniest in the whole novel (along with Mr. Collins, for quite different reasons!). His cutting wit, particularly when used against his wife, is simply fantastic. Yet, he is also a heavy character. His wit is a sign of disengagement. He recognizes the injustice of his daughters' status (unable to inherit his estate), and feels impotent to change it. The result is that he is constantly commenting on the world without being in a position to improve it. The reader cannot help but be sucked in by him for his wit, which makes these complexities of character far more interesting.
I was struck by a comment by Peter Conrad in his introduction to the Everyman's Library edition of the novel. He points out that not only is Austen giving us an ironic treatment of high society and the role of women in it, but that irony is part of how Mr. Bennett, and indeed Elizabeth, relate to the world. While Mr. Bennett's irony fails him and becomes detached, Elizabeth is better able to challenge the order of the day by finding someone who appreciates her intelligence and strength of character which breaks down her ironical detachment. In that way, Austen is both using irony while at the same time critiquing its power as a mode of effecting change. This is a thought-provoking point well beyond the context of the novel. It is something I wrestle with in terms of contemporary politics, and it was delightful to find such a fascinating treatment of it here.
The obvious contrast with Mr. Bennett is Mrs. Bennett. She is silly, inane and all together annoying. Yet, she is entirely focused on ensuring that her daughters are provided for in life. While Mr. Bennett may better understand the injustice of this situation, it is Mrs. Bennett who is more active in trying to work within it. To a modern reader, who has no assumption that all women must be married off, she is irredeemably silly. Given, however, that the Bennett daughters ran a real risk of destitution, she is a far more sympathetic character than it seems at first glance. We see this again clearly with Charlotte, who elects to marry the pathetic Mr. Collins to protect herself. While this plays out in terms of Elizabeth's disdain for Charlotte's decision, it is far from clear that Austen is entirely unsympathetic with the plight of these women even if not the decisions they make.
Austen's prose and style need little additional commentary. She is masterful. Her innovative use of free indirect speech is used to play with the reader's perceptions by aligning them with Elizabeth's, but in a way that is not immediately obvious. If we were simply told that Elizabeth thought x and thought y, we would be more likely to be skeptical. Yet, we are simply told x and told y, not always cognizant of the fact that this is Elizabeth's perception playing out through the narration. Austen uses this to great effect to draw us into the same misapprehensions that drive the novel. The dialogue is sparkling, but Austen also regularly steps out of the discussion itself to return us to the emotional give and take of the conversation. This nicely juxtaposes the wit and formality of the conversation with the underlying emotions which are hidden at times. This comes to the fore in one of the final conversations between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
This is a beautiful, thoughtful and engaging novel that deserves its place in the English language canon. From the love story, through the wonderfully crafted prose, to the biting social criticism, this book is rich enough to satisfy any audience. Apparently, except my high school self. It is clear, however, that he had no idea what he was talking about.
So I finally opened it and settled in to see what all the fuss was about. Oh my, it didn’t take long to see that this was going to be one book that lived up to the hype. The one thing that surprised me greatly was the humor in this book about the landed gentry in the 18th century English countryside. I never expected to be laughing out loud at biting humor, shared in the proper style of English manners:
“Sir William Lucas had been formerly in trade in Meryton where he had made a tolerable fortune, and risen to the honour of knighthood by an address to the king during his mayoralty. The distinction has, perhaps, been felt too strongly. It had given him a disgust to his business and to his residence in a small market town; and, quitting them both, he had removed with his family to a house about a mile from Meryton, denominated from that period Lucas Lodge; where he could think with pleasure of his own importance, and, unshackled by business, occupy himself solely in being civil to all the world.” (Page 19)
Austen ridicules this class struggle at every turn, but does so in the most proper manner. Her development of the main characters, the fiercely independent Elizabeth Bennett and the aloof but kind hearted Mr. Darcy, is brilliant. But for me, it was the development of some of the more minor characters that flawlessly revealed her opinion of the classes: Mrs. Bennet, trying desperately to claw her way to the upper class to assure her daughters of a proper marriage; the pompous Mr. Collins, so overwhelmed by those of wealth that he can hardly contain himself; and his benefactor, Lady Catherine, so full of herself and her position that she actually believes she can forcibly convince Elizabeth not to marry Darcy, since she is so below him, that had me laughing out loud again and again.
There’s nothing more I can say except, “Will someone please point me to the next Jane Austen book?” Very higly recommended.
On top of all that, there are parts of the novel that are very, very funny. Despite feeling like I already knew the story before I started reading—there have been countless adaptations of this work, such as Helen Fielding’s hysterical "Bridget Jones’s Diary"—I still found myself eager for the answers to the book’s main questions (e.g., Can Darcy overcome his pride and Elizabeth her prejudice (and vice versa) long enough to get out of their own way? What makes Collins such a sycophantic toady? What’s the deal with Lydia?).
While it may take me another 30 years to get around to reading "Sense and Sensibility," "Emma," or any of Austen’s other works, next time the delay will not be because of my own prejudice.
That said, this is an enjoyable comedy of manners, and discovered at a younger age, perhaps, it would be easy to fall in love with, and ever after treasure, the antics of the Bennet family and the romance of Lizzy and Darcy. I have not found overcoming my own prejudice of Austen as easy as Darcy altering his opinion of Elizabeth, however.
Lizzy is an amusing and very forthright heroine, answering back with her father's brand of sarcastic humour and standing up for herself and her family, and Darcy is droll and abrupt with her because the Bennets are dysfunctional, but I didn't really get a sense of them as sympathetic personalities. I just didn't believe in them. The romance was also lacking, because Lizzy seemed to sacrifice too soon and too readily her independence, and spend the rest of the novel building 'gratitude' into love. And Darcy is heroic and noble, but I liked him better when he was sneering at people.
The subplots, or separate threads of the main story, are entertaining - I was charmed more by Bingley and Jane's tender romance - and the formal language adds a subtle edge to the dialogue, particularly between Lizzy, Darcy and Lady Catherine, but I wasn't captivated by this almost legendary story, sorry to say.
Now I see Elizabeth - a strong female character who is not either too strict or too playful, but who is sure of herself and able to speak her mind without shyness - that is where her most genuine beauty lies. I want to be like Elizabeth. I also see Darcy - a man who may at first be undeserving of our heroine's affection, but who works very hard to overcome himself and various scandals to present himself to her as a worthy partner. That is love.
P & P is surprisingly readable, modern, practical, and insightful. It isn't fussy, the language isn't difficult, and it isn't hard to follow. Read it today if you haven't read it before. I know I'll be reading it again and again.
Recently my book club decided to read Pride and Prejudice and I was shocked to learn that I was
Anyway, the book club’s decision prompted me to re-read my second favorite Austen novel (Persuasion is still my fav). It was such an incredibly rewarding experience. The first time I read it I mainly focused on the romance between Elizabeth and Darcy. Second time around I noticed everything else, and there’s so much!
**If you haven’t read the book, fair warning, the plot is pretty well known, but I do discuss things that might ruin it for you if you really don’t know how it ends.**
For one thing, Austen’s wit is unmatched. Austen is sometimes considered boring because there's not a lot of action, but she's so funny and you can't forget the characters she creates. The stuffy Lady Catherine, the pious Mr. Collins, the insufferable Miss Bingley, the utterly unlikeable Mr. Darcy, who of course becomes so lovable; they are all such divine creations.
Elizabeth, our heroine, can be stubborn and judgmental, but whatever her faults, her love of her sister Jane supersedes all else. I love that Jane’s happiness is more important to her than her own. It says a lot about her that she puts someone else’s welfare above all else. If there’s one thing that Austen could truly capture, it’s the love between two sisters.
“Elizabeth instantly reads her feelings, and at that moment of solicitude for Wickham, resentment against his enemies, and everything else gave way before the hope of Jane’s being in the fairest way for happiness.”
It’s easy to forget that turning down a marriage proposal was a huge deal during that time period, especially when you had no other prospects. Lizzy doesn’t just turn down one proposal, she turns down Darcy once and then Mr. Collins multiple times. And Collins isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. After Eliza turns him down four times in a row, he still thinks she’s being coy and says, “You are uniformly charming” and is convinced she will still accept him.
A wonderful example of Austen’s famous social commentary is the section which talks about the public opinion on Darcy and Wickham. First everyone loves Wickham, then they hate him, they hate Darcy and then they love him, but it’s rarely based on their actual experience with the individuals. They are swayed by the merest whisper of a scandal or controversy.
“…everybody was pleased to think how much they had always disliked Mr. Darcy before that had known anything of the matter.”
One of Darcy’s main objections to Jane (as a possible wife for Bingley) is her family, which can be a bit embarrassing. I loved reading the section that chronicles Elizabeth and Darcy's dinner at Lady Catherine’s house. The pompous old woman (Darcy's aunt) is blatantly insulting Lizzy and he is mortified. It’s a great reminder that everyone has family members that they aren’t always proud of, but you can’t judge someone because of that.
“Mr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt’s ill breeding, and made no answer.”
Charlotte’s role in the novel completely changed for me this time. When I first read it I was only 18 and I couldn’t believe she settled for Mr. Collins. Now I’m 27, the same age she is in the book, and I understand her decision so much better. She was making a huge sacrifice. She had no prospects, she was getting "old" and she knew she would just be a burden to her family. I still wouldn’t have done it, but now I really get it. It was a different time and she knew this might be her only shot at having her own household. Her decision also underlines how unusual Lizzy’s decision to turn down Collins was.
Another interesting element is Mr and Mrs. Bennet's relationship. Although she is a fluttering idiot and at first glance, he's hilarious and likable, I found myself really frustrated with him by the end of the book. He completely ignores Lizzy’s warning about Lydia’s behavior. He doesn’t take it seriously and doesn’t realize his mistake until it’s too late. He didn't think ahead and plan for his daughters' futures, thus putting them in a horrible position. He also treats his wife with utter disdain. Even though she incredibly annoying, he should at least show her some affection or respect because she's the mother of his children.
Lizzy’s views of married life are rooted in her own parent’s unhappy marriage. It’s the only real example of how a husband and wife interact that she's witnessed for her whole life. She’s particularly horrified by Charlotte’s marriage because she sees it as the joining of two people who are so different in intelligence and temperament, just like her parents, and she’s worried it will lead to unhappiness for her friend. That’s why it was so important for her to end up with someone who was her intellectual equal; she needed a partner she could respect.
“Elizabeth, however, had never been blind to the impropriety of her father’s behavior as a husband. She had always seen it with pain; but respecting his abilities, and grateful for his affectionate treatment of herself, she endeavored to forget what she could not overlook, and to banish from her thoughts that continual breach of conjugal obligation and decorum which, in exposing his wife to the contempt of her own children, was so highly reprehensible.”
The problem with watching too many movie and miniseries versions of P&P is that I sometimes forget what is and isn’t in the book. It always bothered me that in the movie versions, Elizabeth and Wickham seem so buddy-buddy in the scene where they chat at the end, but I’d forgotten that in the book she’s still seething inside. She just acts nice so she can get out of the conversation.
“…she had walked fast to get rid of him; and unwilling for her sister’s sake to provoke him.” P. 264
I’d also forgotten that there’s a whole section where Lizzy has fallen in love with Darcy (after learning what he did for Lydia, etc.) and she thinks there’s no way he still likes her. They’re at a party together and she follows Mr. Darcy around the room with her eyes, and then gets mad at herself for being so silly. I love that we get to see her a bit vulnerable and girlish. She’s fallen for him and so her defenses are down.
I love how the end of the book gives a summary of what happened to everyone in the following years. Jane and Bingley move closer to the newly-married Darcys. Lydia tries to weasel favors out of the Darcys, but gets turned down (ha). Kitty is improved by Jane and Lizzy’s new positions in society and is kept from Lydia’s company. Lizzy and Darcy’s sister get along so well, and Elizabeth maintains her spunk and ever shocks her new sister-in-law with how she talks to her husband, just brilliant.
A few things I had forgotten about P&P:
1) Elizabeth goes by Lizzy and Eliza too, I love that.
2) Kitty’s real name is Catherine
3) Mr. Collins is described as “tall, heavy-looking” and is only 25. Because of the movies I had begun to picture him as short.
4) The book says about Mrs. Bennet, “Eliza was the least dear to her of all her children,” – ouch, even if you don’t get along well with your mother, that’s still pretty harsh.
“There are few people whom I really love, and fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense.” – Elizabeth
In my late teens, romance was just not my cup of tea: it was meant for (yechch!) - girls. I was happily reading about those brave and hardy men who blew up German castles (during World War II)
A few years later, my aunt pointed me to this book, after I had rather enjoyed an adaptation of it on Doordarshan (the Indian TV channel). I opened the book, read the first couple of sentences, and was hooked.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
By God! You can't be more true to life than this...
[personal interlude]
Scene: Myself at a marriage reception, strutting about rather proudly having recently landed a job.
Mother calls: "Nandu! Come here for a moment."
I go rather reluctantly, because I know what is about to transpire. It is like I dreaded: there is another female with mother. My mother presents me to her proudly.
The lady looks me over with an appraising eye, and my knees are already weak.
She says in a wondering tone: "My! How tall your son has grown!" (I'm all of five-feet-six-and-a-half inches.) "When I last saw you (this to me) you were only so tall..."(and she holds her hand the appropriate height from the floor. This is not surprising, because when she last saw me, I was only five years old.)
She turns to my mother, and says the dreaded words: "He's employed now. Isn't it time he settled down?"
Uh...oh. I sidle away, because I know what's coming next: she knows of a "nice girl" who would be the perfect match for me...
[end of interlude]
Oh, Mr. Bingley and Darcy, I sympathise with you from the bottom of my heart!
***
Elizabeth Bennet was the first girl I hopelessly fell in love with. Unfortunately for me, she existed only on the pages of a book, so my love was doomed from the start.
***
"...Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life." - Charlotte Lucas.
Being married to the same wonderful woman for more than twenty-three years, whom I did not know at all before our marriage was arranged, I can vouch for the veracity of the above statement.
***
Wonderful book. Read it!
As the story progresses, heartbreaks follow. Jane's courtship falls through and their youngest sister, Lydia, runs off to a marry a militia man who has a good reputation, but is found out to be quite shady. Through all of this, Elizabeth learns more and more about Mr. Darcy and discovers that he isn't so proud, but actually shy and a little bit socially awkward.
This is a very simplistic explanation of a very complicated story, but it is wonderful to read how Elizabeth processes new information and her seemingly steadfast view of an individual changes over time. In addition, Elizabeth herself is already such a strong character and speaks up for herself and those around her at the risk of being "unladylike." Wonderful book and such a wonderful character!
Yet in so many ways Pride and Prejudice is the opposite of so many romantic conventions as well as transcending it. It's at the opposite end of the temperamental spectrum from Wuthering Heights. Yes, this was written and set in the Regency era. Yes, there's a Cinderella quality to the tale given Darcy's wealth and the Bennets more modest circumstances. But what I love so much in this story is that it's far from love at first sight. Darcy is rude when we first meet him and earns every bit of disdain which Elizabeth originally feels for him. And his initial opinion of her? Not pretty enough to tempt him as a dance partner.
The original title of the novel is famously First Impressions and the way this novel credibly develops the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth from their initial mutual contempt is a marvel. It's why this is so much more than a love story--it's a novel about perceptions, assumptions and prejudices and how they can be reversed and in the process of which cause characters to grow. That's why I see Austen as the opposite of Emily Bronte--love as a force for and as the result of growth--not destruction.
Beyond the central love story this novel has so many wonderfully memorable characters. I love the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and her father; his own marriage makes an interesting foil for the other pairings in the novel. Mr Collins is a comic marvel--as is his "patroness" Lady Catherine de Bourgh. So much of the novel is laugh-out-laugh funny, so much of the dialogue memorable and quotable. One of those novels that can be read and read again and discussed and you keep finding new things in it.
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy meet for the first time, and it does not go well. He is proud and slights her, and she becomes prejudiced against him, ready to believe anything bad of him. As events
But it's about more than Darcy and Lizzie. We see how life turns out for Elizabeth's entire family, and her close friends. Readers also get to experience the delightful way that Jane Austen presents English society of her day. She both honors her world and makes fun of it at the same time. Readers will find lots of wit and humor here...making it one of the easiest, funniest classic works to read. Many Jane Austen fans say that this is their favorite book of hers; it's definitely her most well known.
I read this book as a teenager, and now I've re-read it as an adult. It holds up well. I enjoyed it even more now than I did the first time. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes old fashioned books, or anyone who has never tried Jane Austen before. I look forward to my 3rd read of this one day!
But gradually I fell for it because of everything that everybody’s always talking about. The tension in Darcy’s and
Little did I know that I was afflicted with the same problem as our spunky heroine, Elizabeth. My first impression of the book when I was a freshman might have been justified, given that I was not yet mature enough to fully appreciate Austen's wit and the world that she wrote about. However, I let that first impression build a prejudice of sorts about Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen.
For that, I am sorry, Jane Austen. I apologize for ever doubting your writing abilities. I now gift thee with the status of being one of my favorite writers. There. I'm sure you're very pleased. Be happy, Jane Austen, for it is all YOUR fault that I lost many hours of schoolwork and sleep time because I couldn't put down your bloody book.
Well, I'm happy that I'll finally be able to watch The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and actually understand what they're all talking about. And now I'm going to probably be reading all the Jane Austen books I can get my grimy paws on.
What have I gotten myself into?
This book is much better than the BBC Version, and
However that may be, I finally decided to read Miss Austen's magnum opus in December of 1995, in preparation for the release of the much-anticipated television miniseries (starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle) in January 1996. How fortunate that I did! Captivated from the very first line, in which Austen ironically casts her domestic tale in heroic terms - "It is a truth universally acknowledged..." - I quickly discovered that here was an author of lightning-quick wit and sly wordplay, whose keen observations of the world around her are as relevant today as when she first wrote them in 1812.
The tale of judgmental Elizabeth Bennett and stiff Mr. Darcy, two stubborn souls who eventually learn how to accommodate one another, plays out against the backdrop of an England just on the cusp of sweeping change. The slow disappearance of bloodline as the sole means of determining social status is just beginning to be felt, a reality best exemplified perhaps, by the figure of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who represents an earlier generation...
Here is no sweeping social commentary, ala Dickens; nor any of that Gothic rebellion to be found in the Brontës. Rather, Austen simply observed the people of her own time and class, and in setting down those observations, created a portrait of the human condition in miniature.
I love Elizabeth Bennet's and her liveliness. Her banter with Mr. Darcy is so refreshing when compared to many of the other stuffy characters. I also love Mr. Darcy (I think I may have a crush on him). He was prideful at the beginning, but I think he is greatly misunderstood. I think he is simply shy. He even says in the book that it is not his talent to converse easily with those he has recently met. I feel his pain. I am incredibly shy and when I first meet people, I think they get the wrong impression of me. Many mistake shyness in social settings with arrogance. Trust me; it's not.
I would recommend Pride and Prejudice to everyone. Much is said of the romance aspect of this book, but I think people sell this book short when they focus on that. The social commentary and Austen's subtle humor add additional layers. It is by far my favorite book and I will read it again and again.
I fully anticipated a story about who's making eyes at who, but I didn't even have time to smirk before I was immediately engaged by Mr. Bennet. In the midst of all this fuss he's entirely sympathetic, first for having five daughters, second for his worldview that is admirably tolerant and disengaged from pressure to see his daughters well married before being happily married. Given so much riding on how his estate is obliged to be disposed of for lack of male offspring, he's refreshingly cavalier and keeps his priorities straight. His daughter Elizabeth would like to see him to take a stronger hand in the family, but she ought to be grateful he's the way he is. And he's a hilarious scene stealer.
Elizabeth Bennet does not at once have the spotlight on her, but she soon emerges as the daughter to watch and from whose viewpoint the story is being told. She's another pleasant surprise, filled with self-confidence and determination, though still careful to observe proprieties. She and her sister Jane are sharp as tacks and strive to be fair when guessing the motives and feelings of others. When they overlook something, it's not for lack of trying. I like a level-headed heroine, one who isn't swept off her feet by the first fellow to bat an eye. Much as I like Elizabeth, I question the realism. Contrast with her friend Charlotte's mindset: "Marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want." I suspect that's the reality of the times stated plain and Elizabeth's life is the fantasy, but it's Elizabeth we better sympathize with these two hundred years later. That's good news for us, and for Jane Austen's legacy.
I really did try not to complain about the reader. But by the halfway point I couldn't stopper it up any more. Since this is a Librivox recording, which means it was read by a volunteer, I'm not about to call out the reader by name; she's not a professional, and she was doing this as a service, and that's terrific, and I'm not going to have my complaining pop up if she or anyone else searches her name. This is also why I tried very hard to be charitable toward her. And her enjoyment in reading the story came through frequently, which made up for a lot. Unfortunately, the lack of professionalism was glaringly obvious, and the issues seemed to mount up as the book went on. There were odd cadences to her reading – emphasis placed on utterly wrong parts of a sentence, sometimes even to the point that the meaning was skewed. An increasing number of words and names were mispronounced (for example, taciturn and profligacy) or pronounced oddly (such as DeBourgh); she seemed flustered every time she encountered one of Miss Austen's Regency-Era "—Shire" and "Colonel —" and such. (I'm curious about how other readers handle that little conundrum.) Also, she seemed easily confused when reading a conversation between two characters, which led to confusion in the listening: in a few scenes where two people for whom she used different tones (in a couple of cases a man and a woman) were discussing something, suddenly the two voices switched – she lost track of who was saying what, and the result was a marked lack of sense. And for several chapters she seemed to have bronchitis, to the extent that I wondered why she didn't just hold off recording till she could breathe again.
The book, however, was a delight. Of course. It's Pride and Prejudice. There are very few things in life that live up to the hype. Partly due to the infamous clinging-wet-shirt incident, and partly due to Keira Knightley, P&P is the flagship of Austeniana, the one even non-Janeites will have a flicker of recognition for. I've never heard too many people say they don't like it – apart from Mark Twain - and it's hard not to take against someone who does say so. Even Mark Twain. Because it's Pride and Prejudice. It's that good. It's not my favorite - Persuasion is that – but it's almost as close as makes no difference. Lizzie Bennet of the fine eyes and the sharp wit, and Mr. Darcy of the taciturn nature and concealed deep feelings (and ten thousand a year!); Jane of the sweet and retiring nature and Mr. Bingley of the big heart and small affection for books… And there has never been a more finely drawn picture of a realistically socially inept family. Everyone knows someone like at least one of the Bennet ladies.
It still always gives me pause when Mr. Bennet is included among the family members who could not do more to humiliate themselves and Lizzie and Jane if they tried. It's the films' fault, I think; he is so obviously so much more sensible than his wife that it's rather easy to overlook his abruptness, his impatience with the social graces which allows him to say whatever he thinks and pleases without regard to how it might be received. He is almost presentable – but not quite.
It also gives me pause to realize that some of Mary's pompous utterings sound an awful lot like me:
To this Mary very gravely replied, "Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures! They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for me—I should infinitely prefer a book."
I understand perfectly well that early 19th century England had vastly different moral standards than our own. I frequently read authors from (admittedly later) in that century and never question that fact, but I couldn't help becoming more and more annoyed about all the fuss that was being made about Lydia, and all the talk about the unbearable shame brought on to the family. At this point, I made a comment on my thread which was perhaps a small cry for help; it was something along the lines of not giving a flying *you-know-what* about what happened to the girl. Shortly after that, aggravation became complete exasperation when I tried with great difficulty to wade through several passages of prose so convoluted that I couldn't make heads nor tails of it, which is when my temper got the better of me and I promptly hurled the book across the room, only to have it bounce right back at me. So I picked it up again and made myself finish the book in one sitting. By the end, I was willing to make peace with Jane Austen again.
All's well that ends well, right? Wrong. Because seriously, do I need yet another dysfunctional relationships in my life, and with an author who's been dead for nearly two hundred years at that? I guess the only way to know for sure whether or not I'll ever get complete satisfaction from her books is to keep trying again and again until I either: a) Become a hard-core Jane Austen devotee and earn the approval of her legions of adoring fans or b) Throw myself off a bridge, because really, is life worth living if I don't have it in me to enjoy such a fantastic author? or c) Decide once and for all to stop trying so hard; I doubt Jane Austen will be spinning in her grave because this humble reader doesn't get what all the fuss is about.
There are the obvious advantages of status and wealth and what follows demonstrates the need for a woman’s marriage in this type of society to a man with a guaranteed income or well established wealth for a satisfactory marriage during this time. The prize was marriage for women as they had no ability to inherit or in many cases to choose their own futures. Many times if there were only daughters, the assets of the family would be entailed by a distant relative and the girls would be left without any financial means. For the mother’s with daughters in the families, their job was to find and make the connections with suitable men as husbands for their daughters. The daughters would then be provided for and would have the means to live well and many times add to the ongoing financial needs of all of her family members.
The characters Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth, the most complex character, Jane and Lydia whose wild and flirty personality and adventures and many others all bring a strong interactions and interplay of characters in this family and in this story. Their mother who is a bit flighty and not well suited for the responsibility of finding matches for her five daughters. In this novel you will find humor and laughter and a bit of romance.
Though the language and manner of life style are no longer relevant, there is the timeless story of the search for love, security, financial support and acceptance by family and friends. There is the ongoing question, even today, of what do I want to be and where do I fit and how do I do my parents bidding while finding my own happiness and this delightful story tell it in the era of regency England.
I will reread this book again and encourage you do the same. There is a bit more of joy each time an Austin book is read for the themes remain relevant even today. It is only the settings and the language that have changed with time.
Pride & Prejudice is arguably the best know and most loved of all of Jane Austen's
In Pride & Prejudice, we have all of Austen's stock characters: the handsome hero, the poor but deserving heroine, the wayward female character, the attractive but villainous male & a cast of silly, and at times truly exasperating, characters. The plot can be summarized as boy meets girl, boy & girls disdain each other, boy & girls are brought together through a family crisis, an finally, boy & girls get married. Of course there is a lot more meat around this skeleton - almost 400 pages worth.
Austen's characters are memorable and her satire of late 18th Century/early 19th Century (there is still some confusion about the actual date in which the novel is set) society is funny and biting.
This is a book that cannot fail to please. If the 19th Century had beach reads this would be one of them.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet live with their five daughters in Longbourn, a Hertfordshire town in which nothing is more important to young ladies and their mothers than making the right match. A man with a fixed annual income is a must, but even better is a handsome man with an annual income. And the highly competitive (if a bit scatterbrained) Mrs. Bennet is ready to start marrying off her daughters. This is, in fact, to her husband’s dismay, all the woman thinks about.
However, the Bennet girls, beautiful as most of them are, face some stiff competition in their little town, and when a military troop makes temporary headquarters there, the game is on. But it is when two wealthy young men take up temporary quarters in one of the county’s most spectacular homes and, at the same time, a foolish young preacher comes courting the girls that the fun really begins.
Pride and Prejudice, considering its age, is remarkably easy for today’s readers to read and enjoy. Austen’s witty dialogue and her writing style work as well today as when the book was first published, ensuring that the novel will continue to entertain readers for many generations to come. It does not hurt, too, that Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the Bennet daughters - and Austen’s personal favorite of all her heroines - is one of literature’s most memorable characters. Elizabeth, though, is surrounded and supported by a whole cast of characters that interact perfectly to make Pride and Prejudice the very special book that it is.
There are the wealthy (Misters Bingley and Darcy and their sisters), the super-wealthy (Lady Catherine), the foolish (Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet, in particular), a scoundrel (Mr. Wickham), the rest of the Bennet sisters and their long-suffering father, and a town filled with friends and rivals.
New readers are likely to be surprised by how much fun Pride and Prejudice is, but this is precisely the reason so many re-read it on a regular basis. Jane Austen wrote romantic comedy before there was such a thing. She was way ahead of her time stylistically, especially when it comes to dialogue, and it all comes together beautifully in Pride and Prejudice. This one is not to be missed.
Rated at: 5.0