It is time. I have been waiting to do my review of this book, and since my overview of all of Austen's novels is on the horizon, it's now time.
Okay, I am sure that it is not a surprise to anyone what I am going to say about this book.
I. Love. It.
In fact, while it is almost impossible for my to list a favourite book, when pressed, this is the one I talk about. I have read it more than any other book. In fact, it turned me towards other Austen books, and expanded my love of classic literature.
I must, of course, be talking about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
For the purposes of avoiding a total fangirl meltdown over something written in 1813, I will try to limit the gushing and focus on actual, specific details. (I may gush over said details, but I will attempt to refrain.)
Okay, first of all, there are a few truly great opening lines in literature, that for whatever reason, have their staying power. I actually made a poster of them at school. And this book's opening line makes the cut:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
This opening is amazing for two reasons:
1. With that one sentence, Austen sets up the whole point.She doesn't give a massive prologue, going on about society at the time. She is in the society; she knows.
2. Hello, snarkiness! Austen is always a very witty, sarcastic writer, but this book rules over the rest of her works for tongue-in-cheekiness. Of course he must be in want of a wife, just as a single girl in possession of adequate features must be in want of a husband. Austen takes this notion, messes them up, then rights them once more.
So, we have a great opening line. Next, characters. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, though laughable (one so much moreso than the other), are also both well-meaning. Their dynamic, their back-and-forth, is the foundation on which Lizzie builds her distaste for marrying someone who she does not love. (Do not ask me about the 2005 film for just this reason....I feel rather strongly about it.)
Mr. Collins, too, is memorable to say the least. In fact, at our lessons for the Pride and Prejudice ball we attended this spring, someone being rude or flustered was told, "That was a total Mr. Collins move."
Elizabeth Bennet is independent in a world where women were not supposed to be independent. She was smart, proper, and poised, but with a fiery spirit. Writing such a female character in the Regency era was likely no easy task, which says something pretty impressive about Austen's abilities.
And then we have Mr. Darcy. Oh, Mr. Darcy. (Points for awesome name, too, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.)
Let's all just take a minute, shall we?
Sigh.
Okay, focus. Mr. Darcy is a bit of a jerk at first. Or wait - is he?
I don't think so. Mr. Darcy just disdains frivolity and small talk. He is prejudice, and hurts Elizabeth's feelings, which is pretty horrid, but he comes around, and quickly. And what wins him over? Her dazzling smile? Her "fine eyes"? Her handsome features? Her accomplishments?
Nope.
She likes her independence. Her charm and self-assurance, her loyalty to her sister. He likes the spark in her. He likes that she reads.
And he admits when he was wrong.
You know those people who seem super aloof when you first meet them, but then you get to know them, and they are the most intelligent, charismatic people, and you wonder how you ever thought them otherwise?
Darcy's like that.
He is loyal to Lizzie and her family, despite many situations that probably should have told him not to be.
But things work out, because this is Austen, which means we get a happy ending.
Is there romance? Sure. Is it predictable? Definitely. Is this one of the first examples of chick lit? Oh, probably.
Do I care?
Nope.
If Austen's works were "fluffy" and vapid, she would not have endured. But they are so much more layered than that, and so they have survived.
If you like the romance, the balls, the countryside and grand manors, those are in there. But if you like wit and sarcasm and intelligence, those are there too. How about historical politics and manners and societal and gender roles? Yup, those are there, too. Sincere (for upper class 1800s anyway), realistic characters? I think we already covered that.
If you haven't read Austen, this is the ultimate place to start. It is not her only good piece, but it is one of the best, and by far the most well-known. It is on so many of those "books you have to read" lists; if nothing else, you will at least get to see what all the fuss is about.
I know some people say this book is cliche. Do you agree? I would love to hear your opinions... even if they differ from mine. (I will be calm, I will be calm, I will be calm...)
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