Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

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It comes with so many silly rules, so many silly expectations. Those of social station and wealth must be seen to marry someone of the same “worth” regardless of the feelings involved; they must be seen to marry someone on their level of class structure. But what of love? What of passion? Should it be quenched because of these all-encompassing silly constructs? Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story takes place in the fictional town of Meryton, England, in the late 18th century. The novel follows the life of Elizabeth Bennet, a witty and independent-minded young woman, as she navigates the social mores of her time and falls in love with Mr. Darcy, a wealthy and proud aristo A chaise is a type of carriage; it seats three people, all facing forward, and is enclosed (see illustration on p. 16). “Four” refers to the number of horses pulling it. A chaise was a popular vehicle for long-distance travel, so it would be a logical choice for someone coming from far away (though it also turns out to be the carriage this man owns and uses regularly). But a chaise was normally pulled by only two horses, which, while slower, was cheaper. The use of four horses indicates the visitor’s wealth, which is why Mrs. Bennet has bothered to mention it. So love conquers all. Austen was a strong advocate of social mobility, and often it’s based upon love in her works. But she only believes in real love. She’s not interested in fleeting moments of heat and sexual lust; she portrays true and lasting romantic attachments, relationships that are strong and real. For her, such things transcend class boundaries, wealth and intelligence. Love is love. It doesn’t matter who it is with as long as it is real; hence, Austen becomes a critique of society and its customs that prevent these relationships from being realised. She knows how stupid it is, and she loves to poke fun of her caricatures of the old stilted class of her era: the ones that resist her ideas. Until now (that is till I finish my second read), I’ve never watched any of the TV or movie adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. To be honest, I didn’t want to have any negative impact towards the perfect imaginary picture Austen had created. But after this second read, I decided to watch the 2005 movie, the 1995 TV series and the 1980 series, and couldn’t resist sharing some of my thoughts. As much as I appreciate the effort, the 2005 movie did not prove to be a worthy portrayal, at least for me. Maybe it’s the modern characters, or what had to be removed due to time restrictions, or deviations from original book, but at the end of the day, I cannot say I loved it that much. But the 1995 series was quite the surprise! It literally had almost every single dialog from the book, with a few exceptions at the end. It did add up to five and a half hours of play time, but that was totally worth it. If you loved the book, and haven’t watched the series, do watch it immediately. As for the 1980 series, though I loved it a lot, it fell a tiny bit behind the 1995 series. But both those series are commendable portrayals.

Pride and Prejudice is the dullest most wonderfully written book that I have ever read. I read it simply to get a feel for the author's fantastic ability at arranging words, and really I mean it when I say, oh what wonderful blather. When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life. I LOVE this book. It gives me...uh…(everyone stop reading this to save me the embarrassment and allow me to preserve my rough and tumble reputation)...butterflies. She’s great, and she gets extra points for just how well she plays off of Colin Firth, but I have a fundamental problem with Ehle, which is that she just doesn’t match my vision of Lizzie. I just can’t entirely buy her in the part. Another of Austen's strengths is her prose style, which is witty, precise, and elegant. Her use of irony and satire adds depth and nuance to the novel, allowing her to critique the social norms and expectations of her time while still entertaining her readers.The romance isn’t a wild passion, but a slow build between two people who are wrong in their first impressions of one another, then grow to admire the other. This was truly as glorious as I remember. Every time I reread this novel, I love it more. The romance, the high society, the witty banter. Gah. I just adore it all. "And your defect is to hate everybody." When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships,gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life. Read more Details Though the domain of Jane Austen’s novels was as circumscribed as her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family’s entertainment. As a clergyman’s daughter from a well-connected family, she had ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At 21, she began a novel called “The First Impressions,” an early version of Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, on her father’s retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two years later she sold the first version of Northanger Abbyto a London publisher, but the first of her novels to appear in print was Sense and Sensibility, published at her own expense in 1811. It was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815). During my first reading of Pride and Prejudice, I had known I was hugely underqualified to review this book, though at the same time I had hoped, if I read all of her books, I might, in time, write an acceptable review for this masterpiece. Now that I’ve read them all, and also P&P for a second time, all I can say is I still don’t consider myself remotely qualified to write an objective review. But it is impossible not share one’s opinions after reading this: this book, for me, is as best as it could get. So, for the time being, I’ll have to be content with writing what I consider to be a subjective overview, which, I’m certain, does not do much justice. However, I hope that someday my sense in classical literature would become good enough to truly appreciate how remarkable this book is.

We see Elizabeth working on herself internally while also working on the external social factors. ‘ There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others,’ Elizabeth confesses, ‘ my courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.’ Her pride makes her malign others, assuming Miss darcy, for instance, to be a ‘ proud, reserved, disagreeable girl’ only to find she is ‘ amiable and unpretending.’ It is her intelligence I find most charming, and while she may misjudge, she has the emotional intelligence to self-diagnose and course correct. Parallels between the novel and Austen’s experience are revealed, along with writings that illuminate her beliefs and opinions. No sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes ...' And yours," he replied with a smile, "is willfully to misunderstand them." Elizabeth Bennet (second eldest of the five Bennet sisters) is the one with a clear, level head. Jane is the beautiful one, Mary is the look-at-me-I'm-so-pious one, Lydia is the I'm-so-dumb-that-I'm-probably-going-to-get-murdered one and Kitty is the well-she's-just-kinda-there one.The story charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential. And how could he think she would ever agree to marry him after the way he convinced Bingley that Jane didn't love him?! Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:

Of course, Lydia has to go and ruin everything! How could she be such a stupid, selfish, uncaring twat!? Grrrrrrr! The writing is lush and descriptive with a slow melting pace filled with subtle humour, sarcasm and witty banter. Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story takes place in the fictional town of Meryton, England, in the late 18th century. The novel follows the life of Elizabeth Bennet, a witty and independent-minded young woman, as she navigates the social mores of her time and falls in love with Mr. Darcy, a wealthy and proud aristocrat.Something I always find extremely entertaining in these types of classics is the underhanded savagery delivered through a facade of polite smiles and impeccable manners. It’s admirable, really 😂 . There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” William Lucas, as is shortly revealed, was knighted, and so he is called Sir William Lucas or Sir William and his wife is called Lady Lucas; a knighthood, unlike many other titles, cannot be inherited. Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English landed gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer. Her artistic apprenticeship lasted from her teenage years until she was about 35 years old. During this period, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried then abandoned, and wrote and extensively revised three major novels and began a fourth. From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1815), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began a third, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but died before completing it. Bonus! A studious and completely objective discussion of the merits of the leading actors and actresses in the major P&P movies and TV miniseries.

That´s of course only true for non favorite genres I´m not (cognitively) biased, and thereby subjectively and emotionally bound, on.

Starting with the plot, which has been thoroughly analyzed, criticized, and commented upon by thousands of readers, is surprisingly, at a glance, not that original, especially if you see this as a pure romance novel. True, there are many complications resulting from multiple relationships (or marriages), but overall, there are many similarities. But what makes this special is Austen’s narrative: the sly humor, witty observations, unique lens through which she views the society, and the deeper understanding of morals of characters, are all perfectly concocted using her flawless writing style. And then there’s Elizabeth; aside from inheriting traits like humor and wit from Austen, she is lively, curious, confident, but without becoming ‘too perfect’ (like some of the Austen’s other protagonists). She is as delightful as it could get. Rest of the characters are also similarly entertaining, with each one infused with a myriad of qualities to keep the story interesting. I don’t think there was a single poorly written character in this book, and that’s the first time I’ve ever said that about a book. And I don’t wish a single thing had turned out differently in this story. With the exception of some of the children’s books, that’s also a first for me. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine, that this has been written over 200 years ago, or this ever becoming dated. Unlike with most romance novels, you will not see the reasoning, or common sense become lost in the middle of the story, which I think will help maintain that timelessness. Everytime I read Pride and Prejudice (though it’s been many years since I’ve done a reread) I find something else to love about it.