Pride and Prejudice, Part 1

Author: Jane Austen

Category: I’ve read this book twice before. Also, I really needed a break from The Guns of August. I looked over at my bookshelf, and Pride and Prejudice called to me.

My thoughts: It’s such fun to reread this book. It’s chock full of goodness. I forgot how funny Jane Austen is. She is hilarious when observing the oddities and quirks of human behavior. In this post, I’d like to mainly focus on the characters in Pride and Prejudice.

Both the primary and secondary characters are very well sketched. Sometimes I think of the characters in Pride and Prejudice as being a bit one-dimensional. In the back of my mind, I have this stereotype (prejudice, if you will) that Elizabeth Bennet is written to be a perfect heroine. Upon rereading the novel, I found that this is not true. Austen writes Lizzy as a sensible but imperfect heroine. She has a great deal of sense, but she is a know-it-all. She thinks she can perfectly surmise the character of others—and maybe she can with the simple Mr. Bingley, but she is wrong about the characters of both Darcy and Wickham. She also has a strong ability to hold a grudge, as she does against Darcy for his insult to her when they first meet (“She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me”). From this moment, Lizzy is bound and determined not to like Darcy, even though he makes friendly (in his own awkward way) overtures to her afterwards. But the fact that she is flawed makes her more likeable. Also, I usually think of Jane Bennet as being a milquetoast—and she mostly is. But she was the only one who, upon learning of Wickham’s accusations toward Darcy, thought there must be another side to the story. And so she was right. But of course, she was not one to gloat.

Now for the annoying/irritating characters. Jane Austen portrays them very well too. Mrs. Bennet, Lydia Bennet, Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine, and Caroline Bingley all fall into this category. Every time I read this book, I get the urge to climb into the pages and slap Lydia and Mrs. Bennet. I think Mrs. B would win the “Most Embarrassing Literary Mom” award. And Mr. Collins…haven’t we all met (or tried to avoid) guys like him? His clumsy proposal to Lizzy and his refusal to take no for an answer are hilarious. Mr. Collins is the guy at the bar who won’t leave you alone when you’ve made it clear that you are not interested. And everyone knows someone like Lady Catherine, who thinks she knows everything. Sample Lady Catherine statement: “There are few people in England, I suppose, who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better natural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient.” Lady Catherine reminds us that, like Lizzy, Darcy has an embarrassing relative too. Finally, there’s dear Caroline Bingley, the book’s resident mean girl. Her bitchiness is fun to read, and the scenes where Austen describes Caroline’s futile attempts to flirt with Mr. Darcy, and his kind but terse responses, are classic.

One character that I completely forgot is even in the novel, but who is intriguing to me, is Colonel Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s cousin. I think he is a foil for Darcy—Colonel Fitzwilliam is easy to talk to and makes it clear that he enjoys Lizzy’s company (as opposed to Darcy, who also enjoys Lizzy’s company, but is so awkward around her).

I am thoroughly enjoying rereading this novel! I think what makes this book so great is that the feelings of the characters are universal. We have all been a bit (or very) awkward or said something silly around someone we like.

Great passage: More than once did Elizabeth in her ramble within the Park, unexpectedly meet Mr. Darcy.—She felt all the perverseness of the mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought; and to prevent its ever happening again, took care to inform him at first, that it was a favourite haunt of hers.—How it could occur a second time therefore was very odd!—Yet it did, and even a third. It seemed like willful ill-nature, or a voluntary penance, for on these occasions it was not merely a few formal enquiries and an awkward pause and then away, but he actually thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her.

P.S. Part 2 is coming soon!