pride and prejudice: a witty romance classic
- paigenherbooks
- Sep 9, 2022
- 5 min read
5/5
This movie has one of the best soundtracks ever, and I've been listening to it on repeat at work, so please feel free to give it a listen.
Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice has always been one of my favorite stories. Elizabeth Bennet is the archetype for the type of woman I want to be and the romance between her and Mr. Darcy is one that makes me swoon and scream into my pillow each and every time I read the scenes between the two. A story that showcases in great detail the themes of how Pride and Prejudice working together can get into a person’s way of seeing the reality that they are in. Austen beautifully depicts the struggle women face when it comes to living a comfortable life, as well as showing how love, will hopefully, prevail each and every time.
Synopsis: Pride and Prejudice follows the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich aristocratic landowner. They must overcome the titular sins of pride and prejudice in order to fall in love and marry.
Pride and Prejudice is the type of novel that you read, you finish, and you contemplate love and life. The kind of story that stays with you for longer than it took you the time to read it, and one that simply is always existent in the back of your mind. Austen’s characters are verbose and colorful, which is a surprising feat due to the fact that we mostly get to know them through action and dialogue. Austen's writing, though it may be considered “classic” and “old” is stunningly comprehensible and engaging.
It’s just beautiful.
The depth of the words on the page is something that I am awed by each time I read one of her books. The power, passion, longings, and wit that is crafted into each word is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, save perhaps a Fitzgerald novel.
Elizabeth Bennet has always been one of my favorite characters to have ever graced any pages that I’ve passed over. She is witty and intelligent, strong minded and beautiful in ways that surpass her physical appearance. She is everything I have ever wanted to be. The way in which she interacts with her family and those around her speaks volumes of her character. As we watch her loyalty to her sister Jane throughout the roller coaster of Jane’s relationship with Mr. Bingley, how she chastises Lydia when she runs off with Mr. Wickham, and how eventually she apologizes to Darcy himself, for her prejudice against him. She is rooted in her opinion and doesn’t back down when anyone asks her what she thinks—and she sticks up for what she believes in.
This kind of female character depicted in the time that Austen was writing is provocative in the way that it shows women with legitimate thoughts, feelings, and having some control over the lives they lead, in some small ways.
Which brings me to the revolutionariness and eyeopening points of the story that Austen speaks about within the story. Austen displays, almost right off the bat, that women in this time period, had to marry to live a comfortable life. In this way it makes me reflect on Amy from Little Women she remarks that her only way to the life she wants, one where she is happy, she would have to marry…preferably wealthy. She cannot make her own money, she cannot do anything without a man playing, essentially puppet master of her fate.
This sentiment is seen as well throughout Austen's novel.
For example, the situation of Ms. Charlotte, Mr. Collins (ugh) and Lizzy. After Mr. Collins tries to propose to Elizabeth, he turns his affections towards Ms. Charlotte. There’s the confrontation between the two female friends where Charolette tells Lizzy that she is older and is a burden to her family. She has to marry to live a life where she isn’t a burden, and she knows with Mr. Collins she will be fed, clothed, and have a decent life.
The message is loud and clear—not everyone has the luxury of marrying for love.
This idea is so interesting to me and I can’t fathom living in a world where I could not be the decider of my own fate, especially when it comes to something as strong and formative as love. For Austen to have Elizabeth and Jane both be fortunate enough to have married men they actually love is astounding as well as just simply a relief for the two women.
Pride and Prejudice is also a romance novel, with an enemies to lovers trope that I absolutely adore.
The chemistry between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is something that I find so interesting, passionate, and just quite frankly right down adorable. I love them. I love love, and this story hits me in my hopeless romantic heart each and every time I read it. The thing I love most about it is the pursuit and the loyalty. Mr. Darcy finds himself infatuated with the young and intelligent Miss. Bennet, but tries his damndest to act in a way that doesn’t provoke emotions that are not gentlemen like.
Elizabeth herself finds Mr. Darcy dashingly handsome but prideful in a way that she remarks she would never marry a man such as him…but ultimately she can’t stop thinking about him. It’s love in a way that is so pure. That through just talking and spending time with each other the two fall deeper and deeper into affection. There’s no sexual aspects, no stolen kisses, nothing but the want and affection for the other person. That kind of love is something that I think is so special and wholesome.
I could honestly go on and on about “old time” love but I’ll digress…
Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice is truly a masterpiece, a classic that inspires me daily. To sit and contemplate love, life, and my own pride and prejudices I have about people and things. A story that recognizes the importance of a strong woman as well as how tumultuous love can feel—but it’s always worth it at the end of the day. This story is one of my favorites and I return to her often when I’m in a romantic mood and am in search of a love story that’s real, raw, and sweet.
I recommend highly that everyone go and read this novel, annotate it, pray on it, or even go watch the movie and fantasize about love in a different time period (the movie is actually fantastic).
Just read it.
Alas, happy reading friends <3
xoxo,
paige :)
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