Pride and Prejudice
I would like to talk to you today about Jane Austen, Regency Romance, and Pride and Prejudice today. First, I have a question for you: Pride and Prejudice is:
a.) A novel about two people who dislike each other and then realize that they are really each other's one true love and must marry immediately because they were completely mistaken about each other.
b.) A romantic novel
c.) A clever, comedic, satire of a novel.
d.) A novel about two people who, due to their flaws, initially dislike each other, but through a series of events realize their flaws and work through them, ultimately finding solace and comfort in each other in the end.
e.) All of the above.
f.) Every answer except a.)
If you answered a.), I want you to go get the book and reread it right now. Yes, I want you to stop reading this blog and go get the book and read it RIGHT NOW. I'll be patient. After all, I'm just words on a computer screen.
Have you finished you're assignment? No? Well, do it!
Regardless of what you've seen or heard about Pride and Prejudice, it is not just one of those love stories about two people who meet each other and the belligerent sexual tension kicks in making them hate each other until they're forced together enough that they just have to give in to that sexual tension and fall in love. In fact, the book openly mocks that idea of love multiple times within its pages. Heck, the very existence of the character of Mr. Collins lambastes the idea through and through. The ridiculous idea sometimes makes me so mad I feel like foaming at the mouth and ripping the Keira Knightly movie adaptation to shreds... or hitting it with a hammer multiple times. The only other thing that presses my buttons more is when someone calls Romeo and Juliet a tragic love story rather than what it really is which is a tragedy of errors based around the decisions of dumb kids.
Here's the really funny part, I know there are people that know this and agree with me because I've read it before in various places including wikipedia.com and tvtropes.org. Unfortunately, I keep running into people who seem to think that Pride and Prejudice is the pinnacle of the slap-slap, kiss-kiss kind of love story. Or people who think that it's the kind of love story with a Byronic hero. Or people who seem to think that any love story where the characters don't get along initially can be instantly labeled as being "like Pride and Prejudice".
For those of you who just aren't into classic literature or "girly stuff", Pride and Prejudice is the story of Elizabeth Bennet, one of the five daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, two upstanding members of the landed gentry living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire in England. As her father's land is entailed to the oldest male relative, all five daughters must marry well or they will live the rest of their lives in poverty. The plot begins with Mr. Bingley moving into the neighborhood and bringing his sisters, the husband of one sister (the other is single), and his best friend, Mr. Darcy into the area. During a ball, Mr. Darcy insults Elizabeth Bennet's pride.
Things go downhill from there as more potential suitors for Elizabeth are introduced into the mix. First there's Mr. Wickham who is handsome, penniless and self-depreciating. Plus, he has a tragic back story that proves him to be the victim of the cruel, pompous, prideful Mr. Darcy. Then there's Mr. Collins who is well-connected, but unctuous. Over the course of the novel, things change. Her best friend, Charlotte, marries Mr. Collins after Elizabeth repeatedly refuses his proposals of marriage. Jane falls in love with Mr. Bingley, but just as it seems as though they'll get a "happily ever after", Mr. Bingley is forced to return for London for business and a trip to London to visit her aunt results in him acing as though he doesn't even know he's there when she's still in contact with his sister. Then, Mr. Wickham begins chasing after a girl who just inherited a large fortune and largely ignoring Elizabeth.
In the midst of these various disappointments, Elizabeth goes to visit her best friend Charlotte at her home with Mr. Collins in Kent where they receive repeated invitations to dine with his employer, Lady Catherine de Bourgh who just so happens to be Mr. Darcy's aunt. During this time, Mr. Darcy and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam also visit Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mr. Darcy begins to behave rather... oddly.
Now this is where I will explains something to you. Up until this point, Elizabeth is intent on marrying someone who she can get along with, someone she can love. She strongly dislikes Mr. Darcy. She finds him to be a prideful, cold-blooded, arrogant bore. She has as much interest in marrying Mr. Darcy as she does in marrying Mr. Collins. The only attraction that exists between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is Mr. Darcy's attraction to Elizabeth because she isn't some tweety little girl who's only after his for his money and connections. In fact, she's intelligent and she has absolutely no attraction to Mr. Darcy. In fact, she finds him to be absolutely loathsome.
But while at Rosings, Mr. Darcy realizes that he loves Elizabeth enough to want to marry her despite the fact that he's so much farther above her in terms of money and status (but not rank both her father and Mr. Darcy are both untitled, landed gentry making them equals in that respect. Darcy's land just brings in more income). So, he makes a proposal to her all the while remaining a pompous ass.
Unfortunately for Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth has found out from his cousin that the reason Mr. Bingley left her sister without a word is that he and Mr. Bingley's sister conspired to separate the two lovers before Mr. Bingley was "taken in" by a bunch of potential social-climbers. Really, Ms. Bingley did it because she wants her brother to marry Mr. Darcy's little sister which will make Mr. Darcy more likely to marry her, but we won't go into that because that sort of scheming is plain silly.
So, Mr. Darcy makes his proposal and Elizabeth, the fires of righteous anger on her side, turns him down with one of the most awesome tellings-off that I've ever had the pleasure of reading/hearing in my life. I'm serious, you should read the book just for that.
Mr. Darcy realizes the mistakes he's made and he writes Elizabeth a letter of explanation (if only more people did that these days) and apology. He also explains how he didn't wrong Mr. Wickham, but Mr. Wickham wronged him and tried to make off with Mr. Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana because she was due to inherit a fortune.
Now, Elizabeth has always prided herself on her ability to read people and make accurate pictures of their character within the first meeting (the book was originally title First Impressions). With one letter, Mr. Darcy takes Elizabeth Bennet's one truth about herself and torn it to tiny fragments. She goes home in shock and disappointment realizing she may have thrown away the best marriage proposal she may have ever gotten.
Some months later, Elizabeth visits Pemberly, Mr. Darcy's estate, with her Aunt and Uncle Gardner. While there, Mr. Darcy returns and though he's surprised to see Elizabeth, he's gracious and charming and even treats her aunt and uncle, who are of the working class, with civility, inviting them to hunt and fish with him and offering to show Mr. Gardner the best fishing spots (men haven't changed in 200 years). Elizabeth even meets Georgiana. Then, Lydia elopes with Mr. Wickham and all hell breaks loose.
Elizabeth goes home. Everyone is in a panic. Mrs. Bennet is inconsolable (which happens at the drop of a pin). Until Mr. Gardner and Mr. Bennet find the couple and force them to marry. Of course then Elizabeth finds out that her uncle and father didn't find Lydia and Wickham and didn't force them to marry. Darcy did it all because he still has feelings for her and he wants her to be happy even if it isn't with him.
Of course, that's the path to a woman's vagina (that and chocolate) so when they run into each other they get hitched and live happily every after!!!
Uhh... no... Elizabeth is thankful and she's come to realize that, yes she was wrong about Mr. Darcy, but chances are he won't propose again (he's not stupid like Mr. Collins). And no matter how much he changed toward his aunt and uncle, he's still a prideful ass. She's just extremely grateful.
Of course then he brings Mr. Bingley back to Hertfordshire and ensures Jane's happiness as well and explains to her that her refusal of his proposal was a huge wake-up call for him. He was so used to getting his way and blah, blah, blah. Long story short, after they spend more time together they decide to tie the knot and the story ends. But not after serious character development and life-altering situations. Not to mention, Darcy still wanting to marry Miss Bennet after her sister's disgrace shows just how much he's changed alone. Mr. Darcy pre-marriage proposal would've seen all of the Miss Bennets disgraced by Lydia's elopement. Heck, Lydia's behavior was enough to turn him off all the Bennet's initially.
In short, read the book. Avoid most of the movies unless Colin Firth is in it because he's smoking and the movie is long enough to fit in all the nuances. Nuances are important!
Other than that one complaint about fans of Pride and Prejudice rather than the book itself, it's really funny an snarky and my favorite part of the book is that it contains a lot of satire. I fell in love with the book more because it's hilarious than the fact that it's a love story. I love to listen to it on tape because some of the readers get the nuances just right and it's really funny then. So, please, read the book and try to get at the original meaning and then read Emma because it's the funniest one.
Sweet dreams!
a.) A novel about two people who dislike each other and then realize that they are really each other's one true love and must marry immediately because they were completely mistaken about each other.
b.) A romantic novel
c.) A clever, comedic, satire of a novel.
d.) A novel about two people who, due to their flaws, initially dislike each other, but through a series of events realize their flaws and work through them, ultimately finding solace and comfort in each other in the end.
e.) All of the above.
f.) Every answer except a.)
If you answered a.), I want you to go get the book and reread it right now. Yes, I want you to stop reading this blog and go get the book and read it RIGHT NOW. I'll be patient. After all, I'm just words on a computer screen.
Have you finished you're assignment? No? Well, do it!
Regardless of what you've seen or heard about Pride and Prejudice, it is not just one of those love stories about two people who meet each other and the belligerent sexual tension kicks in making them hate each other until they're forced together enough that they just have to give in to that sexual tension and fall in love. In fact, the book openly mocks that idea of love multiple times within its pages. Heck, the very existence of the character of Mr. Collins lambastes the idea through and through. The ridiculous idea sometimes makes me so mad I feel like foaming at the mouth and ripping the Keira Knightly movie adaptation to shreds... or hitting it with a hammer multiple times. The only other thing that presses my buttons more is when someone calls Romeo and Juliet a tragic love story rather than what it really is which is a tragedy of errors based around the decisions of dumb kids.
Here's the really funny part, I know there are people that know this and agree with me because I've read it before in various places including wikipedia.com and tvtropes.org. Unfortunately, I keep running into people who seem to think that Pride and Prejudice is the pinnacle of the slap-slap, kiss-kiss kind of love story. Or people who think that it's the kind of love story with a Byronic hero. Or people who seem to think that any love story where the characters don't get along initially can be instantly labeled as being "like Pride and Prejudice".
For those of you who just aren't into classic literature or "girly stuff", Pride and Prejudice is the story of Elizabeth Bennet, one of the five daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, two upstanding members of the landed gentry living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire in England. As her father's land is entailed to the oldest male relative, all five daughters must marry well or they will live the rest of their lives in poverty. The plot begins with Mr. Bingley moving into the neighborhood and bringing his sisters, the husband of one sister (the other is single), and his best friend, Mr. Darcy into the area. During a ball, Mr. Darcy insults Elizabeth Bennet's pride.
Things go downhill from there as more potential suitors for Elizabeth are introduced into the mix. First there's Mr. Wickham who is handsome, penniless and self-depreciating. Plus, he has a tragic back story that proves him to be the victim of the cruel, pompous, prideful Mr. Darcy. Then there's Mr. Collins who is well-connected, but unctuous. Over the course of the novel, things change. Her best friend, Charlotte, marries Mr. Collins after Elizabeth repeatedly refuses his proposals of marriage. Jane falls in love with Mr. Bingley, but just as it seems as though they'll get a "happily ever after", Mr. Bingley is forced to return for London for business and a trip to London to visit her aunt results in him acing as though he doesn't even know he's there when she's still in contact with his sister. Then, Mr. Wickham begins chasing after a girl who just inherited a large fortune and largely ignoring Elizabeth.
In the midst of these various disappointments, Elizabeth goes to visit her best friend Charlotte at her home with Mr. Collins in Kent where they receive repeated invitations to dine with his employer, Lady Catherine de Bourgh who just so happens to be Mr. Darcy's aunt. During this time, Mr. Darcy and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam also visit Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mr. Darcy begins to behave rather... oddly.
Now this is where I will explains something to you. Up until this point, Elizabeth is intent on marrying someone who she can get along with, someone she can love. She strongly dislikes Mr. Darcy. She finds him to be a prideful, cold-blooded, arrogant bore. She has as much interest in marrying Mr. Darcy as she does in marrying Mr. Collins. The only attraction that exists between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is Mr. Darcy's attraction to Elizabeth because she isn't some tweety little girl who's only after his for his money and connections. In fact, she's intelligent and she has absolutely no attraction to Mr. Darcy. In fact, she finds him to be absolutely loathsome.
But while at Rosings, Mr. Darcy realizes that he loves Elizabeth enough to want to marry her despite the fact that he's so much farther above her in terms of money and status (but not rank both her father and Mr. Darcy are both untitled, landed gentry making them equals in that respect. Darcy's land just brings in more income). So, he makes a proposal to her all the while remaining a pompous ass.
Unfortunately for Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth has found out from his cousin that the reason Mr. Bingley left her sister without a word is that he and Mr. Bingley's sister conspired to separate the two lovers before Mr. Bingley was "taken in" by a bunch of potential social-climbers. Really, Ms. Bingley did it because she wants her brother to marry Mr. Darcy's little sister which will make Mr. Darcy more likely to marry her, but we won't go into that because that sort of scheming is plain silly.
So, Mr. Darcy makes his proposal and Elizabeth, the fires of righteous anger on her side, turns him down with one of the most awesome tellings-off that I've ever had the pleasure of reading/hearing in my life. I'm serious, you should read the book just for that.
Mr. Darcy realizes the mistakes he's made and he writes Elizabeth a letter of explanation (if only more people did that these days) and apology. He also explains how he didn't wrong Mr. Wickham, but Mr. Wickham wronged him and tried to make off with Mr. Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana because she was due to inherit a fortune.
Now, Elizabeth has always prided herself on her ability to read people and make accurate pictures of their character within the first meeting (the book was originally title First Impressions). With one letter, Mr. Darcy takes Elizabeth Bennet's one truth about herself and torn it to tiny fragments. She goes home in shock and disappointment realizing she may have thrown away the best marriage proposal she may have ever gotten.
Some months later, Elizabeth visits Pemberly, Mr. Darcy's estate, with her Aunt and Uncle Gardner. While there, Mr. Darcy returns and though he's surprised to see Elizabeth, he's gracious and charming and even treats her aunt and uncle, who are of the working class, with civility, inviting them to hunt and fish with him and offering to show Mr. Gardner the best fishing spots (men haven't changed in 200 years). Elizabeth even meets Georgiana. Then, Lydia elopes with Mr. Wickham and all hell breaks loose.
Elizabeth goes home. Everyone is in a panic. Mrs. Bennet is inconsolable (which happens at the drop of a pin). Until Mr. Gardner and Mr. Bennet find the couple and force them to marry. Of course then Elizabeth finds out that her uncle and father didn't find Lydia and Wickham and didn't force them to marry. Darcy did it all because he still has feelings for her and he wants her to be happy even if it isn't with him.
Of course, that's the path to a woman's vagina (that and chocolate) so when they run into each other they get hitched and live happily every after!!!
Uhh... no... Elizabeth is thankful and she's come to realize that, yes she was wrong about Mr. Darcy, but chances are he won't propose again (he's not stupid like Mr. Collins). And no matter how much he changed toward his aunt and uncle, he's still a prideful ass. She's just extremely grateful.
Of course then he brings Mr. Bingley back to Hertfordshire and ensures Jane's happiness as well and explains to her that her refusal of his proposal was a huge wake-up call for him. He was so used to getting his way and blah, blah, blah. Long story short, after they spend more time together they decide to tie the knot and the story ends. But not after serious character development and life-altering situations. Not to mention, Darcy still wanting to marry Miss Bennet after her sister's disgrace shows just how much he's changed alone. Mr. Darcy pre-marriage proposal would've seen all of the Miss Bennets disgraced by Lydia's elopement. Heck, Lydia's behavior was enough to turn him off all the Bennet's initially.
In short, read the book. Avoid most of the movies unless Colin Firth is in it because he's smoking and the movie is long enough to fit in all the nuances. Nuances are important!
Other than that one complaint about fans of Pride and Prejudice rather than the book itself, it's really funny an snarky and my favorite part of the book is that it contains a lot of satire. I fell in love with the book more because it's hilarious than the fact that it's a love story. I love to listen to it on tape because some of the readers get the nuances just right and it's really funny then. So, please, read the book and try to get at the original meaning and then read Emma because it's the funniest one.
Sweet dreams!
Comments
Post a Comment
Have something to say about this post? Write it here!