Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
rated 5 out of 5 :
I've re-read Pride & Prejudice as part of Becky's Mini Austen Challenge
This is my all time favorite Jane Austen novel.
I love the story line, I love the characters. The love story between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet is timeless. Darcy is very rich, educated and handsome. He is the quiet reserved type. And of course he is very proud.
Elizabeth is intelligent, independent and very much prejudiced against Darcy. She thinks he is stuck up but she also has some other misjudgements about him.
Elizabeth gets a proposal from her fathers cousin Mr. Collins, who will inherit the Bennets home after Mr. Bennet dies, but Elizabeth refuses to marry him. Her mother, whose one purpose in life is to get her daughters married off to wealthy men is furious at this. Elizabeth wants to marry for love, not for money which was rare in those times.
Elizabeth and her sister Jane are close, and she knows Jane loves Charles Bingley, who is also wealthy. There are a few other 'well to do' ladies who are against the Bennet sisters getting close to these men.
I enjoy the tension between Darcy and Elizabeth:
"Mrs. Hurst sang with her sister, and while they were thus employed, Elizabeth could not help observing, as she turned over some music books that lay on the instrument, how frequently Mr. Darcy's eyes were fixed on her. She hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great man; and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her was still more strange. She could only imagine however, at last, that she drew his notice because there was a something about her more wrong and reprehensible, according to his ideas of right, than in any other person present. The supposition did not pain her. She liked him too little to care for his approbation."
Elizabeths older sister Jane is in love with Charles Bingley, but a misunderstanding occurs and Bingley is forced to believe shy Jane does not really love him.
"``It may perhaps be pleasant,'' replied Charlotte, ``to be able to impose on the public in such a case; but it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely -- a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better shew more affection than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on."
Darcy is attracted to Elizabeth early on, even though she does not return his feelings at first.
He ends up proposing to Elizabeth, and letting her know that he loves her in spite of his 'better judgement':
".....her spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In an hurried manner he immediately began an enquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began,
``In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.''
Elizabeth's astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement, and the avowal of all that he felt and had long felt for her immediately followed. He spoke well, but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed, and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority -- of its being a degradation -- of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit."
She refuses his proposal and tells him why she does not like him.
'And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little endeavour at civility, I am thus rejected. But it is of small importance.'
``I might as well enquire,'' replied she, ``why, with so evident a design of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I was uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have. Had not my own feelings decided against you, had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man, who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?'
As the story goes on, Elizabeths younger sister Lydia runs off with Mr. Wickham who is Darcy's enemy. Wickham is a liar, and has several gambling debts. When
Darcy sees how upset Elizabeth is and how this will ruin her family's reputation, he finds Wickham. Wickham only marries Lydia after his debts are paid off and he is given a large sum of money by Darcy.
Darcy also goes and straightens the situation out between Jane and Bingley, so that the two of them are soon engaged. He does all this for Elizabeth....*sigh*
Darcy saves the day, professes his love once again to Elizabeth, and they live happily ever after....
'If you will thank me,'' he replied, ``let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you.'
Elizabeth was too much embarrassed to say a word. After a short pause, her companion added, ``You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.''
