And so does my status says
“you know that you are in love with a book, when it
seems a great effort to go back to reality! Reading pride and prejudice.”
There are certainly very few time I get engrossed
with such a devotion to something, let it be book or movie. And then its impact
is so much on my mind that I can not think of anything else. Even though I am
doing my regular works or studies, all I can think of Pride and Prejudice and
that was it. I was again having the amazing experience of reading something so
precious and beautiful.
So Pride and Prejudice, a novel written by jane
austen published in 1813. Well its been so many years, I don’t even wish to
count. Which tells a story of persuasion
of a young girl Elizabeth Bannet by a extremely wealthy young man Flitzwilliam
Darcy.
The novel centres on
Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the five daughters of a landed country
gentleman. Elizabeth's father, Mr. Bennet, is a bookish man and somewhat
neglectful of his responsibilities. In contrast Elizabeth's mother, Mrs.
Bennet, a woman who lacks social graces, is primarily concerned with finding
suitable husbands for her five daughters, who will inherit little or nothing
from their father due to primogeniture laws.
Jane Bennet, the eldest daughter, is distinguished by her kindness and beauty;
Elizabeth Bennet shares her father's keen wit and occasionally sarcastic
outlook; Mary is not pretty but is studious, devout and musical albeit lacking
in taste; Catherine, sometimes called Kitty, the fourth sister, follows where
her younger sister leads while Lydia is flirtatious and lacks maturity.
The narrative opens with
news in the Bennet family that Mr. Bingley, a wealthy,
charismatic and sociable young bachelor, is moving into Netherfield Park in the
neighbourhood. Mr. Bingley is soon well received while his friend Mr. Darcy makes
a less favourable impression by appearing proud and condescending at a ball
that they attend (he detests dancing and is not one for light conversation).
Mr. Bingley singles out Jane for particular attention, and it soon becomes
apparent that they have formed an attachment to each other. While Jane does not
alter her conduct for him, she confesses her great happiness only to Lizzie. By
contrast, Darcy slights Elizabeth, who overhears and jokes about it despite
feeling a budding resentment.
Upon paying a visit to
Mr. Bingley's sister, Caroline, Jane is caught in a heavy downpour, catching
cold, and is forced to stay at Netherfield for several days. Elizabeth arrives
to nurse her sister and is thrown into frequent company with Mr. Darcy, who
begins to act less coldly towards her.
Mr. Collins, a clergyman
and heir to Longbourn, the Bennet estate, pays a visit to the Bennets. Mr.
Bennet and Elizabeth are much amused by his obsequious veneration of his
employer, the noble Lady Catherine de Bourgh, as well as by his self-important
and pedantic nature. It soon becomes apparent that Mr. Collins has come to
Longbourn to choose a wife from among the Bennet sisters (his cousins), and
Jane is initially singled out, but because of Jane's budding romance with Mr.
Bingley, Mrs. Bennet directs him toward Elizabeth. After refusing his advances,
much to the consternation of her mother, Elizabeth instead forms an
acquaintance with Mr. Wickham, a militia officer who relates having been very
seriously mistreated by Mr. Darcy despite having been a godson and favourite of
Darcy's father. The accusation and her attraction to Mr. Wickham both increase
Elizabeth's dislike of Mr. Darcy.
At a ball given by Mr.
Bingley at Netherfield, Mr. Darcy becomes aware of a general expectation that
Mr. Bingley and Jane will marry, and the Bennet family, with the exception of
Jane and Elizabeth, make a public display of poor manners and decorum. The
following morning, Mr. Collins proposes marriage to Elizabeth, who refuses him,
much to her mother's distress. Mr. Collins recovers and promptly becomes
engaged to Elizabeth's close friend Charlotte Lucas, a homely woman with few
prospects. Mr. Bingley abruptly quits Netherfield and returns to London, which
devastates Jane, and Elizabeth becomes convinced that Mr. Darcy and Caroline
Bingley have conspired to separate him from Jane.
Jane is persuaded by
letters from Caroline Bingley that Mr. Bingley is not in love with her but goes
on an extended visit to Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London in the hope of
maintaining her relationship with Caroline, if not with Charles Bingley. There,
she visits Caroline and, eventually, her visit is returned. She does not see
Mr. Bingley and is forced to realise that Caroline does not care for her.
In the spring, Elizabeth
visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins in Kent. Elizabeth and her hosts are
frequently invited to Rosings Park, the home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh,
Darcy's aunt; coincidentally, Darcy also arrives to visit. Elizabeth meets Darcy's
cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, who vouches for Darcy's loyalty by using as an
example how Darcy had recently stepped in on behalf of a friend, who had formed
an attachment to a woman against whom "there were some very strong
objection". Elizabeth rightly assumes that the said friend is none other
than Mr. Bingley, and her dislike of Darcy deepens. Thus, she is no mood to
accept when Darcy arrives and, quite unexpectedly, confesses love for her and
begs her hand in marriage. His proposal is flattering, as he is a very
distinguished man, but it is delivered in a manner that is ill suited. He talks
of love but also of revulsion at her inferior position and family. Despite
assertions to the contrary, he assumes she will accept him.
Elizabeth rebukes him, and
a heated discussion follows; she charges him with destroying the happiness of
both her sister and Bingley, with treating Mr. Wickham disgracefully and with
having conducted himself towards her in an arrogant, ungentleman-like manner.
Mr. Darcy, shocked, ultimately responds with a letter giving a good account of
his actions: Wickham had exchanged his legacies for a cash payment, only to
return after frittering away the money to reclaim the forfeited inheritance;
Wickham then attempted to elope with Darcy's young sister, Georgiana, which would
have secured her fortune for himself. Regarding Jane and Bingley, Darcy claims
he had observed no reciprocal interest in Jane for Bingley and had assumed that
she was not in love with him. In addition to this, he cites the "want of
propriety" in the behaviour of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and her three younger
daughters. Elizabeth, who had previously despaired over this very behavior, is
forced to admit the truth of Mr. Darcy's observations, and begins to see that
she has misjudged him. She, quite rightly, attributes her prejudice to his
coldness towards herself at the beginning of their acquaintance.
Some months later,
Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle Gardiner visit Pemberley,
Darcy's estate, believing he will be absent for the day. He returns
unexpectedly and is surprised but gracious and welcoming, quite unlike his
usual self. He treats the Gardiners very civilly, surprising Elizabeth, who
assumes he will "decamp immediately" on learning who they are. Darcy
introduces Elizabeth to his sister, which Elizabeth knows is the highest
compliment he can bestow. Elizabeth begins to acknowledge her own attraction to
him. Their reacquaintance is cut short, however, by the news that Lydia has run
off with Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth and the Gardiners return to Longbourn (the
Bennet family home), where Elizabeth grieves that her renewed acquaintance with
Mr. Darcy will end as a result of her sister's disgrace.
Lydia and Wickham are
soon found and are persuaded to marry, which enables the Bennet family to
preserve some appearance of decorum. Jane, Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet conclude
that Uncle Gardiner must have bribed Wickham to marry Lydia, and they are
ashamed of their indebtedness and inability to repay him.
Mrs. Bennet, quite
typically, has no such scruples; being ecstatic to have a daughter married, she
never stops to consider the want of propriety and honesty throughout the
affair. Mr. and Mrs. Wickham visit Longbourn, where Lydia lets slip that Mr.
Darcy attended their wedding but that it was to have been a secret. From a
letter, Elizabeth discovers from Aunt Gardiner that in fact, Mr. Darcy was
responsible for finding the couple and negotiating their marriage at great
personal and monetary expense for him. Elizabeth is shocked and flattered as
"her heart did whisper that he had done it for her" but is unable to
dwell further on the topic because of Mr. Bingley's return and subsequent
proposal to Jane, who immediately accepts.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
pays an unexpected visit to Longbourn. She has heard a rumour that Elizabeth
will marry Mr. Darcy and attempts to persuade Elizabeth to agree not to marry.
Lady Catherine wants Mr. Darcy to marry her daughter (his cousin) Anne De
Bourgh and thinks that Elizabeth is beneath him. Elizabeth refuses her demands.
Disgusted, Lady Catherine leaves, promising that the marriage can never take
place. Elizabeth assumes she will apply to Darcy and is worried that he may be
persuaded.
Darcy returns to Longbourn.
Chance allows Elizabeth and Darcy a rare moment alone. She immediately thanks
him for intervening in the case of Lydia and Wickham. He renews his proposal of
marriage and is promptly accepted. Elizabeth soon learns that his hopes were
revived by his aunt's report of Elizabeth's refusal to promise not to marry
him.
The novel closes with a
"happily-ever-after" chapter including a summary of the remaining
lives of the main characters. None of the characters changes very much in this
summary, but Kitty has grown slightly more sensible from association with Jane
and Elizabeth and distance from Lydia, and Lady Catherine eventually
condescends to visit the Darcy family.
(Well first time I am feeling as why should always
the man be extremely wealthy? It seems like a prerequisite for being the most
eligible bachelor, or the prince of dreams)
Even then being written in 1813 I don’t feel as I am reading something so
outdated. For all I can say is that, I am so very sad that why didn’t I read
this before. Just as jane eyre I should have put more efforts on to this book.
Well as you have read the summery I have provided, I
would like to elaborate the points on which I mostly admired Jane austen for
her work.
First of all the characters sketch, for all that I
have read, I felt as I do know these persons in my life. Even though they are
in London and in 1813, I can related them with the people who are with me now.
I could easily put some of the strings of the characters mapping on to the
people I know in this time. I would really appreciate her for this, that I can
say that all people are just the same, and years seems mere a number when you
actually see it that way.
I loved the scene where with the eagerness Mr. Darcy
expresses his feelings to Eliza, because there could be no other way of
expressing his wish to marry her or the emotions he has for her. And even after
that I really well received the way she writes how they behave with each other
when other people are around them. That is the exact same thing happens to any
of us when we are in presence of the person we admire the most, and there could
be nothing else but awkwardness and feeling of “What if I said something
wrong?”
Later I could not believe how Lydia behaves and how
her mother reacts to her behavior, but it was all acceptable. I didn’t fell a
moment that this could not be at all true, since I do have known some people
who are so engrossed in their own world so much that they give very less importance
to anyone else who are opposing them. And
also her mother who was the most interesting creature so far I could say, she
was literally that she was the 1800’s version of the empty headed mothers who
do not see nothing far than a hands distance, and gives opinion upon the
matters with only seeing the side which appeals most to them.
Well even though everyone always wants to meet the
man of their dreams , I felt this was a story worth reading ,worth keeping my
patience so high so as to obtain the end result of it.
The book’s name not only gives meaning to it, but it
keeps coming in every chapter where we see Elizabeth’s Prejudice and Darcy’s
Pride are high lightened. At every chapter I found them wrestling against the
opinion they have about each other, and at every step it was so beautifully
expressed.
Sometimes people are too complex to understand, and
I felt very much that how often we rely on the prejudice , who’s dictionary
meaning is “preconceived opinion that is not based on
reason or actual experience.”
That
how often we take judgments based on the opinion of others, and cling to it
until we find something else. The idea from which Jane drawn the entire story
was quite interesting that people are like this, We seldom give any second
thought to whatever we hear at the first instance, and our mind starts mapping
our assumptions related to the things we have heard. And so does the link goes
on and it becomes very hard to finally decide how we actually consider a
person.
I don’t think I am even having slightest bit of
experience to give review about such amazingly written book, but I only want to
say that I loved it, and nothing else. Not just because it has a love story of
a wealthy prince and a poor girl but it is far beyond just a love story, it is
about the families and thoughts and love and constraints.
We often hear the quote of Shakespeare that “what is there in the name?” but I felt the name
of the novel contradicting to the question, It was all about the name, and
there could be no better words in entire dictionary to fit to name this novel.
So this one is to the Pride and Prejudice, To
sleepless nights, To reluctant mornings, To Beautiful Story, To Too difficult
words to understand, but yet…
An ultimate novel, worth trying around 14 times to
finally read it entirely. (seriously, I can count !)
Its gonna be the most favorite book of mine, for the
rest of my life.
P.S- I am also getting an hard copy of this book, just you know, in case I felt like reading it like for 385'th time in my 80'th year!
