Pride and Prejudice: What's There to Say But "Practically Perfect in Every Way"?

Back in the fall of 2001, I had the fortune of becoming intimately acquainted with Jane Austen thanks to a most edifying literature class. The book that served as my introduction was Sense and Sensibility, a delightful novel to which I was riveted once I adjusted to the language, which was considerably more sophisticated than I am used to encountering in daily life. I adored the book.

Yet it wasn't until this month that I delved into the rich world of Austen's novels again, this time with Pride and Prejudice, which is probably the most celebrated of her books. It is certainly celebrated by several Austen-loving friends of mine, chiefly fellow Epinionator befus, whose effusions regarding the tale, and especially the misunderstood Mr. Darcy, compelled me to prepare for a full-scale Austen immersion. Step one: Read the book. Step two: Review the book. Step three: Watch the mini-series. You get the idea, though I might add such intermediate steps as re-watching Sense and Sensibility and writing an excessively frilly e-mail to the professor who introduced me to Austen in the style of one of the books' many correspondences.

At any rate, I finished the book on my birthday and have been waiting for a stretch of quiet time in which to collect my thoughts about this literary masterpiece. My first impression upon beginning to read it was how very funny it was. I found myself laughing aloud multiple times just over the course of the first few chapters, which caught me by surprise, as by my recollection I found Sense and Sensibility rather hard to get into. Pride and Prejudice has a different tone to it right off the bat because this is a boisterous family of seven, and unlike in Sense and Sensibility, every member is intact, so there is no tragedy to cast a pall over the proceedings.

There is the unfortunate fact that upon the death of Mr. Bennet, father of Our Heroine Elizabeth, the house will fall into the hands of one Mr. Collins, a comically pretentious cousin who we meet several chapters in, leaving the remaining family homeless. But that unhappy event is in all likelihood years away, and Mrs. Bennet is determined that by that time, each of her daughters will be happily married and thus spared from the cruelties of such entailments. The interplay between husband and wife is the source of much hilarity; she is a chatterbox and a busybody, while he is taciturn and prefers to involve himself in the affairs of others as little as possible, though he does observe the goings-on around him with a wry amusement in which the favored Elizabeth (or Lizzy, as he likes to call her) is his confidante.

Mr. Bennet's mirth at the expense of his wife and three youngest daughters does seem rather uncharitable, especially when there are steps he might take to improve their situation rather than chuckling over their misfortunes. Still, it's hard not to laugh at the melodrama in which Mrs. Bennet indulges, along with young Lydia and Kitty, who appear to be quite the silliest pair of girls for miles around. Kitty trails after Lydia, echoing her personality and passions though she is a year older. But as the baby of the family, Lydia commands the devotion of her mother, who sees no harm in her obsession with stylish garments and officers. Stuck in the middle is Mary, a solemn, scolding bookworm who eschews social interaction and succeeds in disappearing into her self-imposed solitude, to the extent that we almost forget she exists.

But while Lydia does play a key role in events that transpire toward the end of the novel, Pride and Prejudice is really about Elizabeth, the spunky Daddy's girl who refuses to lose her independent spirit to the standards of society, and to a lesser extent her older sister Jane, whose exterior beauty is matched only by the radiance of the soul it houses. I confess that while the primary focus of the book is on Elizabeth's complicated relationship with the mysterious Fitzwilliam Darcy, the self-effacing, empathetic eldest Bennet with an irrepressible desire to see the best in everyone is probably my favorite character, and I was equally charmed by her modest, attentive, eager-to-please beau, the endearing Charles Bingley.

In terms of story, though, Elizabeth and Darcy's courtship is easily the more compelling one, as their eventual deep mutual affection is the result of a long process by which both of them undergo significant alteration to their characters and their perceptions of one another. The book warns against letting first impressions determine the course of a relationship. Elizabeth is slower to alter her initial assessment than Darcy, and she experiences a gradual progression of emotions from indifference and disdain to all-out loathing before the pendulum begins to swing the other way. He, meanwhile, is impressed enough by her spunk that he soon sets his sight on her, never dreaming how deeply his apparent arrogance offends her, particularly when coupled with some salacious slander spread about by the dashing George Wickham, who briefly arouses her romantic interests.

Pride and Prejudice starts out as a comedy but blooms into a romance with just a dash of intrigue thrown in. It is a joy to read despite Austen's habit of using very long paragraphs, which is balanced out by very short chapters. The dialogue sparkles with wit, and Elizabeth's conversations with Darcy often have the capacity to make one's heart fluttery. The rich characterizations extend to many secondary characters, including Bingley's snooty and falsely friendly sister Caroline, Darcy's gentle and talented sister Georgiana, Mr. Collins' insufferable patroness Lady Catherine, Elizabeth's practical friend Charlotte and several good-natured aunts, uncles and neighbors. Also engrossing are the descriptions of the English countryside, which makes me very much want to pop over for a visit. I'm especially envious of Darcy's manor with its luxurious, untamed grounds.

I can now say with satisfaction that I have read Pride and Prejudice, and I must assuredly find myself the better for it. Jane Austen blazed brightly, dying far too young, but leaving a legacy to inspire generations of readers. Hats off to the incomparable Miss Austen!