Jane Austen "Pride and Prejudice" [Eliza]

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Blog entry

Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice

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       Did you ever wonder how folks found love in the strictly-ordered society of the 19th century?

       Pride and Prejudice is a romance novel written by Jane Austen and published in 1813. Austen’s work was very well welcomed by her audience of her day. The book has now sold over twenty million copies and paved the way for over a dozen of film adaptations: it still is, today, one of the most loved romance books of English literature! The book follows young and smart Elizabeth Bennet and her family through a rough and adventurous series of events: Mr. Bennet’s estate is unfortunately to be inherited by his nephew Mr. Collins. If the former doesn’t immediately catch where the problem lies, his wife on the other hand is very eager to marry off her five daughters and secure a comfortable future for them. It is in this context that meetings will be held, pride will rise, and prejudice will overcome the characters’ relationships. 

   I absolutely loved Pride and Prejudice. Beyond Jane Austen’s undeniable and well-known writing talent, I believe there was a true ethereal atmosphere all throughout the story and that the plot was written in such a way that welcomed us to keep reading. But there really is more to it: first, I really loved the characters’ evolution throughout the pages, which felt like reading their flaws and grudges away. The change in their ways of seeing and acting towards each other is one of the principal mechanisms of the story’s development, and a very interesting one for it, as you slowly see it happening and creating new emotions and feelings at the same time.

The second point I really appreciated was the historical context of the story: I absolutely adore reading about 19^th century, even more when it comes to romance. I love it because as much as it does appear extremely far away from our timeline, it is also a way to learn more about mores and habits that we, as 21^st century people, could never understand in a normal setting.

And finally, I think the cherry on top was the realism of the story. The entire evolution of the characters, following an “enemies to lovers” scheme, felt true and honest. It conveys hope, but also doesn’t exaggerate the usual romance clichés which can feel frustrating.

    An important point to note, though, is the difficulty of Austen’s writing: I will be honest, her style is as complex as it is beautiful, which you can guess doesn’t help. Her sentences are complicated and involve unusual vocabulary, hence reading Pride and Prejudice would indeed feel rough for less experienced readers. Though this doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be beneficial! In general, reading is always a good thing to improve your language level, so adventuring yourself into more complex works could be very interesting. Also, as I explained earlier, the story is designed in such a way that makes us want to never stop reading, which does compensate the harshness of the language. Overall, be prepared if you want to read this novel, but don’t be afraid! Pride and Prejudice is a lovely book that you, too, will most likely adore.

 

Good reading! ^^