Pride & Prejudice (Wordsworth Classics)

by Jane Austen

book data

90835 ratings, 4.33 average rating, 8001 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		56%
4		26%
3		11%
2		3%
1		1%

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published

September 1st 1997 (first published 1813) by NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company

binding

Paperback, 288 pages

characters

Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet, Jane Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet, Mary Bennet, Kitty Bennet, Lydia Bennet, Bingley, Louisa Hurst, Caroline, Mr. Collins, Old Mr. Darcy, Lady Anne Darcy, Darcy, Georgiana Darcy, Lady Catherine, Anne de Bourgh, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Gardiner, Mrs. Gardiner, Sir William, Lady Lucas, Charlotte, Maria, Old Mr. Wickham, Wickham, Mrs. Annesley, Captain Carter, Mr. Chamberlayne, Dawson, Mr. Denny, Colonel Forster, William Goulding, Miss Grantley, Haggerston, The Harringtons, Mrs. Hill

setting

The United Kingdom

isbn

1853260002 (isbn13: 9781853260001)

description

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Next to ...more

[close] "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Next to the exhortation at the beginning of Moby-Dick, "Call me Ishmael," the first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice must be among the most quoted in literature. And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground.

Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. --Alix Wilber [close]

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Kristen rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

08/30/07

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: girls who like nothing more than admiring their own bravery

I have a friend who I dearly love who reveres this book. I say that first to apologizee to her and the other intelligent, worthy, funny, expressive women who love this book and who I already know I am going to insult and offend. I apologize in advance. I had never read P&P until this summer, but my whole life I have met women who thought they should be congratualted for every small thing they did, saying things like "I'm just like Lizzie Bennett." I wanted to meet this Liz...more I have a friend who I dearly love who reveres this book. I say that first to apologizee to her and the other intelligent, worthy, funny, expressive women who love this book and who I already know I am going to insult and offend. I apologize in advance. I had never read P&P until this summer, but my whole life I have met women who thought they should be congratualted for every small thing they did, saying things like "I'm just like Lizzie Bennett." I wanted to meet this Lizzie Bennett. Every time a man has been diagreeable, my friends say things like "He's just pulling a Mr. Darcy. He'll come around." I had to meet this Mr. Darcy who apparently resembled so many of the men I dated, except that he came back in the end. So, this summer, I sat down to read "Pride and Prejudice."
Ugh. This was not the book for me, but I wanted it to be. The first few pages between the Bennett parents was charming and funny, and I knew that I had found someone interesting in Mr. Bennett. But it all went downhill when Lizzie entered. Why so many smart, independent women relate to this snippy, shallow, and wholly uninteresting character is beyond me. The other females in the book, stupid, slutty Lydia (or was it Kitty?); educated and endearingly akward Mary; gentle and kind Jane; calcualted and sensible Charlotte, even overlooked and annoying Kitty (or maybe Lydia? Ah, who cares) were all so much more interesting to me than self righteous, clever, Lizzie. Her story held nothing for me, and her character was not enough to keep me tied to her uninspiring tale.
It is hard to really get involed with a girl who's biggest problem is that, even though she's pretty, isn't rich enough to marry the stuffy rich guy who she doesn't even like until the last 30 pages of the book. People complain about the preditability of rom com's, but I say, blame not the rom-com, blame the inspiration for the genre: Pride and Prejudice and other Austen tripe. Halfway through P&P, I began to long for "Jane Eyre" and I wanted Lizzie to meet Jane Eyre. The unattractive, orphaned girl so poor she becomes a governess for a stuffy, mean, older man who himself doesn't have all that much money but does have a terrible secret and a burning love far more passionate than anything Mr. Darcy could muster up. Now Jane Eyre, there's a girl with problems. And a delightful book....less

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David rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

10/20/08

Gentle Reader, please do not dare to vote for this review because, properly speaking, it is not a review; it is a raging, spittle-flying polemic, only tangentially related to its purported subject. If you vote for this -- in earnest, in defiance, or as a consequence of a wayward mouse click -- I hereafter hate you and will not make you waffles for breakfast or pumice your gritty, scaly feet ever again, for all perpetuity. Henceforth, you shall receive the stink-eye at all of our run-ins at cotillions and yak shearings. You shall be the Prince to my post-religious-awakening Vanity.

If that dumpy woman in 70s-futurist rolled headbands who shills soul-deadening duck cardigans on QVC were to have a love child with three mismatched sheets of wood paneling, and that bediapered, veneered foundling were to be raised by an unwed professional clogging duo comprising a white Buick with wood-beaded seat covers and the 80s new wave group Kajagoogoo, that unfortunate child would be Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's ill-advised celebration of the Regency Era gangbang, written in 1532, and now in post-production as a major motion picture starring Sal Mineo, Yvonne DeCarlo, Dwayne Michael "Lil Wayne" Carter, Jr, David Banda, Kathy Garver, Miyoshi Umeki, Tina Yothers, Gabrielle Carteris, Randy Spears, and the voice of Norman Fell. The film was directed by Ang Lee using a dictaphone and a very, very long line of cocaine. (The death of some of the actors was not discovered until after the conclusion of principal photography and has been rectified by color correction and long shots.)

It took me a while (two hundred pages) to figure out that when "Darcy, with the impertinence of a polished-jackbooted carriage wheel sander, dared to place his tongue in my brown eye" that Austen was not describing some strange genre of ocular foreplay. Rather, she was brazenly alluding to -- how shall I put this, not losing sight of decorum? -- a starfish mouth. This was pre-bleaching, it should be noted.

That was enough for me. I wasn't even aware that the phrase "wanton, tendril-like sphincter thrust" was invented until at least the advent of World War I, when Gavrilo Princip invited Montenegro into his own private Balkan.

If you have read and enjoyed this novel, you obviously are a bad person and likely have an impacted molar and a tendency to physically abuse little persons. The three are usually corollaries, y'know. (It's the science of probability, bitches, so suck on it.)
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Anne rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

04/10/08

Read in January, 1994

recommends it for: mainly women

Critics who consider Austen's works trivial because of their rigid, upper-class setting, wealthy characters, domestic, mannered plots and happy endings are almost totally disconnected from reality, as far as I can tell. What can they possibly expect an upper-middle class English woman to write about in 1813 but what she knows or can imagine? Sci-fi? A history of the American Revolution? A real-life exposé of underage exploitation in the garment district of London? Come on. What other setting ca...more Critics who consider Austen's works trivial because of their rigid, upper-class setting, wealthy characters, domestic, mannered plots and happy endings are almost totally disconnected from reality, as far as I can tell. What can they possibly expect an upper-middle class English woman to write about in 1813 but what she knows or can imagine? Sci-fi? A history of the American Revolution? A real-life exposé of underage exploitation in the garment district of London? Come on. What other setting can she be expected to tackle with authority? Austen's value lies in her portraiture: her characters are believably human in their concerns, vanities, failings and quirks. The plots serve largely to showcase their interaction and thus, her observations of human nature, which are pointed, accurate, and hysterical.

Here, in her best work (my opinion), her technical skill as a writer also shows in Pride and Prejudice's tight plotting and economical casting; there are no superfluous characters or wasted chapters here. My college lit professor used to go on and on about this novel as a revolution of literary form in that dialogue drives the plot as much as exposition; I'll buy that but it doesn't thrill me for its own sake as much as it did her. It does mean, though, that Pride and Prejudice is a relatively smooth and lively read, that we learn about events and characters as much from what they say to each other as from what Austen narrates to us. The banter between Darcy and Elizabeth isn't empty flirting, it's a progression, a chart of their ongoing understanding/misunderstanding and a way to take stock of plot developments as well as an enjoyable display of wit.

Austen's heroines are famously caught between love and money are famously criticized for always getting both in the end. I've got no problem with this wish fulfillment. Keep in mind that being married is basically the only possible 'job' available to a woman of her position--marrying a rich dude is the only viable escape from the life of poor-relation dependency Austen herself lived, there's nothing reactionary or anti-feminist about it. The other option--becoming a governess--is barely respectable, putting a woman into an ambiguous class limbo of social invisibility that translates directly into a loss of safety and self-governance. Expecting Elizabeth to, what, become a doctor? is silly and anachronistic, and perhaps if that's your preference you'd be better off reading Clan of the Cave Bear, with Ayla and her bearskin bra, or what have you.

Pride and Prejudice is simply a joy to read, a dance of manners and affection between the leads and a parade of human silliness in the supporting cast.

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Rolls rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

03/12/07

Read in February, 2007

recommends it for: Anyone who is unafraid to be seen reading this on the subway

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen started off annoying me and ended up enchanting me. Up until about page one hundred I found this book vexing, frivolous and down right tedious. I now count myself as a new convert to the Austen cult.

I must confess I have been known to express an antipathy for anything written or set before 1900. I just cannot get down with corsets, outdoor plumbing and buggy rides. Whenever someone dips a quill into an inkwell my eyes glaze over. This is a shor...more

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Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

10/20/07

Read in January, 1990

recommends it for: Everyone

I can't say anything fascinating about Pride and Prejudice that hasn't already been said a thousand times. It is one of the best books I've ever read, if not the best. It is like a textbook on how to pace a story, which is a hard thing to do, for me at least. It is a perfect social comedy. The dialogue is both believable, natural-seeming, and yet ten million times more interesting, witty and articulate than anything real people say. The characters are so well-drawn, interesting, and deep ...more I can't say anything fascinating about Pride and Prejudice that hasn't already been said a thousand times. It is one of the best books I've ever read, if not the best. It is like a textbook on how to pace a story, which is a hard thing to do, for me at least. It is a perfect social comedy. The dialogue is both believable, natural-seeming, and yet ten million times more interesting, witty and articulate than anything real people say. The characters are so well-drawn, interesting, and deep that you get drawn into the story from the first page. Elizabeth Bennet is such a charming, funny, wonderful character - Jane Austen wrote, in a letter, about Elizabeth: "I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, and how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least I do not know..".
The first sentence is a masterpiece of tongue-in-cheek social commentary: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in posession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
One thing I love about Jane Austen is that she never takes herself seriously, yet she clearly loves her characters, even when they are behaving idiotically. She seems to have had a great eye for the ridiculous in people and society, but not a bitter, hateful one. I've read many essays about the feminism of Jane Austen's writing; she clearly saw the desperation and despair of the social position of women: Unable to work, or even to inherit, they had to marry, and marry well, or live in poverty. And Jane Austen clearly saw women as intellectually equal to men. It must have been a frustrating, demeaning experience. Women probably were very lucky if they even liked the men they had to marry - Elizabeth came very close to being married off to the dorky, unbearably pompous Mr. Collilns - yet she ends up married very well, to Mr. Darcy, who she not only deeply loves, but appreciates very much for his fortune: She says, to her sister Jane, when Jane asks her how long Elizabeth has loved Mr. Darcy: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." ...less

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MacK rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

08/12/07

bookshelves: brit-lit, classics, favorites

Read in August, 2000

Where my massive crush on Jane Austen began: alone, on a hot day in Montana, cursing her name.

I had to read it for AP English and I could not see the point. Girls need to marry. Girls can't get married. Girls are sad. Girls get married. Girls are happy.

I went to school to half heartedly discuss it and waffled and wavered in an effort to please my teacher. Finally she said: "was it good or not, Ben?"

"No it wasn't."

"Thank you...now read this twenty pages o...more

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Kara rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

02/28/08

Read in January, 1993

I have hesitated giving a review of this book because, as they say in Wayne's World, "I'm not worthy!" Since I don't really feel I can do the novel justice in a review, here are some random thoughts. This is my favorite book, mainly because the character of Elizabeth Bennet is such a great creation. I even named my dog Bennet, in homage. I was always impressed by how ahead of her time Lizzie is, and although she has great qualities, she is not without fault--hence the title of the ...more I have hesitated giving a review of this book because, as they say in Wayne's World, "I'm not worthy!" Since I don't really feel I can do the novel justice in a review, here are some random thoughts. This is my favorite book, mainly because the character of Elizabeth Bennet is such a great creation. I even named my dog Bennet, in homage. I was always impressed by how ahead of her time Lizzie is, and although she has great qualities, she is not without fault--hence the title of the book. I see alot of myself in her, including her faults of perhaps judging people a bit too quickly, and holding a grudge for longer than necessary! There are certain characters that have always irritated me--like the younger Bennet sisters, Mrs. Bennet, and the Bingley sisters to name a few. But they are all important players in a commentary on the social structure of the time. If one understands that Jane Austen is making a comment on that, then the behavior of some of those characters makes a little more sense.(Although I do think Lydia Bennet is totally unexcusable) I always liked Austen's strong women, and I think Lizzie is the best representative of this. It's interesting to me that the men are not portrayed as being so strong--Bingley follows along with what his friends and family tell him, with regard to Jane Bennet; Mr. Bennet, by his own admission, is partly responsible for the horrid behavior of his younger daughters by not doing anything to stop them; Mr. Collins is just a dreadful brown-noser; Wickham is a "player" with no sense of morals. But Darcy redeems himself from his first meeting with the Bennet sisters by his actions later in the story, thus prompting women everywhere to fall madly in love with him. (Watching the BBC version with Colin Firth helps with this too) Each time I read the novel I seem to understand it more, and am utterly amazed at how a woman who did not know much of the world and much about love could create such wonderful characters, and make such accurate statements about society and relationships, statements that are relevant even today. Her plot is tightly woven and the characterization is outstanding. Typical Austen--fabulous!...less

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natalee☮ rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

02/28/08

bookshelves: romantic-drama

Read in November, 2005

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I really thought this was a moving book. It is a moving story of romance, hurt, and hope. It is written by Jane Austen, I got this syponosis from GOOD READS:
When Charles Bingley, a rich single man, moves to the Netherfield estate, the neighborhood residents are thrilled, especially Mrs. Bennet, who hopes to marry one of her five daughters to him. When the Bennet daughters meet him at a local ball, they are impressed by his outgoing personality and friendly disposition. They are less impressed, ...more I really thought this was a moving book. It is a moving story of romance, hurt, and hope. It is written by Jane Austen, I got this syponosis from GOOD READS:
When Charles Bingley, a rich single man, moves to the Netherfield estate, the neighborhood residents are thrilled, especially Mrs. Bennet, who hopes to marry one of her five daughters to him. When the Bennet daughters meet him at a local ball, they are impressed by his outgoing personality and friendly disposition. They are less impressed, however, by Bingley’s friend Fitzwilliam Darcy, a landowning aristocrat who is too proud to speak to any of the locals and whom Elizabeth Bennet overhears refusing to dance with her.

Bingley and the oldest Bennet daughter, Jane, soon form an attachment. Any serious relationship between the two, however, is opposed by Bingley’s sisters (who do not approve of Jane as a wife for Bingley because of her mother’s lower status) and by Darcy (who believes that Jane is indifferent to Bingley). Meanwhile, Darcy finds himself attracted to Elizabeth despite his objections to her family. He is drawn to her spirited wit and expressive eyes, and Caroline Bingley’s jealous criticisms of Elizabeth can do nothing to lessen Darcy’s admiration.

As Darcy grows more interested in Elizabeth, Elizabeth continues to despise him and is instead attracted to George Wickham, a handsome and personable militia officer. Wickham tells Elizabeth that his father worked for Darcy’s father and that he and Darcy grew up together. Stating that he was favored by Darcy’s father, Wickham claims that Darcy disobeyed his father’s bequest of a clergyman’s revenue to Wickham out of selfish resentment. Wickham’s tale makes Darcy appear not only proud but cruel, and Elizabeth accepts Wickham’s account without question, disliking Darcy even more because of it.

In the midst of Jane and Elizabeth’s developing relationships, the Bennet family is visited by Mr. Bennet’s cousin, William Collins, a clergyman who will inherit Mr. Bennet’s estate when he dies because of a legal stricture known as an entail. Full of apologies for the entail and praises for his patroness, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Mr. Collins informs the Mrs. Bennet that Lady Catherine has instructed him to marry and that he plans to choose a wife from the Bennet daughters. He settles on Elizabeth, but is stunned and offended when she refuses him. He quickly turns his attention to Elizabeth’s friend, Charlotte Lucas, who wants to marry for security rather than love, and the two are soon engaged and married.

At the same time, Jane is dismayed to find out that Bingley and the entire Netherfield party have unexpectedly left for London. Caroline Bingley writes to Jane that they do not intend to return, and she predicts a match between Bingley and Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, who is also in London. Although Jane quietly resigns herself to a life without Bingley, Elizabeth is angry for her sister and suspects that Bingley’s sisters and Darcy are trying to keep him from Jane.

Elizabeth visits Charlotte at her new home in Hunsford, Kent, and meets Mr. Collins’ patroness and Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, an overbearing woman who thrives on meddling in other people’s lives. Soon after Elizabeth’s arrival in Kent, Darcy visits his aunt with his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Darcy puzzles Elizabeth with his behavior; he seems to seek out her company, but he never says much. One day, he surprises Elizabeth by proposing to her. Still repelled by his pride and believing Darcy is responsible for Bingley’s separation from Jane and for Wickham’s misfortune, Elizabeth refuses him. The next day, Darcy gives her a letter explaining his role in influencing Bingley away from Jane and details the facts of Wickham’s situation. A careful examination of the facts reveals that Darcy, while proud, is innocent of wrongdoing, leaving Elizabeth mortified at her discovery of how her own pride prejudiced her against Darcy.

After returning home for a month, Elizabeth goes on a trip with her aunt and uncle Gardiner to Derbyshire county, where they visit Darcy’s estate of Pemberley. There they meet Darcy unexpectedly and are all surprised at how graciously he treats them. He calls on Elizabeth at her inn, introduces her to his sister, and invites her to Pemberley for dinner. Darcy is still in love with Elizabeth, and Elizabeth begins to have similar feelings for him.

In the midst of this promising situation, Elizabeth receives two letters from Jane telling her that Lydia has eloped with Wickham, causing Elizabeth and the Gardiners to leave for home immediately. Elizabeth fears that Lydia and the Bennet family are permanently disgraced and that her newly-discovered love for Darcy is hopeless. When Lydia is found, however, she and Wickham marry. After the wedding, Elizabeth discovers that Darcy was instrumental in orchestrating the marriage, thereby saving the reputation and marriageability of the other Bennet daughters.

Bingley returns to Netherfield and soon asks Jane to marry him. Jane, of course, accepts, and Mrs. Bennet’s exultation is only lessened by her irritation at Darcy’s occasional presence. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s happiness for her sister is interrupted by a visit from Lady Catherine De Bourgh, who has heard a rumor that Darcy and Elizabeth are engaged, which they are not. She lectures Elizabeth on the imprudence of such a match, and then demands that Elizabeth promise not to accept any proposal from Darcy. Elizabeth refuses, causing Lady Catherine to tell Darcy about Elizabeth’s impertinence and to scold him about the folly of an engagement between them. Lady Catherine’s description of Elizabeth’s response to her demands gives Darcy hope that Elizabeth has had a change of heart. He proposes again and Elizabeth happily accepts.
and I am certian that if you like romantic moving love stories you will enjoy this book:)!...less

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Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 0553211544)

09/29/07

bookshelves: chicklits, favorites

Read in December, 2006

recommends it for: the proud; the prejudiced; chicks

This book is utterly amazing, and if I were more of a five-star type of girl, I'd have given it another. I must say though that P&P was a little hard to relate to because it was written a long time ago, when women had to wear uncomfortable clothing to try and look pretty and were defined mostly based on their ability to trap a man. Back in those days, being a smart-ass was considered a huge liability for a lady, and also back in those days some otherwise clever ladies, like the main c...more

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Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

01/31/08

bookshelves: favorite-books, lit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

A lot of people go on and on these days about what a romantic Jane Austen was, coupling people up here and there - I've read all of her books, she's one of my favorite writers, but I have to strongly disagree with this idea. Sure, people get together in these books, but Austen doesn't burble on about how their eyes lock across a crowded room. Austen's emphasis is usually on the funny side, and her humor is drier than dry - if you blink, you might miss it. But if you pay attention, you might find...more

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Kirstie rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

12/23/07

Read in April, 1999

recommends it for: people interested in frivolity

I've been thinking about this one now and then since I read it, First, I thought back to it while reading Nafisi's novel Reading Lolita in Tehran as it is one of the Western books put on trial by the class. Most recently, I considered it while reading Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own in which she speaks of early female writers.

I had a Major British Writers teacher at university who was easy for me to like immensely. He lived in a world where television was an anathema and where he watc...more I've been thinking about this one now and then since I read it, First, I thought back to it while reading Nafisi's novel Reading Lolita in Tehran as it is one of the Western books put on trial by the class. Most recently, I considered it while reading Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own in which she speaks of early female writers.

I had a Major British Writers teacher at university who was easy for me to like immensely. He lived in a world where television was an anathema and where he watched films like Naked and read everything from Coleridge to Irvine Welsh. His one true flaw? He also loved Jane Austen. Over the course of our class, he tried in earnest to get me to realize that Austen was a feminist writer. I disagree wholeheartedly and the only reason why this gets two stars from me is because it was written during a time when it was difficult for women to write especially publicly. I also think that Jane was a fairly keen observer of the high society that was taking place and if I enjoyed frivolous poetry that tends to go nowhere, I'd have a much higher appreciation for the writing of Marcel Proust. Really, it's such a shame Marcel Proust was born a century later and wasn't interested in women anyhow. He and Jane could have made the most boring couple in human history.

One thing I want to be considered here and this is where my main justification lies has to do with women in relation to men. Women have always been seen in terms of this alone. That's why the idea of feminism is still considered rather radical today. The idea of woman as a separate identity existing in a way which she has no consideration for men in terms of how it affects her actions and thoughts is rare. John Berger explores this in (I think) his novel G about the poet Goethe and Woolf explores the idea in A Room of One's Own. In Virginia Woolf, we have some examples of the female entity as separate from the male. None can be found in any Austen I am familiar with. Instead, every function of the female is intended to ensnare a male. While it's true that the female protagonist shows some evidence early in the book of being able to function independently, it all predictably falls apart at the end, doesn't it? And what is the true goal of it all? Well, class rank, fortune, and incredibly shallow views of others. I think Jane Austen is somewhat evil actually because she's perpetuated the subconsciousness of thousands of women that these things (and men) matter more than their own identities. I'd even go so far as to say that they perpetuate the idea that these exact things are what identity is instead of the thought processes, actions, and personal history that may be separate from all of this.

True, Austen was a feminist by being a writer in her time period but I would not describe any of her writing as feminist and would instead label them harmful to humanity in subtle ways of course. If you want to read a better example of early female literature that had more of a feminist tone, I'd suggest Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

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Khalid rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

04/15/07

bookshelves: already-read

Read in September, 2004

Pride and Prejudice is special for many reasons; for one, its style and language – albeit sometimes difficult – are delightful beyond comparison. Old texts are often dry and hard to read, which is discouraging to readers. I truly loved the way some words are used, and wished language would still be dealt with the same way. I wonder; is it really the language of the age, or a superior skill Jane Austen possessed?

The way culture is portrayed is also very interesting; it is too different th...more

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Rosianna rated it:

(review of isbn 0140620222)

05/28/08

bookshelves: favourite-books

I'm a great believer in the idea that if anyone didn't like this book it's because they didn't read it properly and/or are possessed. In all seriousness, the wit is timeless and Austen should always be remembered as a literary genius, as I hope she will.

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Karen rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

08/16/07

Read in January, 1983

Quite simply my favorite book ever. I first read it after watching the BBC mini series on Materpiece Theatre. At the time, I read it as a love story (which it is) and it fueled my romantic fantasies for years to come.

I feel compelled to add that this was long before Colin Firth appeared in a wet shirt in the A&E/BBC co-production. I am quite happy he did, however, as that has become my favorite film or television version, though I like them all (even the Greer Garson/Laurence Olivi...more

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Kelly rated it:

(review of isbn 0553213105)

05/24/07

bookshelves: brit-lit, favorites, fiction

Read in July, 1997

recommends it for: everyone. Yes, even you, boys.

Okay. I feel the need to defend myself for loving this book, because it has become so enormously popular to do so. I think so many women say this is their favorite book when they haven't even read it, which is annoying. I think it just has the fortune to be one of those geniunely good classics that happens to be massively popular- mostly because of the wet shirt of Colin Firth, these days. I can only say that I read this book twice before I even knew that existed. And if Colin Firth's fine self ...more Okay. I feel the need to defend myself for loving this book, because it has become so enormously popular to do so. I think so many women say this is their favorite book when they haven't even read it, which is annoying. I think it just has the fortune to be one of those geniunely good classics that happens to be massively popular- mostly because of the wet shirt of Colin Firth, these days. I can only say that I read this book twice before I even knew that existed. And if Colin Firth's fine self can popularize even the ditziest girls I know into reading good literature, then more power to him. But it /can't/ be just that. I know men who love this book. Now, mind you, these are extremely literary men, secure in their masculinity, several of them english majors- but they're all straight. And will read it in public.

This book is well written functionally, to start. The wordplay is fantastic. Word choice is such a huge part of this novel, as is syntax. The laugh comes because of a surprise twist in language, at least for me. There is also her wise, wry voice that you can almost hear speaking to you in several cases. I think this is perhaps more prominent in "Northanger Abbey", but it's still present here to a more subtle degree.

It also boasts a male hero of an essentially romantic novel that even men can connect to and feel for. There are truly two sides of this romance. It is not designed exclusively to appease feminine ideals about what a man should be. How could it, if men can see themselves in this deeply flawed Darcy? I think this novel is extremely unique in being able to accomplish that, especially for the time period of Mrs. Radcliffe and gothic exaggeration of Byronic charm that was going on in that era.

I love character studies where nothing happens, at least outwardly. This book was one of the first to lead me down that path. Jane Austen makes sitting around with tea with the dull vicar and his tittering, frippery laden wife interesting. She makes taking a walk and seeing your next door neighbour with the gout interesting. And yes, her heroine is among the most interesting in English literature, hands down.

So, there, I rest my case. ...less

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Sherri rated it:

(review of isbn 0307278107)

08/21/08

bookshelves: fiction

recommends it for: anyone open to it

People violently love this book, or they violently hate it. It's wonderful that people can like or hate anything they want. It's more wonderful that I don't have to give a rat's tiny testicles what anyone else thinks. I could possibly care less, but it would take effort, and I'd rather do something else.

I avoided Austen for years (part of that freedom to love or hate). My impression of her was the beloved book tucked next to the breasts of the pearl-wearing, sweater set, Ivy league Engl...more

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Avid rated it:

(review of isbn 0679783261)

06/28/08

recommends it for: Anyone who's sick of serious issues being handled in a heavy-handed matter

Anyone who finds it frivolous or vain isn't paying attention to what the book is really about.

Although many people read this book for its 'romance', the true genius is in its social commentary. The characters in it are apt portrayals (and criticisms) of the kinds of people who existed then, and who still exist today.

For example, ever know someone who acted humble but seemed like they really quite conceited? Or raised their social status a bit and then turned snob against their own back...more

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Abigail rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439513)

06/04/08

bookshelves: literature-classics

Read in December, 1995

recommends it for: People Who Read...

Pride & Prejudice (Wordsworth Classics)

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