Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

"If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can have your happiness. No, no, let me shift for myself; and, perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet with another Mr. Collins in time."

I love all the cosy, candle-lit bedroom scenes between Jane and Elizabeth that are sprinkled throughout the text—the only reliable time that sisters in a crowded household would have to truly confide in each other. Part of what makes Elizabeth’s and Jane’s relationship so special is the degree to which they possess similar delights and shared horrors, despite being so different from each other. Theirs is my favourite filial relationship in literature in part because of how remarkably well Elizabeth comprehends Jane’s nature. Her words here about Jane’s disposition correlating to her happiness are both prophetic and extremely self-aware. I love how Deborah Moggach also skillfully conveys this sisterly understanding in her screenplay for the 2005 Joe Wright film adaptation, when she has Elizabeth angrily explain to Darcy that Jane’s reticence about her feelings for Mr. Bingley is due to her shyness—a smackdown that also says, take THAT Mr. Darcy, for thinking sincere female attention must be telegraphed for all to see! I also love how throughout Austen’s text, Jane delights in Elizabeth’s humour and intelligence exactly like we do. It makes us feel as if we, too, are in the exact same room as these two lovely and vital young women, in on the joke, privileged to be witness to their conversation. And the little zinger at the end—Elizabeth feigning for even one second that a Mr. Collins could ever be reconsidered as a spouse—is the perfect mic drop after a most loving, affectionate and real speech.