Sep 14, 2009 09:48 AM
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The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love...* *
Thus spake Lizzy Bennett, disillusioned at the state of marriage and love, disillusioned with the world around her. In the 18th century England, a girl was not supposed to do much, other than look pretty, demure, not too intelligent, and prepare herself for marriage by educating themselves in music, drawing, dancing, needlework, etc. Is it any wonder that Lizzy was upset? P&P is a story set in England, primarily about the Bennett family, their 5 daughters (Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia), and the people in their lives.
The story is told through Elizabeth and Jane (not in first person though), and revolves around their mother's efforts to get them married to an(y) eligible man, with a decent income, and finer sentiments be damned... Mrs Bennett, a silly, shrill woman by all accounts, was always on the look out for rich, single men, and their being rich made them eligible on all accounts.
Jane, a beautiful girl of sweet disposition, was sure to catch a decent husband, but Lizzy, opinionated, headstrong, proud Lizzy, never afraid to speak her mind and never afraid to disagree Lizzy must have given her mother sleepless nights. (If I feel really mean, I might say that Lizzy is everything her mother is not - bright, lively, intelligent, and socially competent. ) Their lives change when Darcy and Bingley come to their village. Bingley and Jane hit it off from the word go, but in the case of Elizabeth and Darcy, it was Pride clashing with Prejudice, and what an interesting clash it turned out to be, which has survived centuries, and continues to enthrall readers even in this day and age. I am not going to divulge any more here, since this is a novel that needs to be cherished and read by all and sundry.
My favorite scenes of the novels, other than all the verbal duels between Elizabeth and Darcy, are the scenes where Mr Colin proposes to Lizzy, the scene when Lizzy talks to her father about Darcy towards the end of the novel, and the introduction between Lizzy and Darcy's sister. My favorite character, other than Lizzy of course, is Mr Bennett. On the surface, he might seem like a permissive-indifferent parent, but it becomes quite obvious that he can love the people around him, and yet analyse them objectively as human beings, with their own sets of merits and flaws. He doesn't hold too much respect for his daughters other than Lizzy and Jane, rather, they often serve as objects of amusement for him. (He calls them the Silliest girls in England). He considers Jane sensible, but she does not have a realistic view of the world. Lizzy is the child Mr. Bennet shares his amusement with, and he wants only the best for her. It is safe to say that she is the daughter of his heart.
Despite the novel being set in Victorian times, with language which is a bit more strained than we are used to reading, all the characters somehow seem as real as they must have at that point of time. This is a classic romance, with all the misunderstandings that characterize a romance with its twists. The novel may seem a light, somewhat comic fairy tale, but be patient, and it will reveal itself as the story of empowerment of the self. The main subject in the novel is stated in the first sentence of the novel: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." (No wonder Darcy was so panicky at the thought of dancing with Lizzy in the beginning of the novel, he might have worried about being led from the dance floor, straight to the altar). Through this mechanism, Austen has cleverly declared that the main subject of the novel will be courtship and marriage and she has established the humorous tone of the novel. Ultimately where the novel really clicks is in the way it provides insights into human psyche, how we are more than willing to be blinded by material things, and how ready we are to assume the worst of others, and make snap judgments. I guess someone hit the nail on the head when he/she said,
The more things change, the more they remain the same...Coming back to what I said earlier about the novel being all about empowerment, even though the ending is cliched, you realise that even if the novel ended differently, Lizzy and Jane would have somehow been still happy in their lives, and I guess that is what matters in the end. If you havent read P&P, go and get it right now, and if you have, whats stopping you from letting Austen rework her magic on you!
