Rating
9
INFO
Plot
Few have failed to be charmed by the witty and independent spirit of Elizabeth Bennet. Her early determination to dislike Mr. Darcy is a prejudice only matched by the folly of his arrogant pride. Their first impressions give way to true feelings in a comedy profoundly concerned with happiness and how it might be achieved.
Edited with an Introduction by Vivien Jones
Editions
- Paperback (ISBN: 9780141439518)
- ebook (ISBN: 9781411432963)
Notes
- Why Miss de Bourgh can inherit the whole Rosings estate?
- Because there was no Entail on Rosings, but Longborn had a entail.
- Why Mr. Bennett always announce guests to his family at the last minute?
- Unlike in the film adaptation, Mr. Bennett is not all nice and kind in the novel as seen from the view of the narrator and Elizabeth.
- Mr. Darcy 的转变在书里被再三强调，我没觉得转变有多大。现在很正常，之前也还好，如果说转变大，那只能说明之前的表现是比我以为的还要差很多的，是非常不友好的。这么大的转变是很难的，小说里写得还算合理，一是有爱情的力量，二是有时间的作用（Kent 和 Derbyshire 两次相遇之间大约有四个月）
- At the end of the book, most of my questions were cleared. Only one remains, who spread the rumors that Elizabeth was engaged with Mr. Darcy? Seems it is not Mr. Collins, not Mrs. De Bourgh. Could it be Miss Bingley?
Review
Jane Austen is a wit, funny, positive, deep writer who created a timeless story in Pride and Prejudice. I read the novel after watching both the mini-series pride and prejudice (1995) and the 2005 film. I find the 6 episodes, 5 hours mini series captured the irony, comedic, funny, daily life style of the novel quite authentically. But there is still so much more in the book got lost in the adaptation! So this book is a must read after watching the adaptations!
The original novel may look like a romance drama with a happy ending, but in fact, I think the novel is even anti-romance. It depicted the Collins-Lucas romance-less marriage, and the Lydia-Wickham’s passion marriage. Elizabeth hated Darcy for half the book, then only entered a relationship at the end of the book. The climax of the story is when Elizabeth refused Darcy’s first proposal and when she refused to cooperate with Mrs. de Bourgh.
Jane created some real, complex characters. Not only the main character Elizabeth is so likeable and inspirating. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are also fascinating and worth deep analysis. They are both flawed and in turn they brought up some flawed kids and some beautiful but proud kids. It all just make sense!
I also like that Jane Austen did not write the story into a 10 book series, with detailed description of every stone, furniture, clothes, jewelry, and number of servants in the room. Jane just briefly mentioned carriages: one horse gig, two horses-two wheel chaise, four horse coach, and that is enough. The rest, the readers can imagine freely.
Elizabeth and Darcy, though differs greatly in family fortune, were from the same general social class: propertied gentry. So their marriage wasn’t so jaw dropping revolutionary. It is not very exciting but at the same time, more realistic. This is another evidence that is story is not a wild romantic fantasy.
Quotes
Volume 1, Chapter 1
It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.
Volume 3, Chapter 17
(Jane to Elizabeth:) But we considered it, we talked of it as impossible.
Jane and Mr. Bingley are both not too sensitive.
Volume 3, Chapter 17
(Elizabeth:) 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.