Pride and Prejudice book review

Pride and Prejudice was the only novel I have read by author Jane Austen. Frankly, I didn’t think I would like this book. After all, the story is about young women, and really, they were only girls, looking for wealthy husbands! I mean, come on, the story sounded too boring to bother, yet, I thought I should give it a chance. And, now that I’ve read the book, what do I think about this prim-and-proper romance, along with its clever humor? Read our Pride and Prejudice book review for the answer!

The novel, Pride and Prejudice, was written by Jane Austen in 1813. Basically, the novel is about a family of young women in the well-to-do English countryside who are trying to marry the richest young men they can find. Then, they hope to live happily ever-after!

But, is Pride and Prejudice really just a simple romance novel? Could it contain a more profound message? Well, maybe yes!

As I read, I discovered that Pride and Prejudice probes our flawed human nature more deeply than its superficial, outward appearance might imply. In fact, this romance novel discusses how gossip can unfairly categorize people, and cause deep, hurtful prejudices.

In addition, the young women discover how their own pride can hinder deeper relationships between other people, and even with members of their own family. In other words, pride might make the Bennet sisters more lonely.

While I won’t list all the characters of this classic romance novel, I will include the two main protagonists and some supporting characters.

As parents of the young, eligible Bennet daughters, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet undertake varying roles in getting their daughters hitched. While they both want the best situation for each daughter, the parents approach their ‘predicament’ using their own unique personalities.

For instance, while Mr. Bennet is more sedate and reserved, Mrs. Bennet is loud, aggressive, and often does not take ‘no’ for an answer. So, the girls can count on Mr. Bennet to offer them well-reasoned, practical advice.

On the other hand, the girls can depend on their mother to loudly speak on their behalf, and to get them invited to all the best social events, where their chances of meeting a wealthy suitor are great.

One of the things that most surprised me about this novel was the unique repartee Mr. and Mrs. Bennet engaged in. For instance, they addressed each other as Mr. Bennet, or Mrs. Bennet, and then slyly slid in a well-worded, comical comment.

In fact, despite my initial misgivings about this novel, the parents’ personalities and their comical interchanges were really entertaining! And, I bet that current movie and television writers have used the Bennet’s witty banter as a model when they composed some of today’s most popular film and TV productions.

Surprisingly, the clever repartee reminded me of Bridget Jones and her parents, in that wonderful, decades-old movie, Bridget Jones’s Diary. And, as I continued reading, I kept picturing the characters from that movie, but I couldn’t figure out why that was happening. However, I eventually did figure it out, and I’ll explain shortly!

The main protagonist was Elizabeth Bennet, one of the Bennet’s many daughters. Just like her sisters, Elizabeth wanted to marry a pleasant, and even wealthy fellow, but she also had high standards. She wasn’t the type of girl to settle for anyone, no matter how much money they might possess!

Really, I shouldn’t reveal too much more about Elizabeth, or I might ruin the joy of discovering more about her as you read this novel.

Elizabeth, or Lizzy, had other talented and attractive sisters, too. For instance, Mary, an older sister, was studious, and loved to read, just like Mr. Bennet.

In addition, Jane was another sister of Lizzy, and she was considered very pretty and talented. Fortunately, I didn’t pick up on any jealous feelings between the sisters, even when they might be eyeing the same eligible bachelor.

The second, but equally important protagonist, was Mr. Darcy. He was one of the most wealthy, and therefore most eligible, single men in the neighborhood.

And, while Mr. Darcy must certainly have had his good characteristics, the neighborhood gossip was cruel and bitter. Therefore, most of the young women in the Bennet family did not have a good opinion of Mr. Darcy, and that included Elizabeth.

So, imagine the drama when Mr. Darcy attended a dance where Elizabeth, Jane, and her other sisters were vying for attention. Not surprisingly, Elizabeth was not the least-bit impressed, and treated Darcy very coldly.

After all, she had heard about how mean and vindictive Mr. Darcy treated other people, so she was on her guard!

And, this is where I kept conjuring up the quiet but mean character, Mr. Darcy, from Bridge Jones’s Diary! In fact, as I was reading this novel, I had asked myself, “Didn’t that guy in the movie have the same name as this Mr. Darcy guy?”

Yes, Mr. Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice novel and Mr. Darcy in the Bridget Jones movie were very similar. They both suffered from the putrid gossip and the ill-will that that gossip generated. But, both had their good points, which both Elizabeth and Bridget would soon discover!

Mr. Darcy in the movie Bridget Jones’s Diary had similar characteristics to the Mr. Darcy in the classic romance novel, Pride and Prejudice. As I read the novel, I kept picturing the comparable Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (Bridget Jones) characters from the movie—that helped make the novel more fun for me to read!

Of course, there were many other interesting characters in this romantic novel. As you might imagine, the Bennet girls weren’t the only ones looking for a wealthy suitor.

The neighborhood had many female competitors, and each had their own strengths and flaws. So, the competition was fierce, but both Elizabeth and Jane met each challenge with grace and poise (usually, that is!).

I admit that I thought I would hate reading this stale, old, romantic novel. But, the wry sense of humor, especially exhibited by Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, really got me quickly engaged. In fact, I laughed out loud at some of their witticisms.

I thought the characters were all well-developed, and had their own unique and quirky characteristics. My favorites were, of course, Elizabeth and Jane, but I also could empathize with Mr. Darcy’s flaws and short-comings.

However, Darcy was very wealthy, so I naturally could not empathize with that! In fact, almost every character is this novel, except the gardeners, caretakers, maids, cooks, and more, were quite well-off.

The main protagonists were literate, as were all the other members of the Bennet family. Not surprisingly, given the neighborhood’s wealth, they were all literate, also. And back in those days, being literate was a sure sign of wealth and privilege.

While the humor helped pull me along in this 1813 novel, the highly structured, old-English, formal style of writing and phrasing was difficult to read. And, as the story progressed, I became more and more fatigued.

Unfortunately, I suspect that I might have missed some of the clever humor that was interspersed throughout the dialogue, all because of the unfamiliar, old-English writing style.

Towards the end, I had to force myself to read, which is sad because it’s such a great story! But yes, reading this novel became a tedious affair.

Even though Pride and Prejudice ended just as I had guessed and had hoped it would, I really felt disappointed. All of the tension that had been building throughout the story, kind of just sputtered out at the end and quietly faded away.

From an academic point-of-view, the tension had just slowly dissipated. By the time the climax arrived, I didn’t really care, one-way-or-the-other, what would happen to the two protagonists. That’s strange to admit, but it’s the truth.

After I finished reading the conclusion, I thought to myself, “Is that all there is?” Really, the witty repartee and clever phrasing just disappeared. So sad! What happened, Jane Austen? The witticisms and the tension between the characters just dissolved.

This movie helped me appreciate the classic, old-English novel, Pride and Prejudice, in a more contemporary framework. I really loved this movie, and it was nice to see these clips once again!

FINAL VERDICT

While I really enjoyed, and I do mean, really really enjoyed reading the witty repartee, especially between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, the overall old-English style of writing was tedious to read.

Don’t get me wrong—I thought Austen’s clever use of words and phrasing to tell her story was brilliant. The author’s writing expertise was really impressive. But, the tediousness of reading this otherwise clever and engaging story became too much for me.

One thing I especially loved, especially as I read about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, was how they conjured up images of the brilliantly lovely movie, Bridget Jones’s Diary. At first, I was puzzled why I was picturing Bridget as Elizabeth, but then it finally clicked—and the Mr. Darcy gave it away. Darcy’s book character and his movie character even shared the same name!

Reading this book with those movie images really helped make this otherwise difficult-to-read book just a little bit more fun!

Overall, despite the many bright spots in the plot and dialogue of Pride and Prejudice, I was disappointed. However, I think Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is still an important book to read for any lover of literature. And, I am definitely guilty of loving literature!

Thanks for reading our Pride and Prejudice book review. If you’ve already read Jane Austen’s masterpiece, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Content and photos by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter