I am slightly embarrassed to admit that it took me this long to read what is widely considered to be a literary classic because of my English background, but I’m only human. To be entirely transparent, I had chosen not to read it up until now because I figured I wouldn’t enjoy it, and I was partially correct in my suspicions.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen tells the story of several characters, although the most focused upon are arguably Jane and Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. The story takes place in the 1800s and follows the lives and love interests of the three characters already mentioned, along with members of their families.
The Bennett family is comprised of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and their five daughters, with Jane being the oldest and Elizabeth being second in line. I almost couldn’t bring myself to continue reading the story solely because of Mrs. Bennett and her ludicrous ideas of family and womanhood, but I continually reminded myself that life was very different in this period of time.
Essentially, Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy and is positively abhorred by him. Jane has an interest in Mr. Darcy’s friend, Mr. Bingley, and because of said interest, Elizabeth finds herself spending more and more time in the presence of Mr. Darcy. Several events transpire to cause Elizabeth to recognize she may have been wrong in her initial judgment of Mr. Darcy, and without giving anything away, she may or may not be willing to give him a second chance in order to have a more pleasant relationship with him.
The writing of Pride and Prejudice is exquisite, but I found the treatment of and the discussion toward women to be infuriating. Again, this story takes place when a woman’s worth is equated with her ability to play the pianoforte and her physical appearance, but it isn’t one I can say I truly loved or enjoyed. I would say it is a read because it is considered a classic, and the writing is superb, but the actual plot sort and the perception of women pissed me off.
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