What do you write about a book that has been reviewed more times since I’ve been born,
and there is nothing new to say. Yet, here I am with my own nugget about the book that
spawned a whole generation of Darcy romantics. Pride and Prejudice is not romantic in
the normal sense. It is a slow and delicate descent into the world of love and
togetherness.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good wealth
must be in want for a wife. Sure, why not? In the 18th century. And yet, how did she
know? How did Austen write such universal truths when she lived more than two centuries
ago. Her comments on the society are so spot on that they are still quoted in homes,
rich and poor alike. The sentiments resonate because the same situations arise even
now, where finding a capable man for a girl of marriageable age is a norm. But, that
isn’t what the whole novel is about anyway.
This classic fiction is surprisingly modern considering it was written so long ago.
It starts with the introduction of the Bennet family – Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five
daughters, each with her own distinctive quality that drives the story forward. Mrs.
Bennet is chiefly concerned with the marriage of her daughters, while Mr. Bennet is
seemingly indifferent to the Mrs. He has realized with time that Mrs. Bennet gets on
his nerves with her busybody ways. Continue reading “Book Review: Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen”