Book Review Pride and Prejudice
Historical and cultural context of Pride and Prejudice
One of the cultural change that occurred during Jane Austen’s lifetime was the expanding of literacy and print culture in England. By the year 1800, most of the people either in the middle class or above could read.
The novel Pride and prejudice by Jane Austen has been a very popular novel since its original publication. It has attracted wide coverage in reviews across different members of the society. From the literally reviews, academic, novelists and general public readers. The novel has sold more than 20 million copies since the story of Jane Austen has touched hearts for over 200 years. The novel is believed to be actually out of print which goes to show its popularity among readers across the historical timelines.
Jane Austen is very influential and important in development literature. Her literature is still very much relevant after more than 200 years of existence. Jane Austen transformed from being an ordinary novelist to become one of the most celebrated literary icons. Jane Austen is credited with the unparalleled way to lure the readers into the fantasy world of the Bennet’s family. She has influenced literature and will continue even towards the future.
The main characters in this novel are Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Elizabeth who acts as a protagonist in the novel, is the second daughter in her family. She is intelligent and witted. She is one of the most known female characters in English literature.
Darcy on the other hand is the charming gentleman from an affluent family who proposes to Elizabeth and rejected. The reference to his character is not heavily narrated by the writer but he emerges as the most ideal partner for Elizabeth Bennet. Despite her initial prejudice against him Elizabeth realizes that Darcy is a very noble and gentle.
The news that an affluent young gentleman called Charles Bingley has rented manor of Netherfield Park and causes emotions to run high in the neighboring villages and particularly in the Bennet’s family.
The Bennet’s family have five unmarried daughters. Their mother Mrs. Bennet is desperate to marry them off. She pays Mr. Bingley a social visit, the Bennet’s attend a ball where Mr. Bingley is interested with Jane, Elizabeth’s sister and spends the night dancing with her. However, his friend Mr. Darcy is bored and seemed not interested in the event. He even refuses to dance with Elizabeth. This makes people view him as an obnoxious and an arrogant rich gentleman. The plot is then build along that line to the end.
The themes that are very dominant from the book include the theme of love. Pride and Prejudice is a story of one the most cherished and adored love stories. The love between Elizabeth and Darcy is shown to have overcome many challenges to finally make it. Another theme is the theme of reputation. The theme is identifiable in the novel when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield. She arrives with her muddy skirts. This shocks the reputation conscious Miss Bingley and her similar friends. The other theme is the theme of class. This theme is closely related to that of reputation. It serves the purpose to show the regimented nature of the social life in the Regency England.
According to the British Library collection about Pride and Prejudice from the critical review, it praises the realistic nature of characters and the scenes in the book. The reviewer sees the book as having a purpose that goes beyond psychological and social realism and any reader may notice the author’s assessment between greed and practicality when choosing a husband. According to other sources, Pride and Prejudice illustrates the essence of true love. The author’s approach to love throughout the story of Elizabeth and Darcy makes the book a satisfying love story. Another source also illustrates the author’s understanding of the complexities of human emotions in the most exquisite language by portraying characters that have withstood the test of time. We are still able to identify and relate to these complexities even though our world has changed since the author’s time.
Pride and Prejudice is a classic love story and also much more of that as it has a lot to say about people’s vanity, pride and prejudice in general. I love this novel because it is well-written and the characters are impressive including those with a personality that I cannot stand. My favorite character is Elizabeth because she is strong-willed, independent and outspoken. She does not agree to marry for any other reason apart from love even if it meant not marrying someone who could provide her a better social and economic status. She does not fail to admit her faults whenever she is wrong. Her two younger sisters and also her mother annoy her as much as they annoy me. She also cannot stand the arrogant sisters of Mr. Bingley and Lady Catherine, Mr. Darcy’s aunt, whom I dislike every time I read the book. They think they are better because of financial and social status. In most cases I find myself laughing every time I read the book, this is courtesy of Mr. Bennet. On the other hand, I despise Mrs. Bennet who annoys me and also Mr. Collins as well, because he makes himself look like a fool whenever he speaks. At times I feel like I would tell both Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins to shut up every time I read the book. Finally, Mr. Darcy is charming and infuriating at the same time.
I think Jane Austen’s ability to tell the story like this, is what makes the book well-loved. Her writing was not very different from the way we use our language today, which makes her book easy to understand as compared to other classics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries which were very hard to understand at times. Her book is relevant as she wrote about subjects that are a natural part of humans and her characters are full of life and realistic. If you like great classic literature, humorous characters and a good love story, then you will definitely enjoy reading the novel.
