The characters and morals of P. P.

So far, I think Pride and Prejudice has been an interesting story and mostly because of the characters in the story.  Like mostly if not all stories, there are some I like and others I don’t like. Elizabeth Bennett is one of the characters I do like because she is a woman who is very aware of who she is and what makes her happy. (self-awareness).  Also, unlike most of the other women in her society, she will only marry to someone who she will be happy with and not just of their wealth nor good looks. So much so that she refused two marriage proposals from Mr. Collins despite the possibility of being able to inherit the estate if she were to do so.  Then she refused Mr. Darcy’s proposal because he said that ever though it is against his good reason and his character to marry her despite his feelings toward her. Mr. Darcy did it in a way that made it uncomfortable for both, but what really bothered Elizabeth was that Mr. Darcy said it was against your reason and will to marry her, and his involvement in Elizabeth’s sister’s affairs. Elizabeth is one of those characters that I think is trying to find love and look after her family. Family is the most important thing in my life, and I think it is one of Elizabeth’s important things she values as well.

As for the characters, I don’t like in this story so far, Ms. Bennett is someone who although wants the best futures for her five daughters by marrying them quickly and as soon as an opportunity to be married to someone wealthy. She does it in a way that seems pushy and she is easily unsettled by her husband’s opinions about what is good for their daughters and who doesn’t push his daughters if at all to marry in a hurry. Not to mention that I can’t stand that way she speaks in a high-strung voice.

 As for the story, I do like how that story has different characters with different temperaments and their own views and goals in this Victorian, English society. It lets me get a better look and understanding of each character in this story rather than just the main and supporting characters. As for the matter of how marriage is done in that time period, it is similar to women are compelled to marry for their own as well as for their family’s benefit and wishes like in Romeo and Juliet when Juliet’s parents wanted her to marry Paris. But in this story, the women seem to have more sway and more choices to who they want to marry in terms of good looks and wealth. Still, I am glad I don’t live in a time where anyone is compelled or forced to marry anyone, but rather marry for love and the relationship between to people. Love is an important and precious thing in anyone’s life. I guess that is what this story is mostly about, his what makes people happy, their feelings of love, and their views and pursuits of them. 

As strange as it may be I have a vague memory of watching Pride and Prejudice at one of the all-girl sleepovers we all had in elementary school. Why we chose to watch a movie based on a literary classic at age 10 I have no idea. However, I was eager to watch the movie once again before tackling the book itself. I have not watched Pride and Prejudice since the young age of 10 so it was almost as if I was enjoying it for the first time.

For starters, I would like to share that I believe Keira Knightley, who played Elizabeth Bennet, is widely talented and will forever be one of my favorite actresses. In this movie, Elizabeth Bennet is clearly different from her sisters and most other girls during this time period. As I said she is one of my favorite actresses because her characters typically are independent from the society standards set for women.

In the movie, it clearly shows how a woman’s lot in life is to marry well and have children as soon as possible. It is shown that woman who are educated are somewhat superior to those without education. However, it seemed almost imposable for the average woman to advance far in her learning as she was pushed to marry and reproduce so quickly. Therefor most rich men were seeking woman of high breeding and education leaving the common farmers daughter to marry in her class maintaining the gap between the higher class and lower class.

I defiantly enjoyed re-watching this film and realized how much of the plot was way over my 10-year-old mind at the time. I really enjoyed the conflict through the film between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth as they attempted to hid their love for each other. I also loved the ending in this film compared to all of the Romeo and Juliet we have read. The two main characters in love finally ended up together and alive! I am a pushover for a happily ever after ending and I finally got it in this film and I’m excited to reach the happily ever after in the book as well.

Romance Sells, Old School Values Still Prevail

I'll be honest. I've never watched, read or really thought I would enjoy Pride or Prejudice, but after I started reading it over break, I couldn't put it down. I ended up reading the entire thing in one day.

My first comment, upon reaching our Vol I Chapter XVII checkpoint was one of confusion. Why on earth does Darcy have to be such an ass? I also found myself really agreeing with Elizabeth's views on Bingley's sisters, and the general behaviors of people.

I suppose this book makes me think of my upbringing, and how manners were such an important thing, and how people perceive you and your family is such an important thing, no matter the time. Even though I'm twenty-one and about to move out, the perception that we're well-mannered and well-behaved always is still very apparent to me.

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us."

This quote also reminds me a lot of how I grew up, as vanity more describes the need for good outward appearances than pride. I have no trouble being silly and goofing off with friends, laughing and not regarding the opinions of others because I know that there are some things you just don't do, and there are some things that you can do. My mother on the other hand, alike her mother, believe that best behavior in public is always necessary. Sometimes this makes me wonder how any of them handled my brother and I in our quite normal, crazy toddler years.

I also started thinking of why so many people like this book. I do agree Jane Austen's way of writing does encourage a person to really think about society and how absurd it can be. I also think it encourages us to think about class, and what it really means to have class versus having grace. As shows up in what we have already read, just because you are of high class doesn't mean you have good grace, and just because you aren't of high class doesn't mean you can't have good grace.

I'm also led to think about all the descriptors that were used for me growing up, that even now represent how much women should be seen a certain way. I was a tom-boy, just because I preferred to play football at recess and not house. I was too nerdy, because I liked model rockets. I wasn't girly enough, because my first interaction with the boy I really liked, was, according to my "friend" I was supposed to kiss him and show off my chest. Suffice to say I didn't do that, and still don't understand why they thought it was appropriate for 12 year olds.

This book was a fantastic look, in my opinion, at romance, a woman’s place in the world, class and behavior, as well as family.

The Pride in My Prejudice

I have never encountered the book Pride and Prejudice nor have I had any slight interest in reading it. It seemed like one of those old books on a shelf that just collects dust. Judging from the cover before reading this book looked boring however, looks can be deceiving.  This book has gotten high remarks so, that must mean there is something positive about it. After reading this though I feel that there are a lot of clichés in the plot.

I figured that this novel would be uninteresting and hard to read, however, I found it quite the opposite. Jane Austen made the characters interesting in the way she wrote and developed the characters.  They had life and there were distinct characteristics about each one.  For example, Ms. Bennett comes off as crazy while Mr. Bennett is really sarcastic. In a weird way, I think that they complement each other.

One thing that this book is heavily based around is a patriarchal society. It’s important to any girl in their era as well as Elizabeth to retrieve a wealthy man to marry. I can see why marrying a wealthy man is important because if you’re a parent you want the best financial situation possible which means you get to worry less if you know that your daughter is being taken care of. If you don’t have an abundance of money then you aren’t important and you don’t matter in the slightest. Money is what makes the world go ‘round. These kinds of ideals about money are still around today because some people are famous just because the amount of wealth they have. The excitement due to Mr. Bigley reminded me of Cinderella where women are lining up to get a chance to be with the prince.

I think that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcys relationship is extremely childish. If you like someone then show them. Kindergarten is the time where boys show they like girls by being rude and mean to them. This is not kindergarten, however, I think the way they interact with each other adds to their relationship. I can also relate this to how in popular shows and movies such as, Beauty and the Beast, women are attracted to the guy they shouldn’t like. Somehow being the “bad” guy is attractive for some reason. I think as we read on the relationships between people will be more developed to the reader and as a result become an even better story over time.