“Happiness in marriage is
entirely a matter of chance. If
the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever
so similar before-hand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They
always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of
vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the
person with whom you are to pass your life.”
Charlotte Lucas, Chapter 6.
Charlotte
Lucas’ thoughts on marriage are troubling to the modern mind.
Come
to think of it, they were also troubling to Elizabeth Bennett’s mind. She could hardly believe that her beloved
friend, Charlotte could believe such things.
But
on Charlotte’s behalf, she was a woman in a precarious position. At
twenty-seven years old, her chances to marry were becoming significantly
smaller with time. Her parents
would be able to pass along little if any inheritance to her and she felt the
apprehension of her younger brothers that they would be left to care for her as
the years went by.
And
for a woman of her time period, this was a precarious position.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Opening sentence of novel, Chapter 1.
First
published on January 28, 1813, Pride And
Prejudice recently celebrated its 200th birthday. It has captured devoted readers in every
time period and almost every language and has a well-deserved place on any recommended
reading list. Jane Austen has created a host of characters that have managed to
retain acute identifiability for every generation, which is a remarkable
achievement for any writer.
As
a woman, I feel for Elizabeth and Jane, whose hearts hold out for someone who
they can admire and love. While
women around them feel the pressure to marry for financial security, they
continue to hold out for a relationship that is affectionate and respectful.
The
characters created in Pride And
Prejudice, the second published book by Jane Austen richly portray critical
issues of the day, along with the importance of money, class structure and how
these matters rule the novel’s characters, their choices and their inherent societal
obligations.
The business of her life was to
get her daughters married.
About Mrs. Bennett, Chapter 1.
Jane
Austen wrote Pride And Prejudice
between October 1796 and August 1797, after staying with her brother Edward and
his wife at Goodnestone Park in Kent and originally titled it First Impressions. Initially rejected by a publisher,
Austen made revisions between 1811 and 1812 and eventually renamed the story Pride And Prejudice.
It
is possible that the title Pride And
Prejudice was taken from a passage in one of Jane Austen’s favorite novels
of the day, Fanny Burney’s Cecilia –
“The whole of this unfortunate business,”
said Dr. Lyster, “has been the result of PRIDE and PREJUDICE… Yet this,
however, remember: if to PRIDE and PREJUDICE you owe your miseries, so
wonderfully is good and evil balanced, that to PRIDE AND PREJUDICE you will
also owe their termination…”
Jane
Austen’s skill in irony, comedy and in vividly representing the intricate social
mores of her time period combined with the richness and variety of the
characters that she creates in her novels is all happily and abundantly
displayed in Pride And Prejudice.
“I declare after all
there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than
of a book! – When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not
an excellent library.”
Caroline Bingley, Chapter 11.
(For
once, I agree with Miss Bingley.)
As
leader of Britain during World War II Winston Churchill comforted himself
during a bout with mid-war pneumonia by having his daughter Sarah read it aloud
from the foot of his bed. He had
already read Sense And Sensibility
and now enjoyed Pride And Prejudice.
“What calm lives they had, those
people? No worries about the
French Revolution or the crashing struggle of the Napoleonic Wars. Only manners controlling natural passion
as far as they could, together with cultural explanations of any mischances.”
You’ve rightfully admired
Mr. Firth as Mr. Darcy, enjoyed Judi Dench’s rendition of Lady Catherine De
Bourgh or groaned at the failure of the Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier 1940 movie
to stick to the actual novel – so make sure you take the time to check out the
real work itself.
The Jane Austen Tea Society has happily returned to a study of our beloved
Regency author’s works in the order in which they were published. Our second
selection will be Pride And Prejudice
with a High Tea and Book Discussion to take place on Saturday the 27th of April
2013 at 11am.
There is plenty of time –
start reading!
