“Pride and Prejudice” is Sweet, Old Fashioned Romance

Pride and Prejudice makes me want to drink a nice cup of tea and give warm hugs to all my dearest friends. It’s a spectacular novel that made me giggle one minute and sigh out of love for the characters the next.

Don’t let the fact that this is a classic put you off. Though the vocabulary is sizably larger than the language in modern books, I didn’t have a lot of trouble with it, and besides, struggling through a few big words is worth it when it’s Jane Austen’s witty and clever writing. I never found the story to be boring because the plot was so exciting.

There’s romance, scandals, gossip, family quarrels, hilarity (especially concerning Mrs. Bennet), broken friendships, young women agonizing over good-looking gentleman and vice versa, lies and deception, and proposals. It had everything I could ever want from it and so much more.

Take Elizabeth Bennet, for example. I was surprised when the main character of such an old-fashioned book turned out to be so spunky and independent. I already knew Lizzy wasn’t exactly a quiet, soft-spoken girl, but I could never guess just how charming and outspoken she really was. I loved that she confined in her trusted older sister, Jane. Their strong sisterly bond was absolutely delightful.

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”

And then there’s Mr. Darcy.

Is there really anything I need to say about Mr. Darcy? If you’ve read this book then you are probably as obsessed in love with him as much as I am, or at the very least admire and respect him. For those of you who have sadly never picked up Pride and Prejudice, you are most likely already familiar with his character, but I’m going to describe him anyway.

Mr. Darcy is the kind of man who has few friends, because he chooses them carefully. But when he does take interest in a person, he is incredibly loyal, kind, and loving to them.

Because of his shyness, however, people who don’t know him are quick to judge him as extremely arrogant, rude, and stuck up (like Lizzy does). Once you get to know him, though, he’s pretty much the opposite. He’s just so genuinely nice, friendly, intelligent, and isn’t afraid to say exactly what he’s thinking at the moment. Suffice to say, he and Lizzy had some highly entertaining dialogue.

“There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.”
“And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody.”
“And yours,” he replied with a smile, “is willfully to misunderstand them.”

Even if you think you already know everything about Pride and Prejudice, I still highly suggest you read it. It was just so lovely, entertaining, and made my heart happy. I would recommend it to anyone.