chomiji: Cartoon of chomiji in the style of the Powerpuff Girls (shigure-book)
[personal profile] chomiji

I had meant to read this for some time now, because I enjoy the various "fantasy of manners" books that have come out in the past decade or so, such as Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint and Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stervermer's Sorcery and Cecelia. I felt I should read the acknowledged inspiration for these. I have to say that it was an uphill struggle for me. The early 19th-century writing style - where much is "told" rather than "shown" - didn't give me much pleasure, but I was actually somewhat prepared for it because Susanna Clarke did such an effective pastiche of it in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. However, the fact that the story is completely dependent on a series of misunderstandings drove me crazy. I kept wanting to reach into the book, grab the chief protagonists forcefully by their shoulders, and shake sense into them: "Just talk to each other, already!"

Elizabeth Bennett, the lively and intelligent second daughter of a bookish squire with a rather revolting, materialistic wife, meets the wealthy Mr. Darcy at a ball and quickly dismisses him as arrogant and unfeeling. During the course of a great many events and mishaps surrounding the social lives of Elizabeth and her four sisters - sweet eldest sister Jane, would-be bluestocking Mary, colorless and empty-headed Kitty, and spoiled, impulsive "baby" Lydia - she begins to discover that her first impressions are wrong, and realizes that she has made a terrible mistake in her original judgment. Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy, who has dismissed Elizabeth because of her vulgar relatives, begins to realize that she's a worthy person despite her unfortunate connections. The resolution of the situation between the two is the heart of the story.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - review

It's true that Austen's writing can be drily witty. Awful Mrs. Bennett seems to inspire her humor the most: she's a money-grubbing harridan whose main determination of suitability in suitors for her five daughters is annual income, and at one point she's pleased to be able to offer Elizabeth up to a smarmy clergyman cousin. (Elizabeth is, thank goodness, spirited enough to turn him down - and her father, despite his general hands-off attitude toward his wife's machinations, backs her up.) Darcy's officious rich aunt Lady Catherine is another favorite target: Austen's mockingly bland and respectful descriptions of this woman's antics were among my favorite parts of the book.

But in general, I found that the dense writing obscured a lot of the force of the events of the story. A really good example is the section near the end in which, I suppose, Darcy finally proposes and Elizabeth finally accepts. I have to say "I suppose," because there's just an amazing amount of obfuscation in the passages there. What should have been a really dramatic moment is hidden completely hidden in a tangle of words.

I know that many, many people really love this book, and I feel churlish and ignoble in my lack of appreciation for it. But it really is not to my taste.

(Wikipedia informs me that Mr. Darcy's first name is Fitzwilliam. I guess that's why no one ever calls him by it ... .)

Date: 2007-09-29 01:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fmanalyst.livejournal.com
Pride and Prejudice is more appealing the younger one is when one reads it, in my opinion. I came across it when I was 14 and loved it. Now that I'm 40 and jaded, I much prefer Persuasion.

Date: 2007-09-29 01:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ann-leckie.livejournal.com
I first read P&P in college, and immediately noticed that Elizabeth's change of mind about Darcy becomes most definite after she sees his huge house and realizes just how much cash he's got. I observed this to the E-comp instructor who had assigned it and immediately earned her undying enmity.

It's better on re-reading, for me. I was able to get better used to the style and see the drama communicated better because of it. Maybe in a few years pick it up again--but definitely check out Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility. I've never been able to re-read Emma, because I get a few chapters in and just want to slap the girl. But others like it very much.

Date: 2007-09-29 01:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bad-mushroom.livejournal.com
See, these are all the problems I had with P&P before I took a class on it and the lovely Michele Lettiere made me see the light :) I guess what you really have to keep in mind while reading this book is that we're not really talking about wealthy people here, particularly as the Bennets and their friends go (I'm mostly thinking about the Lucases here, I suppose). Mrs. Bennet is really only sensible to be concerned with the marriages of her daughters, a) because with their lack of money and connections, offers of marriage are unlikely to come more than once, if that, and b) because women in this time are truly sunk without a father or husband to care for them financially. And as much as we as modern readers want Elizabeth and Darcy to just talk to each other...there's this huge set of social weirdness that they have to get by to make that happen. I guess what I'm saying is: it all sounds uncomplicated to us, but for Jane Austen these were insurmountable odds she was setting for her characters. Because if this wasn't a novel, and instead the real life of someone named Elizabeth Bennet in 1809, she would probably have died Mrs. Elizabeth Collins instead of Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy.

Date: 2007-09-30 04:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bad-mushroom.livejournal.com
Right, no, I totally understand that. But I think it's hard to appreciate the book in any way without taking that into consideration as you're assessing your reaction to the world of the novel. And I guess as for immersing yourself in the world, well, it wasn't Austen's job to explain her world to people who were living it as if it was an alien planet XD The poor woman probably didn't expect to be remembered at all past her lifetime.

(I find it amusing that I'm defending Austen here; I'm really not that much of a fan, heh. I find her overly bitter and actually fairly heartless in her criticism of people in general. There's no warmth in her sarcasm for me.)

Also--haha, thank you. I try :)

Date: 2007-09-30 04:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bad-mushroom.livejournal.com
Ye gods, don't even attempt Emma. I made the obligatory pass at it since it's actually my first name, but BLEAUGH, I couldn't even finish the first chapter. Other Emmas I have asked have said the same, coincidentally. The movie's cute though.

Date: 2007-10-01 03:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bad-mushroom.livejournal.com
Right, right. Conceded.

Aw man, I know. I would time travel just for the chance to have a real go at that, I would.

(Oof.)

Date: 2007-10-01 03:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bad-mushroom.livejournal.com
Hooboy. That sounds fun.

May 2025

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
111213141516 17
18192021222324
25262728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 21st, 2025 12:44 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios
OSZAR »