Pride and Prejudice!

[Perdy the Birdy]

Anyone read it?
I read it an loved it!
I am also half way through the mini-series; I don't like it as much as the book :/

Anywhosie; what did we all think of the book?

[Eni]

Yeah, it was the first Austen I read and yeah, loved it so much. It was such a surprise actually that I liked it because I'd previously read Jane Eyre and Wurthering Heights and hated them so much. I had always just lumped Pride and Prejudice in with them in my mind.

But no it was so funny. Just everything Austen writes is so clever, I just laugh the whole way through. I also love how all her characters are flawed. Elizabeth obviously makes a massive mistake with her first impressions of Darcy and Wickham.

I really like Emma as well (although my friend thinks it's the worst of her books) but I felt a lot akin with Emma. There was a brilliant line about writing lists and never actually doing any of the things on them, which is something I do all the time.

[Perdy the Birdy]

Yeah, she does play with a lot of wit and irony and such.
I did find it very amusing to read, which I found suprising because when I started I was convinced I woudn't understand the jokes xD
I love to hate Mrs Bennet, she is suchan annoyingly brillant character xD

[Eni]

Mrs Bennet is hillarious yeah. There's a really good cameo of her in the 5th Jasper Fforde book as well where the book would needs to raise money so they like do big brother in the bennet house and you vote off your least favourite family member XP

[Wanderer]

Ahh Pride & Prejudice... Quite honestly one of my favorite books of all time. First time I ever attempted to read it was in 6th grade, and I failed miserably. I thought it was a horrible, boring book. A year later, for some reason I decided to give it another try (ignored my pride and prejudice? o.O ok NO, that wasn't clever), and IT WAS AMAZING O__O Finished that book in a day, haha.

I really, really love the main character Elizabeth. She is finally a female protagonist who kicks butt and doesn't have to rely on men for anything. *cough Bella cough*

[Eni]

Ah, I really love Elizabeth but I think you're completely wrong in saying that. She's amazingly afronted by men's opinions, when at the beginning she's offended by Darcy refusing to dance with her, and she swoons for Wickham at his vague flirtings and completely misjudges the situations. Her actions are completely reliant on the actions of the men in her life. She's a 19th century upper class woman, she goes from her father's home to her husbands; she's /completely/ reliant on men.

[Wanderer]

Isn't that true of any person? Aren't we all affected by the actions of others? I can totally see what you're saying, but I kinda just meant that she was such an independent person, especially in comparison to other women during that time period.

[Eni]

I just really disagree. If you're gonna talk about independence you should consider Lydia. Lydia defied tradition and social situation to be with who she wanted ...that person turned out to be a jerk, but at the same time she was cowed by male expectations and thoughts. I really really like Elizabeth, she's very clever headed, and passionate but not really independent.

[Wanderer]

I dunno, I still find Elizabeth to be a fairly independent person. Maybe I've interpreted her incorrectly, but that's just how I see her. I agree with your point about Lydia, but I just labeled her more as a strong-willed person than independent.

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree

[Perdy the Birdy]

Isn't Lydia just a younger, and slightly more radical version, of Mrs Bennent. Like, they both have that sort of almost airy-fairy type personality.
And I know that Lydia is meant to be a contrast to Elizabeth, to make Elizabeth seem more controlled, level-headed and such.

[Eni]

Lydia's vaguely like Mrs Bennet but she's also in general just very strong willed. She is like her in her ideas of mean but she lacks Mrs Bennet's sense of propriety. Mrs Bennet would never have run away with a man and caused her and her family disgrace.

[Perdy the Birdy]

Have you guys read or heard of Letters to Alice? It's the mix of non-fiction and fiction letters to Alice from her Aunt all about Pride and Prejudice.It's a but....dry. But it provides good insight and is benefical in re-shapping your reading (unless you're weird like me and understood context the first time round xP)

[liam.]

I plan to read Pride and Prejudice after exams, but I think that's when Looking for Alaska will arrive, so it may have to wait.

[Eni]

If anyone, having finished Pride and Prejudice wants to read another Austen I really want to read Sense and Sensibility. We could try it for the book club one month?

[Wanderer]

^I would really like that I've been wanting to read another Austen, but haven't got the motivation to actually go out and buy it... heh.