Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

[Gatsby'sGreenLight]

Thanks, I get it now.

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Question.

When I was reading the book, there is a symbol that reads "Blank Shire" and represented as "----shire". Why is that?

Back in the day, books were censured a lot more than they are now. It was hard, especially in England, to use the real names of places. Instead of writing the entire name, the editors of the books would leave out the first syllable. It was to protect the actual/real place from anything that is said in the novels. We don't have that same kind of censorship today. You'll sometimes see it with names of characters as well if the censors thought the author was referencing a real person.

[Lindac]

Hi I read the letter by Darcy to Elizabeth, explaining things she had pointed out earlier, and regarding the Bingley and Jane matter, I didn't understand Darcy's words, what's the reason he pulled Binley away from Jane? Could anyone explain for me? Thank you so much!

[Fran]

Hi I read the letter by Darcy to Elizabeth, explaining things she had pointed out earlier, and regarding the Bingley and Jane matter, I didn't understand Darcy's words, what's the reason he pulled Binley away from Jane? Could anyone explain for me? Thank you so much!

Darcy initially considers the Bennett girls to be fortune hunters and he does not have a very high opinion of the Bennett family. He is aware that because of the family situation the Bennett girls will be left relatively destitute when their father dies. He also knows that Mrs Bennett is absolutely determined on marrying off her daughters to wealthy men & that there are no lengths Mrs Bennett will not go to to achieve this outcome. We see in the novel where she will even gamble Jane's health in order to push her into Bingley company.

For this reason Darcy is prejudiced against Jane & concerned that his friend, Bingley, will end up married to a woman he does not love and who is only marrying him for his wealth and station in society. Even though Bingley is his friend Darcy still considers him to be naive and too trusting of people. So initially Darcy is attempting to rescue his friend from the risk of an unhappy and unsuitable relationship but as you see later on in the novel Darcy realises that he was wrong & that Jane & Bingley are genuinely in love and that Jane is actually a sincere and virtuous person and more that a suitable match for his friend.

Hope this help

[Lindac]

Hi I read the letter by Darcy to Elizabeth, explaining things she had pointed out earlier, and regarding the Bingley and Jane matter, I didn't understand Darcy's words, what's the reason he pulled Binley away from Jane? Could anyone explain for me? Thank you so much!

Darcy initially considers the Bennett girls to be fortune hunters and he does not have a very high opinion of the Bennett family. He is aware that because of the family situation the Bennett girls will be left relatively destitute when their father dies. He also knows that Mrs Bennett is absolutely determined on marrying off her daughters to wealthy men & that there are no lengths Mrs Bennett will not go to to achieve this outcome. We see in the novel where she will even gamble Jane's health in order to push her into Bingley company.

For this reason Darcy is prejudiced against Jane & concerned that his friend, Bingley, will end up married to a woman he does not love and who is only marrying him for his wealth and station in society. Even though Bingley is his friend Darcy still considers him to be naive and too trusting of people. So initially Darcy is attempting to rescue his friend from the risk of an unhappy and unsuitable relationship but as you see later on in the novel Darcy realises that he was wrong & that Jane & Bingley are genuinely in love and that Jane is actually a sincere and virtuous person and more that a suitable match for his friend.

Hope this help

Ohh ok now I understand, I was really wondering it, since in the old version movie it's showing it's not Darcy who tried to abort this relationship or marriage thing between Bingley and Jane but Bingley's sister, and in the book seems it's different, Darcy was by Bingley's sister's side, who was stopping Bingley from coming back to Jane... Anyway now it's clear, thank you for the explanation!

[AlysonofBathe]

Hi everyone,

I'm a little late to the Pride and Prejudice party; just finished it for the 1001 books challenge.

Overall, I liked it, although I'm not yet an Austen-convert; the characters felt a tad flimsy to me, especially in comparison to Persuasion. But I enjoyed the meta-narrative produced by the inclusion of letters and the theme of reading/misreading.

What does everyone think?

Cheers,
Alyson

[Maud Fitch]

Yes, I agree with your comments. If push came to shove, I'd say I'm a Brontë sisters fan. Perhaps because they are more down-to-earth and more believable for me than Austen's characters.

[AlysonofBathe]

The characters in Pride and Prejudicefelt either bland (Jane the oh-so useless) or idiotic (Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, most of the Bennet clan actually), and while idiotic can be fun, it just doesn't carry the book well, at least not for me. And I appreciate Lizzy's wit, but not enough to cancel out the rest of the characters.

I read Jane Eyre years ago in high school, but I honestly can't recall the details much; I'll get back to it eventually.

Cheers,
Alyson

[Fran]

The characters in Pride and Prejudicefelt either bland (Jane the oh-so useless) or idiotic (Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, most of the Bennet clan actually), and while idiotic can be fun, it just doesn't carry the book well, at least not for me. And I appreciate Lizzy's wit, but not enough to cancel out the rest of the characters.

I read Jane Eyre years ago in high school, but I honestly can't recall the details much; I'll get back to it eventually.

Cheers,
Alyson

@Alyson
What about Lady Catherine de Bourgh ... I just LOVE her

[AlysonofBathe]

What about Lady Catherine de Bourgh ... I just LOVE her

I stand corrected!

You are completely correct - she was interesting, and added so much levity. On that note, I actually found Caroline pretty interesting too. And Collins. Ok, I may have been hasty to judge all of the characters based on the Bennets; there were certainly entertaining bits. I guess my issue remains with the fact that the characters given the most "pagetime" just don't suit my literary tastes.

Cheers,
Alyson

[bookgator]

Not much into Jane Austen but I love some of her novels and Pride and Prejudice as one. I got bored a bit while reading it but enjoyed it when I finally finished it.

[AlysonofBathe]

If you're not accustomed to the genre (I was going to say it's Victorian lit., but it's about twenty years too early), it can definitely be a little slow going, but I think it's a very accessible introduction for readers looking to explore this period of literature.

[Stacygee]

I just joined this forum and was so dismayed to see that the first post I read was critical of my very favorite book Pride and Prejudice. I just loved it and have read it over and over. I love the complexity of Lizzie falling in love with Darcy and even trying to figure out exactly when she did. I also love the misunderstood Darcy as I married my Mr. Darcy and a lot of people don't understand him.

[DATo]

I read P&P for the first time earlier this year on the recommendation of a coworker and enjoyed it very much. Austen wrote before George Eliot and Dickens and one of the things I noticed was the omission of any nods to the lower class which stood out starkly to the banners of social justice carried by the aforesaid authors (as well as others of their period). I did very much enjoy the story and Austen's writing style and I found myself comparing Austen to Eliot in this regard. I consider Eliot the most masterful female writer of prose in the English language, but Austen is certainly Eliot's master when it comes to humor. I absolutely LOVED the contentious discussions between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet!

Also, though Austen presented a bit of a feminist attitude she moderates it and voices it with an equanimity seldom seen in current day feminist writers such as Jane Smiley. Smiley's book A Thousand Acres presented literally EVERY man in the story as a villain of one kind or another or lacking in moral principles. (Can You say "manipulation" ? I bet you can!) I would imagine that even a woman reading Smiley sooner or later has to stop and say, "Wait a minute, even a clock that's broke is right twice a day." A much better presentation of a feminist viewpoint in my opinion was Amy Tan's Joy Luck CLub which was more believable given the more ubiquitous sexist attitudes prevalent in the Chinese culture towards girls. Austen plays it fair right down the line and I admire her for this.

GREAT BOOK !!! (Even if Mark Twain didn't think so *LOL*)

"To me his prose is unreadable -- like Jane Austen's. No, there is a difference. I could read his prose on salary, but not Jane's. Jane is entirely impossible. It seems a great pity that they allowed her to die a natural death."
- Mark Twain (Letter to W. D. Howells, 18 January 1909)

[purrin]

I simply loved it! I loved the narrative. But I didn't like Emma as much.

[Redlegs]

I must say I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice. It was full of relatively gentle social commentary and humour. Some of the characters were caricatures to a certain extent, but they were well integrtaed into the structure of the novel. I was sufficiently impressed to name one of my cats Mr Darcy.