Pride and Prejudice Reflection

Pride and Prejudice is an 1813 novel of manners written by Jane Austen. It has consistently appeared near the top of lists of "most-loved books" among literary scholars and the reading public. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, with over 20 million copies sold, and has inspired many derivatives in modern literature. For more than a century, dramatic adaptations, reprints, unofficial sequels, films, and TV versions of Pride and Prejudice have portrayed the memorable characters and themes of the novel, reaching mass audiences.

 

When I first saw this book, the name on it confused me a lot. The name represents the general characters in humanity, which is quite passive to describe a person. We can even see them in ourselves when we think we are superior to others. But I still wonder about the story behind pride and prejudice. Is it a political story or a war story? Just when I opened page 1, the first sentence says, “It’s truth acknowledged, that a single man in a possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”. Obviously, this book is a love story encompassed by wealth.

 

After finishing Chapter 1 to Chapter 8, I have found that women’s daily talk is nothing but marriage. For instance, Mrs. Bennet worries about her five daughter’s marriage and urges Mr. Bennet to visit Mr. Bingley who is a handsome and rich man in their neighborhood. Indeed, the ideal partner should be beautiful and wealthy for both woman and man, which I view as prejudice. While pride is depicted in Mr. Darcy primarily, there is no one who can fit his appetite. When everyone is dancing at the ball, he stands in the corner and ignores others except Mr. Bingley. It seems that he will never find his true love because of his personality. However, it is him that has a crush on Elizabeth who is the youngest daughter of Mr. Bennet. And now, I begin to doubt Mr. Darcy’s pride. As far as I know, there is no possibility for pride existing in a relationship. That is, either side should be equal. Therefore, I am wondering about the conflicts between his desire and his own nature. On the other hand, Elizabeth seems to have something unique and different from other women. She only observes the bright side of people and puts her family as the priority instead of her marriage. I haven’t seen any components of pride and prejudice from her yet, which is opposite from the name of this book. As a result, I am intrigued to keep reading the following chapters once again.