BOOK REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth and Darcy
Image by hd_artist (Himanshu Negi)

 

I always tend to avoid Romantic (Romantic era) novels carrying idyllic love stories, and for a long time thought Pride and Prejudice to be one of them but since, it’s a famous classic literary piece, I couldn’t avoid it much longer.

 On the surface, it’s a story about two people (Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy) having contrasting system of values who ultimately fall in love with each other. The potency to consider Pride and Prejudice, as a romantic novel has a limited scope. Austen has tried to broaden the vision of the novel into a social commentary and criticism or novel of manners. Clearly, it is a satire and social parody than a romantic novel.

Austen brings forth an important question through her novels, 

How to establish oneself securely when the only option open to a woman was marriage? In what favour a woman should go for? Money or Love?”

The regency era, during the time when the novel was written was very much well focused on marriage, fashion and manners. French revolution and its horror left a major impact on England and other European countries. Eventually, ideas of liberty and individualism inaugurated in the mindsets of the people. After the revolution, English society rapidly began to grow and social transformation became a part of the lives of the people and is evident in the theme of the book, that is, social reality and class structures. Humorous and witty literature was prominent during this era. Austen’s world of novels is tame, dramatic and has variety like real lives.  Romance was a secondary issue for Austen, she was primarily concerned with the burdens couples have to face in marriage.

Austen planted the roots of the novel in the rustic settings of Hertfordshire and Derbyshire primarily with Elizabeth and Darcy as the central characters. Pride and prejudice is very well regarded as a realist literary piece. There’s a sensation of youthfulness in the narrative. It’s a very young though mature novel discussing social and moral barriers, and reasonable outcomes. Elizabeth Bennet is a very vivid character. She is well read, quick, absolute and has a boyish zest of liveliness. Uncommon during those days when women were supposed to live in a limited range, Elizabeth Bennet had a distinct personality. This is what attracted Mr. Darcy, her liveliness and her adventurous, yet modest nature. She is indeed a bewitching personality. Individual sensibility, acknowledgement, impression and morality have been given a special space in the novel.

More than a love story Pride and Prejudice is the transformation of two sensitive and blindly wrong-headed people who were duly absorbed in their own blunt world. Elizabeth Bennet is an inspiration to many readers as her character is very much symbolic to freedom of choosing your own partner. She has been embraced by generations of readers as one of the first classical feminist protagonist. Elizabeth Bennet with her compulsive and sceptical nature didn’t fit into conventional romantic feminine trope.

Austen’s characters are stubborn like real people yet, bound to morality and acceptance of truth, making them flexible as literary characters. There’s indeed pride and prejudice in their subconsciousness, yet they shift their ideas and overcome their biases to become the most loved union of all time.

The whole plot revolves around the dichotomy of pride and prejudices that exist in the society, represented by Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. It shows how manners and demeanour dupes the society. Pride and prejudice is a novel of manners, “The conventions of the society dominate the story, and characters are differentiated by the degree to which they measure up to the uniform standard, or ideal, of behavior or fall below it.”

Austen creates a juxtaposition between societal and individualistic concerns in the novel. Elizabeth bears the flagship of rebellious individual. She is an independent woman who bears no tolerance for men with ill-suited manners and behaviour.

Alistair Duckworth finds it generally agreed that Pride and Prejudice "achieves an ideal relation between the individual and society. There’s a reconciliation between two sensitive and socially developed characters.

 And the fact that her discovery is chiefly a psychological process, not an outward action, is stressed by her realization that it involves self-discovery. "Had I been in love," she cries (tantalizing the reader with the conditional), "I could not have been more wretchedly blind.... I have courted prepossession and ignorance and driven reason away where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself." 

The readers feel deceived and want to retaliate the action by uniting Elizabeth and Darcy which eventually happens in the end. That’s why Pride and prejudice is simply so pleasing and emotionally satisfying to the readers.

 Jane Austen creates this charming tale of individual development and self-knowledge. It is a discourse to self-knowledge to not know the un-known or better not to judge the unknown.

Image by: Rohan Sarathe

Pride and Prejudice is a sexually implicit novel with a historical setting. Austen never describe the intricacies of the characters like what colour hair Elizabeth has or decoration of the room etc. Austen is more open to describe emotional and mental trauma rather than describing the physical one.

The melodramatic Mrs bennet is a pretty but silly and acquisitive woman who is committed to get  her daughters married and settled before Mr. bennet dies, and the responsibility alone shows up on her.

Elizabeth’s beauty isn’t her physical demeanour, it’s her independent nature, impertinence and robustness which most men don’t admire in a woman but attracts Mr. Darcy. No wonder why Mr. Darcy is the most loved fictional character of all time!

Mr. Darcy ‘s character as a self-righteous moralistic person who considers himself superior to others in the first half of the novel. He seemed to have a very rigid personality but of course, love for Elizabeth brings a change in himself.  Mr. Darcy was cautious of Elizabeth’s family which was socially inappropriate for his class. He previously an insolent man; consumed by his pride and turned down by Elizabeth, brings a considerable change in himself. He bends and moulds himself and subdues his pride and accepts Elizabeth’s family.

Both the characters overcome the deceptions of pride and prejudice by attaining self-knowledge and truth. Through Elizabeth, Darcy learns about individual choices. A society occupied by judgement and pride is hidden between various characters of the novel. Charlotte Lucas, a twenty-seven-year-old, plain looking girl, forces herself to marry a man of ill demeanour.

Mr Bennet was captivated by the beauty and youth of Mrs Bennet with whom he had married and put an end to all the affection he had for her because of her illiberal and plain mind. Their marriage was an eye opener to Elizabeth; she shaped a world out of narrow conventions. She and Mr Darcy have alternate path of living but are bound to each other by their ideas of love. Lively Elizabeth and aloof Darcy.

Elizabeth’s ephemeral (short lasting) admiral for Mr. Wickham is also significant in terms in which society considers knights to be loyal and chivalric. Austen, however, destroys this misconception. Mr. Wickham’s polite and conversant manners tricked Lizzy (Elizabeth). Manners do not actually describe the character of a person, whereas Mr. Darcy who is described as “insolent” because of his lack of manners to communicate with others and profoundly isolated behaviour makes him a proud and egoistic person in the eyes of the society.

It is a sentimental novel primarily discussing the themes of morality, tenderness, sensibility and emotions. The characters of the book exist in social and emotional harmony. The novel is a brilliant piece of inventive wit and humour with essence of romance. It has a hidden back space for economic issues and manipulating hearts. Elizabeth’s world is deeply flawed, violent and chaotic, just like the world of any other girl. She witnesses her circumstances and draws out logical conclusions.

Halliday in his essay mentions that Austen maintains little narrative distance; she frequently takes the responsibility of her opinion. Her observations aren’t much critical. She sees what we see as the readers, giving an ironic relation to the views with a wonderful balance between sense and sensibility.

My own personal favourite moment in the book was Elizabeth’s two-mile walk to Netherfield in rain, leaping over muddy roads and puddle to see her sister. Her features and eyes brightened and twinkled, her face turned pink out of exhaustion when she reached Netherfield and Mr. Darcy is obliged to admit to himself that he "had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her”.

Austen pays sheer amount of attention to no character other than Elizabeth. She isn’t the narrator, but we know her more than anyone in the novel. We, the readers live in the consciousness of Elizabeth. She’s a heroine with flaw and perhaps, this is irresistible about real people. She derives her strength from the power of her self-assertive nature. Her flaws including her impertinence, curiosity and boldness have been admired by generations of readers and Janeits (devotees of works of Austen). We get very little glances of what is going on in Mr. Darcy’s mind. Austen left a big loophole for the readers to think how and when did exactly Mr. Darcy begin to fall in love with Elizabeth

Rich people like Lady Catherine de borough hardly possess any manners and their characters are shaded by duty, honour, gratitude, prudence, decorum, and interest. Her shrewishness is a mirror into the lives of aristocracy. She believes that Elizabeth social status would “pollute the shades of Pemberley.” Politics in the novel does nothing but backfires the whole plot. Lady Catherine de borough persuades Elizabeth not to accept Mr. Darcy which she declines, which in turn gives Mr. Darcy a hope of their union. All the characters in the book have their unique and independent voices.

Lizzy and Darcy by Hugh Thompson, 1894

Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth came suddenly but not without a warning. Her unexpected meetings with him at the park, Darcy appearing frequently at Collin’s parsonage, his steadfast and admirable gaze at Elizabeth, their walk to Oakham mountain all are some of the endearing moments of the couple.

In turn, Mr. Darcy’s letter of disclosure to Elizabeth erases all her prejudices that she had painted out against Mr. Darcy. She slowly begins to realise her faults and is extremely apologetic. She later at the end accepts his second proposal.   

At the beginning of the book, Mr. Bingley and Jane are center to everyone’s attention. Elizabeth and Darcy aren’t given much role to play and are thought to play subsidiary roles in uniting the former couple.

Elizabeth dares to choose a man for herself instead of letting someone else impose a man over her. She is strict on choosing a man for love rather than marrying for a wealthy living. A person belonging to regency era would call her an impractical woman as the condition of women was grim and they had nothing to secure their future well, except they marry a rich man. People thought that it’s a very good idea to defy social customs for the sake of love and interestingly, this idea is in common practice even today. Authors like Jane Austen, shelly with their realism bore a ground for the late Victorian age. Though Austen received little fame during the Victorian age. Her books did not live up to the principles of ideal romanticism. But got her favour when she became popular during realism ages.

Austen highlights the distinction between a prudent and mercenary marriage. For example, the marriage of Lydia and Wickham has been driven by greed and juvenile behaviour which ultimately spoils their lives.

Elizabeth draws her power from the ability to interpret others correctly, and Mr. Darcy’s incompetence is in his pride of being a wealthy man. He thinks Elizabeth would never deny his proposal because she was born in a gentry and couldn’t afford to have a better living for herself in future without her marrying him. Naturally, which girl doesn’t want to marry a man who earns ten thousand pounds a year? But for Elizabeth, affection and companionship is the major concern in the selection of the partner. How could she even possibly be engaged to a man who mocked her family status, hurt Jane and is jealous of Wickham? She tore down his pride in front of him and rejected him saying the most ineligible and disdainful person.

Kiera Knightley’s Pride and Prejudice (2005), has shown me how light touches and little glances were the only possible ways to awake sensuality towards your lover because of the sake of modesty. Young and unmarried men and women rarely had any chance to exchanges talks during old regency era.

Ultimately, their conflicting points of view and ontological defectiveness are adjusted which brings forth their union and as Elizabeth says, “they complete each other”. 

Mr. Darcy isn’t like the traditional patrician hero with large inheritance and happy fortune. He embodies flaws which makes him a complex human being.  Darcy’s sense of Elizabeth’s inferiority and his language during the first proposal. There’s a vast difference between the Darcy of the first ballroom scene and the man whom Elizabeth Bennet marries at the end of the novel.

Darcy, as we discover in the end of the book, is a good man but is salted with contrariety. He out of generosity and love for Elizabeth, saves Lydia and her family from bad reputation. A man whom everyone hated in the beginning, was suddenly admired by everyone. Austen has mocked the society and her sharp social commentary makes us question the stability of the customs.

The book is open to interpretations and consciousness. The novel then goes on to suggest how capricious public and personal truths can be, with the case of Darcy and Wickham at Meryton.  

The conversation between Elizabeth and Gardiners is very useful in terms of Elizabeth’s character development. They are ethical people and gave a good colour to the book in matters of rational opinion. In the middle of the social precariousness of the Bennets, Elizabeth and Jane are the only two members who have sworn to save the grace of their family. They are very tolerant characters.

Mr Bennet’s solitude, Lizzy’s coherence, Darcy’s priggishness, Collin’s silliness, Lydia’s empty headedness, all together form into a galaxy of characters making pride and prejudice a very memorable novel.

Bingley praises the heroine: Elizabeth, he declares, is "very pretty, and I dare say, very agreeable"; and he proposes that Darcy ask her to dance. Darcy replies that Elizabeth is "tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.”

Moments like above provide the background for the manoeuvrings of the central characters, Elizabeth and Darcy, who, although touched by pride and prejudice, overcome the limitations imposed by these qualities and become equal to the moral challenges presented to them.

 "They walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought and felt and said for attention to any other objects..”