So this was my first time reading Pride and Prejudice and I have to admit I would have picked another title. To keep with the alliteration I would have definitely used the word pain in the title, because it was absolutely painful for me to read. Admittedly I ended up reading the entirety of the Wikipedia page and watching the 2005 version of the novel acted out because I struggled so much to follow the text. I think we are supposed to be happy that in the end Elizabeth follows her "heart" and marries when she really knows she loves "Mr Darcy," but the journey there just left me with so many angry emotions. First off, how shallow is the entire society, but especially her mother. Clearly Mr Collins was a complete dweeb, yet she is angry that her daughter refuses her random proposal. Its as if happiness is not considered at all. Yet the takeaway is supposed to be follow your heart to said happiness? I might buy that if the entire story was not filling with having economics and class dictate relationships. It is constantly a question of whether or not the families are rich enough to marry, or if the mans estate is enough to provide for daughter A, or daughter B. Not to mention, how cliche is it that the random guy with huge wealth and perfect qualities shows up, only to have the friend with more wealth, but if an onion and needs to have his layers opened up. Then there is the fact that Mr. Darcy is really using his wealth and power to make all of these "good things" happen. I have always been rather triggered by the idea of class and wealth as a status symbol and a way to keep others down. I guess that has to do with my lower middle class upbringing. Oh well, carrying my bias with me admittedly. However something that struck my nerve was how simply these characters fall in love. I guess I have never been as admirable, or rich, or Mr Darcy or Bingley, but still I have never witnessed this quote unquote instant love then proposal that just took place in this society. I know we cannot judge a historical society through a modern lens, thus I am simply wondering, what value should I take from this story? I thought it was that we are supposed to be happy that in the end they follow their hearts and live happily ever after, but everything before that was so shallow and influenced by all these other factors.
I guess my one appreciation for this story is for Elizabeth and how rouge she is. I loved her willingness to stick it to societal norms and not settle. Not to mention telling off people of authority was quite great. I have always considered myself and evaluator. I was hear about a rule, policy etc and then decide if it made sense. If it did I would follow it, if not, I probably would not care about it. So it makes sense that I would like Elizabeth as she is willing to go against the grain and trust herself. Good for her.
One final thought, I'm glad they cast Mr Bingley as a red head in the movie. Too often we are the strange side kick like Ron Weasley rather than the admirable character. Granted he is a bit of a side kick here, but at least he is admirable....And nothing against Ron, He is the Man.
I agree with you on my first read through of the text, but I have to say my position has changed once I thought about the book more. I think the book works on a universal level of hope! Although it may not be my sense of what hope is, it does create hope. Hope that there really is the ability for change AND for love in this crazy world.
ReplyDeleteAdam. thanks for sharing your honest feelings after the read!
ReplyDeleteI do think that Austen is as frustrated with the status quo of her world as you are. It's important to remember that there'e a heavy dose of satire to be had here, from the very first line of the novel. Obviously everyone (men and women, rich and poor) should be seen as more than just marriage material. But the reality of the situation for women in her position is that they had very little choice in the matter - like Charlotte, if they wanted to have a comfortable life, they often had to trade happiness for it.
I am super interested in your comment about Darcy's grand gestures that are possible because of his wealth - it's true that if he had less money or position that he could not have rooted out Lydia and Wickham and thus made everything "all better" for the Bennets. I mean ... I guess it's good that he is using his money for someone other than himself, but it is a rather annoying noblesse oblige kind of moment, now that you mention it! ;-)
Your commentary on Darcy's nauseating wealth and power reminded me of this quote that stood out to me while reading:
ReplyDelete“What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant? As a brother, a landlord, a master, [Elizabeth] considered how many people’s happiness were in [Darcy's] guardianship!—how much of pleasure or pain it was in his power to bestow!—how much of good or evil must be done by him!” (179)
Reading that gave me this sickening awareness of a) how easy it would be for Darcy ruin a bunch of people's lives, which really is unpleasant to a modern reader and b) how low the bar is that the housekeeper praises him for never having yelled at her...like a decent human being?...and this report impresses Elizabeth and the Gardiners SO MUCH!
Are the standards lower for a rich guy because he has more opportunity to be cruel, and, therefore, it's praiseworthy when he chooses not to be?
So I am kind of commenting to a comment on this post, but I guess that works, I agree with what Mike said in that maybe this novel is a sign for hope. While I was frustrated and confused most of the time by the wording and such, once fully understanding the story I was able to mold the ideas from it into the idea that maybe, just maybe this is a sign of hope. A sign that there is the possibility of change and things not being as crappy as they seem to be. Things no longer being based on wealth over happiness, etc. I also like your touch on the fact that they all seem to fall in love at the drop of a hat, it takes the phrase "love at first sight" WAY too seriously.
ReplyDeleteI think that the fact that Elizabeth follows her heart, despite the cultural norm of absence of love in relationships, is what makes the ending of this novel "beautiful". it is easy to get caught in the horribly depressing aspects of love in this novel, but if one can allow themselves to be swept away by Darcy and Elizabeth's journey, then that journey is THAT much more beautiful; we are able to enjoy despite all of the other shitty elements of love at that time.
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