I am equal parts excited to discuss Pride and Prejudice and completely dreading it. I wouldn't say I idolize Jane Austen; however, I can fully admit she's my favorite writer and at times I can be extremely bias. Now that being said this particular work is my second-to-least favorite Austen text. As a result of this class, I am now being forced to analyse why exactly it comes up short among the six completed novels. I also want to explore why P&P garners the most attention in pop-culture.
To start P&P feels more juvenile than Austen's later work. When comparing P&P to the works Austen wrote after her hiatus the plot is noticeably thinner than say Emma or Persuasion. For example, Austen deals her later heroines harsher consequences and forces them to examine their own personalities and the responsibility they have when making choices. Anne Elliot (Persuasion) rejects Captain Wentworth due to his lack of social status and must live with that choice for six years. After that she must watch as a twenty-six year old--a spinster in the Regency Era--as he peruses different romantic partners before they finally resolve their relationship. In contrast, Lizzie Bennet waits an insignificant amount of time to gain her happy ending after initially rejecting Darcy.
Now my personal issues with Lizzie Bennet. Again my issue becomes one of comparison: when you line up Lizzie with Anne Elliot or Emma Woodhouse she is not nearly as strong or well developed. I have always been fascinated by people's love of Lizzie Bennet- their reasoning being her strong-willed personality. Yes, Lizzie can be strong willed and have a bit of an attitude (in a good way), but the consequences of that attitude are minimal. The greatest tribulation Lizzie must overcome is a lack of dowry and her ridiculous family. Anne Elliot must be alone for six years and Emma Woodhouse is forced to completely take stock of her actions and refine her entire personality, all while thinking she lost the love of her life to one of her closest friend.
With all that being said my main frustration with P&P? It is often times the only work of Austen's that people are familiar. Leading me to ask why? Austen has five other novels that are just as, often times more, entertaining. When I talk with people I am happy to hear they at least know something of Sense and Sensibility, but usually just P&P. Additionally, most people are only familiar with the 2007 Keira Knightley adaption or the Colin Firth BBC mini-series; and not the novel.
One possible conclusion: it's the first published work. Doesn't seem to be enough, though. The multiple adaptations and re-mixes of P&P are definitely a leading factor. Why is this the most appealing Austen work to adapt to film or re-mix? I personally believe it comes back to our instinctual love of fairy-tales; and P&P has all the elements of a Cinderella story. In fact, as an undergrad I wrote an entire paper charting the characters of P&P with their Cinderella archetype. Quick summary: Lizzie = Cinderella, Mrs. Bennet/Catherine de Bourgh = evil step-mother, Ugly Step-Sisters = Lydia and Kitty/Caroline Bingley, Fairy God Mother = Mrs. Gardiner, etc. You get the point, we love the familiar (as we have all learned in this class, nothing groundbreaking) and I personally feel much of P&P is familiar to our childhood stories.
All that being said? I still love P&P. It is still one of my favorite novels. Why I personally love the novel is different than other peoples. My favorite characters? Mrs. Bennet and Charlotte Lucas. Mrs. Bennet while annoying and ridiculous faces a difficult reality: five daughters who cannot inherit and so must marry to survive. She is smart enough, and loves her daughters enough, to know if they remain unmarried after their father's death the world will be a cold place for them. Charlotte Lucas faces a similar reality as Lizzie, but doesn't exactly get her happy ending. She is realistic, though, making the best of the situation she is in and marries Mr. Collins not out of weakness but strength, knowing it is her way to get by.
Alright rant over. I can't wait to read others thoughts. And please, if you haven't already, read some of Austen's other work. Emma is my personal favorite, Mansfield Park is my least (I do not recommend reading it next).
Thank you so much for your comments! I was wondering what novel to read next, and I think I will go with Emma! Like you, I think the reason so many people love this novel is that it speaks to universal truths: Hope, Love, and Redemption.
ReplyDeleteNo problem, Mike! I am always happy to provide my personal Austen opinions haha. You're exactly right there are some universal characteristics of the novel that speak to human nature and what we seek in entertainment. Your comment reminded me of something I overlooked in this reading of P&P: Austen captures the human spirit but also morphs it into a more entertaining version of our own lives. Always good to be reminded not to be to hard on Darcy and he Bennet's!
DeleteIt is the same issue with Romeo & Juliet, isn't it? It's pretty far down my list of Shakespeare plays to enjoy, but it RESONATES and sticks.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be hard for Emma to stick in the same way as P&P (I love Emma too, but hear me out); she basically has it all and then brings her difficulties on herself by being kind of a brat. Yes, she learns from that mistake, and yes, that is an eminently "relatable" plotline because we have all been there, done that (and I think that is done perfectly in the novel) ... but I think her starting point of having it all makes it hard for people to feel for her in the way that we feel for Lizzy, who has a lot, but who has a lot of obstacles in her path too.
I also think the family dynamic is a big part of P&P's success. As an only child, I can relate to Emma in a particular way. But a lot of what is enjoyable about P&P is all of the family hullabaloo. The Bennet sisters and parents; Darcy's awkward relationship with his obnoxious, interfering aunt, etc - those dynamics really help give the plot a lot of breadth and familiarity, whereas Emma is very spare and efficient, dialing it back to essential relationships (much like in a fairy tale).
Also Payton, I think the library is going to propose Emma as a campus "book club" read to help keep us all connected while we are online ... you may want to reach out to them to see if they'd like help! ;-)
Thank you, Dr. MB! Like I said in my comment to Mike, I sometimes (often) need to re-grounded and centered when it comes to my opinions on Austen. I am bias and I've read them all too many times that I can read over some of the things that make certain works so brilliant. I completely overlooked this go-around the element of family (silly, I know). That is part of why I love the Diaries so much and can't wait to talk about them next week: I was reminded when watching them of important aspects that I now read over.
DeleteThere are two interesting talking points you touched on in this post that I'd like to respond to: the question of why this novel in particular is the most "well-known" of Austen's work and the idea that Mrs. Bennet is not an entirely dislikable character.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I believe that one of the reasons why P&P is so well-known and continuously remixed has a lot to do with what you touched on and Mike mentioned in his comment; it has a lot of timeless - albeit cliche - themes going on. We discussed this a bit with Romeo and Juliet; there are some things like love, hope, familial struggles, and overcoming seemingly impossible odds. Themes and tropes such as those will (unfortunately) never die, and I believe that's one reason why Pride & Prejudice comes to mind first when people think of Jane Austen. However, while I wish I could speak to why it is more known than other Austen works, I'm unable to because I've never read another Austen novel. The timeless themes would honestly just be my best assumption as to why the work is known and remixed so often.
Now, as for the point about Mrs. Bennet - I believe she really did serve a deeper purpose than simply being the annoying, overbearing mother. She was dealt a very difficult hand in the fact that she only had daughters - and FIVE, at that - who really did not have good chances of staying relevant in the society in which they were born. None of them really had a fighting chance besides Jane and Elizabeth, who were lucky enough to be beautiful. Their only shot at being "successful" was to woo affluent men into marrying them, and honestly, Mrs. Bennet played a pivotal role in making sure her daughters were known to the general public. She did everything she could to help her daughters have a fighting chance of being happy, and frankly, isn't that what every parent should do?
Kelsey thank you for backing my love of Mrs. Bennet! I think it's characters like her that make Austen's stories more than just "romance novels" or "fairy tales." Austen depicts various personalities and life situations. She creates characters that you love/hate, respect/drive you crazy, and so on and so forth. I mentioned Emma as my favorite Austen character, and Austen herself wrote "I created a character only I could ever like." She knew she was creating a bratty character BUT she gave her just enough redeeming qualities that you have to want her to be happy in the end. Mrs. Bennet falls into this category for me: mostly annoying but there is just enough substance there for you to have sympathy.
DeleteThank you for providing some context on other Austen characters!! It's a context that I hadn't had before, and it helps me to understand a bit more about what I've been hearing others say about this story.
ReplyDeleteHearing what you had to say about the other female characters in Austen's later works was very interesting to me--because I had considered Lizzie to be what she is depicted as: a strong female character, rather uncharacteristically so compared to how women tended to be viewed when this novel took place. After learning what trials the women in other Austen works had to go through compared to Lizzie Bennet, I've come to the same question as you--why is it we praise Lizzie for being such an independent woman (which of course, she is) and why is it she and her story get all the attention?
Thank you, Abby! Honestly, Dr. MB, Mike and Kelsey did a good job reminding me why this story is so popular: it resonates with people. And it is sadly true that an writer's most resonating work may not be their "master piece" so to speak. Your comment also reminded me of something important, though: who decides which work is the "best." I personally have no authority to say Emma and Persuasion are better than Pride and Prejudice. AND since they are enjoyed by so many people maybe that's all that matters. Maybe public-popular opinion matters more than critical, analytical ones when ranking what work is "best."
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