First Classics Club Read of 2023 - Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen

I'm sitting at my laptop with my cup of delicious Blackcurrent Breeze tea from Twinings and my fingers freezing due to the dip in temperatures outside. I am so immensely grateful today. I'm grateful for my cup of tea. For my space heater that is working its little tail off to warm my home office space. For my cozy slippers and wool socks. And I'm grateful for Jane Austen.

I first encountered Austen probably 19 or so years ago now. My father is a huge Laurence Olivier fan, so when I was in my late teens, we watched the 1940 Pride and Prejudice as a family, with Olivier in the starring role as Mr. Darcy, naturally (read my review, if you wish). It's still my favorite film adaptation, despite its historic and literary inaccuracies.

But I hadn't picked up Pride and Prejudice to read until at least a decade later. And it certainly wasn't my favorite of Austen's novels. I always thought my dislike is because I'm quite stubborn about joining a fandom with a high rate of support.

I'm not sure what's changed in 2023, but something clearly has because I loved re-reading Pride and Prejudice. Perhaps my outlook has softened somewhat where this novel is concerned. But really, I think that my propensity to be like Lizzy is what annoyed me most about the novel, because the tendency annoys myself. We are not even remotely the same personality type, but we do both leap to judgements and criticisms, especially when our feelings and personal pride have been offended. 

It has been somewhat freeing to arrive at the conclusion that I disliked Pride and Prejudice primarily because I disliked parts of myself. The realization has allowed me to just enjoy the novel.

Pride and Prejudice really is a divine read, albeit a very long one for me. I haven't read books more than 400 pages in quite a while now, a few years at least, so it was a challenge to find enough time in chunks to make a dent. But I managed it! Forgive my Austenesque voice in some of the thoughts below. That tends to happen when I review classic literature.

Click for my Classics Club List. The cover is from the set I own and adore with illustrations by Hugh Thomsen, as are the illustration examples in my post, also by Hugh Thomsen.

Standout Thoughts from Pride and Prejudice

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Charlotte Lucas. I still love her! She's pragmatic, and to some might seem underhanded, but I get her. She's almost thirty-years old. That is OLD folks, in the era of Jane Austen. She desperately needed to get married so she could be provided for and not be a burden on her family. And honestly, would you actually wish Mr. Collins on any of the Bennet girls? Even poor Mary? I strongly feel that dear Charlotte is the only one who could handle him at the end of the day. I also realized, to my amazement, that she was pregnant at the end of the novel. They don't call it that, but it's true. I think Mr. Collins says that "his dear Charlotte has made him the happiest of men." They've been married for quite awhile at this point so you can read between the lines.

Since we're speaking of him, Mr. Collins is a terrible minister. He is quite cruel, actually, in his letter to Mr. Bennet regarding Lydia. He says nothing of forgiveness or mercy, only of cutting her off and never seeing her again. Her sin is that gross to him. Being a vicar in the era of Jane Austen had very little to do with possessing any actual faith in God, it seems. Even dear Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey falls quite a bit short in that area. These men seemed more educated on the sublime and beautiful and what made the ideal landscape rather than the mercies of God. I distinctly remember that about Henry Tilney.

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Dearest Jane, how I adore her. I am like Elizabeth in some respects so I see Jane through her eyes. Such a golden, merciful, compassionate, self-sacrificing soul. She is much like Elinor in Sense and Sensibility. I had always liked Mr. Bingley, but I like him less now, probably because he is easily influenced and reminds me of Edward Ferrars, my least favorite of Austen's heroes that I've encountered so far. Milksop, spineless men are not to be admired. And while Bingley is good-natured, he is not strong-willed, and poor Jane suffered for it. I dislike him because he hurt her, honestly.

As for Elizabeth and Darcy, what can I really say? They both improve upon acquaintance, shall we say. I have a stubborn streak so while I like them both better than I have before, it has taken a lot to allow them to probably be my favorite couple. Even though neither of them are my favorite Austen character, they have to be my favorite couple because, in the end, there is an equality to their relationship that I admire. My favorite of Austen's heroes is Mr. Knightley from Emma and my favorite of her heroines is Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey. I don't dislike their romantic counterparts, but they are not my favorites and so I am left somewhat adrift in terms of a favorite Austen couple and had to settle on Elizabeth and Darcy as my best option.

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Let us speak of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet for a moment. While Mrs. Bennet has not necessarily elevated herself in my esteem, Mr. Bennet dropped significantly. He's usually portrayed in a jolly, buffoonish sort of way with a charming indulgence for his wife and daughters. That is not Mr. Bennet. He is disinterested and annoyed by all of them except for Elizabeth and Jane. And he is a fool where Lydia is concerned. He is a lazy, dreadful sort of father, and he does his daughters a disservice by his lack of interest in their upbringing. It is truly his fault that the three youngest are so ill equipped for any practical purpose.

Overall, Pride and Prejudice is a lovely read. There is much to recommend it and I feel like I appreciated it far more this time around.