 |
| Source |
I first read Jane Austen's Pride
and Prejudice in my senior AP English class in high school, and I've
been obsessed with it ever since. I read it again later in my 18th-century Brit
Lit class in college and in my grad-level Austen seminar at UC Irvine, and
eventually wrote my Master's Thesis on it. If I were to go on for my PhD,
I would without question join the scores of Austen scholars everywhere.
And, OH, the adaptations! I've seen all but maybe two (the BBC
version from the 80's and Bride
and Prejudice). I even kind of enjoyed Lost
in Austen, non-canon though it is. (I even watched Bridget Jones' Diary, which I
felt was an extreme insult to my intelligence.) I've seen the 1995 one
about a million times - it's my favorite. I'm currently obsessed with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I've even suffered through a
couple of "sequels," although admittedly, they were kind of dumb. But
I understand the compulsion to want the story to continue, because it's such a
wonderful story.
It's not JUST the love story. - I'm not knocking the love story.
I'm totally NOT claiming that I'm above it, because I am just as guilty as any
other fan of sitting there and sighing and being like, "OH THE
FEELS!!!!1!!!" - It's that Austen is a masterful writer. Austen's name
often comes up (along with Shakespeare's) when discussing classic writers who
just made AMAZING use of the English language. There have been MANY times when
I have sat there, stuck on the same sentence for an inordinate amount of time
because Austen has this ability to pack SO MUCH information into such a
seemingly-simple group of words that it takes me a little while to decode it
all. And then I'm left gaping in awe.
Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture
of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of
three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his
character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean
understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was
discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get
her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.
This is an easy paragraph to read
through quickly and get the gist of how she is characterizing Mr. and Mrs.
Bennet. But when you stop to look at her word choice, it's kind of astounding
because... what IS she getting at, really? I'll have you know that we spent a
good 20-30 minutes on this paragraph alone in my grad seminar. (Professor
Richard Kroll - I will never forget you. The world lost an amazing mind when
you passed away.)
There's a lot of social commentary
in Austen - critiques of the class system, entailments, gender roles, and the
military abound. My Master's thesis surmised that Austen uses the characters'
attitudes towards literacy as a form of characterization, which of course says
a lot about her own attitude towards reading and writing. (That it's AWESOME.
And she's RIGHT.)
But... okay, let's talk about the
love story. Austen is one of those amazing authors who is highbrow literature
while simultaneously being "chick lit," and not many authors can
occupy both spheres at the same time the way she does. There are a bunch of us
snobby literature scholars who adore her, and there are a bunch of swoony girls
and housewives who just want to see Colin Firth in a wet shirt as well. (I
count myself as both, after all.)
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are one of
my favorite couples in literature. (For the record, I also love Anne Shirley
and Gilbert Blythe from the Anne
of Green Gables series and Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing.) Why?
For one thing, they're a HEALTHY couple. Some writer recently compared Darcy to
Edward Cullen and I just about threw up in my mouth. What makes Lizzie and
Darcy so great as a couple is that they make each other BETTER. They are each
other's catalysts for self-examination and personal growth. They both challenge
each other to examine their assumptions, and they both come out as better
people for having known each other. Darcy also rescues her sister, and at the
same time, Elizabeth becomes someone important to his sister as well. They are
both passionate, intelligent people, neither willing to settle for the first
thing that comes along, neither willing to settle even for the earlier versions
of each other. It's a relationship I hold far above nearly any other literary
couple, way more than Catherine & Heathcliff or Jane & Rochester. They
are flawed people to start with, and it's not that they make each other perfect (because there's
no such thing), but one could easily believe that they will have a long and
happy life together, a love that is lively and full of lively debates, passion, and
smirking :)
Elizabeth is... a really cool chick :) (Yup, all that money spent on higher education, that ends up being my assessment.) She is smart and strong and has a healthy sense of humor. She enjoys reading and going on walks. She refuses to marry unless it's for love.
Darcy is... well, yes, dreamy and all that, but I will be honest and say that Darcy is the character I relate to the most. I too am socially awkward and have trouble at parties, and I too put people off. Some of that is snobbery, but some of that is actual awkwardness. He is fiercely loyal to the people he loves and really takes care of them.
The two of them... they have real discussions and they call each other out on their flaws, and then they both fall in love. (Well, Darcy fell in love with her first, but really, it's not like he was ever far from Elizabeth's mind.) And this story has survived 200 years and is still one of the most beloved stories ever. It's not just about love. It's about the flaws and follies of being human.
So, yes... this is my ode. I love
you, P&P. Happy 200th! Here's to 200 more!