By Giorgia Caso
More than two hundred years have passed by since Pride and Prejudice was first published anonymously, in 1813. And yet, it is still an important classic that is widely read nowadays. Many things have changed since its publication, especially society. Human beings, though, are still the same in the end, with their flaws and qualities. Even though the condition of women has improved since the 19th century, there are different issues that have not been resolved yet.
In a nutshell, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is the story of the Bennet family and the society they live in. The main characters are the second born, Elizabeth, the first born, Jane, Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy. There are other characters that play an important role in the narrative like Mr Wickham, Miss Caroline Bingley, Lydia, Charlotte, and Mr Collins. The plot focuses on Elizabeth’s attitude towards Mr Darcy and his friends. She is prejudiced in hating Mr Darcy because he seems to be a haughty man, full of himself and mean as well. On the contrary, she is impressed by Mr Wickham as he looks like a nice person. She soon finds out that she was so prejudiced that she did not let them reveal their true self and that she was wrong about both. Meanwhile, Jane talks to her and tries to make Elizabeth think more about what she sees. The Bennets belong to the middle class while Mr Darcy, Mr Bingley and their friends belong to the aristocracy. Two distinct worlds that seem so far apart they wouldn't even meet if not for social events like balls.
Social class, in fact, is one of the main themes of the novel along with family, friendship and the position of women in an unequal society. The different characters interact according to the position in their social environment and their gender. Women were not allowed to do everything they wanted, especially if they belonged to a middle-class, big family like the Bennets. According to conventions, children were meant to marry following a precise order: the eldest should have married first, before any of the other children even entered society. In this precise context though, for various reasons, Lydia, the last Bennet, gets married before Jane. This provokes a big scandal which then calms down towards the end. Another unusual character is Elizabeth herself, as she stands up for what she believes in, which at the time was unthinkable and also often looked down upon.
Against what might be thought about the relationship between Jane Austen and her work, there is so much that she invented as her life was almost completely opposite to the one of her main characters. She never married, even though she loved a man who deserted her before eloping. The main thing that is present in the novel and also in her life is the relationship between her sister Cassandra and herself which is mirrored in Jane and Elizabeth’s.
Pride and Prejudice is a timeless story that has been adapted on the screen multiple times, the most famous being the BBC series from 1995 starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle and the movie directed by Joe Wright in 2005. As the movies and shows bring the book to a wider audience, the more recent generations are attracted to the kind of life described in Pride and Prejudice: a calm and quiet country life. There are also other adaptations of the book like in Death Comes to Pemberley or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
I recommend this book to everyone as it is quite accessible to every reader, especially those interested in classics. I personally first read it when I was fifteen, but that does not mean that it cannot be read earlier or later in life. Every time I read it, I find more layers that I did not notice before.
I might be influenced by my love for this book when I say that it is one of the best books ever written but ‘There is no enjoyment like reading’ Elizabeth says at one point, and I cannot agree more.
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