Pride and prejudice

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I have read Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen. She was born in 1775 and died 1817. I think all her books are counted as classics because she is one of Englands most famous writers ever. Her father was a country parson, and he encouraged Jane to read and write. She came from quite a wealthy home, but maybe not so wealthy as the characters in this book.
Her novels are: Northanger Abbey (first published in 1818), Mansfield Park (first published in 1814), Emma (first published in 1816), and Persuasion (first published in 1818). Her Sense and sensibility (1811) and Pride and Prejudice (1813) were her latest works. Both Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously.

This book´s main character, Elizabeth Bennet, was Jane Austen’s own favourite heroine. As usual with classics, this book has been published over and over again in different translations and variations. I have read a paperback from Penguin books, which is “complete and unabridged” as it says on the cover. It is from 1994. The cover shows a detail from the painting The Gardens at Battelsden House by George Shepherd.

This book is a love story in the upperclass world about 1810.
There is an extract from the book that I think shows the tune and general setting very well, -the first lines: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. “
The main character Elizabeth Bennet is the second daughter of five in a good and wealthy family. The target in her mother’s life is to get her daughters married with men who are as rich as possible and have as good looks and behaviour as possible. I think that it is not only the target of just her mother’s life. It was every woman’s target in life in this book, because that was their only career.
Elizabeth walks into the jungle of possible husbands and the pressures of having to be a well behaved girl. She meets Mr Darcy, who she first thinks is a rich, good looking but self-righteous idiot. (She does not use those words, but I think she would have if she was living today.) He has also mixed feelings for her at the beginning, but things change. Elizabeth has to overcome her prejudice against him, and he has to overcome his pride before the end. –But who is really the perfect husband? – And what is happening among the others in the society there they are?

Elizabeth Bennet is about 25 years old, and likes to read and play the piano. She is not as exited about the balls, the social life and the hunt for joyful days and good rich men as her younger sister, but takes part in it. She spends a lot of time walking. I wonder if she does not walk a longer distance almost every day. She thinks about her life while she is walking. A lot of Elizabeth’s reflections come during her walks, no matter if she is alone or in company.
In the beginning of the book her closest friend is Charlotte Lucas, but she marries Elizabeth’s cousin and moves from the neighbourhood. In Elizabeth eyes (and in mine too) her cousin is a bit too ingratial. Elizabeth becomes more by herself and she leans more to her elder sister instead. Elizabeth is not as calm and passive as the ideal. She upsets people by saying what she honestly thinks when she finds that to be the best way to solve a problem. She is not afraid of those who are counted as better than her because of their background. I realized this when she shocked a rich and influential woman in the end of the book, and when she walked through autumn weather and mud to a manor house where her sister was, though that is nothing a proper girl is supposed to do. At the same time I found Elizabeth as a young woman who wants to please her parents. She seems to have the same wish about getting a good fortune as everyone else.
I am sure that the well-written and realistic character of Elizabeth is a very important reason why I did not get bored with the book.

I knew that this book had a different language compared to all books I have read before. It has another kind of advanced language than the adult-books I like. It is more stiff, I think. I will try to increase my understanding of English by choosing more varied and complicated books. When I have troubles understanding I try to think about it as nessesary if I one day will be able to read those thick novels, which I am longing for today. I have used this strategy with some books and it works better than my expectations. I get motivated to get through the worst parts. This book is certainly not written for teenagers of today, and contains a lot of words to look up. I have used a Quicktionary-pen, and I think it was very good not to need a dictionary all the time. After some chapters I had learned the new words. Because of this it felt slow and heavy in the beginning, and simple when I had looked the words up a couple of times. Some words were old-fashioned facts and are not easy to find in a modern dictionary. I had to divide the word, look up the pieces of it, and try to build it together and figure out the meaning of it.
The book contains few dialogues, but some letters sent to and by Elizabeth and her friends.

When I chose to read this book, one reason was because it was the first I could find at home, and the second reason was because it is a classic. I think there are good reasons why some books becomes classics and other do not. So I thought there should be something special with it. But I was not sure if I really would like an almost 200 year old love story. I still do not like the book because of it´s setting. I like the book because of the way it is written and the fine characters.
I am the kind of person who sees pictures in my head every single time I read or hear descriptions. To read it was like to look in binoculars and see all the people. So real!
Even if I hate to admit it have I got a romantic vein. I am charmed by this world: It is the beauty of parks and manor houses and the whole style. It is half a fairytale world for me –distant and magic. But I also like the mix of that and the great seriousness in the book.
I like the character of Mr Darcy enormously. He is like Dorian Gray´s oppposite. First is he selfimportant and cold, and later his generous and tender sides are shown. Of course I like Elizabeth Bennet too, but not in the same way. She is a critical and down-to-earth person, who I would enjoy to discuss with. Those two persons, and some of the less important characters too, a...