Reading log 1 – pride and prejudice

The title/ the first three sentences

“It is a truth universally acknowledge, 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”. In these sentences you already start to notice that the book might be about the prejudices, which excited during this time. But also what was expected of the people in the society at the time. Being a girl in another time and in another culture, reading these sentences provokes me at some level but on the other hand something about them made me curious and I want to continue reading the book to see what it will be about. I believe the book will be about the need to marry and be married when being both a respectful man but also when being a women of good birth and maybe how a normal life might be and look like during this area. I believe that perhaps a wedding will take place and with a man such as they describe in the sentences. The title of the book, Pride and Prejudice, also helps to understand the people in the book, and what the book might be about. There is a lot of evidence that shows you why she named it pride and prejudice since the characters of the book all have their pride (which the take high value in) and there is also a lot of different prejudices between some of the characters. There are a lot of scenes where you can see what is expected of the characters due to their birth or status, and furthermore how they should behave in certain occasions. 

The exposition

At the beginning of the book you get to meet, Elizabeth Bennet, all her sisters and parents. Also you meet Mr Bingley, his sisters and his friend Mr Darcy. The book takes place in England in the 1800 century and you follow the Bennets in their daily life. The person, who’s eyes you get to see the world from is Elizabeth Bennet and it is mostly here thoughts you get to see. You soon find out that Elizabeth is a bit sarcastic and is not your most typical women from this time. You can also see that Jane Austen is against the society and the role the women play in it and her characters in the book oppose the culture they live in.  

One day a new face comes to the neighbourhood in which the Bennets lives in. His name is Mr Bingley and he is a man of great birth and has a large fortune. He is also unattached, something Mrs Bennet is very glad for. When the Bennets meet him for the first time he has a company of four with him and one of them is a man called Mr Darcy. Although they like Mr Bingley straight away they find Mr Darcy very disagreeable. Jane Bennet (the oldest sister) and Mr Bingley immediately take interest in each other and the whole family hope a wedding soon will take place. However there seems to be some people who would not like for that to happen.

Mr Bennet has a cousin, Mr Collins. He will inherit everything in the case of Mr Bennets’ death, which of course the rest of the Bennets are not favourable of. Even so Mr Collins pays them a visit and he stays for a while. His intentions is to marry one of the Miss Bennets and he proposes to Elizabeth Bennet at the end of his stay, however Elizabeth kindly decline.   

Another man who is introduced to us is Mr Wickham, an officer living with his regiment in the village near the Bennets home. Both the whole family and the habitants of the town like him straight away. Nonetheless he seems to have a bit of a complicated relationship with Mr Darcy.     

Elizabeth Bennet

She is the second oldest of her sisters and her dads favourite but she is not so popular to her mother. She seems to enjoy being sarcastic and joke, still it seems that she is a proud person and she is not ashamed of whom she is. She also seems to oppose the society she lives in.  Even though she seems to be a tough person she loves her family and especially her big sister Jane, whom she think is to kind and to generous towards other. She starts to fancy Mr Wickham, even if she knows he is not a good match for her. At the beginning she is not very fond of Mr Darcy but she do not think ill of him, however when she meets Mr Wickham that changes and she soon starts to hate Mr Darcy.    

Mr Darcy

Mr Darcy is Mr Bingley closest friends and Mr Bingley takes a great trust in him, which might indicate that he is a lovable person, however when you meet him in the book he does not show any sighs on being such a person. He seems to be a person with great pride and thinks highly of himself. He has a little sister, Miss Darcy, who he seems to love very much. You find out that he and a person called Mr Wickham does not like each other very much, still you do not know who is to blame, although Mr Wickham says Mr Darcy has treated him wrongly. On the other hand others claim that Mr Darcy has never done anything to Mr Wickham. At the beginning he do not take any interest in anyone, but when he gets to know Elizabeth a little bit more his feelings starts to change. He finds her eyes beautiful and is starting to get attached to her. Nevertheless she has no idée and he is not keen to openly show it, due to their ill match and her lower birth.