Reading log 1 - Pride and prejudice

“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 neighborhood, 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.”

These are the first three lines of the book, and as a reader you can almost foretell what the entire story is based on. Prejudice, love and the importance of marriage at that time. And not only marriage, but marrying the right and suitable person. Since this is a classic tale, I was eager to read even before having the book in my hands. And after reading these lines, I felt even more curious about the story behind it. I think that the title of the book, ”Pride and prejudice”, is partially based on Elizabeths tendency to judge on first impressions.

Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners, written by the famous author Jane Austen. The story revolves around the Bennet family, and follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with morality, marriage and education. She is the second of five daugthers of a country gentleman and the story takes place on the English countryside in the early 19th-century.

The mother of the five daughters, Mrs. Bennet, is very determined to find true and fortuned gentlemen who are suited to marry her precious daugthers. When a rich and single man named Mr. Bingley moves into a house nearby, the Mrs sees an opportunity of him marrying one of her eldest daughters.

The Bennet family and Mr. Bingley first meet at a ball, among other upper-class locals. The one oldest of the sisters, Jane, catches Mr. Bingleys’ interest and they dance together and enjoy each others company the entire night. The fact that Mrs. Bennet´s plans were going in the right direction made her feel beside herself with satisfaction and exctitement. Mr. Bingley also brought his two sisters and his friend Mr. Darcy, a bit grumpy and arrogant man. Elizabeth tries in vain to get to know this man, he declines her kindness because he thinks that she lacks the beauty he seeks in a woman. Elizabeth then judges him as a too proud and unpleasant man to be around.

A few pages further, I as a reader get introduced to another man named Mr. Collins, who is Mr. Bennets dear cousin and also his inheritor. Mr. Collins pays the Bennet family a visit with the intention to marry one of the daughters. He quite quickly decides to give it a go and proposes to Elizabeth, who kindly declines his proposal. Mrs. Bennet was not very pleased with Elizabeth turning down such a great opportunity…

Elizabeth Bennet is one of the main charachters and she is the protagonist of the novel. I as a reader sees the unfolding plot and the other characters mostly from her viewpoint. She is twenty years old and as a person she is intelligent, playful, outspoken and lively. I got the impression that Elizabeth is her father’s favorite daughets since he believes that she is the cleaverest one. She believes in true love, and that a woman should marry a man because of love and not because of money and fortune. The only flaw that I can think of so far is what I mentioned earlier, her way of judging people on first impressions.

At first, I thought that this novel was only going to be about  happy love and marriage, but it is so much more than that and I am excited to read more!