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In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the courtship of a snobbish gentleman as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.
Shuffy2: Beatrice and Benedick & Lizzie and Darcy- there are some similarties! This is my favorite of Shakespeare's comedies! Two characters who love to spar with words, 2 couples who love each other, and a bad guy! Perfect mix...
humouress: For those who love Pride and Prejudice, and want to know more about the context it was written in, the annotated version adds depth to Jane Austen's work.
chrisharpe: Both novels offer a similar sort of wry look at the foibles of the English classes in the 18th / 19th centuries. Both are so carefully observed and deliciously written that they remain classics.
lilithcat: Some Tame Gazelle was Barbara Pym's first book, but I would really recommend any of her works to admirers of Jane Austen. She has the same sensibility, the same grasp of the English social order and the English village, and populates her books with very similar people. But, more important, she has the same sense of humor, and the same marvelous touch with comedies of manners.… (more)
lydiabarr: Austen and Delafield are often compared...both have shrewdly observational sense of humor and an elaborately deadpan style. I love them both.
I am not a natural classics reader and only read this one because it is a book club choice. There is also nothing I can say that has not already been said about the book. It has been studied by academics and enjoyed by very many people so this review is really a list of thoughts.
I did enjoy Lydia and her loud ignorance. It is refreshing to know that this type of person was around in the 1700s. It must have been particularly racy at the time to write about a woman who went and lived with a man but had not married him. And it is her lack of understanding about this and its consequences on her family that I enjoyed. She sounds just like her mother!
I laughed at Mr Collins and his proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. So they had pompous asses in the 1700s too. His refusal to take no as an answer, with his understanding that she really meant yes but was just playing to the romantic notions of the day, the modesty and desire to heighten a man's interest, when read with the present-day filter, is a little alarming, but in the context of the book is farcical as there is no sinister follow-up once the notion of no is received. His perception of himself is dependent on the status of those that he has contact with and his squirming self-importance knows no bounds.
The first sentence is fantastic and really sets us up to understand that this is a story where there are misunderstandings galore but all will be righted in the end. It is a comedy and there are some elements that made me laugh - mostly the characters. In fact, the characters are very well observed and described and are part of the universality of the book that make it a classic.
Although I am not sure whether Austen was the first to use the structure of the romance - two people who appear to hate each other but then realise they were wrong and admit they are in love - it is a structure which is frequently used in romances. So if the definition of a classic is that it's impact is seen in writing today, this one definitely hits the mark. I did find the novel a bit slow in book 2 and enjoyed book 3 the most probably because all the action and undoing of the previous mistakes misunderstandings occurred in it.
I found it quite a challenge to read, having to slow down and reread sentences where I wasn't totally sure of the use of the vocabulary or the syntax. An example of this is when Lady Catherine, having vehemently told Elizabeth of her disapproval of an engagement between her and Darcy, it occurred to Elizabeth that Lady Catherine would need to:
. . . meditate an application to her nephew p340
I doubt this is about sending a thought to her nephew as waves from one mind to another, or sitting cross-legged chanting an Om. Words have changed in meaning and this required a little care.
For me this is a book about marriage and the role of women, manners and to some smaller degree inheritance. We have marriages stemming from eloping and in Lydia's case passion, from an acceptance that a place in the world can only be gained through this institution, the prudence of Charlotte to use an Austen word, marriages stemming from misunderstandings - Jane and Elizabeth but also dependent on social class where Darcy and his cousin were promised to each other at birth. It seems that marriage absolves all sins. In Lydia's case it wiped away the social impropriety of living together even though their behaviour did not change.
Elizabeth's parents' marriage was not a happy one, passion and imprudence, with her father tiring of her mother after about five years and absconding to his office/library to read and take little part in the family life. Usually inequality in marriage is shown through wealth, as it is here due to the inheritance laws, but also inequality in interests, knowledge of the world and of feelings.
Elizabeth's marriage is one of respect for each other, as is Jane's, accompanied by the idea that people can change their minds. The lesson in Jane's courtship is that if you don't show your feelings clearly they can be misinterpreted and in Elizabeth's that speaking your mind is one way to gain respect with your future husband if not Lady Catherine. One of the symbols of this idea that minds do not have to be small and narrow is the size of Darcy's library. It suggests broad-mindedness and because it was built up over generations, a steadiness in the person and family and their ideas.
So, the marriage that contains both passion and prudence is the winner! One we should strive for and probably not the sort of marriage that was all that common at the time the book was written. It's yet another universal theme.
Our key question for book club is what makes a classic? Here are some of my ideas so far:
The universality of the story, be that characters, plot, themes or structure
It translates well to other media
You can see traces of the novel in present day books
It bears a rereading and you see more in it each time you do
Anything can be classic or a modern classic - each person can decide for themselves what a classic is
Classics are not always the same as those books that make up the literary canon. If a book is in the canon it will usually be a classic but not all classics are in the canon. ( )
EVERYTHING happens in this novel. Is incredibly readable and funny, mostly from Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth wich have a very sarcastic sense of humor. It seems that Jane Austen is talking through them and telling us how ridiculously superficial most relationships and judgment of people are, so much so as to be fearfully fragil. There is gossip a plenty, as for the name of the novel. ( )
[Listened to the audiobook narrated by Kate Beckinsale.]
Wow. Oh wow. I did not expect to love this as much as I did.
Late last year, I read Pride by Ibi Zoboi. Prior to reading it, I stated that if I didn’t enjoy it I would read the actual Pride & Prejudice for comparison. (Spoiler Alert: I didn’t enjoy it.)
This was my first ever audiobook that I was able to listen to in full, which I think helped me to understand Austen’s very formal writing. I loved Elizabeth and Darcy (aka the original enemies-to-lovers blueprint), the Bennet sisters, the drama and the unexpected humor. This was a great read, and I will definitely be checking out Austen’s other works!
Edit: I’m raising this from four stars to five stars because I’ve had many revelations about this novel over the past few days and also Mr. Darcy is autistic because I (an autistic person) said so. ( )
"Orgullo y prejuicio" de Jane Austen, publicada en 1813, es una novela clásica que explora temas como el amor, la clase social y las expectativas de la sociedad en la Inglaterra de principios del siglo XIX. La historia gira en torno a Elizabeth Bennet, la segunda hija mayor de la familia Bennet. Los Bennet, una familia respetable pero con problemas económicos, están ansiosos por casar a sus cinco hijas.
La trama se pone en marcha cuando el rico y codiciado soltero Charles Bingley alquila el cercano Netherfield Park. Bingley viene acompañado de su amigo, el orgulloso y adinerado Sr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. El comportamiento reservado y aparentemente arrogante de Darcy provoca tensiones iniciales, sobre todo con Elizabeth. Sin embargo, a medida que se desarrolla la historia, los lectores descubren el verdadero carácter y las motivaciones de Darcy.
El tema central de la novela es la evolución de la relación entre Elizabeth Bennet y el Sr. Darcy. Al principio, ambos personajes tienen prejuicios el uno contra el otro, pero a medida que sortean las expectativas sociales, los malentendidos y el crecimiento personal, llegan a comprenderse y apreciarse mutuamente. La novela es célebre por sus ingeniosos diálogos, sus comentarios sociales y las agudas observaciones de Austen sobre la sociedad de su época.
"Orgullo y prejuicio" es una obra atemporal que ha sido adaptada a numerosas películas, series de televisión y obras de teatro. Sigue siendo apreciada por su exploración del amor, el crecimiento personal y los entresijos de las relaciones sociales a principios del siglo XIX.
[Recensionen gäller en nyöversättning gjord av Gun-Britt Sundström]
...men ”Stolthet och fördom” är en glad roman, tack vare Elizabeth Bennets frejdiga humör och relativa frispråkighet. I Gun-Britt Sundströms nyöversättning ges gott om utrymme för tvetydigheten i hennes repliker, för skrattet som bubblar under ytan.
[Recensionen gäller en nyöversättning gjord av Gun-Britt Sundström]
När jag läser Sundströms översättning blir det för första gången tydligt för mig hur skickligt Austen tryfferar romanen med små överdrifter, sarkasmer, nålstick av spydighet, utan att läsaren för den skull tappar engagemanget i intrigen. Humorn gäller särskilt gestaltningen av bokens karikatyrer, Elizabeths ytliga och giriga mamma mrs Bennet och den fjäskige och inbilske mr Collins, den släkting som aspirerar på att överta familjegodset.
In Pride and Prejudice, Austen turned up the dial that controls the temperature of comedy, giving it some of the fever of what we would now call romance... For Elizabeth Bennet is the most frictionlessly adorable Heroine in the corpus – by some distance. And, as for the Hero, well, Miss Austen, for once in her short life, held nothing back: tall, dark, handsome, brooding, clever, noble, and profoundly rich...No reader can resist the brazen wishfulness of Pride and Prejudice, but it is clear from internal evidence alone that Austen never fully forgave herself for it...
Pride and Prejudice suckers you. Amazingly – and, I believe, uniquely – it goes on suckering you. Even now, as I open the book, I feel the same tizzy of unsatisfied expectation, despite five or six rereadings. How can this be, when the genre itself guarantees consummation? The simple answer is that these lovers really are ‘made for each other’ – by their creator. They are constructed for each other: interlocked for wedlock. Their marriage has to be.
Satírica, antirromántica, profunda y mordaz a un tiempo, la obra de Jane Austen nace de la observación de la vida doméstica y de un profundo conocimiento de la condición humana. Orgullo y prejuicio ha fascinado a generaciones de lectores por sus inolvidables personajes y su desopilante retrato de una sociedad, la Inglaterra victoriana y rural, tan contradictoria como absurda. Con la llegada del rico y apuesto señor Darcy a su región, las vidas de los Bennet y sus cinco hijas se vuelven del revés. El orgullo y la distancia social, la astucia y la hipocresía, los malentendidos y los juicios apresurados abocan a los personajes al escándalo y al dolor, pero también a la comprensión, el conocimiento y el amor verdadero. Esta edición presenta al lector una nueva traducción al castellano que devuelve todo su esplendor al ingenio y la finísima ironía de la prosa de Austen.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Quotations
The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance.
Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching on your privilege of universal good will. You need not. There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense.
"In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."
"I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!"
Though Lydia's short letter to Mrs. F. gave them to understand that they were going to Gretna Green, something was dropped by Denny expressing his belief that W. never intended to go there, or to marry Lydia at all, which was repeated to Colonel F., who, instantly taking the alarm, set off from B. intending to trace their route. He did trace them easily to Clapham, but no farther; for on entering that place they removed into a hackney-coach and dismissed the chaise that brought them from Epsom. All that is known after this is that they were seen to continue the London road. I know not what to think. After making every possible enquiry on that side London, Colonel F. came on into Hertfordshire, anxiously renewing them at all the turnpikes, and at the inns in Barnet and Hatfield, but without any success; no such people had been seen to pass through. With the kindest concern he came on to Longbourn, and broke his apprehensions to us in a manner most creditable to his heart.
"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."
(Mr. Bennet to Mrs. Bennet, Chap. 1)
Last words
Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them.
In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the courtship of a snobbish gentleman as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.
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Book description
Austen’s most celebrated novel tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet, a bright, lively young woman with four sisters, and a mother determined to marry them to wealthy men. At a party near the Bennets’ home in the English countryside, Elizabeth meets the wealthy, proud Fitzwilliam Darcy. Elizabeth initially finds Darcy haughty and intolerable, but circumstances continue to unite the pair. Mr. Darcy finds himself captivated by Elizabeth’s wit and candor, while her reservations about his character slowly vanish. The story is as much a social critique as it is a love story, and the prose crackles with Austen’s wry wit.
Orgueil et Préjugés (Pride and Prejudice) est un roman de la femme de lettres anglaise Jane Austen paru en 1813. Il est considéré comme l'une de ses œuvres les plus significatives et est aussi la plus connue du grand public.Rédigé entre 1796 et 1797, le texte, alors dans sa première version (First Impressions), figurait au nombre des grands favoris des lectures en famille que l'on faisait le soir à la veillée dans la famille Austen. Révisé en 1811, il est finalement édité deux ans plus tard, en janvier 1813. Son succès en librairie est immédiat, mais bien que la première édition en soit rapidement épuisée, Jane Austen n'en tire aucune notoriété : le roman est en effet publié sans mention de son nom (« par l'auteur de Sense and Sensibility ») car sa condition de « femme de la bonne société » lui interdit de revendiquer le statut d'écrivain à part entière.Drôle et romanesque, le chef-d'œuvre de Jane Austen continue à jouir d'une popularité considérable, par ses personnages bien campés, son intrigue soigneusement construite et prenante, ses rebondissements nombreux, et son humour plein d'imprévu. Derrière les aventures sentimentales des cinq filles Bennet, Jane Austen dépeint fidèlement les rigidités de la société anglaise au tournant des xviiie et xixe siècles. À travers le comportement et les réflexions d'Elizabeth Bennet, son personnage principal, elle soulève les problèmes auxquels sont confrontées les femmes de la petite gentry campagnarde pour s'assurer sécurité économique et statut social. À cette époque et dans ce milieu, la solution passe en effet presque obligatoirement par le mariage : cela explique que les deux thèmes majeurs d'Orgueil et Préjugés soient l'argent et le mariage, lesquels servent de base au développement des thèmes secondaires.Grand classique de la littérature anglaise, Orgueil et Préjugés est à l'origine du plus grand nombre d'adaptations fondées sur une œuvre austenienne, tant au cinéma qu'à la télévision. Depuis Orgueil et Préjugés de Robert Z. Leonard en 1940, il a inspiré quantité d'œuvres ultérieures : des romans, des films, et même une bande dessinée parue chez Marvel.Dans son essai de 1954, Ten Novels and Their Authors, Somerset Maugham le cite en seconde position parmi les dix romans qu'il considérait comme les plus grands. En 2013, Le Nouvel Observateur, dans un hors-série consacré à la littérature des xixe et xxe siècle, le cite parmi les seize titres retenus pour le xixe siècle, le considérant comme « peut-être le premier chef-d'œuvre de la littérature au féminin »L'EDITION 2020 comprend ;✔️ grande biographie de l'auteure✔️ liste des œuvres et commentaires
Haiku summary
One of five women, Finding a man for herself with wit, pride and love. (DeusXMachina)
It turns out the jerk Really has a heart of gold. Plus, he’s rich! (Eye roll.) (Carnophile)
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(4.4)
31
Discussion Thread: Pride and Prejudice
Wikipedia in English (13)
I did enjoy Lydia and her loud ignorance. It is refreshing to know that this type of person was around in the 1700s. It must have been particularly racy at the time to write about a woman who went and lived with a man but had not married him. And it is her lack of understanding about this and its consequences on her family that I enjoyed. She sounds just like her mother!
I laughed at Mr Collins and his proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. So they had pompous asses in the 1700s too. His refusal to take no as an answer, with his understanding that she really meant yes but was just playing to the romantic notions of the day, the modesty and desire to heighten a man's interest, when read with the present-day filter, is a little alarming, but in the context of the book is farcical as there is no sinister follow-up once the notion of no is received. His perception of himself is dependent on the status of those that he has contact with and his squirming self-importance knows no bounds.
The first sentence is fantastic and really sets us up to understand that this is a story where there are misunderstandings galore but all will be righted in the end. It is a comedy and there are some elements that made me laugh - mostly the characters. In fact, the characters are very well observed and described and are part of the universality of the book that make it a classic.
Although I am not sure whether Austen was the first to use the structure of the romance - two people who appear to hate each other but then realise they were wrong and admit they are in love - it is a structure which is frequently used in romances. So if the definition of a classic is that it's impact is seen in writing today, this one definitely hits the mark. I did find the novel a bit slow in book 2 and enjoyed book 3 the most probably because all the action and undoing of the previous mistakes misunderstandings occurred in it.
I found it quite a challenge to read, having to slow down and reread sentences where I wasn't totally sure of the use of the vocabulary or the syntax. An example of this is when Lady Catherine, having vehemently told Elizabeth of her disapproval of an engagement between her and Darcy, it occurred to Elizabeth that Lady Catherine would need to:
. . . meditate an application to her nephew
p340
I doubt this is about sending a thought to her nephew as waves from one mind to another, or sitting cross-legged chanting an Om. Words have changed in meaning and this required a little care.
For me this is a book about marriage and the role of women, manners and to some smaller degree inheritance. We have marriages stemming from eloping and in Lydia's case passion, from an acceptance that a place in the world can only be gained through this institution, the prudence of Charlotte to use an Austen word, marriages stemming from misunderstandings - Jane and Elizabeth but also dependent on social class where Darcy and his cousin were promised to each other at birth. It seems that marriage absolves all sins. In Lydia's case it wiped away the social impropriety of living together even though their behaviour did not change.
Elizabeth's parents' marriage was not a happy one, passion and imprudence, with her father tiring of her mother after about five years and absconding to his office/library to read and take little part in the family life. Usually inequality in marriage is shown through wealth, as it is here due to the inheritance laws, but also inequality in interests, knowledge of the world and of feelings.
Elizabeth's marriage is one of respect for each other, as is Jane's, accompanied by the idea that people can change their minds. The lesson in Jane's courtship is that if you don't show your feelings clearly they can be misinterpreted and in Elizabeth's that speaking your mind is one way to gain respect with your future husband if not Lady Catherine. One of the symbols of this idea that minds do not have to be small and narrow is the size of Darcy's library. It suggests broad-mindedness and because it was built up over generations, a steadiness in the person and family and their ideas.
So, the marriage that contains both passion and prudence is the winner! One we should strive for and probably not the sort of marriage that was all that common at the time the book was written. It's yet another universal theme.
Our key question for book club is what makes a classic? Here are some of my ideas so far:
The universality of the story, be that characters, plot, themes or structure
It translates well to other media
You can see traces of the novel in present day books
It bears a rereading and you see more in it each time you do
Anything can be classic or a modern classic - each person can decide for themselves what a classic is
Classics are not always the same as those books that make up the literary canon. If a book is in the canon it will usually be a classic but not all classics are in the canon. (