Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice
By Jane Austen
Completed December 23, 2010

I should really call this post: How I Learned to Read Pride and Prejudice…and Liked It!

Admittedly, I was a little gun shy about reading this classic. I usually don’t do well reading Victorian literature, typically finding its prose too flowery and detailed. Indeed, as I began Pride and Prejudice, my typical impatience started to show. I was getting bogged down into the language, knowing I was missing the satire of the novel.I lamented my woes on LibraryThing, and my friend Joyce gave me a piece of advice: read every word. It proved to be indispensable advice.

To enjoy Austen, I needed to get in the Austen Zone. For me, that meant slowing down my reading pace, and at some points, reading passages out loud. Once I did that, Pride and Prejudice became more of a pleasure to read.

My favorite aspects of the novel were Austen’s characters: Elizabeth, smart, witty and challenged with societal and gender rules; Darcy who tried so hard to be crusty that he surprised even himself with his love for Elizabeth; and Mrs. Bennett, funny, outspoken, rude and determined. She will go down as one of my favorite literary moms.

I approached Pride and Prejudice like a homework assignment, first with dread and later with anticipation. If you are an impatient reader like me, you might be overwhelmed by a task like this, but trust me when I say that with a little patience, you can tackle – and enjoy – Pride and Prejudice. ( )