Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: a review

Sometimes, there are books that, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to get through. For years now, that book has been Pride and Prejudice for me. I tried a few times back in Sixth Form; it was one of my friend’s favourite books, and I wanted to see what she loved so much. I knew that it wouldn’t have necessarily been my cup of tea, but I was willing to give it a go. I just couldn’t do it. Time after time, and I don’t think I ever got to chapter ten. So, this was my one last try. I was finishing it no matter what. I went into it knowing that I might not have retained anything, but that was going to have to do. One last shot, and I was done (spoiler alert: this really didn’t go how I thought it would).

            I also gave myself the best shot with this book. I’ve had this audiobook in my library since the first time I tried getting through this book, and it was going to be my saving grace this time. It’s narrated by Emilia Fox, who is fantastic as an audiobook narrator. I’ve listened to a few audiobooks with her as narrator, and I’ve always enjoyed her voice. This book was no exception.

            Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one of those books where I’m not quite sure if I need to put a plot synopsis because it’s such a classic. At its most basic level, it’s a story of love, marriage, and misunderstandings. It follows the Bennett family, mother, father, five daughters, and the central focus is Elizabeth, the second eldest child. Through her eyes, we see this world of 19^th century England, and all that it entails.

            I must say, I got far more invested in the characters than I expected when I went in. I never really cared about the characters and their problems; no, I never read all that much of the book, but I just never felt hooked. I think I had a lot of hang-ups about romance stories in general at the time, and I struggled even more when I didn’t feel like I could relate to these characters due to class, time period, and setting. However, I now have a much stronger connection to the romance genre, and that’s given me much more of an appreciation for this book. I fell in love alongside these characters, especially seeing Jane and Bingley (who this book should really be about, in my opinion). I also got really heated when there where moments and characters that thoroughly boiled my blood. Whickham is just despicable, frankly, and there’s little more to say on him. Mr Collins got under my skin in a way that I can’t quite put into words. Until he got married, I just wanted to throw something at him every time he spoke. If I didn’t know that Lady Catherine was Darcy’s cousin, I’d have thought she wasn’t real. The way he talks about her, it has the energy of “yeah, I have a girlfriend. She just goes to a different school.” Speaking of Lady Catherine, what a detestable woman. She’s the sort of person that made the French invent the guillotine. I think when I was first reading books like this, I found anyone outside of the working class to be like her, and I can obviously see how ridiculous that is now. Admittedly, there were still times where I was a little put off by all the rich people problems, but I generally found myself for more able to empathise with the main cast. No empathy for Lady Catherine, though.

            I know how this is about to sound, but one of my favourite things about this book is how frustrating it can be at times. Nobody seems to be able to talk to each other about their feelings, ever. People are two faced in the name of “polite” society, which is bad enough, but so many of the misunderstandings in this novel come from people being so unable to read other people’s feelings that they don’t think it’s a good idea to share their own. Now, this is a romance book, and a classic at that, so you do know that it’s likely to work out, but by God does Austen keep you tense the whole damn time. There isn’t a single person who isn’t completely blind to how obvious it is that feelings are mutual. This is something that I usually don’t like seeing too much of when I’m reading, but I think because I was venting my frustrations to someone else as I was reading it made it worthwhile in the end. A little frustration can work, but sometimes it can feel a bit much. This also fits into one of my other favourite things with this novel, which is that Austen decided that the best, most enticing men, are stupid men. Austen really gave us himbos in 1813; she was so ahead of her time.

            I’m genuinely happy that this wasn’t just a case of getting this book finished. I really wanted to enjoy this book every time I tried, and finally, finally, I was able to get immersed in this story. If I do read it again, it won’t be for a long time. I want to give myself time to enjoy it again feeling a little refreshed. If you, like me, have never quite been able to stick with this book, give it one last shot. Maybe this one last time will be when you get into it.