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A review by lyssaczernek
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5.0
I loved reading Pride and Prejudice. At first, I was a bit intimidated; I had tried to read the novel once before and it just wasn't clicking for me. However, I'm so glad I had the opportunity to give it a second chance.
Jane Austen does such an amazing job balancing wit, comedy, and romance in this novel. So many of her characters have fast-paced dialogue that shows their level of intellect without making them seem like pompous assholes (or if a character (Mr. Darcy) does come across that way, they have chances to grow). The comedy was also something I really enjoyed because there were some instances of obvious comedy, like Mrs. Bennett's over-dramatics. But, there were also instances of more subtle comedy, like Kitty is upset Lydia was invited to a friend's house even though Kitty is older. Finally, the romance, specifically between Elizabeth and Darcy, was my favorite aspect of the entire story.
Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship started off as so antagonistic (for extremely valid reasons) and at the halfway point I didn't know how they were going to reconcile because it seemed like every interaction they had just drove them farther apart. However, Jane Austen knew what she was doing and I should have trusted her. The second proposal scene where Darcy admits his faults and acknowledges that Lizzy had some valid concerns is one of the best in the novel. He also says that he has spent time working on himself to change some of these less desirable qualities and offers to never bring up the topic of his feelings again if Lizzy decides she doesn't want to hear him out. This character growth was so stunning and really made the book stand out to me. People often have a difficult time admitting when they are wrong, especially men. I understand why Elizabeth agreed to marry him the second time around.
Jane Austen does such an amazing job balancing wit, comedy, and romance in this novel. So many of her characters have fast-paced dialogue that shows their level of intellect without making them seem like pompous assholes (or if a character (Mr. Darcy) does come across that way, they have chances to grow). The comedy was also something I really enjoyed because there were some instances of obvious comedy, like Mrs. Bennett's over-dramatics. But, there were also instances of more subtle comedy, like Kitty is upset Lydia was invited to a friend's house even though Kitty is older. Finally, the romance, specifically between Elizabeth and Darcy, was my favorite aspect of the entire story.
Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship started off as so antagonistic (for extremely valid reasons) and at the halfway point I didn't know how they were going to reconcile because it seemed like every interaction they had just drove them farther apart. However, Jane Austen knew what she was doing and I should have trusted her. The second proposal scene where Darcy admits his faults and acknowledges that Lizzy had some valid concerns is one of the best in the novel. He also says that he has spent time working on himself to change some of these less desirable qualities and offers to never bring up the topic of his feelings again if Lizzy decides she doesn't want to hear him out. This character growth was so stunning and really made the book stand out to me. People often have a difficult time admitting when they are wrong, especially men. I understand why Elizabeth agreed to marry him the second time around.