Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was very hurt and rather taken aback by the abominable reviews this book has received! Has no one read this book thoroughly to comprehend the deeper meaning this book holds? Doesn't anyone see Austen without rose-tainted spectacles reserved for romantic fools?

Love story! Honestly! Is that all 'Pride and Prejudice' about? Well read it again and tell me, has any other author except Dickens and Wilde portrayed more faithfully the society of England than Austen has in 'Pride and Prejudice'? The garrulousness of women, the unnecessary importance they attach with the institution of marriage and the qualities present in a normal society full of ginger-people...well, I can't think of a more socially appropriate novel!

Now, coming to the much underrated theme of the novel---yes,it talks of love and marriage but does Austen paint a rosy picture of romance in this book? Well, go through it again! The novel is full of couples and each couple represents marriage as a result of different reasons.
There's an instance of marriage resulting out of infatuation (Mr. and Mrs. Bennett), a marriage of convenience (Charlotte and Mr. Collins), a marriage resulting out of senselessness and licentiousness (Lydia and Wickham) and lastly, a marriage of equals (Jane and Bingley ,Mr and Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth and Darcy) and by elucidating the relationship between these couples, evaluating their pro's and con's, Austen has shown which of these will be successful and why? Is it still a romantic novel, then?

Now, why marriage one may ask? So,here the answer: you couldn't be a woman writing for women in the nineteenth century England without either murdering your protagonist in the end or getting her married! Austen wrote with the pen of a feminist in an era where you couldn't be a thinking woman. She wrote with the ink of subtle sarcasm to open the eyes of her contemporaries to things around which their lives were supposed to revolve around. At least, she didn't write senseless sermons for 'cultured women' like Maria Edgeworth or Gothic fantasies like Charlotte Bronte. Her novel never talked about how unfortunate orphans caught the fancy of their rich, mysterious owners and ultimately ended up running into long lost cousins and inheriting windfall fortunes.

So, five stars to a story which is well written, socially valid even today and makes sense. What's your opinion?



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