I love me that book. I really, really really do. I can’t lie. There is just something about P&P that is just simply adoring. It’s a 200 year old book mind you.
But what is it so enduring and great about that book, that time and time again not only people remember that book fondly and talk about it, but also write extra stuff about it? Is it the wit and charms of Miss Elizabeth Bennet? Was she, and is she still the type of woman women want to be? Is she still the different girl? Or is it Darcy? I mean, he’s supposed to be this rude and obnoxious sort of fellow, with too much pride (:D) but in the end you can’t help but falling in love with him? Or is it the idea of meant to be. Jane and Bingley got together, even after the world conspired to keep them apart. Maybe it’s the idea of the happy ending…the idea that there is someone and something meant for all of us, and even if that isn’t perfect, take Lydia and Wickham or Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, everyone does end up getting married. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the secret desire of all women that every man can be changed, and this book fulfills it.
There is something there. And this causes people to write or make series out of book, that take a certain twist to it. There was that book, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife that told the story of that perfect couple, after the wedding. There’s also Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a funny twist on the classic tale, now with zombies! I went to the bookstore the other day, and saw 3 different Pride and Prejudice continuations/twists. And now I’m watching Lost in Austen , as if the BBC miniseries of the book weren’t enough.
I have watched Lost in Austen few times...I actually love that series. Just find it so hillarious specially since it is like a mock up /twist of the original.
P&P just makes every girl's dream come true....to have someone like Darcy tall handsome and super duper rich...who looks proud outside and inside he got a heart of gold...and who is head over heel In love with the girl. It is all fantasy and desire of every girl and novel in the end fullfills the desire to have a happy ending.
I used to read Urdu Novels like these....there are few good ones out there(not copy of P&P) but exactly same concept but ofcourse very very well written Urdu. Not like today's novels mostly crap. Used to be soo hooked on those. So yeah the imagery of MR Darcy is everywhere even in different cultures, not just in P&P.
i just finished watching Lost in Austen. and i like it! the first time around istopped watching it halfway cuz i didn’t get into it. i thought omg such crap! but it’s gooooood! it shows you what things could have been if you changed things just a tiny bit. haha!
maroush yeh man - books that I read when I was younger hold a completely different meaning to me now. And books that I loved are like OMG ewww now! You should re read it and not read it with an essay or a grade hanging over your head.
I just bought my copy today!!!! nuching *
Once I'm done re reading Twilight & New Moon then I'm going to start on this.
Do you think this type of man even existed back in Jane Austen's time? These type of guys are extemely scarce in today's society. Or, was she also fantisizing through her writing.
Writing is an imaginary world, hence it's possible to combine all desirable qualities in one man or woman, whereas in real life we may not find that. To me that's part of the fun. Literature is an alternate reality..and at times it doesn't have to faithfully portray real life. Perhaps the charcters weren't 100% realistic, but we get a pretty accurate picture of the social life in her times.
As far as Jane Austen goes, my favourite book of hers is Persuasion. Its a quieter novel and the heroine is much older (27!! oh no! lol), but i vastly prefer it over P&P. Hers is a romance long given up and when its rekindled, is so much better! The movie was hugely irritating though and cast all wrong- ugh- so don't watch it.
And actually, I prefer Emma and Sense & Sensibility over P&P too.
P&P is good, but i'm not in love with it. Elizabeth Bennet has never appealed to me the way Anne from Persuasion, or even Emma, have. And I find Marianne Dashwood's romance with Colonel Brandon far more alluring than Elizabeth and Darcy. I think I've always loved P&P because Colin Firth did such an excellent job with Mr. Darcy- he's totally hott, but as a character, he's kind of a prick, you know?
What I did love wholeheartedly though, was P&P & Zombies. Now there's a book where I could appreciate Elizabeth and Darcy because they just seemed more, relatable, somehow (because of course, I also fight zombies every weekend :p) and totally hilarious to boot! I think Jane Austen would be super pleased and fighting zombies is how they should be remembered for all time because it just seems to suit them more than riding in carriages, mooning around large houses, and exchanging witty/scathing/proud/contemptuous banter back and forth.
Sort of offtopic, but what did you guys think of Fanny Price from Mansfield Park? I remember being properly outraged by the classism she faced in her uncle's house haha
I must say it’s a mind blowing work on the part of Jane Austen I consider it a great piece of literature. I like how beautiful Elizabeth Bennnet snubs the prideful aristocrat Darcy
this book is actually about the tragedy of Charlotte for me. It makes me feel sad every time I think of it. That is what most marriages were/are..ones of compromise to flawed, mediocre, silly men.
No one Marries Mr Darcy. Mr Darcy is too busy prancing around in front of the mirror normally.
i just can’t read the book on the computer. can’t make myself do it. i think it’s high time i buy my own copy
for me…
