I finally finished this book for the Summer Reading Thing. I have avoided reading it for a long time, but decided that this was the year. In the last two months, I have read the book and watched two movie versions. After reading Pride and Prejudice, I can understand why it has stood the test of time. It addresses human nature and the way we treat people. These are issues that never seem to change
I found it interesting to read about the social expectations of the time and how the Bennetts just didn't quite measure up. Again, I looked around me today and wondered how often people are judged according to what they wear, or where they live? Even though it was written almost 200 years ago, many of the problems and attitudes that Elizabeth Bennett faces are still prevalent today. How often do we judge others in error, only to find they become dear to us when we truly understand them?
What I loved about this story was the universal theme. I think in another 200 years, readers will still relate to the story and still be telling their own modern versions. I am looking forward to reading more Jane Austen - as soon as I finish the rest of my summer reading list.
4 comments:
Oh, Jane Austen is amazing isn't she? Have you seen Becoming Jane yet? I was startled at how much reality echoed Pride and Prejudice.
And yes, these attitudes, sadly, still exist today. I struggle with one very poor foot in a wealthy world and the rest of me in the world I grew up in. I'm very hard put to not smack people upside the head sometimes.
I have a whole list of Jane Austen related things I need to see and read. Becoming Jane is one of them.
Pride and Prejudice was always a movie I enjoyed, but when I read it for book club, it became one of my favorite novels! I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
I think you nailed it--classics stand the test of time because they have universal themes: feelings, situations, and issues that people of any time period can relate to. After P&P, my next favorite JA book is Sense & Sensibility.
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