Week 1 Thoughts: A “Pride and Prejudice” Read-Along
Hello, everyone!
Here’s the first of my weekly check-ins on our collective reading of Pride and Prejudice.
If the first section of this book were an animal it would be a…
A hummingbird. The way Austen darts around from character to character, scene to scene is energetic and quick. I don’t even know who’s speaking some of the time! I can usually figure it out, but there are times when I need to slow down my reading. The effect is charming more than anything.
The Point of View in this book is fascinating.
I’m gonna get a little English major-y on you. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that has an omniscient third person point of view. This means that the writing can dart in and out of the minds of any character at any given time. I figured we’d be spending most of the time in Elizabeth Bennet’s head; yet, that hummingbird of a narrator goes from one flower/character to the other quickly, with little notice. And because of that, we get little treats. We KNOW that Mr. Darcy admires Lizzy already. And we also know that Lizzy doesn’t know this. So the book has a secret relationship with the reader. A lot of contemporary authors writing in third person usually stick to a single character to follow in a whole book. OR, if it’s a new chapter, the chapter may focus on a single character and shift to another in the next. But Austen isn’t concerned with that kind of rigid structure. I think it adds to the swirl and bounce of it all, and I’m all for it.
Favorite scene so far:
The great scene (in chapter X) where Miss Bingley comments on Mr. Darcy’s letter writing. It starts off as a seemingly casual conversation about the length of letters and turns into a more philosophical debate about humility and how easily influenced someone may be. I am not explaining this well, but it was fun.
Runner-up favorite scene:
The collision of the sisters and all these men in the village: Mr. Denny, Mr. Wickham, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, and let’s not forget Mr. Collins has “just entered the chat,” so to speak. That’s five men for five daughters… But there’s something amiss. A Look of Significance has passed between Darcy and Wickham. What is that about???
Word I circled because i had never encountered it before:
Ductility
On Mrs. Bennet
It has been ages since I’ve seen that classic BBC miniseries. When I started reading this, I was pulled into a vortex of how meddlesome and, honestly, grating she can be. But in reading this book, I cannot help but sympathize with her. She may not be the most tactful character, but she has FIVE DAUGHTERS, each with not much to offer in terms of fortune. Plus she’s funny and ridiculously hopeful. Her moods change in an instant. She seizes the opportunities she has—like when she realizes Jane is not severely ill but maybe just ill enough to stay with the Bingleys for longer than necessary.
What else?
There was no easy settling into the action of the book. Austen doesn’t spend a ton of time setting the scene. I was kind of expecting an early chapter to have an introduction of each daughter. (“let’s go down the line and get a nice long paragraph on each sister.”) We get no introduction of Catherine (or Kitty, I believe). I was pleased to see that bookish Mary got an early mention (she’s the focus of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley). But Austen cuts to the chase and twists and turns to the action and lets us catch up. I feel like I’m in good hands. I don’t think I would enjoy this as much if Austen were to bog us down with exposition.
What impressions do you have? What questions do you have?
There are MANY characters to juggle (oh! That reminds me that we’ve got some more eligible women on the fringes who seem, on paper, to be more qualified marriage candidates than any of the Bennets–we’re in for some serious drama, aren’t we?!)
I sometimes have trouble untangling what lies at the core of certain debates and conversations.
There’s the ever-present element of characters trying to live up to societal norms and codes. It almost always seems like no one can say what they truly think or believe at the risk of humiliating someone or having irredeemably bad manners.
Okay, I’m going to leave that for now. This is a rich, vibrant world and I’m eager to enjoy the upcoming twists and turns.
Feel free to share you comments and questions on the blog, or share your thoughts on social media. Don’t forget to use the tag #CommonwealReadAlong when you post. That way others can find it and chime in if you’d like.
And here’s the daily reading schedule for this week:
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