How I was led to Pride and Prejudice

Reading the classics has always been one of my pastimes. Secretly, I yearn to ace quizzes like this and just understand everyday references to the many classics that have influenced life today.

I was always told that Pride and Prejudice is a must-read. Assuming it was a good lens into the greater body of work that Jane Austen produced, I dove in.

What I found interesting about it

As stated by the essay title, the book is considered a classic for a reason. In my opinion, it remains relevant today despite the differences in society back then and today. I hope that opinion didn't show as bias in my (hopefully) impartial essay.

Relevant aspects not included in the essay:

• Elizabeth and Darcy's gripping pre-marital relationship: I found both of these characters' assiduous consideration of eachother reflective of today, where partners take long periods of time to reach a decision on marriage. While Jane represents the "ideal" woman of her time, Elizabeth's relationship with Darcy represents the potentially unattainable future where substance outshines appearance.
• Reversion towards comfort: In the society Austen portrayed, it is a comfortable decision to adhere to societal expectations. Often, this is not difficult with the few decisions people had. Nowadays, an increase in individualism has increased the options people have. It is still common to ignore these new options in favor of conservative customs. This is evident through the remaining tendency among certain groups of people to find comfort in e.g. the idea of a woman as a housewife.

Insightful insights

The idea that Austen sought to represent through the Bennet sisters a range of women was suggested by my English teacher. I found this to be a unique way to think of these five unique characters.

What I hoped to communicate through the essay

Inspired by certain suggestions made by those who supported me in this process, I was attempting to argue that it is all about the depth at which one understands the historical situation of an arbitrary classic in order to derive meaning from it. This was approached through two themes: marriage and economics (which often overlapped).

Resources

Here is the link to view the submission.

Thank you everyone who helped me through the process of writing this essay, and thank you for taking the time to read this!