What's in a Name?

What's in a Name?

Pride & Prejudice by: Jane Austen is a different kind of book than we normally read in class. Books we read in class have a lot of apparent depth. For example: The Great Gatsby, it is about the idea of the american dream or "The Metamorphosis" which reveals alienation in society. But Pride & Prejudice, it seems like a novel that was just written for enjoyment; a romantic comedy of the era. It's all about falling in love and how a relationship can go from hate to love. Even in the beginning of the book you can just feel the tension between Elizabeth and Darcy from the moment they meet. The instant dislike, but the fact that Darcy's best friend Charles Bingley is infatuated with Elizabeth's older sister Jane adds to the storyline and shows the differences in the developments in relationships. All throughout the novel there are love triangles and jealousy and all of these components that make it an exciting but seemingly shallow novel. But throughout all of this there seems to be some sort of deeper meaning. The title of the book is a packed title! Pride, and Prejudice. Just let those two words sink in for a moment... Pride: a deep satisfaction of your own accomplishments. Pride isn't a bad thing but if it's paired with Prejudice: an opinion of someone or something that isn't based on reason. That can be deadly combination towards someone's character. Many of the characters in the book have pride. The female protagonist, Elizabeth has a lot. She is the second oldest of the 5 Bennet sisters and the most serious and headstrong of them. She speaks her mind and doesn't reserve her loathing for Darcy. For example, in one scene where Elizabeth is playing the piano, Darcy comes over to stand by her. Elizabeth who knows that Darcy's sister Georgiana is an amazing pianist immediately thinks Darcy is going to criticize her so she says to him: "You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me...My courage always arises with every attempt to intimidate me." So not only does this show her pride and readiness to defend herself to nonexistent attacks it also shows her prejudiced attitude towards Mr. Darcy. She has no plausible argument to be rude to him because although he acts a little rude sometimes it is just part of his awkwardness. But Darcy too has his prejudices, when he meets the Bennet family he makes unprecedented opinions of them. He believes the family is full of immature and flirtatious girls. So the book is about more than just a love story. It reveals a lot about the characters and can be a statement towards the current society. It's making a statement about women; maybe saying that women are more than just future wives and caretakers and they can be just as dominant as men.