It sounds like a cop out, but I really did read it this past week. It has been quite a few years since I've read this one. It's not one of my favorites, I have to admit. Oh, I like it fine, it's just that others seem to jump to my mind first when I'm looking for a little Jane Time. (Persuasion!) And it might have to do with the fact that Mrs. Bennet drives me up a tree! Usually, I don't get bothered by annoying characters in print form. Once they come alive on the screen, that's another story. But Mrs. Bennet in any form has made me want to pull my hair out.
And I know that Mr. Bennet is supposed to be the likable parent, poor man, put upon by his annoying wife and adored by his oldest two girls, but he gets under my skin too. Was he really that thoughtless? Was he supposed to be seen as the noble philosopher father who simply found himself in a difficult situation beyond his control? He didn't save any money for his daughter's dowries because he believed he would have an heir. Would Mrs. Bennet have been such a gold digger if he had been more financially astute?Then again, he married Mrs. Bennet to begin with even though she was a ninny.
Her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her.
Something struck me as odd as I was reading this time. Nowadays, we tend to keep things like salaries and financial resources private, but back then, everyone's financial situation is known by everyone else. How did that happen? Did they really go about telling people what their incomes were? Did everyone else really think it acceptable to discuss it in polite conversation? How did everyone know that Mr. Bingley has "Five thousand a year?" It seems as if income was something that should only he talked about in hushed tones yet, everyone knows who has what. Mr. Collins even knows " that one thousand pounds in the 4 per cents" will be Elizabeth's inheritance after the death of her mother. I can understand Mr. Collins being aware of the finances of the estate that is to be entailed upon him (although we are told that his father was estranged from Mr. Bennet so it leads one to wonder how this information was passed to Mr. Collins), but how does he know about her inheritance from her mother? It led me to search for some answers which I didn't really find but I did come upon this interesting paper on the economics of Jane Austen.
One other thing... Mr. Collins is described by Jane Austen as "a tall, heavy looking young man of five and twenty" yet both movie versions have made him short and in the case of the BBC version, seemingly much older. In the Kiera Knightley version, he is laughably short, so short in fact that Mr. Darcy almost takes his head off with his elbow. I know his character is used as comic relief in the movies, but I wonder if that's how most people imagine him now. Just a thought.
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As for Cupcake, she's been enjoying some Jane too. Do you know about the BabyLit Board Books? {affiliate link} She loves them and my girls delight in reading them to her. When the picture of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley shows up, she kisses them both, but seems to have a preference for Bingley! Oh, and the puppy. And Colonel Brandon! My girls have already taught her that Willoughby is a weasel!
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What about you? What's your favorite Jane Austen to read?
My favorite Jane Austen character is Mr Darcy.
ReplyDeleteHmnnn...I've recently read Emma, Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility while I think it's been a couple of years since I've read P&P. I do know 'Lydia' is who drives me nuts in that one, perhaps because I have my own lovely Lydia and can't stand reading her name associated with such a character. Emma took me a while to get into as I'm used to an intelligent heroine and Emma starts out so (!) ridiculous. But it is true to life - some folks need to grow up and learn lessons and then turn out really lovely I reckon.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing about P&P or Austen in general - it's very popular to reference Mr. Darcy and his proposal and so forth, so how is a girl supposed to read it without already knowing the best secrets of the whole plot?
I haven't seen any films. I do know what you mean about the finances though - it's very strange to imagine everyone knowing your income and inheritance! And so much Austen gets me thinking about what it's like to spend your days simply wondering about where you will go walking or who will call... Ha!
Sense & Sensibility is my favorite, although Fannie just about does me in but I get a real kick out of Charlotte. Fannie's sister was omitted in the movie but between the two of them I almost nearly throw the book every time I read it - but, I still love it!
ReplyDeleteThose board books are adorable!! My daughter is too old for board books and my boys would use them as weapons so I may just have to buy them for myself. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAs for Jane, my favorite has always been Persuasion. :-)
I read Pride and Prejudice pretty much yearly. I don't think that Austen ever meant for us to admire the father. I've always read him as somewhat selfish and lazy (in his parenting anyway.) I think that he is a warning of someone who married youth and beauty and didn't care enough about character.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Dani, I don't think the reader is supposed to admire Mr. Bennett at all. Although Jane and Elizabeth love him, and that certainly reflects well on them, he's a weak and foolish man and he rashly married for beauty without taking into account Mrs. Bennett's character and in doing so he made his own fate. But the way he deals with her is terrible. I think Austen makes it clear that if he'd exerted himself to help steer the family, Lydia would not have ended up running off as she did. But instead of being a responsible husband and father Mr. Bennett hides away and lets Mrs. Bennett have her own way. It's a disaster for the whole family and he repents too late.
DeleteShockingly, my teenage daughter, raised on good literature, does not like Jane Austen's books. She finds the characters annoying and doesn't see the humor at all. I reassure her that she'll appreciate the books better when she's older and has more experience of people and the world. (I had a friend who read "Kristen Lavransdatter" in college and just didn't see why it was her favorite professor's favorite book, but when she married and had kids and read it again, she sobbed over it and she totally got it.) I think Mrs. Bennett is a hilarious character and I do know someone like her. An older woman - a good Catholic who could talk your ear off and knows everything about everybody, always concerned about making matches between eligible Catholic men and woman (and she claims quite a few successes). She often makes cringe-worthy, embarrassing statements (she is never embarrassed), but she has a good heart. She is best taken in small doses. Her husband is very quiet and unassuming and leaves her to her own devices. You wonder how they ever got together. Haven't you run across marriages where it seems the couple didn't know each other very well or were not well-matched when they united? My husband's parents are an example of that, but they stuck together and made it work in their own odd way.
ReplyDeleteI think the greatness of Jane Austen is that she is portraying her class and people as they are, honestly but with affection for "her people". There are no idealized heroes and heroines. They all have their foibles and faults. Elizabeth has her prejudice (Darcy) and poor character judgement (Wickham). Mr. Darcy has his family pride and arrogance. Bingley is a handsome, sanguine air-head, loveable as most sanguines are. He and Jane as a married couple are predicted to be as irresponsible financially as Mr. Bennett, but will probably get in less trouble because their income is higher. I know people like this. Friends I've known for almost 20 years, are always in debt even though the husband makes a six-figure salary. They didn't save for college and are irked that they don't qualify for financial aid. But they continue to spend, always hoping that something will happen to save their sinking financial ship (and sometimes it does). That characteristic is annoying sometimes and incomprehensible, but we still value their friendship for other reasons. I
I wonder why we keep salaries secret? People talk about everything else, but finances are a taboo subject. Are people worried than someone will hit them up for money? Is it a mysterious status thing for men? It's actually kind of weird, when you think about it. Maybe in Jane's time when people were confident in their social status not because of money but because of blood lines, it was less of a private issue. In "Emma" Miss Bates is invited to social events of the gentry even though she is now poor because she comes from a "good" family. Now, it's only money that defines your class - from the 1% to the middle class to the working poor to the welfare mom.
I have a friend who is a Catholic literature professor who has a theory that our personality types strongly influence what kinds of literature we like and dislike. She's thinking of working her theory into a book. While I think our tastes definitely mature and change over time and that we can learn to like certain kinds of literature, I do think some people are more likely to like Jane Austen and others may never really get into her works. I know PhDs in literature who love Austen and those who can see why she's considered a great writer but who just don't enjoy reading her work.
DeleteI think P & P is my favorite, though S & S is a close second. I've got to find those sweet board books!!
ReplyDeleteI think this may be only the second time I've commented on your blog, but since I love Austen, I just had to chime in! I would say P&P is my favorite, although I definitely understand your dislike of Mrs. Bennet.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any Austen recently, but I've been thinking that I need to do so again. I just finished a cute little novela titled "Austenland", and it's made me dive back into Austen and read some of hers that I haven't read before.
P & P is one of my all-time faves, (the children's version that you listed included!) but I also love Persuasion. Northanger Abbey makes me laugh because of Catherine's imaginations, but Mansfield Park is tough for me to get through. I just want Fanny to speak up for once!!
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the Cozy Classics version of Pride and Prejudice? I got the Baby Lit one and the Cozy Classics one for my baby at Christmas and much prefer the needle felted illustrations! http://www.mycozyclassics.com/ (Ooh, it looks like Emma is coming out this fall.) I can't ever decide which is my favorite Austen. They are all unique and each one calls to me at different times.
ReplyDeleteOh, my I am swooning over the baby lit board books!! P & P is never a cop out - love me a little Jane!!
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