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silverflight8It is an awful godforsaken time of the night, but I finished Pride and Prejudice last night and just asdjfkl;jkl;
I will actually review the book at some point, but for now [really really spoilery!] [the book is, however, 200+ years old...]
#1. I UNDERSTAND ALL THOSE "Oh, Mr Darcy!" comments. His letter blew me away. (EVERYTHING RESOLVED). Couldn't care less about Bingley/Jane, except for the plot motivating bit. But Elizabeth/Darcy are ridiculously, madly sweet. <333
#2. I realize it's social satire, but fsdjlks I am glad I know no one like Mrs Bennet or Lady Catherine. Mrs Bennet is at least not intentionally malicious, but Catherine (WITHOUT THE TITLE, HA) is pointedly awful. To think that "condescending" could be a word of praise! The Mrs Bennet is so hopelessly clueless and can't see three inches in front of her nose (like Scarlett, but at least she has other redeeming qualities). Like a child that hadn't grown up. Actually, so is Catherine; SPITE, MY GOD.
#3. Every time Collins showed up, I rolled my eyes. Can you get more pompously condescendingly horridly obtuse?! GO AWAY. NO ONE LIKES YOU.
#4. Elizabeth's reactions to the altering of her perceptions of half the cast are hilarious. Oh, Elizabeth <3. The initial rejection of Darcy - and that was an alarmingly ill-phrased proposal (I DIDN'T WANT TO LOVE YOU) - was really excellent. Incredulous -> what are you saying, immediately.
#5. Mr Bennet was pretty neat, actually. His remark to Kitty, after Lydia's elopement (no more balls and officers for you -&g; Kitty's protests -> well, we'll take a review in 10 years) made me laugh. This would have been about 3:30am last night. Ahh. I like her chapter endings. (Austen's, that is.) Well placed and often enough that the story doesn't drag.
It's funny how little we actually see of the men (according to one of the many reference books I consumed while trying to research a paper, Austen had little contact/knowledge of their activities when ladies weren't present, and so simply didn't write them in) and still form an attachment. Though Wickham, you can go away with the shunned party of Collins, Catherine and Mrs Bennet, too.
tl;dr *Pride and Prejudice flail*, and why didn't I read this earlier
I will actually review the book at some point, but for now [really really spoilery!] [the book is, however, 200+ years old...]
#1. I UNDERSTAND ALL THOSE "Oh, Mr Darcy!" comments. His letter blew me away. (EVERYTHING RESOLVED). Couldn't care less about Bingley/Jane, except for the plot motivating bit. But Elizabeth/Darcy are ridiculously, madly sweet. <333
#2. I realize it's social satire, but fsdjlks I am glad I know no one like Mrs Bennet or Lady Catherine. Mrs Bennet is at least not intentionally malicious, but Catherine (WITHOUT THE TITLE, HA) is pointedly awful. To think that "condescending" could be a word of praise! The Mrs Bennet is so hopelessly clueless and can't see three inches in front of her nose (like Scarlett, but at least she has other redeeming qualities). Like a child that hadn't grown up. Actually, so is Catherine; SPITE, MY GOD.
#3. Every time Collins showed up, I rolled my eyes. Can you get more pompously condescendingly horridly obtuse?! GO AWAY. NO ONE LIKES YOU.
#4. Elizabeth's reactions to the altering of her perceptions of half the cast are hilarious. Oh, Elizabeth <3. The initial rejection of Darcy - and that was an alarmingly ill-phrased proposal (I DIDN'T WANT TO LOVE YOU) - was really excellent. Incredulous -> what are you saying, immediately.
#5. Mr Bennet was pretty neat, actually. His remark to Kitty, after Lydia's elopement (no more balls and officers for you -&g; Kitty's protests -> well, we'll take a review in 10 years) made me laugh. This would have been about 3:30am last night. Ahh. I like her chapter endings. (Austen's, that is.) Well placed and often enough that the story doesn't drag.
It's funny how little we actually see of the men (according to one of the many reference books I consumed while trying to research a paper, Austen had little contact/knowledge of their activities when ladies weren't present, and so simply didn't write them in) and still form an attachment. Though Wickham, you can go away with the shunned party of Collins, Catherine and Mrs Bennet, too.
tl;dr *Pride and Prejudice flail*, and why didn't I read this earlier
Count yourself lucky ...
Date: Jan. 26th, 2012 04:33 pm (UTC)Of course, as you said, it's a satire (with the shape of a romance) and why shouldn't old writers be funny!
I hadn't thought about how little we see of the men, but you're quite right; and the explanation for why makes a lot of sense. And indeed, Austen's real-life isolation makes her accomplishments all that much more remarkable.
Re: Count yourself lucky ...
Date: Feb. 1st, 2012 06:01 am (UTC)I love it when books manage to surprise you. Especially after you go into them expecting something below standards, and then it blows you away - that's amazing.
*nods* In some ways this goes against some writing advice (READ! RESEARCH! OBSERVE!); she clearly did something right with her format.