Pride and Prejudice

I have finished my second Jane Austen novel so I'm getting there on this special list of mine. After being totally smitten with the book Emma and even further smitten with it after seeing the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow who played an awesome Emma, I was so excited to start another Jane novel.

I got the paperback Persuasion and I'm still slowly working on that - have not had too much time to delve into that but I promise to work on it. But I got the audio CD of Pride and Prejudice. Now I must admit I have picked up the book and audio CD before but never finished either one (I'm so ashamed!). But I told myself no matter how hard the language is to stay focused on, I will get through it. I like listening to these books better than reading because I love the different accents the reader uses. However it's also more difficult to pay attention. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Jane Austen books are the easiest reads because they are not, but they are well worth the time and effort.

Pride and Prejudice was so worth the effort. I immediately fell in love with Elizabeth Bennett. She was so head strong and spoke her mind even if it was not the way of women to do so. She found Mr. Darcy not very amiable and she pretty much told him that! The love story in the book though is a very sad one. Gossip, rumors, and the pride of Mr. Darcy - who by the way I'm totally in love with right now - sorry Jared - made this whole book a circus for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. If people had been honest from the start and Mr. Darcy not so shy with strangers, I think their love would have blossomed from the very beginning. In the end though, Mrs. Bennett, whom really only wanted to get her daughters married off, was happy to get three of them out of the house.

I must admit I was very sad to say goodbye to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy this morning. I felt like I was part of the story just by listening.

I thought I loved Emma and I really did/do. Emma's character reminded me a bit like Elizabeth. Both women were not just going to accept any old man who proposed to them, they did not just go with the flow and tried to make their own destiny. Most women in both books seemed very submissive but these two were not like that and I admired them for it. So therefore I must say I like Emma and Pride and Prejudice equally. They are both two of the best books I have ever read and I am so grateful to Ms. Austen to breaking the barrier with her characters and her writing style.

I'm so much looking forward to watching the movie of Pride and Prejudice now (I have purposely never watched a Jane Austen book turned movie because I have always wanted to read the book first). I'm also looking forward to finishing Persuasion and picking up Sense and Sensibility which is next on my list. Then I only will have on left! I better cherish them.

If you have not picked up a Jane Austen novel yet, please do so. You won't be disappointed!