can you believe elizabeth and darcy invented the 'enemies to lovers' trope and have been the most iconic power couple to exist ever since

i bought it and now i guess it's time to reread it, lol

n  my spotify playlistn

n  “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”n

i want a mr. darcy, but this world is full with wickhams and collins, ugh.

sir, that's my emotional support classic

Austen was a brilliant writer.

This story is timeless.

Simply beautiful.

Reviewing few masterpiece-classics is like undermining them. I was assiduously searching through my pile of treasured-classics to pick up one to re-read. Re-reading helps me to exponentially increase my thirst for books and quench it at the same time (helps me with my vanity, hope not sounding like Mr. Darcy

If you want to read one of the best books ever written, please don't think twice. Just grab a copy of this book and get yourself imbibed into this evocative story that right away establishes an emotional connection with us.

n  n    “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” n  n

(Book 938 from 1001 Books) - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813.

The story charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential.

عنوان: غرور و تعصب - جین اوستین (نشر نی، بنگاه ترجمه و نشر، زرین) ادبیات انگلستان؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1974میلادی

عنوان: غرور و تعصب؛ اثر: جین اوستین (آستین)؛ مترجم: شمس الملوک وزیری؛ مشخصات نشر: تهران، بنگاه ترجمه و نشر کتاب، 1336، در 661ص، زیر نظر احسان یارشاطر؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده 19م

مترجم: شاهرخ پورانفر، تهران، زرین، 1362، در 536ص
مترجم: رضا رضایی، تهران، نشر نی، 1385، در 449ص

ترجمه های دیگر خانمها و آقایان: «شایسته ابراهیمی»؛ «فرزانه حاجیلوئیان»؛ «صنعان صدیقی»؛ «راضیه میرزایی»؛ «عبدالحسین صبوری»؛ «اعظم ضامن‌پور»؛ «مرتضی صادقی‌زاده»؛ «مجید غلامی شاهدی»؛ «فائزه ارباب»؛ «فرناز سلطانی»؛ «سهیلا امامی»؛ «سعیده هاشمی»؛ «میروحید ذنوبی»؛ «الهام رحمانی»؛ «نوید اصلانی»؛ «مجید معتمدی راد»؛ «بهاره هاشمیان»؛ «میترا میرشکار»؛ «فرشید غضنفری و حسن طاهری»؛ «مریم امیری»؛ «فاطمه نصرتی»؛ «كیوان عبیدی‌آشتیانی»؛ «فرناز اخوان‌طباطبایی»؛ «رحیم اصلانی»؛ «کرم شکرزاده»؛ «رستو عوض‌زاده»؛ «سبا هاشمی‌نسب»؛ «مهشید مجتهدزاده»؛ «سحر پوریایی»؛ «هانیه چوپانی»؛ و ...؛

داستان را «جین آستین» در سن بیست و یک سالگی، و در سال 1796میلادی بنوشته است، و برای نخستین بار در سال 1813میلادی چاپ شده؛ و در ایران به سال 1336هجری خورشیدی، با ترجمه ی بانو «شمس الملوک وزیری»، به زیور طبع آراسته گشته است؛ آقا و خانم «بنت» پنج دختر دارند «جین»، «الیزابت»، «لیدیا»، «مری»، و «کیتیا».؛ «جین» و «الیزابت»، بزرگتر و زیباتر از سه خواهر دیگر خویش هستند؛ مردی سرشناس و ثروتمند، به نام «چارلز بینگلی»، در باغ خویش، و در همسایگی آنها زندگی میکند؛ او بسیار مهربان و خوش چهره است؛ خانم «بنت» کوشش میکند، مرد جوان یکی از دخترانش را، به همسری خویش برگزیند؛ و ... ادامه داستان؛

نقل از برگردان جناب رضا رضایی: («الیزابت» که دلیلی نمی‌دید این حالت بلاتکلیفی را ادامه بدهد، به محض رفتن «کیتی»، با جسارت تمام باز هم با آقای «دارسی» راه رفت؛ حالا وقتش شده بود که تصمیمش را عملی کند؛ به خودش جرئت داد و گفت: آقای «دارسی»، من آدم کاملا خودخواهی هستم؛ برای آرامش دادن به احساسات خودم هیچ فکر نمی‌کنم که شاید احساسات شما جریحه دار بشود؛ نمی‌توانم جلو خودم را بگیرم و بابت محبت فوق العاده‍ ای که در حق خواهر بیچاره‌ ام کرده‌ اید از شما تشکر نکنم

از وقتیکه به این مطلب پی برده‌ ام، مدام دلم می‌خواسته به شما بگویم که چه احساس امتنانی دارم؛ اگر بقیۀ افراد خانواده نیز می‌دانستند، الان صرفاً من نبودم که تشکر خود را به زبان می‌آوردم؛ «دارسی» هیجان‌زده و متعجب جواب داد: متأسفم، خیلی متأسفم که شما از موضوعی باخبر شده‌ اید که اگر درست به شما انتقال نداده باشند، احتمالا باعث رنجش می‌شود؛ هیچ فکر نمی‌کردم که خانم «گاردینر» اینقدر غیرقابل اعتماد باشند؛ - زن دایی‌ ام تقصیری ندارد؛ حواس پرتی «لیدیا» باعث شد من بفهمم شما در قضیه دخیل بوده‌ اید؛ خب، من هم تا جزئیات برایم روشن نمی‌شد، آرامش پیدا نمی‌کردم؛ اجازه بدهید بارها از شما تشکر کنم؛ از طرف همۀ اعضای خانواده‌ ام تشکر می‌کنم، به خاطر بلندنظری و محبتی که محرک شما در اینکار پر زحمت بوده و این همه دردسر را تحمل کرده بودید، تا آنها را پیدا کنید)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 25/05/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 05/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

I came for an enemies to lovers, 1800s Britain edition with Bridgerton vibes and got a ton of drama about people who were always outside :) I loved the drama though, just wanted a Taylor Swift love story

I had forgotten just how witty this novel is. And how key reticence is to the plot. In particular Elizabeth’s, in stark contrast with her mother who shoots off her mouth at every opportunity with a vulgarity that constantly has one squirming on Elizabeth’s behalf. Elizabeth is like the family editor, the family censor. It’s her who receives most of the critical information in the novel and very rarely does she share it. I often found myself puzzling why. In an age when women were largely silenced it seemed odd that Elizabeth voluntarily silenced herself. But it also made me keenly aware at times of how much human nature – or maybe female social decorum - has changed. When Elizabeth finds out why Bingley has dumped her sister she doesn’t tell her sister. I’m pretty sure all of us now would be on the phone to our sisters in a jiffy. Clearly Austen didn’t find this a strange decision; in fact she breezes over the disclosure so swiftly it’s as if she assumes the reader would perfectly understand Elizabeth’s motive without any explanation. Maybe Elizabeth’s extreme reticence was a plot device, a very effective one to be sure because it enables Darcy to remain mysterious and it even enables Elizabeth to remain mysterious to herself. It’s super clever of Austen to refer to Darcy as proud throughout the novel when in fact it’s Elizabeth who is the more entrenched culprit of that emotional stance. It’s largely her pride that creates the atmosphere of prejudice around Darcy.

It’s also a novel that makes you miss being in love. As much for all the anxiety, embarrassment, keyed-up second guessing, girly gossiping/speculation and ghastly self-consciousness as the elation and well-being.

In short, I loved it again and found it didn’t matter one iota that I knew what was coming. Only brilliant writing and craftsmanship can sustain dramatic tension when you know what is going to happen next.

As a footnote when I was seventeen my mother told me I needed to develop the Elizabeth in my nature and curb the Lydia. Thing is, the Lydia type has more kudos now than she had in Austen’s time. Psychotherapy would probably argue for a balance between the impulsive Lydia and editorial Elizabeth as a model of behaviour. You sense Austen held a similar view.

my love for jane austen will always save my love of books and reading.

”Pride has often been his best friend”

Perfection in a book!!! One of the best stories and most wonderfully written books of all time. My favourite Jane Austen book because of this magnificent character sketch of pride and prejudice, it’s weighty themes and witty dialogue.

Lively, spirited, humorous, and romantic. A carefully orchestrated story of love and deception, manners and impropriety, and of course pride and prejudice, all of which secures this book’s place in the Hall of Fame for classic literature and its continued popularity among many.

Simply put a masterpiece. A comedy of manners and marriage!!!.

The Plot

With the opening line "Any man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife”, there is no doubt of Jane Austen’s intent. This is matchmakers’ paradise where wealth, class, marriage, courtship, social standing and the arrogance of the elite are pitched against those who wish to marry into fortune. Except not all young ladies believe wealth is more important than love.

The storyline is simple. New arrival Charles Bingley, a rich bachelor from the North of England, rents the Netherfield estate close to the family home of Mr & Mrs Bennett. Keen to have her daughters married to wealthy husbands, Mrs Bennett asks her husband to pay a visit that secures an invitation to the Netherfield ball where the eldest daughter Jane, captures the attention of Charles Bingley.

The same cannot be said of Eliza Bennett who elicits one of the most condemning remarks, in the book, from Bingley's friend, the aristocrat Mr Darcy, who does not see her as his equal. At this stage of the book Darcy is described as “haughty, reserved, and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting”. Of himself, he declares…

“The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and everyday confirms my belief of the inconsistencies of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.”

Not exactly wrong of the time and characters but this sets the tone and backdrop for more heated exchanges and clashes between wealth and principle. As the exchanges between the two couples intensifies, their respective relationships are tested by the arrival of other possible suitors and a chain of events that sees the Bennett’s good name all but destroyed, until Mr Darcy intervenes. Not out of goodness but as he declares to Lizzy, he only thought of her.

Coming out of nowhere, Darcy makes a marriage proposal to Elizabeth which almost seemed like a sport if it were not for the harsh exchange between the two main characters, and is so iconic I can’t remember how long ago I first encountered this memorable exchange.

“You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner."

Alas, the story does not end there, and all comes good in the end.

Review and Comments

The themes of marriage, wealth, class, education, male inheritance, and social expectations are no surprise for books written in this period. However, what was so refreshing and captivating about this book is the balance of good versus evil, the steadfast principles held by some in contrast to the immoral behaviours of others. We are treated with a range of fabulous characters and the standout from the book – well it’s the humour!!! with scenes like Mr Collins' absurd, awkward, and fumbling proposal to Elizabeth.

However, one of my favourite book lines, was Mr Bennett’s riposte to his hypochondriac wife,

“I have the highest respect for your nerves, they are my old friends.”

A delightful, charming, easy to read classic with some explosive scenes and despicable characters that encapsulated so many themes. However, it is the two main characters that personfiied the predominant theme of the book - Pride and Prejudice.

The unquestionable 'pride' of Darcy who initially failed to appreciate Elizabeth for the intelligent and high-spirited person she was and for failing to contemplate a rejection or her feelings with his insensitive and misjudged marriage proposal. It is almost comical that Darcy goes to length to point out Eliza's inferiority during his offer of marriage, and reminds her that his love for her is "against his will, against his reason, and even against his character". Wow!!!

Not without faults, it was Lizzy who then embodied 'prejudice' for misjudging Darcy's and being blinded to his other virtues and goodness because of his class. Yet you can only adore Elizabeth for her freedom of thought, feminism and her ability to pervade her class and offer well voice’s opinions amidst so much snobbery and spite.

The way in which the subplots, characters, themes and humour are so intricately woven into this wonderful story is what makes Pride and Prejudice one of my all time favourite books. A true masterpiece that had never aged, in my opinion.

Other favourite quotes

“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”

“Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion.”

“From the very beginning— from the first moment, I may almost say— of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry. Ouch!!!

If you haven’t watched the mini series or read the book I would encourage you to do both. It is no accident I chose to read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ as my first book of 2024 and to complete the experience I indulged in the BBC’s TV adaptation of the book for the 20+ time. Having watched different adaptations of the book, for me personally there is and can only be one Mr Darcy and it’s Colin Firth. In fact the whole cast is superb so I highly recommend this mini series over any others. I promise you will get an equally enjoyable but different experience with the book and this mini series.

I hope Jane Austen is somewhere up there and that, even in death, she knows that Elizabeth Bennett is still That Bitch in 2019.

n  

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

n

Pride and Prejudice is one of those books that comes with the "everyone who has a literature degree should have read this" stamps and I am, in fact, doing a literature degree. The sheer amount of times this has been referenced in the course of my degree definitely made me think I should read it. The good news is, everyone seems to love this book. Even people who don't really like classics. And guess what? The hype was right because I kinda love it too

Pride and Prejudice is an excellent social commentary delving into the tenuous economic positions women in the 19th century held. Mrs Bennett's desperate scramble to marry off her daughters, particularly Jane and Elizabeth, as soon as the eligible bachelors Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy wander into town provides for an entertaining and often hilarious tale but it's also dire in that throughout the novel you are well aware that the sisters face potential poverty and homelessness should they not find good marriages sometime before their fathers death. And for me, one of the real strengths of this book is how well it balances out the romance and the satirical humour of the situation with the real reality of the situation. While this book did make me laugh, I really have to sympathise with Mrs Bennett and what she's trying to do here. It's also really interesting when you consider that there is an element of Jane Austen's own life reflected in the situation the girls find themselves in.

n  

“We are all fools in love”

n

I think what I loved about this is the pure drama of it all, but it's all so serious in it's frivolity. Even though we're talking about getting sick to hang out at your mans house longer, and buying ugly bonnets and running off with your new soldier boyfriend, the drama is compelling. I think that a real strength of this book is that it is so insightful. All the drama is perfectly positioned to make a Point, and all of it is deadly serious. Even though it's kind of funny Mrs Bennett is going to force her daughter to catch a cold just so she can (maybe) hang out with Bingley a bit longer, there is also a element of understanding and truth that rings in it - these girls really DO need to go to all lengths to get married. The satire is so well placed, and the story is so thoughtful.

Elizabeth Bennett is also such a compelling and fun main character. She IS that bitch!! I loved how rebellious and independent she was, and her relationship with Jane was so beautiful. I really loved the focus on the girls strong bond and the prioritisation of the girls relationships with eachother over anything else. Elizabeth is also ICONIC. The bit when she verbally beat the shit out of Mr Darcy? I truly have decided to stan forever.

Speaking of Mr Darcy - I have to say he's not in it as much I expected?? Everyone RAVES ABOUT HIM and I get it because, yeah there is something really appealing about him being The Hot Rich Bachelor Who is Really Into You But He's Too Awkward To Show It but he honestly doesn't feel like he appears that much? For me it felt like the Bennett sisters and Elizabeth's struggle to reconcile her situation and her happiness were much more interesting and pertinent themes and relationships than the romance. THAT SAID, I do still love the romance. God, the slow burn, angsty beauty of it all. Are we talking about That Scene in Permberly? I'm talking about it. When he comes across the fields and they catch awkward eyes and it's like okay they're in love PHEW love that. Also, when Elizabeth is at dinner half hoping half dreading he will turn up. SISTER why is that so relatable when this is a 200 year old book ??

n  

“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”

n

There is something remarkable to me that in all the time since the publication of this book, so much of it stays relevant and loveable. I genuinely thought reading this it reads in some ways like a modern book. I loved that about reading this - even though it is obviously a classic it was so easy to read and get really invested in. It makes the reading experience so much better, since classics can be so hit and miss sometimes. Austen is funny and frank and insightful and thoughtful, and her characters are well developed and compelling. That Pride and Prejudice is so far from our everyday, and yet remains so relatable, and so beautiful, and that romance still stands is truly powerful in itself, and goes to show just what a GOOD book this is.

I really really enjoyed this, and I plan on working through Austen's other works in the future. (Sense & Sensibility is most likely next). I will say this, literature world - I get the hype.