never judge a book by its cover

“Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying.” (pg. 24)

Pride and Prejudice has been a classic I have heard named and referred to since I was young.  After seeing the movie (2005 version) last year, I set my heart on reading the book.  The book takes place in Netherfield, England presumably in the early 1800’s.  I found the book to be more in depth about characters along with frequent dialogue that helps reveal their personalities and qualities.  I felt that while the movie rotated around Elizabeth as the focal point, the book allows more room for the other characters to have their moments in the spotlight.  Elizabeth’s observations of Mr. Bingly almost give him a child-like glee and utterly pleasant countenance.  Jane’s character also grew as I saw her guarded, quiet, and sweet personality harmonize perfectly with Mr. Bingly’s.  The romance between the two, while addressed in the movie, truly comes alive in the book as we see their shy courtship blossom.  That is until Mr. Bingly leaves the town, and the end of their story is still to come.  The third person omniscient point of view also allowed me to take an in depth look into the mind of Mr. Darcy.  Once I saw Mr. Darcy’s thoughts and growing feelings towards Elizabeth, his actions and restriction became more understandable.  I’m looking forward to digging deeper into his character.

The book includes a theme about social class which can be seen clearly between the Bingly party and the Bennets.  While the Bingly party is upper class, the Bennets are lower class and obviously inferior.  This is seen clearly through Mr. Darcy’s struggles with his feelings for Elizabeth.  “Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger” (52).  Darcy automatically writes Elizabeth off as one who could never be worthy of his favor, but the more he gets to know her the more troubled he is by how taken he is with her.  Still, he maintains the prejudice that since she is of a lower class, he could never consider her, but the resolution to that is yet to come.  One thing I have taken from this book is the reminder not to judge quickly, Mr. Darcy after completely rejecting Elizabeth has found himself second guessing and that has happened in my life as well.  Never judge a book by its cover.