First Impressions

Oh how I love this movie. It's my go-to movie for when I'm recovering from surgery/illness, because it's just so peaceful and calming. And so full of Mr. Darcy. I used to praise it for being so true to the book, (It's so long that it must be!) until I realized the other day that while I have watched this version, the Kiera Knightley version, the Mormon version, the Bollywood version, and part of some weird British version, I have never actually read the book. *Shock*Gasp! How have I never read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice?

In college I read Jane Austen for the first time during one of my Brit Lit courses. The teacher had us read Sense and Sensibility, which I thought rather slow and hard to get through. Maybe this was because I was also taking a Medieval Literature course at the time where we got to read vibrant, colorful stories full of death, glory, and people's arms getting ripped off. In any case, I decided Jane Austen wasn't for me and didn't think any more of it.

The other day though, Austin and I were re-watching the Kiera Knightley version of P&P, and I started wondering if some of the dialogue was in the book--it seemed very out of place for the time. "Don't judge me, Lizzie, don't you dare judge me" in particular seemed very 21st century, and Mr. Bingley telling Jane that he'd been "a complete and utter ass" was also totally out of keeping with the refined language I remembered from Sense and Sensibility. I promptly went to the library and checked out Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Lady Susan. So far I've finished all but Lady Susan, and though I wasn't wild about Northanger Abbey, I loved Pride and Prejudice. Reading it filled in all the gaps in the many movie versions I've watched, brought to my attention the keen and witty observations of Jane Austen, and even let me know what happens to the characters after they marry!

I'm not sure every book liked by the masses is worth reading--depends on why it is liked, I guess--but I feel bad for my prejudice against Jane Austen brought about by my college reading, and my pride for having disregarded it for so long against the praise of so many for her works. I would highly recommend you check out one of her books next time you visit the library! (Preferably Pride and Prejudice if you haven't read it yet.)