"Do you want to know who has taken it?"
"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."
"You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves."
"You mistake me, my dear. I have high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration for the last twenty years."
Okay, okay, I'll stop it with the quotes.
For Amber's opinion about chapters 1-6, click HERE.
Pride & Prejudice Volume I: Chapters 1-6
Discussion Format: One favorite quote, some general impressions, and three questions for each week's reading.
Favorite Quote:Only one!? *looks at pages of quotes written down* Can I list five?
1. "You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me."
~Mr. Darcy
2. "Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never."
~Elizabeth Bennet
3. "That is very true," replied Elizabeth, "and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine."
~Elizabeth Bennet
4. "...began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes."
5. "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment."
~Mr. Darcy
(You can tell who my favorite people are.)
General Impressions:
We think Pride & Prejudice and we think a classic. That is all true, but it does seem that Ms. Austen had more to say. To me, Pride & Prejudice is absolutely a wonderful classic. I love it. But, it also seems to be Ms. Austen was mocking society. All the rich people having so much pride, and all that. You know?
Now I will get on to the characters.
Elizabeth: Very witty, and easy-going, but has a lot of pride.
Mr. Darcy: Doesn't like strangers, but can be loyal (or so Bingley says.)
Jane: Very shy and reserved, but with a heart of gold. "But these are not Jane's feelings; she is not acting by design."
Mr. Bennet: Here is what it says about him, and I agree completely. Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humor, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character.
Mr. Bingley: A sweet heart everyone loves.
These are just my favorites so far. Sorry this is kind of quick and brief, it is super late.
Discussion Questions:
1. Which character do you most relate to at this point in the story? Whose worldview/personality most resembles yours?
Well, I once answered that I am like Mary. But I also am like Mr. Bennet as I can sometimes be a bit sarcastic, and I love giving people surprises.
2. Ponder Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth's first impressions of each other. Might the story have been very different if they had each responded differently at (and after) that first ball?
"That is a question which Mr. Darcy only can answer."
Just joking! I think it would have been a very different story, not the one we all love. It shows that everyone is beautiful in their own way, and not to be so judgy (judging).
"But, if he does it anymore I shall certainly let him know that I see what he is about."
3. What do you think of the portrayals of marriage/courtship so far? Charlotte claims, "It is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life." Do you agree or disagree?
"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love."
They are going pretty well so far, it is always interesting to see the start then all the way to the finish.
I definitely disagree with Charlotte, it definitely is best to know as much as possible.
Thank you so much for hosting this Amber! I love re-reading it!
MovieCritic
A P&P read-along? How awesome! Pity I left my copy of P&P at home...
ReplyDeleteIn a sense, Jane Austen was mocking society in a lot of her works. She clearly showed how arranged marriages and marriages of convenience sometimes work but most of the time didn't. She also made fun of other societal conventions, an especial one being the flighty, giggly female. Almost all of those females made bad choices/marriages if I remember correctly.
I also heartily disagree with Charlotte. I'd better the person's faults before I marry him. Otherwise, a world of misery will be my fate. And considering who she ends up marrying, I'd like to know what she would say if she was confronted with that saying of hers again.
Catherine
catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com
Even though I read it this year already, I just had to join!
DeleteYou said it exactly! The most surprising thing is that no one seems to notice, some of the most famous quotes are said all the time, but they don't realize that it is a joke! And arranged marriges were definitely not fun, and people made bad choices. Austen is saying that if she had married, she wouldn't have done the same!
Ha, ha! Yes, Charlotte did jump to things suddenly. I am super picky when judging people, so Charlotte's "method" wouldn't work for me. I mean, you could disagree on so many things.
Thanks for your comment, Catherine!
So fun to see all your favorite quotes and hear your thoughts on the story! Great breakdown of your favorite characters too! I think that's awesome that you relate to Mr. Bennet and his sarcasm and teasing ways. ;) I also think it's interesting that Darcy is the one who says that quote about women and matrimony...I think it's still pretty true, haha!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for participating in the read-along and this first discussion!
~Amber
This book is so full of good quotes my notes are way too long! :) Thank you! Mr. Bennet and I really are alike, a little silly, a little sarcastic. :) Darcy has great quotes, but that one is a little surprising that he says it!! :D Haha!
DeleteThank you so much for hosting this!!! :)
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!!! Is it not the most amazing work of literature?!?! Well, it's evident you agree. I LOVE all of those quotes, and I definitely approve and agree with your opinions!! Interesting questions, too; would it have even been much of a story if they liked each other right off? It certainly would have been different; I believe Jane Austen knew perfectly well what she was doing, and therefore created a most amazing masterpiece. :D
ReplyDeleteAwesome review!!! Of course I love anything to do with P&P, and you did it justice!!
It is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I only like few books better (one of them is AoGG and I know what you think about that. :D) I have written down way to many quotes, I pretty much write down a quote a page! I do think this is Jane Austen's best work, she must have had it planned out for quite some time! :D :D Thank you so much! I feel really honored that you, a huge fan, liked my thoughts! :D
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