(straight read, front to back, and responses by chapter/section)
Pride and Prejudice:
Ch. 1-3:
No comment besides Mr. Bennet is pretty hilarious. I still
don’t understand too well about why people didn’t like Mr. Darcy’s first
impression; I thought he might just be a shy person, except for when he
said, “She is tolerable; but not
handsome enough to tempt me.” That
part was pretty a-hole-ish.
Ch. 4-5:
First of all, I don’t think anybody has the right to be proud, but Miss Lucas is
right: you can’t blame Darcy because he does have everything and is probably
“better” than a lot of his contemporaries. Apparently, even his best friend
Bingley realizes this. But of all the people young Lucas has got it right – who
cares about pride, a pack of foxhounds and a bottle of wine will do just fine.
Ch. 6:
Well at least Miss Bingley knows why Mr. Darcy is annoyed by
these obnoxious dance events – I thought I was the only one. We’ve got a whole
lot of matchmakers on our hands also; I mean, even Sir William Lucas is trying
to set Darcy and Elizabeth up! When Darcy told her that “a woman’s imagination
is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a
moment.” I think I laughed out loud a little bit because oh how true is that…
And no, Elizabeth may not be the prettiest Bennet girl – or
maybe she is, but I get the impression Jane is – but it’s obvious she’s cunning
at the very least.
Ch. 7:
Three-mile walk, not bad.
But that Mrs. Bennet be scheeeeeeemin’! Trying to mastermind
a plan for Jane to get “stuck” at Bingley’s place. Screw eharmony, hire Mrs.
Bennet!
Ch. 8:
Accomplished:
(1)Thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing dancing,
and the modern languages; posses a certain something in her manner of walking,
tone of her voice, her address and expressions; do all mentioned exceptionally
well.
(2) Non-existent; a mythical creature that meets all
criteria mentioned in (1)
Ch. 9-11:
Miss Caroline Bingley needs to calm her ass down take a
freaking hint!
But here is the gold:
‘“And your
[Darcy’s] defect is to hate every body.” [said Eliza] “And yours,” he replied
with a smile, “is willfully to misunderstand them.”’ (p. 93)
Ch. 12-13:
Not much happened here. I hope the girls’ cousin, Mr.
Collins, doesn’t completely take the house from them, but that’s how the world
turns…
Ch. 14-15:
I can’t tell what Collins is bragging about, but nobody
cares about Lady Catherine de Bough, or her daughter. Also, it seems Wickham
and Darcy know each other. Maybe we’ll find out more during dinner with Aunt
Phillips.
Ch. 16-17:
So I’m thinking here that the super-good-looking Mr. Wickham
is definitely lying, or at least not telling the whole truth. But really, how
Eliza trusts this guys just because he is good looking is beyond me. Either
way, he says that Darcy did not allow for his father’s wealth to be transferred
over to Wickham, which is actually pretty plausible – Darcy may or may not have
done that, but I’m sure for a better reason than him just hating Wickham,
specifically his own pride. “For almost all his actions may be traced to pride”
(p.115). Point being this: Eliza and Wickham form a sort of instant connection.
It was kind of funny when Eliza smiled when she thought that
Miss Bingley had no chance with Mr. Darcy, who was supposedly to marry his
cousin, daughter of Lady de Bough. But of course she is exited to meet Wickham
again at the next ball Bingley is throwing.
Ch. 18:
Whoa, that was an awkward party. I get that it’s her
character but Eliza needs to quit being so sassy; poor Darcy doesn’t even know
why he’s getting so much hate from her. Mr. Collins is another one; he’s just a
total lost cause; just Darcy tipping his hat and walking away is perfect. I
can’t believe Mrs. Bennet would marry Eliza to Collins just of the sake of
getting her married – actually I can believe it because she’s pretty shallow,
it obvious all she cares about is Netherfield. Bingley and Jane: match made in
heaven, but no drama equals boredom.
Ch. 19:
“My reasons for marrying are, first…” that’s when I would
have just walked away if I were Eliza. I mean, the only reason he’s marrying is
because Lady de Burgh told him to. Collins not only can’t take a hint, he just
goes into straight denial!! Oh, I swear a lot of these people are just so full
of themselves.
Nonetheless, as usual when people get tired of Collins’s
ramblings, Eliza finally just kept silent and withdrew…
Ch. 20:
“Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never
see you again if you do” (p. 142).
I’m so glad that Mr. Bennet is there to put Mrs. Bennet in her place time and
time again.
Ch. 21-23:
Oh what a turn of events! First off, it makes sense that
Charlotte accepted the proposal because she’s actually much older than Eliza;
also, during this time, women do not usually let an opportunity to marry up in
ranks like this to just pass by for no good reason. I feel bad for Jane having
to find out that she is not a guarantee in marrying Mr. Bingley, but we can’t
really take what Miss Bingley has to say too seriously now, can we? Do the rich
really have that much of a problem of marrying beneath them? Is it that deep? Honestly, if Darcy would just quit
being a little bitch and just tell Eliza his feelings for her this novel can be
that much shorter. But everybody has his or her own individual flaws I guess
(to paraphrase the man himself), in this case it proves to be pretty
detrimental to the narrative.
24-25:
Things are looking pretty dreary as of now, must keep
reading. Hopefully Jane’s trip to London will settle some things with Mr.
Bingley, since he’s decided to stay there all winter according to his sister.
Ch. 26:
I’m glad Jane figured out Caroline is a big ol’ bizzach,
even if she’s not doing anything about it L.
It’s funny that Eliza’s aunt warned her not to pursue Wickham because he might
be only after money – which he probably was since he’s pursuing some girl who
just won a large fortune – because it’s a similar reason to why Darcy is scared
to have relations with Eliza.
Ch. 27-29:
We can see Eliza here being a little bit partial to Darcy
when she comments on Lady de Bough’s daughter’s unappealing looks. Although,
the way the chapter ended was pretty wild. Lady Catherine de Bough is a
snobbish prick! When she totally annihilated Eliza and her sisters, accusing
them of having ill upbringings because they didn’t have a governess, and
basically implying that they’re talentless since all five of the Bennet girls were
unmarried… I’m glad I know a little bit of the ending at this point.
Ch. 30-32:
Still getting used to Charlotte as Mrs. Collins. I’m going
to lie but Darcy does make it difficult for himself when he shows up to meet
with Eliza but doesn’t say a word really unless he has to. On top of that he
just stares at her for long periods of time… you really can’t make up your mind can you Darcy.
Ch. 33:
“There are not many in my rank of life who can afford to
marry without some attention to money,” (p. 206). Still true today, always will
be true in one way or another.
Ch. 34:
I can’t believe he proposed this chapter! But it all makes
sense now why he had is apprehensions. I think Elizabeth just freaked out at
the notion of being proposed to by Darcy; honestly, she must have thought that
she had no chance whatsoever (due to the difference in their social classes)
being with him, so much that it made her hate him a little bit for it.
Ironically, this is the same reason for Darcy’s not confessing his love for her
sooner…
Ch. 35-36:
Yeah, reality check Miss Elizabeth Bennet! Obviously Wickham
was all about the money from the beginning. Eliza felt that she should have
seen this coming since she usually has a knack at reading people, but of
course, “vanity, not love, has been my folly,” she proclaims on p. 227.
Ch. 37-42:
I wasn’t following too much of what was going on at this
point but it seems that Elizabeth tells Jane about the realities of Darcy and
Wickham’s relationship. They decide against telling everybody, which backfires
on them in the way that now Lydia, the youngest daughter, is trying to take Ms.
King’s place as she has moved away.
At the end of the volume, Elizabeth agrees to go visit
Pemberley, where Darcy’s manor is. She says it would be dreadful if she was to
run into him, but blushes at the thought – she seems to still be confused at
whether she fancies him or not…
Ch. 43:
This chapter is very pivotal in terms of how much Eliza
learns of Darcy. We find out that he has been raised as his noble father’s son
and rightful successor, as he is responsible for the well being of his sister. Eliza
even says that she has never seen Darcy so polite as she did that day. It is
obvious from their looks and exchanges that there is still some fire between
the two people, only both of them are not so sure what the other is thinking
which doesn’t allow themselves to go about it the right way. Nonetheless, a
large gesture is taken by Darcy by offering to introduce Eliza to his sister,
of whom he loves most dearly.
Ch. 44-45:
We meet Miss Darcy, who is not proud but just shy. Of
course, Miss Bingley is there to bring up Wickham to embarrass Eliza; she
doesn’t mention anything about it thought. It is very obvious to Mr. and Mrs.
Gardiner that Mr. Darcy is in love with Eliza. When Miss Bingley tries to speak
ill of her at the end of the chapter, Darcy claims that Eliza is “one of the
handsomest women of my acquaintance.”
Ch. 46-48:
Eliza and company finds out that Lydia may have eloped with
W. They panic and return home to the rest of the family. Should have seen it
coming; Lydia was always into men in uniform. Mr. Bennet, Mr. Gardiner, and
Eliza go to London to look for the (hopefully, since she did sign her name as
Lydia Wickham in the letter – at that point I don’t think I’d be too worried,
but I don’t know I don’t have any missing children) newlyweds. I don’t know
where this hate came from, but Mr. Collins wrote a letter practically
reiterating what his patroness Lady Bitch de Bough said to Eliza earlier in the
novel. And to “throw off your unworthy child for your affections for ever,” (p.
305) SEROUSLY!! I for one am glad that Mr. Collins is in a doomed relationship
of no substance. Unfortunately, Lydia, or Wickham, was nowhere to be found.
They give up and return home. Mrs. Bennet is beyond hysterical about what has
just transpired.
Ch. 49:
The Bennet girls’ uncle, Mr. Gardiner, found Lydia and
Wickham for they have agreed to get married, but with terms. Mr. Bennet
suspected that Mr. Gardiner had helped Wickham settle some of his debts,
estimating it to have cost about 10,000 pounds! Nonetheless, Mrs. Bennet is
happy that her youngest is getting married, at 16 no less. As mentioned by
Eliza before, and knowing Wickham’s character, financial matters have probably
influenced this marriage – which is not necessarily a bad thing quite honestly;
financial stability for a potential family is always good.
Ch. 50:
Eliza realizes that she really loves Mr. Darcy. Contrasting
their potential marriage to Lydia’s with Wickham, she concludes that hers with
Darcy would be much more practical and sensible than Lydia and Wickham’s
marriage, which is merely based upon primal passions.
Ch. 51:
Oh my goodness gracious, Lydia is freaking annoying! She has
no idea what is going on!! She’ll learn in time though, and probably end up
just like her mother, honestly.
Ch. 52:
The letter from Eliza’s aunt explained how much Darcy helped
in setting up Wickham and Lydia (since he was straight up going to dip out on
her); he even paid Wickham’s debts! Yeah, Eliza
you should have said yes. But can’t she see that he went through all that
for her? Why would she think that Darcy is going to marry de Bough’s daughter?
Even if he was, she should know that it seems that Darcy would gladly still
marry her if only Eliza would just go to him…
Ch. 53:
Mrs. Bennet would still be mean to Darcy. I don’t
understand, why is Darcy helping out with Lydia’s and Wickham’s marriage being
kept secret again? Must keep reading…
Ch. 54:
I swear, next time a dinner transpires that involves all
parties present, someone need to get a whole bunch of liquor so that everybody
can just say what’s on their mind. Clearly what we have here is a communication
problem between all parties – for the sake of elegance no less. I’m kidding, but
no seriously though…
Ch. 55:
Bingley proposed to Jane! Things are looking up at this
point. How are there six more chapters?
Ch. 56:
Now we find out the real reason why Darcy was so hesitant in
pursuing Eliza: prejudice, not pride. “If you were sensible of your own good,
you would not wish to quit the sphere, in which you have been brought up,” said
Lady Bitch de Bough – oh, how I wish this movie was rated R just so someone can end her violently! We find out that Darcy had been arranged to
marry his cousin this whole time. Back to the theme of financial matters
influencing marriages: I feel as though the more practical reason for this
arrangement is to keep the wealth within the family, not merely some sort of
class-prejudice (most-likely a disgusting combination of both). Also, Miss
Eliza Bennet handled the whole thing pretty well I think. She refuses to
decline any proposal from Darcy henceforth (although I’m not sure whether she
will be accepting the proposal out of love or simply to spite Lady de Bough,
either way, I’ll take it).
Ch. 57-58:
Darcy and Elizabeth are finally engaged. It was nice to hear
that Darcy knew how impolitely he was acting around these women (and actually
how he viewed the rest of the world in general), but that quickly changed after
Eliza’s refusal – we see this primarily when Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and Eliza
visit his manor soon after. Not only that, he even persuaded Mr. Bingley to
take Jane seriously as a suitor as he admits to his own poor judgment. This
comes to show that they make each other better.
“The turn of your countenance I shall never forget, as you
said that I could not have addressed you in any possible way, that would induce
you to accept me,” (p. 367).
Ch. 59:
Of course nobody, not even Jane, expected this at all! They
even doubt how much she actually felt for this man Darcy, if any. But since
they know that Eliza would never marry for money, and after knowing the truth
about Darcy helping their family, had to oblige and believe her.
Until this happened on p. 372: “It [her love for Darcy] had
been coming so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I
must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberly.” (face
smack!). I mean, yeah, I knew what she meant by this, but still, poor choice of
words (totally made her sound like a gold-digger). Nonetheless, it was
hilarious to see Mrs. Bennet’s instant change of heart towards Darcy now that
her daughter is gaining all this immense wealth and power (let’s not pretend
like Eliza didn’t fantasize about all of this when she was visiting Pemberley
for the first time).
Ch. 60-61:
The conclusion was good, very fitting. That’s all I have to
say about that. I liked this novel very much, actually. So much, that four
sides of paper would be insufficient to contain all my delight!
