Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The plot up to this point consists of even more drama for the Bennet family. There is a ball at Netherfield where Jane spends the entire time dancing with Mr. Bingley, the youngest sisters spend their time fawning over the officers, and Lizzy accepts a surprising offer to dance with Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bennet thinks of how silly his children have become and Mrs. Bennet tries to play the matchmaker for the whole family. Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth but she refuses, knowing that he will never make her happy, and he instead becomes engaged to Lizzy's best friend Charlotte Lucas. Bingley and his friends and family leave Netherfield and move back to the city, leaving Jane heartbroken and Lizzy confused. Mrs. Bennet worries of what will become of the estate after her husbands death since the land will become property of the hurt and annoyed Mr. Collins. Lizzy goes and visits her friend Charlotte at her new home in Hunsford near the mansion belonging to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. While staying there, the party unsuspectingly runs into Mr. Darcy and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam.

"I may thank you Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me." (Austen 125).

This is Charlotte Lucas Collins talking to Elizabeth Bennet after Mr. Darcy makes a surprise appearance at the Hunsford Parsonage to say hello to his old acquaintances. Charlotte is convinced that Mr. Darcy fancies Lizzy because there was no way that he would visit the homely wife of such a pompous and silly man as Mr. Collins. Lizzy thinks that the entire idea is completely preposterous because in her mind there was no way in the world that a proud ad stately London gentleman could fall in love with a country girl like her. But there have been signs that may show otherwise, and the entire Bennet family seem wrapped up in their own romantic intrigues.

The interest and intrigue have only increased for Elizabeth Bennet and her family. Mr. Darcy, who had shown relatively little interest the Bennets has proposed an offer of marriage to Lizzy. But Lizzy being strong willed and prejudiced refused on the grounds that Mr. Darcy took Mr. Bingley away from Jane and convinced him not to like her and also Mr. Darcy's treatment of Mr. Wickham. Proud Mr. Darcy is hurt, and writes a letter to Lizzy explaining his parts in both of the faults she accused him of, and once she reads it, she feels horrible. She ends up taking a trip with her uncle and aunt and traveling across the English countryside and to London. The accidentally run into Mr. Darcy when they visit Pemberly estate, where he lives. He introduces Lizzy to his sister and she again meets Mr. Bingley, who has obviously not lost his affection for Lizzy's sister. The nice visit with Darcy ends when Lizzy gets news from her family that Lydia, their youngest sister, has run off with Wickham, and that they don't intend to get married. Both Darcy and Lizzy know of Wickham's dark intentions and both fear for the young girl's virtue. A flustered Mr. Darcy runs off while Lizzy returns home to comfort her family.

"Good God! What is the matter?" cried he, with more feeling than politeness...She burst into tears as she alluded to it, and for a few minutes she could not speak another word. Darcy, in wretched suspense, could only say something indistinctly of his concern, and observe her in compassionate silence. (Austen 198).

This is the moment after Lizzy received news from her family on what Lydia has done and where she has gone and with whom. That is right when a confused and flustered Mr. Darcy enters the room to find Lizzy alone and crying. They both know that Wickham tried to seduce Darcy's sister because of her large fortune. Darcy put a stop to it but never told anybody except Lizzy about what had happen and they both feel guilty about never warning the flirtatious younger Bennet sisters. Both are worried and still care about each other.

This was my first Jane Austen novel that I actually had the patience to finish. I love the movies and the televsison series based on Austen books because I am a sucker for historical romances and period dramas, but I found the entire book very detailed and heavy. Not to say that the entire book wasn't beautifully written and the story touching and sweet, but on a whole, this is one of the harder books I have read in terms of just getting through the slow parts to the parts where interesting things happen or there are interesting interactions between people. The last hundreed pages of the book or so were the most interesting because there was the most drama and intrigue in those pages than in the beginning of the book. The entire Bennet family has to deal with the actions of the youngest sister, Lydia, who runs off with Mr. Wickham without the intention of getting married. They do eventually work things out, with what the Bennets assume was a large sum of money from Mr. Gardiner but is really the generous donations of Mr. Darcy who still has feelings for Elizabeth even though she shunned him last time he professed his love for her. Her feelings for him are growing too as she learns from her aunt of how he came to her family's aid when nobody else would. Mr. Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh has other plans for the moody gentleman- a marriage to her sickly daughter instead of a country girl with no connections. Jane and Mr. Bingley re-kindle their feelings for each other, and Elizabeth confesses her feelings to Mr. Darcy. All in all, the ending of the book is satisfying and romantic.
One part of the book that really stuck out for me was the part of the book where I assume the title comes from. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet confess their love for each other and apologize in turn for being proud and prejudiced towards the other when they didn't know each other well. It shows that the whole book was well planned out to show that both the main characters have realized their faults and have accepted the past faults of the people they love. The book is truly beautiful to read.
I would recommend this book to others who like Austen's work, or those who have maybe seen the original BBC series with Colin Firth and want to get the whole story. But those who want to read this book also need patience and a good chunk of time to get into the story, but it is totally worth it if you do.