PRIDE & PREJUDICE

I’ve always admired the strength of Elizabeth in Pride & Prejudice. She is her own person who is honest,witty, and intelligence. She goes against the grain in a society and time when woman who had these qualities were considered wild. But to be true to one's characteristics and still hope for love is something to be noted even in today's society.        

There's a lack of authenticity in people today and the time period of the novel. In relationships today people act a certain way that forms them into this ideal person for someone they are interested in. It’s the idea of fake it till you make it, once the chase is over and the prize of love or sex or a relationship is achieved a person's true personality shows through for better or worse. In Pride & Prejudice this lack of authenticity is seen in a sometimes painful over politeness of characters, in the careful choice of words, and the gossiping behind people's backs abouts a person's character. But there is the same lack of authenticity in both Wickham and Collins characters. Collins spends a great deal of time giving compliments that seem practiced and excessive, that makes you think they aren’t genuine and said just to make him seem agreeable. Wickham on the other hand seems very agreeable and genuine upon first impression. But then his true personality is realized when the correct story of what happened between Wickham and Darcy is revealed, and when he and Lydia eloped almost ruining Lydia and her family’s reputation. And the only way he’ll marry her is if he receives an income from Mr. Bennet.

I think the idea of marriage in that time period was about status and money and was rarely about love. Today those ideas have flipped; marriage is now about love and less about status and money. This time period also used dancing in a courtship as a means of affection and physical contact before marriage. This idea of affection has changed a great deal in modern relationships. Many couples or people just dating have physical contact without a slightest  inclination of marriage in the future. Sex is now used as a test to see if two people are compatible and not so much as a confirmation of two people's love and union in marriage.  

The idea of wanting someone you can’t have, is still very prevalent in modern time as it was back then. It’s all about the thrill of the chase; there's something desirable about being challenged and putting in work to win someone's heart. And I think that idea is still popular today. A lot of people now would still see it as being romantic, the act of winning a girl’s heart because it shows that you care a great deal about them. In the novel we see both Collins and Darcy proceed in this chase. When Mr. Collins ask for Elizabeth's hand she says no and he goes on to say “it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept”, so he asks again and gets rejected a second time. Darcy also pines for Elizabeth and struggles with an internal and external battle with his feelings for Elizabeth. He is also rejected by Elizabeth, but his love for her and the obsession to be with her despite the opinions of everyone else including her. Pushes him to right some of the wrongs he’s done in the hopes of winning Elizabeth’s heart.