Pride & Prejudice

chappysmom

So, when are we going to start talking about P&P? One of my all-time favorites!

papayahed

I found discussion questions on Barnesandnoble.com some of them seem a little forced and cheesy but we could still discuss them?

chappysmom

I'm game!

What are they? (Grin)

chappysmom

Barnes & Noble Reading Group questions:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?userid=asq1Z9tQV7&ean=9780486284736&displayonly=RGG#RGG

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Charlotte Brontë did not appreciate Pride and Prejudice. She felt that Jane Austen didn't write about her characters' hearts. Do you think Brontë's criticism is accurate? Is Austen's treatment of her characters' feelings superficial? Do they feel and/or express deep emotion?

2. An earlier version of Pride and Prejudice was entitled First Impressions. What role do first impressions play in the story? In which cases do first impressions turn out to be inaccurate, in which cases correct?

3. After Jane becomes engaged to Bingley, she says she wishes Elizabeth could be as happy as she is. Elizabeth replies, "If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can have your happiness." Do you think Elizabeth's statement is true? Is it better to be good, to think the best of people, and be happy? Or is it better to see the world accurately, and feel less happiness?

4. Mr. Bennet's honesty and wry humor make him one of the most appealing characters in the book. Yet, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that he has failed as a father. In what ways does Mr. Bennet let his children down? How does his action, or inaction, affect the behavior of his daughters? His wife? The course of the story?

5. Charlotte doesn't marry Mr. Collins for love. Why does she marry him? Are her reasons valid? Are they fair to Mr. Collins? Do you think marrying for similar reasons is appropriate today?

6. Both Elizabeth and Darcy undergo transformations over the course of the book. How does each change and how is the transformation brought about? Could Elizabeth's transformation have happened without Darcy's? Or vice versa?

7. Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Collins, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh are famously comic characters. What makes them so funny? How does Elizabeth's perception of them affect your trust in Elizabeth's views of other people in the book, particularly of Wickham and Darcy?

8. For most of the book, pride prevents Darcy from having what he most desires. Why is he so proud? How is his pride displayed? Is Elizabeth proud? Which characters are not proud? Are they better off?

9. Editor Tony Tanner points out in the Notes to the Penguin Classics edition that Austen did not mention topical events nor use precise descriptions of actual places in Pride and Prejudice, so that the larger historical events of the time did not detract attention from the private drama of her characters. "This perhaps contributes to the element of timelessness in the novel," he concludes, "even though it unmistakably reflects a certain kind of society at a certain historical moment." In what ways are the themes and concerns of Pride and Prejudice timeless? In what ways are they particular to the times in which Austen wrote the book?

curlyarca

Honestly, I haven't gotten the book yet. But once I do, I'll catch up with you guys!

papayahed

1. Charlotte Brontë did not appreciate Pride and Prejudice. She felt that Jane Austen didn't write about her characters' hearts. Do you think Brontë's criticism is accurate? Is Austen's treatment of her characters' feelings superficial? Do they feel and/or express deep emotion?

I think that's a valid point, the characters do seem a little stiff. I attributed this to that Old English stiff upper lip.

chappysmom

I don't think Austen's characters are so much unfeeling as restrained. They do foolish things on impulse, just like anyone else, but they live in a society where manners are the driving force of behavior--you don't put your feet up on the furniture, you don't eat with your fingers, you say please and thank you as necessary . . . and you don't erupt into passionate outbursts in public (grin). Lydia certainly acted with passion, though--to the frequent embarrassment of her family. And Mr. Darcy--well, he does keep his emotions very buttoned up, but would he have headed off to London for anything less than passionate feelings--just because they burn deeply doesn't mean they don't burn at all. And personally, I see nothing wrong with a certain amount of restraint--it's a refreshing change from every one emoting all over the place.

papayahed

This might be a spoiler, but I'm trying to be vague.


How did Catherine De berge hear about the suppossed engagement?

chappysmom

papayahed wrote:

This might be a spoiler, but I'm trying to be vague.

How did Catherine De berge hear about the suppossed engagement?

I don't think it says . . . She just says "a rumor has reached me . . . " My personal guess is Miss Bingley, somehow, after seeing the behavior at Pemberley. Mr. Collins writes of the news to Mr. Bennett, too. He presumably gets it from Lady deBurgh, but it's never clearly stated that I remember.

LaVidaCurly

I'm only halfway finished. So, she gets engaged..... great. :roll: Thanks.

chappysmom

LaVidaCurly wrote:

I'm only halfway finished. So, she gets engaged..... great. :roll: Thanks.

We said it was a RUMOR . . . Lady Catherine hears it; Mr. Collins hears it; but we didn't say if it was TRUE. (Or whom it was about, either.) Don't worry--nothing's spoiled!

Deb

curlyarca

chappysmom wrote:

I don't think Austen's characters are so much unfeeling as restrained. They do foolish things on impulse, just like anyone else, but they live in a society where manners are the driving force of behavior--you don't put your feet up on the furniture, you don't eat with your fingers, you say please and thank you as necessary . . . and you don't erupt into passionate outbursts in public (grin). Lydia certainly acted with passion, though--to the frequent embarrassment of her family. And Mr. Darcy--well, he does keep his emotions very buttoned up, but would he have headed off to London for anything less than passionate feelings--just because they burn deeply doesn't mean they don't burn at all.

I agree.

superrach3

I'm sorry to go off ranting about how much I love this book, but I'm only 13, so it's hard to find people who are as obsessed as I am! It made my day when I found LizzyBennet on one of the other boards.

I thought the characters seemed very emotional and real in Pride and Prejudice. Persuasion was the book in which the characters were dull and unfeeling.

JoshGroban'sRockin'Curls

Hey! Have you girls seen the newest version of P&P? It takes place on a modern campus of a university. I love it and have the opening scene memorized!

Also the charicters are far from unfeeling. they are like any human being, sometimes open with their feelings other times not so.

lilsoldier182000

No I haven't seen the newest version. Where did you see it JoshGroban'sRockin'Curls? I wanna check it out. Thanks!

lvsexClala88

The bollywood film Bride and Prejudice justs proves that the Jane Austen story can not be retold. Bridget Jone's Diary is also a fine example of Jane Austens book turned to mayham. I'd be suprised if the story being played out at uni would change anything :?