Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

This book has taught me a lot of things. I was expecting more a "romantic" kind of a prince and princess-like book, but this book was profound, more than that.

I could see how Jane Austen perceived life, moral and love, and I always appreciate that in the books that I read (eventhough I don't always agree with everything). I would like to break down some of the things that I noticed and how I feel with them in my Christian perspective.

1-We prejudiced the book and the characters.

I don't know if it was because I have seen the movie, but I am the person who's always going to prefer the book than the movie because I find that it's more accurate to the feeling that the original author wanted to impart to the story, but I need to admit that I myself prejudiced the book, thinking that I was going to find something more "romantic" than it really was. I also prejudiced the characters as long as I was reading, often finding myself agreeing with one or each of them and in the end I found that most of the time the pride and prejudice were the ones shining within them.

I love when authors deceive the readers. I love when they make us think something of someone and in the end we were just looking at a glimpse of the truth. And I found this ALL the time, though I realized it really far away in my reading.

2-The love of a mother.

Mrs. Bennet... oh, Mrs. Bennet!, I admit that I couldn't stand her most of the time, but at some point I understood that all that she wanted was good for her daughters (and sometimes a little pride for herself). That showed me the way that mothers care about her children. I do not agree with her exasperation and lots of things that she did, but sometimes she made me think of the love of a mother.

3- Acknowledging our pride and prejudice brings pain but also freedom.

I loved the moment when some of the characters admitted that they were proud and prejudiced. This reminded me of how the bible tells us to do the same but not staying like that but changing for better. And even though it's painful, it brings freedom.

4- What we instruct and how we instruct children/youth REALLY matters.

Proverbs 22:6 in the Christian Standard Bible, goes like this: "Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old, he will not depart from it."

Lydia, I suffered a lot from what she did, and we see the importance of instructing the youth.

Quoting:

"She has been allowed to dispose of her time in the most idle and frivolous manner, and to adopt any opinions that came in her way."

That's TOO dangerous and we could see the consequences of it.

5- Things done in the way that they should be bring happiness instead of shame.

Nothing else to add.

6- Forgiveness

I didn't like how the parents (the bennets) acted with the Lydia's thing, in the way that I didn't feel that they talked to her about the matter as they should, correcting her more. But I would like to stand out the forgiveness part. Quoting from a person that was a clergyman:

"'You ought certainly to forgive them, as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned in your hearing.' That is his notion of Christian forgiveness!"

We can see how Mr. Bennet added to his "advise" that this was not how a christian should act. We should forgive BUT after correcting, which I think that they didn't do the correcting part so much.

7-The sinful nature of the humankind

We can see how people are blind and can't see how bad their actions are that, even after receiving a lot of help more that we deserve; we don't care about the weight and the wrong in our actions. That reminded me also of what the bible says about how people who do not know God are blind in their own pride and sins and can't recognize their condition, not even recognize God himself as their God.

8-The importance of marriage

It was refreshing to see (that's why I love this kind of books) That even though they didn't literally say that the marriage was something biblical, you could see that it was really important in those days. And that can make people nowadays change their perspective about it.

I couldn't stop thinking how for us; Christians, marriage is the representation of Jesus Christ loving his church. After I saw everything that Mr. Darcy did for Elizabeth, his sacrifice, his effort, I found out that It was the kind of love that jesus says that he displayed for his church and still does.

They are a lot of things that impacted me in the same way but that would be too much for me to write.

Overall, I enjoyed a lot this book, couldn't stop reading it and I loved how it made me reflectionate in a "Christian way" even though this is not a "Christian book", in the end: whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

5/5

"If you will thank me," he replied, "let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you."