May 2021

Hi!! I agree that Pride and Prejudice is overrated and would love to hear more about why you didn't like it much. I thought I was the only one! By the way, I agree with your tags about not feeling invested in Elizabeth and Darcy. I actually preferred Bingley and Jane.

ok ok so basically.

(this is going to be very ramble-y bcause i wanna get all my thoughts out here before my lunch break is over)

Last year I tried reading Sense and Sensibility, because my cousin is really into Jane Austin and we made a deal that if I’d read some Jane Austin books then she’d read The Count of Monte Cristo (which, as many who follow me know, is my favorite non-Shakespeare classic lit book). BUT I hated Sense and Sensibility so much that I quit reading it when I was around halfway through it.

This year we were assigned Pride and Prejudice for english class, and at the beginning I thought it wasn’t too bad (I thought it was kinda good at some points even). But then I realized that the only reason I didn’t hate it was because I kept comparing it to Sense and Sensibility.

As soon as I stopped comparing the two, I was like “huh. This book is actually pretty boring”. but I knew the whole internet is obsessed with it, and even my classmates who hate classic lit were enjoying it, so I was like “well maybe I just haven’t gotten to the good parts yet?” And then I finished the book and was like “wait where are the good parts?”

I don’t like the romance genre, but at least stuff happens in most romance media. What even happened in this book? Name exactly one thing that happened that isn’t people forming opinions on other people and then changing said opinion. They all just go over to each other’s houses and gossip for ten hours. And then go back to their own houses and gossip about the gossip. There was no plot.

Before reading the book, all I knew about it was “girl hates boy. boy turns out to not be that bad after all. girl changes her mind and marries boy. Also boy is very bad at proposing.” So I was like “ok cool so it’s gonna be like Much Ado About Nothing! It‘s like. Enemies to lovers. Right?” BUT NO. Much Ado has an actual plot. Beatrice and Benedict actually have lives and do things other than form opinions on other people based off of local gossip. Actually, pretty much everyone in Much Ado can be praised in thats department. Even Claudio didn’t go off of rumors about Hero or anything- he went off of what he thought he witnessed with his own two eyes.

Basically what I’m saying is that Claudio is superior to every man from Pride and Prejudice.

but that‘s besides the point.

OMG, yes to your "all they do is gossip and then gossip about the gossip" critique of Pride and Prejudice. And you touched on this, but when, how and why do Lizzie and Darcy even fall in love? They have about 4-5 *brief* conversations the entire book, at least two of which are hostile and one of which consists mainly of awkward silences. They don't even know each other, let alone love each other. It came off more like Elizabeth being "hmm, so based on what people say he's not THAT bad, he did throw money at Wickham to make him do the right thing, and I sure would love to live in this beautiful house of his, sooo..." Plus Elizabeth is the original Not Like the Other Girls, and I hate how even Darcy's cousin immediately likes her---she's really not that compelling a character! None of them are. The book in general just lacks everything except a few witty lines. Zero plot, no real emotion or spirit, flat characters. I'm so glad someone else agrees! It's not sharp enough to be a satire or romantic enough to be romance.

YES EXACTLY

Elizabeth’s out here like “well this guy isn’t as bad as I originally thought he was. Also he’s hot and rich. So I’m gonna marry him“

and then she’s like “BUT I’M NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS WHO JUST MARRY A GUY BECAUSE HE’S HOT AND RICH”

like. No. Eliza I’m so sorry but you’re doing the thing that you’re complaining about other girls doing.

(and. I’m not gonna call her a Mary Sue because technically Jane is more of a Mary Sue than her. But still. When I was reading it she came off as more of a Mary Sue than Jane)

I have a theory that a lot of people love Jane Austen and some other classic lit that lack plots and real emotion primarily because they're told they SHOULD. People on this site claim Jane Austen as a feminist icon and tv shows even have jokes about how anyone who dislikes Austen is terrible. If the same books were presented as written by some anonymous author, I doubt they'd still be as popular, because you and your anon were right about the sloooow pacing, nonexistent storyline, dull characters and the fact that the hero and heroine barely even speak to each other throughout the book lol. Btw, who are some of your favorite female Shakespeare characters?

YES YES YES Let’s start a Jane Austen Haters club (Or at least a “Jane Austen just isn’t as good as you all say she is” club)

As for my favorite female Shakespeare characters, I really like Viola from 12th Night and Emilia from Othello- they’re probably the only two female Shakespeare roles that I personally would want to play (if I could act at all)