Reading Notes of Pride and Prejudice

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This beginning sentence of the book seems to tell us the main story of the book is about the marriage of rich men. The heroine of the book is Elizabeth and at the chapter One, we are told that the father Mr. Bennet prefers Elizabeth among his daughters, in this case, Elizabeth must be a girl who is more special and intelligent.

The story is about love and marriage. Charlotte married Collins because his fortune and she feels nervous about her age even the man is so old-fashioned and ingratiating. However, their marriage is about money and they do not get the real happy. The other man Wickham is a handsome but a man who is a liar. He lies to Elizabeth to gain her appreciation. And his love with Lydia is shallow and about appearance. The love of Jane and Bingley has a better ending. They have love in the relationship and appreciate each other because of the deeper virtue. But they do come through a lot because the misunderstanding they had before.

The love of Elizabeth and the hero of the book Darcy responses the title Pride and Prejudice. In the eye of Elizabeth, Darcy is no doubt pride and arrogant. Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth and proposes marriage to her, but he is still very arrogant so Elizabeth refuses him directly. Darcy

feels hard hit and regrets of being arrogant. However, Elizabeth has a prejudice about Darcy at the very beginning and mistaken believes in Wickham but she finally knows the truth and feels shame of her family. Darcy moves Elizabeth with his pleasant virtue in the end.

第二篇：book report on pride&prejudice-傲慢与偏见英文读书笔记

Name: Zhang Yifei

Student No. 2012012808

November 19, 2012

Will Elizabeth and Darcy marry each other in

reality?

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in

possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This is the first sentence of the novel and it sets the tone for the whole story. Two aspects should be noticed: the story is about marriage, not love; and that marriage is based upon possession or money. If we bear this in mind, then it is rather strange to see that at the end of the novel the two humble girls should marry their wealthy Mr. Right. Actually, this is where the genius of Jane Austen shines brightly, that the comic ending is a sharp irony towards the 18th century, when the European society boasted heavily of wealth and social status.

The Bennet couple is truly snobbish, especially the madam. Dig down into reasons why Mrs. Bennet is so eager to marry her five daughters and you will find that, at that time, a good marriage brings about a fortune to the family. Such fortune will sustain their life lest they will be swept out of the house and live in starvation after Mr. bennet dies. Just take a look at how the mother’s attitude towards Elizabeth changes when Mr. Collin is willing to propose to her daughter and when later on the girl turns him down. There is no better description than this to picture Mrs. Bennet’s characteristic and intention.

Mr. Bingley’s sisters and Mr. Darcy’s aunt are representatives of the rich and upper class, but their fine taste does not varnish their narrow opinions of social stratum. By constantly saying ill of the Bennets and showing proud themselves, they convey the message that they despise the Bennets, they will not truck with them, let alone the marriage of the two families.

Four marriages in total are mentioned in the novel and they share the same theme. If we consider the marriage of hooligan Wickham and silly Lydia as the outcome of the mere pursuit of money, then the one between Charlotte and Mr. Collin is a good example for girls in poor condition to gain social security. Clever as Charlotte, though not that handsome but she knows to seize every

chance to improve her life. Their marriage contains no love, but it doesn’t matter. And on the contrary they may well spend the rest of their life respectfully and peacefully, which seem ideal for lots of country girls.

Then let’s look back at the two main couples. Jane and Bingley, both innocent and kind, have the only obstacle for their marriage ---- the disapproval of Bingley’s sisters and his friend. But given the fact that Bingley is a mature adult inherited a large fortune on his own, who has the power to stand in the way of his marriage when the man himself does not care about the girl’s family background? As we can see in the book, the two are in deep affection with each other from time to time, making it at least possible for them to get together in real life.

But things are quite different and more complex for Elizabeth and Darcy. Their social stratums are in great disparity and there are strong objection from Darcy’s aunt. Then there is Lydia’s elopement adds to the family’s ill-reputation. Even their relationship is not that stable. Both of their pride and prejudice have blocked their

comprehensive understanding towards each other. Actually, what Darcy comments initially at Jane reveal his sense: “With parents like that, the girl’s chance of a good marriage is materially lessen.” Darcy, as a noble gentleman, always behaves accord with his dignity. We should not blame him for his natural concern towards the vulgarity of Elizabeth’s family. On the other hand, Elizabeth, who is brought up in the lower class, cannot hide her disgust for Darcy’s cold and proud nature. Consider the huge divergence of the two, it’s not quite possible for them to get married in reality.

However, their love “outweighs” all the obstacles and “betrays my sense” as Darcy puts it. Finally they get together in the fairytale ending. But, does love really have that great power? Or is it as a prank joke? Actually Jane Austen had just written such a fairytale to please us but to stab a trenchant into the unreasonable social

institution at the same time. It seems that the happier the ending is, the sharper it criticizes to the society. The truly civilized society should enable women’s happiness by providing a tolerable

atmosphere regarding possession and ranking but not to pin their hope on “love”. After all, not all men are as affectionate as Mr. Darcy.