I was first introduced to Jane Austin’s novel Pride & Prejudice as a senior in high school. It was one of the senior research papers that were pages and pages long that I was to write. With this assignment I had to compare two novels by one author. I chose Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice (now referred to as P&P for the remainder of this blog) and Emma. I must admit I completed maybe 80% of P&P and just enough Emma to get the paper written. It was in college where I picked up P&P again and read it completely just for the fun of it. I had enjoyed the first “reading”, but it was most definitely the second complete reading where I feel in love with this story!
Elizabeth Bennete is such an amazing character! I love her strength, determination, witty comments and resolve to only marry for love. Her disregard for money is refreshing. I think it was she that first drew me to the book. Mr. Darcy is so consumed with appearance and control of his own life, that it rocks his world to discover he is falling in love with someone beneath him in society. She has such “fine eyes!” I love reading his transformation to become worthy of Elizabeth, his decision to abandon all that is “proper” to serve her and rescue her family name. “You must know, it was all for you!” And then there is the humbling transformation that Elizabeth herself goes through. Since college I have read the book three times or so. I reread it every few years just because I enjoy it and always find something new to appreciate. Brian loves to tease me “What are you reading? Are you really reading P&P again?” I compare it to watching a good movie over and over. “How many times have you seen Gladiator or Brave Heart Brian?”
Over the Christmas break Melinda, a senior in high school and Calvary Student Ministry member, and I decided to watch the A&E five and a half hour version of P&P. I own this movie as well as the more recent 2006 version. I love them both, each for different reasons. The five plus hour version is the closest to the book that I have seen, hence the five hours! It is a bit of a commitment to decide to watch it, especially if you decide to do so in one sitting. Melinda and I decided we were up for the hours of watching enjoyment while comfortably seated on my living room couch. What I did not expect was that my two oldest daughters, Addie and Emma, were also up for the challenge! I assumed the girls would get board and give up on the movie, but they did not.
Through Addie and Emma’s eyes I discovered a new reason to love P&P!
As the story unfolded I was bombarded with questions from my 9 and 8 year olds, but most of the questions had to do with Lydia Bennete. Lydia, the youngest of the Bennete’s five daughters, is a foolish flirt who abandons all reason and falls prey to the self seeking Wickham. I have always loathed her character, and the shame she so uncaringly brought on her family! “Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted!”
I watched my girls as confusion came to their minds and faces:
“What is wrong with that girl, Mom?”
“Well girls, she is foolish! She is a flirt and is chasing after boys, any boy.”
And to my delight as the story unfolded Addie and Emma were disgusted in deed! How wonderful! Tucked in this story that I have loved for years was a painful picture my girls could grab hold of – being a foolish girl brings ruin in the end! We talked the movie over and over as the girls had questions and I was thankful they had decided to hang out with Melinda and I while we watched. Hopefully, it placed in their minds and hearts the desire to seek wisdom in life, especially in the area of finding that perfect someone to spend their lives with!
I just love P&P, and now so do Addie and Emma 
(By the way my Emma was not specifically named after Jane Austin’s Emma, but it was the first introduction I had to the beautiful name!)
