January 1st-Discussion: Pride & Prejudice

Wow....Can anyone believe that it is already 2011?

Well...

I CAN!

 <3

This discussion is going far better than planned.

I love getting messages about the book from my followers :)

As you all know...last Saturday was Christmas, and there was no discussion, so this week we have to do just a bit of catching up :)

I assigned chapters 13 through 25, before realizing my mistake. Silly Me.

The first part  of Pride and Prejudice ends with
Chapter 23...not Chapter 25.

Good news for some: This weeks discussion is Chapters 13-23 :)

Starting at Chapter 13...

Back at Longbourn (the Bennet home), Mr. Collins arrives for a visit. As Mr. Bennet’s closest male relative, Mr. Collins will inherit the estate after Mr. Bennet’s death. Mr. Collins has decided the nice thing to do is to marry one of the Bennet girls in order to preserve their home. It looks like he has his sights set on Elizabeth, but did we mention that he’s a complete fool and worships his boss (a certain Lady Catherine)? It’s clear that Elizabeth finds him repulsive.


As for the two youngest Bennet sisters, the militia has arrived in town and they’re ready to throw themselves at any officers who wander their way. They meet a charming young man named Mr. Wickham, who rapidly befriends Elizabeth. Wickham tells Elizabeth a sob story about how all of his life opportunities were destroyed by Mr. Darcy, convincing her that Darcy is Evil Personified. Elizabeth readily believes Wickham’s story, and also learns that Lady Catherine (Mr. Collins’s boss) is Mr. Darcy’s aunt.

(Such Drama!!!!)The next day, all the Bennet girls are invited to a ball at Netherfield (a.k.a. Mr. Bingley’s mansion). Elizabeth is excited about possibly dancing with Wickham, and also excited to see Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham confront each other. At the ball, Wickham is absent but Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance. So does Mr. Collins, whose dancing style is grotesquely embarrassing to Elizabeth. The rest of Elizabeth’s family is no better: Mrs. Bennet brags to everyone that Bingley will likely propose to Jane, Mary shows off her non-existent musical talent, and Lydia and Kitty are embarrassingly flirty with the military officers.

The following morning, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, who practically has to beat him over the head before he believes her adamant refusal. We don’t feel too bad for Mr. Collins because Elizabeth’s friend, Charlotte Lucas, pretends to play wingman but is really hunting for a proposal of her own. Mr. Collins does indeed step up, and Charlotte accepts. Elizabeth is shocked when she learns of their engagement. She has difficulty believing that Charlotte’s good sense would allow her to marry such a ridiculous man. Charlotte explains, however, that she’s a spinster with no prospects, and she’d rather have her own home than live with her parents forever. Basically, beggars can’t be choosers.

Chapter 23-Key Points

• Sir William Lucas announces Charlotte’s engagement.
• Mrs. Bennet is incensed. It takes her many months to forgive and cease being rude to the Lucases.
• Lady Lucas finds it irresistible to gloat, however, and she starts calling on the Bennets more frequently to talk about how happy she is to have her daughter settled.
• Day after day passes without hearing from Mr. Bingley. The girls, especially Jane, grow more uncomfortable about it. The only news they hear is that he will not be returning to Netherfield that winter.
• Mrs. Bennet resents Charlotte, imagining that she plans to kick Mrs. Bennet and the girls out of the house as soon as Mr. Bennet dies. She claims she would not mind the match at all if it weren’t for the "entail," by which she means the fact that the house will go to Mr. Collins and his wife upon Mr. Bennet’s death.

This was definitely a short summary :)

Within these chapters, new characters are introduced and they play a major part in the novel.

Mr. Wickham:

Wickham is, essentially, a Grade A jerk. Worse, he hides it well. On the outside, Wickham is a very pleasant young man, but it’s all a mask disguising his fortune-hunting, immoral, and deceptive ways. He preys on young women with money, and mooches off of every wealthy connection possible. His lovely manners and easy-going nature, however, fool Elizabeth (and everyone else in town) into believing that he's a good man whom Mr. Darcy has cheated out of wealth and a career.

Mr.Collins:

Mr. Collins is full of himself. He alternates between completely sucking up and completely sticking his nose in the air. His obsession with his benefactress, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, is absurd. And let’s not even talk about his terrible dancing. However, Mr. Collins isn’t vicious or manipulating like Mr. Wickham, he just isn’t the kind of guy you want the heroine to marry.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh:

 Lady Catherine is an over-bearing control freak whose wealth, title, and sheer force of will typically get her what she wants.We have to give Lady Catherine some credit for being just as strong-willed and stubborn as Elizabeth, even though her attitude to the lower classes is seriously snobby.

My discussion question for you to think about is....

Out of these 3 new characters which one do you belive to be the worst (so far)?

I might as well share my opinion. :)

Mr. Collins is a sissy, but he's not the worst. Lady Catherine is very stubborn and rude, but she is definitely not the worst.

 I know we haven't gotten far enough in the novel to know all that much about Lady Catherine, but don't worry....we will.

Mr. Wickham, in my opinion, is by far the worst of all these new charcters.  He comes between Mr.Darcy and Elizabeth and I really wish he would just go jump off a cliff or something :)

He tries to convince her of things that are not true and makes Darcy look like the "bad guy." Anyone who stands in the way of two people who like each other (even if they are fictional) deserves to suffer :)

You'll see what happens!

I can't wait!

Now that you know my opinion, I would love fot you to share yours with me.

.............................................................

Our next discussion will be this coming Saturday.

Since it is the start of a new section of the book, we might as well take it a little slow.

There are 19 chapters in Part 2 and 19 Chapters in Part 3.

Which is 38 Chapters! :)

YEAH!!!!

Ther are 5 Saturdays in January, and now we only have 4 left. 

If we want to get this book finished, we should discuss chapters 1-8.

I know some of you like to know in advanced what the discussion will be, and this is my plan :)

January 8 -Part Two. Chapters 1-8

January 15 -Part Two. Chapters 9-19

January 22 -Part Three. Chapters 1-8

January 29-Part Three. Chapters 9-19

January 30th---Feed Back and New Book Voting!

Keep Reading! Only 4 more weeks! :)

Optimistically, Bethany Lea <3