Classic Book.1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Journey from Chapter.47 to the end (*May Contain Spoilers)

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For the readers, who may not have read my previous posts on this book, may start from the first post to the second post, the third, and the fourth one. 

My journey of reading this much-admired classic transitioned from being afraid of picking up a classic to being sad of putting it down in a very small time. I did not know that I was capable of loving a classic tale to this extent. Thanks to the incredible writing of Jane Austen that I discovered my admiration for a well-written tale. This book delivers a full package of human emotions. There is so much going on in the story that if the book was written by a less skilled writer, the reader would have lost track of who did what; however, lucky for us, Jane Austen narrated this wonderful story. 

The characters, who were hidden in the beginning chapters of the book, blossomed to hold an interest of the readers. Lydia, Kitty, Mary, I am sure, did not hold much of the interest in more than half of the book, and yet, by the end of the book, Lydia became a center of attention. Of course, Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mr. Bingley captured the interest of my wandering mind; however, I longed to know the result of her stupidity. A few events hold practical lessons for the readers like never take a decision without thinking about the consequences first, but these lessons are not conveyed in a very obvious manner. Jane Austen left the task of picking out the pieces of valued lessons to the wisdom of the readers. This is refreshing because not everyone picks up a book with an intention of learning something. 

Kitty's helplessness in understanding the meaning of Mrs. Bennet is delivered with the most humorous and realistic remark of hers,

What is the matter mamma? What do you keep winking at me for? What am I to do?

This innocent remark took me back to my childhood when I had trouble understanding these weird gestures of the elders. I could never understand what hint to take from these subtle signs. 

There was one statement of Mrs. Bennet that made me realize that the meaning of the words and phrases keeps changing with the time. At one instance, Mrs. Bennet wished to say that Mr. Wickham shows his respect and love to her whole family, but the word that the author selected to deliver this expression made me realize that this book was, certainly, written in different time,

He simpers, and smirks, and makes love to us all.

Of course, make love has a different meaning, as well, but how often is it used, today, to mean anything else than the obvious one. It may sound childish on my part, but I could not help but sharing what I observed.

As soon as, everything was settled in the lives of Jane and Mr. Darcy, I could not help but speed read the rest of one or two pages; however, the story remained interesting till the last page. It was in the end that I decided, I do not like Lydia, at all. She was mean to her sisters after a certain event in her life, and I did not like the way she tried to belittle her sisters.

Anyway, the magic of an excellent book is that it awakens many emotions in the heart of its readers for its characters. This book has achieved just that.