Pride and Prejudice As Summarized by Caleb, Part 1

so on Tuesday I finally finished reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for school. It was a fun read, if a little long-winded at times, and I thoroughly enjoyed Austen's various and eclectic characters. As I read, I watched portions of the 1995 TV series based on the show (I hope to watch the 2005 movie soon). It ended up being one of the very few romance-centric stories I have enjoyed :P

Anyway, now that I've finished, I'm going to try to retell the story in one or two posts, illustrated with memes.

The story centers on Elizabeth Bennet, a young woman living in the English countryside with her father, her mother, and her sisters. She's clever and witty, and a particular favorite of her father.

Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet (all character pictures are from the 1995 mini-series)

Her sisters are as such:

Jane, the eldest. Calm, sensible, and kind; she finds it very hard to think poorly of anyone.

Mary, the puritan. Enjoys reading and playing music, though her taste in music is...not the greatest. Prefers a good sermon over a ball.

Kitty (right) and Lydia (left); the two youngest girls who are rather frivolous and flirty. Though Lydia is younger, Kitty generally follows Lydia's example.

Here's another one of Lydia:

(I could decide what to caption this so I put all three of my options):

"I'm so shocked I can't even!"

"Oh no. Oh....no."

"I MUST have that bonnet!"

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are basically polar opposites of each other. Mrs. Bennet...has no filter. Either it's the best day ever or the world is ending.

"Have you no compassion on my poor nerves?!"

And meanwhile Mr. Bennet is like...

Anyway, the story begins with this line: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Yeah, I know, they used a lot of, unnecessary commas back in 1799 when the book was written, as well as when it was published, in 1813.

(BTW Austen was only 21 when she first wrote her novel, so there's hope for me...in only few years I could be writing a world-renowned classic).

It is also a truth universally acknowledged among teenagers that cheesy pickup lines seldom do any good.

Anyway, moving on from spoofing the first sentence (which I could go into a lot more, but I won't), in the first chapter we are introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet tells Mr. Bennet excitedly of the arrival in the region of a rich young (and unmarried) gentleman named Mr. Charles Bingley. When Mr. Bennet declines her suggestion of calling on the gentleman, Mrs. Bennet starts to complain rather excessively.

Soon, however, Mr. Bennet changes his mind and calls on Bingley. 

Bingley - very easygoing friendly guy; it's a miracle he ended up like this considering the characters of his sisters...

Bingley then goes into "town" (London), coming back with his two sisters (Ms. Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Hurst), as well as his friend Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. They then attend a "public assembly" (a ball), where Bingley quickly comes off as a friendly, good-natured fellow, and where Darcy quickly gets the reputation of being stuck-up and proud. Jane and Bingley dance multiple times, but Darcy doesn't dance once.

Elizabeth overhears the two gentlemen talking - Bingley suggests that Darcy dance with Elizabeth, but Darcy refuses, saying that Elizabeth is tolerable, but not pretty enough to tempt him. 

Soon, however, Darcy starts to think differently of Elizabeth, remarking to Bingley that she has fine eyes - to the immense disapproval of Bingley's snobbish sister, Caroline.

"I am not amused."