In the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, there are four daughters who go through experiences such as love and marriage. Not every daughter in the book has the best experience with love but somehow they do fall in love. The way Austen describes the book is by using formal English to help set the tone of the book. Austen’s creative style of writing causes people to want to read the book and want to connect to the characters in the book.
The writing of the book sounds very modern with a mix of old English. The dialogue is no work of Shakespeare but it is close by some of the grammar that is used and how some words are spelled or used differently. Back then, people use to speak in formal tones and didn't use any type of slang that were created in the 20th and 21st century. For example, on page 13, Bingley talks to Mr. Darcy about dancing with Elizabeth. He says, “You are dancing with the only handsomest girl in the room,” (Austen, 13). Instead of giving her the compliment that she is beautiful, the word used to describe a woman at the time was handsome. Other examples would be putting the letter “u” in words such as honor and humor. Today, this type of style would have some grammar and spelling mistakes. The dialogue is sort of the same but Austen puts more depth and emotion in her character’s dialogue. In Chapter 10, Elizabeth (the main character) describes her feelings towards Darcy (the main lead character), “To yield readily – easily to the persuasion of a friend is no merit with you… you appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence of friendship and affection,” (Austen, 50). Elizabeth is saying that Darcy is neither a friend nor a lover. He is nothing to her because she does not like his rude behavior. Austen could have written a passage of Elizabeth insulting Mr. Darcy, but she decided to word it in a way where it sounds somewhat poetic. Austen’s writing is not only to please herself but also to entertain the audience she planned to write for.
From reading the book, the audience that Austen wrote for were hopeless romantics and young women who can relate to Elizabeth or the other female characters in the book. The book focuses more on Elizabeth, the main character, than her sisters Jane, Lydia, and Kitty.There are many women who can relate to Elizabeth by being independent, smart, but also blinded to love. There are also many women who have a Mr. Darcy in their lives- a man who is rude but charming and likes having money. Hopeless romantics who could be either men or women may love the love/hate relationship between the two characters, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. The connection between the two characters is very intriguing and romantic, “In vain, I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire you and love you,” (Austen, 323). This shows the passion that Darcy has for Elizabeth makes him change his selfish ways for her. He wants to be with her so much by considering his feelings will change her thought of avoiding love. This gives people the idea of how Austen sees love and how she tried to connect with people by emotions.
Jane Austen’s book Pride and Prejudice is very interesting to people by being able to connect with the characters and making the dialogue very romantic and sensible. The way she writes makes people visualize how the characters look and act in the situation. This helps people understand what each character is going through, which might make them want to read more. Austen is a wonderful author of a book that became a National Bestseller with a story that many women can and will relate to.
