Make A Scene

You might remember Lady De Bourgh, the one I compared to Lady GaGa, well it turns out she is a little more GagGa than GaGa (and I don't mean in the good sense). This has to be the most random moment in the book. Picture this: A very old woman arrives in your house which is way out of her way to yell at you for supposedly dating her nephew. Somebody had a little free time on their hands and a lot of carriage miles to burn.

Lady Catherine got the reaction she was expecting from the Bennets. Hell, I would have probably acted as astonished and stupefied if Prince Harry had walked into my house. For Lady Catherine who loves to feel superior to others so she feels good about herself, it must have been a great confidence booster.

After leaving all the Bennets in awe she preceded to criticize the Bennets through small gestures like refusing drinks and the lighting of their sitting room. I know they felt the burn of her comments but none of them were as bad as those she said to Elizabeth. We thought Caroline Bingley had the worst attitude towards Lizzy but ding ding we have a winner. Lady Catherine got Elizabeth to show her the grounds, which she described as "a prettyish kind of little wilderness on one side of your lawn" (pg 264), as soon as they were outsides he pounced and began a full frontal attack that would make even Mrs. Bennet look like an amateur. Lady Catherine has heard rumors of how Darcy proposed to Elizabeth and this just won't do for her since he has been engaged to her own sick daughter since they were infants. Arranged marriages never work out because people come along that incite a true feeling of love in those who have been arranged to be married. I don't blame Darcy for wanting Elizabeth over a marriage that would be solely based on business rather than love. Elizabeth has feelings for Darcy but what she says to Lady Catherine about if he had feelings towards her and she refused them, how would that lead him into Lady Catherine's daughters arms? From that, one can infer that Lady Catherine only sees what she wants rather than actually taking into account that there is a whole world that could throw obstacles at her plans. Her closed mind can has only gotten her despised and fear over respect and love from even her own family. Even Mr. Collins only answers to her because of fear of losing what he has.

If I would have been in Elizabeth's shoes, I would have cried right then and there in front of Lady Catherine. Elizabeth handled it in great style. The comments given by Lady Catherine were nothing but negative and in that moment Elizabeth did not care that Lady Catherine is ranked above her, she just spoke her mind freely. The only arguments Lady Catherine has given against Elizabeth are her lower rank but it isn't until she involves Elizabeth's family that it seems that critizism will never die:

"I am no stranger to the particulars of your youngest sister's infamous elopement. I know it all; that the young man's marrying her was a patched-up business, at the expence of your father and uncles. And is such a girl to be my nephew's sister? Is her husband, is the son of his late father's steward, to be his brother? Heaven and earth!--of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"

"You can now have nothing further to say," she resentfully answered. "You have insulted me in every possible method. I must beg to return to the house."

And she rose as she spoke. Lady Catherine rose also, and they turned back. Her ladyship was highly incensed.

"You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my nephew! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you not consider that a connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?"

"Lady Catherine, I have nothing further to say. You know my sentiments."(pg 268)

It turns out that Elizabeth was also taught Kelso´s Choices when she was in primary. From the passage above, it is Elizabeth who has the class to walk away from the argument rather than keep bantering and giving Lady Catherine the pleasure. When mentioning the pollution of the shades of Pemberley, Lady Catherine is referring to Elizabeth's lower status that doesn't match up to the high class of what she expects. Yet, isn't class what a person does and not who a person is? I don't see Elizabeth taking off in pursuit of someone who she just wants to scream at. No. Class here is what Elizabeth Bennet is and when she doesn't succumb to what Lady Catherine expects she demonstrates how no governess or how a completely messed up family can´t take class away from you. The person who has class knows how to act when being attacked and int his case, Lady Catherine makes a scene and Elizabeth is the one to yell "Cut!".

Readsponding

Pride and Prejudice is over for me. I really enjoyed reading the book and in all sincerity, recommend it. I am not the only one closing the book with a feeling of satisfaction, most of my classmates have finished and we will soon be moving on.

In my classmate Nacks blog, he discusses the end of the novel and we share some views as well as we disagree in others. It's interepsting to read his response to the end of the novel from a guys perspective and how it differentiates from my own. Lets be honest here people, Pride and Prejudice is not the kind of book a guy would read over let's say some comic book they really enjoy. Nack describes the ending as being predictable and having a moral lesson to follow up on. Mostly these lessons are the idea of not judging too quickly or being too proud as we have seen through Elizabeth and Darcy´s relationship. Nack says in his blog post that "True love actually blossomed after all the events took place. Only after Dancy overcame his pride and Elizabeth her prejudice was the true love possible. In other words, the title of this book could as well have been 'Dancy and Elizabeth'." Elizabeth who was never really under the influence of the status quo ends up doing something unpredictable but goes into accepting the society she lives in through Darcy´s love. Darcy made an outcast of himself but in the end by embracing the lessons Elizabeth teaches him, discovers there is more to life than the status quo.

The foreshadowing in the novel makes the ending unpredictable. Throughout the novel we were given hints about the love Darcy felt for Elizabeth when he commented on her beautiful eyes. Then after the meeting in Rosings, Elizabeth began to have feelings for Darcy after seeing who he really was. The only challenges these two characters faced that could have kept them apart were the distance and the people around them. It was pretty obvious when Darcy went with Bingley to Longbourn that he was not only there for his friend but also for Elizabeth. After that, it was only a matter of time before the engagement was announced.

All in the entire book ended on a good note and what makes the book so enjoyable is watching the characters overcome the challenges the author throws at them. And really, who likes a sad ending?