A Celebration Is in Order!

[gothrockrulz]

Happy 200th Anniversary to one of my favorite novels of all time! Congratulations, Miss Austen. Your work is still very much appreciated, even after all these years. If we fanatics have anything to say about it, we'll keep on reading and discussing and admiring for another two hundred years as well. And another two hundred after that.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Those words are immortal, and also one of the best and briefest proofs that Pride and Prejudice is not simply another mushy romance novel. The opening line is not about twu wuv, or how lonely hearts are destined to find each other some day, or some similar drivel. If Elizabeth Bennet's story was a romance, the first words would reflect that. They would promise sugar and spice and everything nice, drowned in saccharine feelings. Instead, Miss Austen provides us with a wry spin on life's quirks. If anything, it's a (somewhat gentle) parody of romance. She gives us the promise of a witty caper in manners, social commentary, and the way impressions and perceptions alter over time.

One more point, and I'll give it a rest. The title is Pride and Prejudice, not Love and Romance.

Comments

[rizbef.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite romance stories.

But... D:
I would have used a 2005 graphic :p

[savageseraph.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm due for a reread of P&P. It has been a long time since I've read/watched it.

[rhoda-rants.livejournal.com]

Oookay, I appreciate that we differ on the Austen front, and yes P+P has one of the most memorable and fantastic opening lines of all time.

But this?

mushy romance novel [...] some similar drivel [...] drowned in saccharine feelings

Not necessary. You can fangirl over Austen without being so insulting and dismissive of an ENTIRE genre. As you know, romance isn't my "thing" either, but that's not because it's "drivel" or "saccharine"--it's just not my thing. Furthermore, the handful of romances I have read don't open with "drivel" or "saccharine feeling."

Most of the bullshit rumors (and they are rumors, by the way) about romance on the whole are founded on the very simple and demeaning assumption that, because it's a genre written largely by and for women, it must be insipid and overly emotional.

Don't be that guy.

[poem81.livejournal.com]

i loved the book and this version of the movie :)
i've just finished reading Sense and Sensibility ... Love and Friendship is next... i love her books, but Pride and Prejudice is definitely my fave