Anahi Amaral-UIW English Major

 Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has been my first personal encounter with this author's work, and I have to say, it was a breath of fresh air! Austen's story is full of exploring the character flaws a person can have and how one can achieve success despite these flaws, and she does this in a story wrapped in mystery. 

Connecting with Nature Along the Way

Her character Elizabeth Bennet is probably one of my favorite characters that I have read about, with her wittiness and self-reflection leading her through the story. Her pridefulness of both her and her family lead her astray in finding a matrimony that is beneficial to all parties involved. She realizes this while uncovering the mysterious and, ironically, prideful character that is Mr. Darcy, who falls in love with sharp-eyed Eliza. 

What makes Pride and Prejudice such a fun read is Austen's ability to make the readers invested in the history of Mr. Darcy, just like Eliza, and go through those same tumultuous emotions as we think we have figured out the answer just to be proven wrong yet again. 

The breath of fresh air comes from the scene where Elizabeth has had enough of Mr. Darcy's negativity and his audacity to propose to her while being so rude most of the time. It's refreshing to see a character's ability to call someone out for their actions and rude personality, but the amazing part is seeing Mr. Darcy do a whole 180 after such a strong scolding. Instead of Elizabeth "getting over" the bad parts of Mr. Darcy (like we see Charlotte do with Mr. Collins) Elizabeth holds strong in her ideals, adjusting them to fit the new information she discovers and still hold Mr. Darcy accountable for what he is rightly guilty of. Mr. Darcy does this as well, forgiving Elizabeth for some of the unjust accusations she made but taking her scolding into heart and using it as a foundation for improving his conduct. I loved seeing him do this because while he mainly did this to help convince Elizabeth to agree to his proposal, he readily agreed that his behavior all around was not very gentlemen-like and sought to improve himself. 

In modern times where accountability and scoldings reach a harsh level that results in neither of the two parties continuing their communication, Pride and Prejudice proves that healthy relationships can still be achieved after the many ups and downs that humans are confined to as we navigate our surroundings.