Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, was a novel that I was eager to read. I could not wait to read it since I was expecting it to be at least as good as the movie, one of my favorite movies of all time, which would make for an excellent novel indeed.Fortunately, I was not disappointed. I enjoyed everything about this novel: the characters, the dialogues, the sisterly affection between Elizabeth and Jane, and more specifically the customs of the 1800's. It is simply fascinating to me to learn about the manners of that era and to realize how civility to ones relations extended far beyond anything that we could observe in our modern times. I was most astonished to learn, as I understand was the custom, that when someone when to visit their family or friends, it would often be for a several weeks and even months at a time, as opposed to a day or two as is often seen in our present society. A story about love, friendship, morals but mostly, about the pride and prejudice of individuals from different societal statuses, Pride and Prejudice is a great novel.
If I am not mistaken, it is the first time that I find a movie better than the book from which it was derived. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Pride and Prejudice the novel, but the movie was just something more. It made me appreciate even more how it was like in those days, and how civility and even marriage were considered as one's duty. The actors, costumes and decor were simply stunning. However, it is also the first time that I have watched a movie prior to read the novel used as inspiration for it, so perhaps that is another explanation of why I preferred the movie. As I was reading along in the book, I would think back to the corresponding scenes in the movie and unconsciously compare both, most times preferring the version from the movie.
I am looking forward to reading other novels by Jane Austen, expecting, or at least hoping, that they will be as good as this one.
