Pride & Prejudice Discussion #4: Final chapters/entire book

[peanutmuse]

Some possible discussion points:

- Now that you are done, do you feel any differently than you did about any characters, plot developments, etc. than you did in the beginning?

- Who was your favorite character and why? Least favorite?

- Did anything about the book surprise you?

- Overall reflections on the final chapters and the book as a whole

[Unknown]

Overall I was never a fan of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. I ended up really enjoying the peripheral plot lines.

I thought Mr. Wickham and Lydia story was so scandalous and I loved reading about them and what was to come of them after Mr. Bennett went in search of his daughter.

ETA: Thanks peanutmuse for leading the discussions!

[elsiemae]

My least favorite characters ended up being Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins.

And I absolutely loved the letter that Mr. Bennett wrote back to Mr. Collins. Effing hilarious!!

My opinion on Mr. Darcy did change a bit after he and Lizzie finally had a heart to heart. I like the fact that both of them have personality flaws, but being together makes them better people

[kateisoptimistic]

My least favorite characters were Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennett

I agree with Unknown on the Lydia Wickham story line, it was the juiciest for sure and my favorite part of the book.

I think Lizzie fell in love with Darcy kind of quickly and haphazardly. If I were her i don't think i could get past some of the shit he said in the beginning or about Jane and the family.

I will say I really enjoyed reading this, while certain parts with a bit slow to get through I am glad I finally read this book.

[joi922]

I have never really bought into the love between Lizzie and Darcy. Like kateisoptimistic, it felt too fast to me - like it served the story but didn't really happen organically. I felt like it was treated as love at first sight, but neither of them realized it (due, of course to their pride and prejudice). I don't know, I just didn't feel like it was the amazing love story I know a lot of other people consider it to be.

I was dying over the letter from Mr. Collins - it would be better for Lydia to be dead than involved in such a scandal, and he was happy he couldn't be more closely associated with the family. How kind of him to share those sentiments!

Jane also seemed to say that they had judged Wickam too harshly because he was willing to marry Lydia after all... as long as he got all the money he wanted. I get that dowries and wedding portions were a thing back then, but it still read as pretty mercenary to me, and I think Jane saw a lot more good in him than I could have at that point. If he was really a good guy, he would have dropped Lydia off with relatives or friends right away, or married her right away, not dragged her into scandal. Even if she invited herself along, he didn't have to go along with it.

So actually, Jane and Bingley were my least favorite characters - I found him to be very easily swayed by friends and family, which was annoying, and I thought her insistence on looking for the silver lining to be similarly annoying. I liked the more outrageous characters more - like Lydia. She is so very shallow, but her story was the one of the more interesting parts of the book.

[Unknown]

Feb 27, 2015 10:59:00 GMT -5 joi922 said:

I have never really bought into the love between Lizzie and Darcy. Like kateisoptimistic, it felt too fast to me - like it served the story but didn't really happen organically. I felt like it was treated as love at first sight, but neither of them realized it (due, of course to their pride and prejudice). I don't know, I just didn't feel like it was the amazing love story I know a lot of other people consider it to be.  

I am so glad I'm not the only one who felt this way. Everybody just loves their love story, but I didn't get it.

[seamonster]

I do love Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy together, but the story isn't organic. Especially from Lizzie. Darcy, I get, because he's in love with her (for whatever reason) does all these things for her. But it kind of seems that Lizzie falls in love with him because he does all these things for her.