I just love it when love fucks with the social class structure

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Classics

My Rating: Four out of five stars

I do not typically read romance novels. In fact, this is my first one and it will possibly be my last. It’s a classic that has been on my shelf for years. It was just high time I dusted it off. You know what? I’m glad I did. Yeah, I said it.

The story begins with an iconic line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” The subtext here is that, given the prospects for single women of a certain class, marriage into a higher class was an elemental life aspiration. From this very wry opening, Austen unfolds a tale of love, family, and societal expectations, centered on the spirited Elizabeth Bennet and the enigmatic Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Elizabeth is intelligent, independent, and unapologetically herself, if not a tad judgmental. Darcy, at first glance, seems aloof and arrogant, but as the story progresses, his true depth and kindness eventually come to light. Their relationship, which originated with unfortunate misunderstandings, evolve with gradual revelations throughout the story—the slowest of slow burns.

Beyond the romance, Austen’s sharp wit and keen observations of human nature are what truly make this novel shine for me. She masterfully critiques the quirks and absurdities of Regency England through expertly developed characters. There’s the obsequious Mr. Collins, the frivolous Mrs. Bennet, and the manipulative Miss Bingley.

I’ll be honest, the writing was a challenge for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful prose. The two dollar words and complex sentence structure had me re-reading certain paragraphs two or three times to get it straight. I don’t know if this is how everyone actually spoke in Regency England or if it’s more a literary convention. If people really did talk this way, our intelligence as a culture has diminished to a shocking degree.

Pride and Prejudice is more than just a love story—it’s a sharp commentary on society, class, and the challenges of finding one’s true self amidst external societal pressures. If it were merely a romance, I don’t think I would have finished it. But the social commentary is what kept me engaged to its satisfying conclusion. It’s a classic for good reason.

Jane Austen

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