Pride & Prejudice Read-Along | Week 1

Welcome to Week 1 of the Pride & Prejudice read-along! You can learn more about the read-along schedule in this invitation post. (We're reading 2 chapters a day.)

Today we're going to discuss chapters 1-6 (Volume I). If you came prepared, go ahead and share your thoughts in the comments section or in your own post! (Feel free to use the image above, linking back to the Pride & Prejudice read-along tag.) If you still have to catch up on some reading, you're welcome to check in later this week or whenever you're ready. :)

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

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Pride & Prejudice Volume I: Chapters 1-6

Discussion Format: One favorite quote, some general impressions, and three questions for each week's reading.

Favorite Quote

"There are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement." ~ Charlotte Lucas

General Impressions

Characters truly have their own distinct persona between movies and books, don't they? In these first few chapters, I've really enjoyed getting to discover different sides and depths of the familiar characters in Pride & Prejudice.

So far, Elizabeth hasn't stood out to me all that much. She seems rather likable, if not entirely remarkable (at least, as little as she's been described so far!). I like that she holds her own, and I especially like seeing the bond between her and Jane. It's really sweet how much she cares about Jane's happiness, and how defensive she is of Jane's introverted ways.

Jane really shines at this point. I love the way Lizzy describes Jane's attitude: "To take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone." I appreciate Jane's kindness in how she views and judges (or, refrains from judging) others. Between her gentle ways and her loveliness, Mr. Bingley was bound to fall in love. :)

Speaking of Mr. Bingley...he's definitely made himself much more appealing in these first few chapters than Mr. Darcy has. But I suppose that's the point: the "first impressions" (First Impressions being the original title of the book) are quite unfavorable for him, but they don't tell the whole story. As Mr. Bennet says (in jest to his wife, but with underlying truth in it):

A fortnight's acquaintance is certainly very little. One cannot know what a man really is by the end of a fortnight.

I'm not quite sure what to make of my first impressions of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Bennet is rather funny and charming, although it's hard to tell (so far) whether or not he truly has affection for his wife. I prefer to take this line...

The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of Mrs. Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest.

...to mean that he really cares about making Mrs. Bennet happy, even if he likes to have a little fun at her expense in the process. ;)

Then there is Charlotte Lucas. She seems very jaded, but also wise to the ways of her world and what survival looks like within it. I think what she says about love needing encouragement is a good point even today. We all long for a sign that the person we love shares our feelings. Sometimes, when we have a crush, we can make up those signs. (I think I did a fair amount of this in years past!) But we still look for clues and long to know we're not alone in what we feel. It gives us the courage to reach out.

Discussion Questions

Feel free to answer one, two, or all three of these questions in the comments section or in your own blog post!

1. Which character do you most relate to at this point in the story? Whose worldview/personality most resembles yours?

2. Ponder Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth's first impressions of each other. Might the story have been very different if they had each responded differently at (and after) that first ball?

3. What do you think of the portrayals of marriage/courtship so far? Charlotte claims, "It is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life." Do you agree or disagree?

Join us next Tuesday for our second discussion! 

(Vol. I: Ch. 7-20)