Discussion questions

1. Jane seems to be extremely eager to please. In Chapter 4, Elizabeth says this about her:
"Oh, you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. You never see a fault in any body. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes... to take the good of every body's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad, --belongs to you alone."
Do you think it is noble or naive for Jane to be this optimistic and "honestly blind"?

I think it is terribly naive for her to be this way. I feel people like this tend to get used or walked on with out realizing it is happening.

2.In Chapter 6, Charlotte states that "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance." What are your feelings towards this statement? Do you believe there is truth in it? Or do you feel it is spoken from a place of inexperience, or perhaps even selfishness?

I feel it is true. You can date someone for a long time and then get married only to find they change or even you change and you are no longer happy. You see a lot of married people who are unhappy and a lot who are blissful and I think it is purely chance that those two people found each other and were open and honest from day one so when marriage happened there were no surprises and they just continued being happy.

3. The words 'pride' and 'vanity' are written more times than I can count throughout chapters 4, 5, and 6. It is obvious that Jane Austen is stressing a point, here. Who do you find to be the most proud thus far? The most vain?

Hmmm. I know the obvious answer for both would seem to be Mr. Darcy. However, I don't think we have learned enough about any of the characters to make this judgment yet. I think possibly Mr. Bennet would be the most proud because he doesn't seem to show much interest in pawning his daughters off to a rich man or making his family seem more fabulous then it is.

4. Austen is also setting us up for the theme of 'social prejudice' already in these early chapters. In Chapter 5, Miss Lucas says, "[Darcy] has a right to be proud." And the Bingley sisters are said to be "entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others." Can you imagine living in a time where your social status determined who you could love? Do you feel there is still some 'social prejudice' in society today?

I absolutely still feel like this occurs. To be perfectly honest growing up, in my own family my parents and grandparents have always made it clear they wanted me to end up with a certain kind of guy. My cousin married a guy who came from nothing and 7 years later my family still dislikes him because of this and they still attribute everything THEY have to her. I also have a ton of friends who felt they had to marry guys with a certain level of education and stature to please their family. I know when I brought Rob home the first time, and he was a simple construction worker from a normal ole family it took a lot of getting used to. Luckily he has the kind of personality that makes everyone love him!

5. Who is your favorite character so far, and why?

Again I'm not sure I know any of the characters well enough. Unlike a lot of you I haven't read the book or seen the movie yet so I am absolutely clueless to all of this. I think I would like to get to know all of the girls a little better before picking a favorite and all we know of the two men so far is that they are attractive and one is friendly one isn't. Because of this I will need to continue reading to make a decision