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"?
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?
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?
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?
5. Who is your favorite character so far, and why?
Feel free to answer these as much or as little as you'd like! Let's get some discussion going!
Our next week's chapters will be:
Chapters 7-12
No comments:
Post a Comment