Discussion Questions for Part Three

1.) What do you think motivated Lydia to run off with Mr. Wickham?

2.) How do you think Elizabeth handled herself with Lady Catherine? Putting your self in that time period, if you were in Elizabeth's shoes how would you have handled that situation?

3.) What is your final impression of Mr. Darcy?

4.) Does the novel end the way you expected? How? Why?

5.) One of the major themes throughout Pride and Prejudice is marriage. Compare and contrast the different kinds of marriages throughout the novel.

6.) Do you find the characters likable? Are the characters persons you would want to meet?

7.) What is the source of this novels immense and enduring popularity?

• Also, feel free to discuss any closing thoughts you may have about Pride and Prejudice.

• Reminder: If you want to do an optional movie review, post the review by November 17th. You can do the review on any version you would like, just make sure you make note of which version you watched.

Happy Reading!!!!

Rachel's Part Two Response

1.      This part of the novel could be titled “The Turning Point” do you think this accurately describes part two? Explain your answer.

I think this is a very accurate description of part two; one could even pin-point “the turning point” to chapters 11-13. The turning point for me started with Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth and becomes more prominent once Elizabeth was going over the letter that Mr. Darcy gave her explaining her accusations made against him. Before these events happened Elizabeth viewed Mr. Darcy as this rude, stuck-up, arrogant person and now after these events she views him in a more positive light. She understands his character better, which in turn shapes and changes her outlook/opinion of Mr. Darcy, Wickham, and everyone else around her.  Elizabeth is not the only one who changes their opinion, after the proposal Mr. Darcy reflected on what she had said to him and realized he was letting pride get in is way of having the person he cared for make an inaccurate conclusion about events that have taken place. As a result of the turning point, Elizabeth becomes aware that she had been blinded by her prejudices and Mr. Darcy realizes he had been blinded by his pride.  It was a point in the book where they both realized their faults which in turn change the course of the novel. AHHHH Love Jane Austen!!!  J   

2.      What were your first impressions of Mr. Wickham? After you read Mr. Darcy’s letter, did your feelings change?

My first impression of Wickham was he is a very charming man who has had bad luck in the past. Here is this poor guy whose father died and then went to live with the Darcy’s and when Darcy senior died he was basically turned away from really the only family he had left. As a reader I was very sympathetic towards is character and wanted to see him succeed. However, I also got the feeling as I was reading, I wasn’t getting the full story there was a hint of suspicion there. I first got this feeling when he all of a sudden lost interest in Elizabeth to go after Miss King who had a good fortune. It just seemed weird since he and Elizabeth seemed to really hit it off.

But after reading Mr. Darcy’s letter…My Goodness, my feelings towards Mr. Wickham definitely changed. You find out how manipulative Mr. Wickham was being towards everyone he came in contact with. You find out he is really only interested in coming across money and he was will stop at nothing to get it, he has no shame when it comes to that. I did find it funny, and this connection may not make any sense, but it’s kind of funny how this whole novel is focused on the women finding a man with good fortune to marry and then here is Mr. Wickham looking for a wife to marry who has a good fortune. Even after reading Mr. Darcy’s letter, when I think about Wickham, I do not think of him with disgust. I think of him as being a lost soul who is going about everything wrong.

3.      What is your impression of Mr. Darcy at this point in the book?  What did you think about Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth?

OOOOO Mr. Darcy!  My Love for Mr. Darcy only grew more after reading part two. I think, as the reader, we are really starting to see Mr. Darcy’s true personality. We are starting to see a softer and vulnerable side of his character, which is something up until this point we have not seen all that much of.  Now, I love Mr. Darcy dearly, however I will admit he needs some work on his proposal, especially when it is to a woman loves very dearly. He could have been smoother with his proposal because on one hand he told Elizabeth how much he loved her and then on the other hand he told her his love for her went against his will, reason, better judgment, and character. I can guarantee you there is not a single woman who would want to hear those negative things combined with love when she is getting proposed to.  And GOOOD Grief, Elizabeth has some balls. Hahaha. She really makes it clear that she would never marry him.

I also thought it was interesting that Mr. Darcy was so in love with Elizabeth, despite her position/social status in life, but wasn’t Mr. Bingley and Jane in the same boat? So why would Mr. Darcy stop the potential marriage between Mr. Bingley and Jane, but still go forward and propose to Elizabeth when it is kind of the same situation. Now I understand from his explanation to Elizabeth after his proposal, and in the letter he gives her later on, that he felt that Jane’s feelings were less than Mr. Bingley’s, which is one  of the reasons he stopped the possible marriage between them but he also mentioned that Jane’s family/social class also made him stop Mr. Bingley. I guess my question to you gals is why do you think it was ok in Mr. Darcy’s mind for him and Elizabeth, but it wasn’t ok for Mr. Bingley and Jane? Hmmm… Sorry that question is kind of confusing, but it has me puzzled.

But overall I fell more in love with Mr. Darcy after part two. I have a feeling we will see even more layers of him in part three, sweeter/kinder layers.  

4.      What did you think about the letter Mr. Darcy wrote to Elizabeth after he proposed to her?

I think it was very honorable of him to step out of his comfort zone and write the letter to Elizabeth. After he proposed to her and realized the prejudices she had formed about him was all wrong, he put his pride aside to make sure Elizabeth knew the truth about the events she accused him of. I think the turning point for Mr. Darcy’s character started when he wrote the letter to Elizabeth.

Side Note: Did you gals think it was really romantic when he gave her the letter? Haha I completely did!! It is hard to explain, but I thought it was so refreshing to see a man as prideful and closed off as Mr. Darcy had been to then turn around and show a vulnerable side and lay out his feeling in this letter to her. I just found it to be one of the more romantic parts of the novel, and it is such a simple event.

5.      What is your first impression of Lady Catherine De Bourgh? Does her real life impression match all the hype Mr. Collins gave her? 

When you read how Mr. Collins describes her you think she is this lady who is mentoring and taking Mr. Collins under her wing and showing him the ropes. Mr. Collins seems to having nothing negative to say about her.  When you meet her she is this straight forward no B.S. kind of lady, who is not afraid to give her opinion on things, even if it is rude. For example, she was putting down Elizabeth’s upbringing, family, and “lack of” accomplishments when she was having a conversation with her. I found her to be very snobbish and condescending when we, the reader, finally meet her in person. Let’s just say she isn’t my favorite character.

Brenda's Response: Part 2

  

This part of the novel could be titled “The Turning Point” do you think this accurately describes part two? Explain your answer.   I think this very accurately describes this part of the book.  I think Elizabeth is finally seeing Mr. Darcy in a different light, which is really making her think about weather or not she has dramatically misjudged him, thus a turning point in her perspective of who she thought this man was.   I think Mr. Darcy finally gave into his feelings of love for Elizabeth thus a turning point for him.  I think Jane has allowed herself to do things maybe she normally wouldn’t have done in the hopes of love with Mr. Bingley thus a change in her.   A lot is happening in this part of the book that are major changes so I would say yes this is the turning point of this story. 

      

       What were your first impressions of Mr. Wickham? After you read Mr. Darcy’s letter, did your feelings change?  I think my first impressions of Mr. Wickham were that he was an ok sort of fellow, kind, considerate, humorous, attentive.  He came across as a nice guy, but I don’t think I always trusted him.   I don’t know why exactly, but something in Jane Austens writing of this character always made me sort of question him….Like maybe he was just too nice to believe.  I worried that he was a little to slick and little to sickeningly sweet.  Then after Mr. Darcy’s letter WOW, Mr Wickham--- can of worms spilling all over, ----an what a worm this guy is.  It seems he is only interested in money and getting it by whooing the ladies who have it.    

      

    

       What is your impression of Mr. Darcy at this point in the book?  What did you think about Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth? Ok here we go……My impression of Mr. Darcy at this point in the book is like WOW….I knew I was going to like this character and I was right.   I’m going to side track here a little to tell you guys an idea I have been tossing around in my head about Mr. Darcy.

       I have a theory about Mr. Darcy which I think I will share right now instead of waiting till the end as I had originally planned to.    What do you think of the idea that Mr. Darcy is Shy?   I was thinking in part one that possibly his abrupt social behavior was possibly due to feelings of shyness.  Shy people tend to come across as self absorbed, rude, arrogant.  They don’t mean to but that is the impression that others get of someone who is shy.   As I was writing my answer to part one’s Mr. Darcy question I started seeing these words….rude, arrogant etc….and thought Hummmmm, I bet he is just socially awkward and shy around girls and doesn’t always do or say the right thing.   Then now in part 2 when he proposed in such an abrupt way, just practically shouting out to her his feelings all in one big long take no breaths kind of way, well then it dawned on me, he is a really intelligent, wonderful guy who is just shy and awkward around girls and doesn’t know exactly how to act with them.  I personally thought his proposal was adorable albeit a bit abrupt and a little over honest about her social standing and family, but still somehow just very sweet.   Although I agree with Elizabeth in not accepting his proposal based on where things are in the story at this point.   But I soooooo look forward to part three.   I have the feeling there is going to be some real changes, especially after his letter, and especially since she is now viewing him differently, and especially because all the pieces of the Mr. Darcy puzzle are now coming together for her. 

      

       What did you think about the letter Mr. Darcy wrote to Elizabeth after he proposed to her?  Oh wow the letter.   First off may I say once again Jane Austen writes with such class and brilliance and she has not failed us in part 2 of this book with her proper use of the English language.  Then just when you don’t think it can get any better she writes this letter that her Character Mr. Darcy is to have written to Elizabeth to explain his position on the issues she had trouble with when he proposed to her.  At this point Jane Austen seems to enter a whole new WONDERFUL world of writing, because his letter to Elizabeth is worded and written so extremely well that we now have this beautiful glimpse in to who Mr. Darcy really is, how he really feels about Elizabeth and what kind of person he is.   I can tell from his letter how much he loves Elizabeth because at every point where he may offend or hurt her apologizes or warns her of the attack that is to come.  For example how he starts his letter “I write with no intention of paining you or humbling myself…” later in the letter he warns her of another possible offensive moment saying “…even by your father….pardon me….it pains me to offend you.”   He remains respectful and caring towards her feeling while very intelligently addressing the offenses she detests in him which to me just make him even more interesting and wonderful to read.  After the letter I really got the feeling that this is a strong, honest, caring man, who is not use to pouring his emotions out, but is willing to risk it all for Elizabeth.  I think his letter was wonderful and I think Elizabeth is finally starting to see the real man that dwells in Mr. Darcy.    And she is finally getting a taste of how protective of her he would be, because she can see how protective he was of his father’s good name, his friends father, Mr. Bingley his good friend, and his sister.   We got our first taste in this part of how deeply Mr. Darcy does care about the people he really does Love.  And how he will protect those he loves at all cost.  Mr. Darcy is coming across to me now as a real man, strong on the outside, sensitive and loving on the inside.   

      

       What is your first impression of Lady Catherine De Bourgh? Does her real life impression match all the hype Mr. Collins gave her?   My first impression of Catherine is snooty, very high class, extremely rich, not real emotional, doesn’t understand love, or compassion, judgemental, somewhat rude.   From the flowery way Mr. Collin talked about her I expected her to be rich and even a bit snooty, but I somehow thought she would be more sophisticated.  After he talked about her all the time in part one I thought she was probably a grand dame of some sort but he flowered her with such praise I thought maybe she would be a more caring and sophisticated.  But as it turned out I think she is just a real snob with no understanding or concern of those she deems below her social class.   

Discussion Questions for Part Two

1.      This part of the novel could be titled “The Turning Point” do you think this accurately describes part two? Explain your answer.

2.      What were your first impressions of Mr. Wickham? After you read Mr. Darcy’s letter, did your feelings change?

3.      What is your impression of Mr. Darcy at this point in the book?  What did you think about Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth?

4.      What did you think about the letter Mr. Darcy wrote to Elizabeth after he proposed to her?

5.      What is your first impression of Lady Catherine De Bourgh? Does her real life impression match all the hype Mr. Collins gave her?