(This conversation will contain spoilers for the current chapters and possibly for future chapters.)

R: I’m so excited to be starting our discussion of my favorite Jane Austen novel! This book begins with one of the most recognizable quotes in literature: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ 

This line always makes me smile because it sets the tone for what follows. The first few pages introduce nearly all of the principal characters: the Bennet family – Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters, Mr. Bingley and his sisters, and Mr. Darcy. 

The first chapter begins with the exciting news that ‘Netherfield Park is let at last’ and the Bennet family is gaining a new neighbor; but not just any old neighbor – a young, eligible bachelor. With five daughters, this is of great import to the Bennet family, at least according to Mrs. Bennet. 

Mr. Bennet teases his wife by claiming that he won’t go visit this new neighbor, thus ensuring that his own daughters would never have a chance at him. The ladies learn the next day that Mr. Bennet did, indeed, do his duty and pay a visit to Mr. Bingley, which sends his wife into raptures.

S: We get a glimpse of the Bennet family dynamic just from how Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet speak to each other. My first thought on meeting Mr. Bennet was, ‘Wow. He’s like a more refined version of Mr. Palmer. Do I like him?’

The entire time I was reading the interactions between Mr. Bennet and his wife and daughters in Chapter 2, I was thinking, ‘Oh. My. I don’t know what to think.’ There is so much emotion and sarcasm that I had a hard time getting through it. We know, because we’ve been told, that Mr. Bennet’s favourite child is Lizzie, but I can’t tell if he even likes his other children. I suppose he could just be trying teasing them, but some of his comments sound almost cruel.

R: I’d never thought about Mr. Bennet like that, but I can see why you would make the comparison. He is sarcastic and humorous, but some of the things he says are quite unkind toward his wife and daughters. They don’t exactly make it easy for him, either, though!

Mrs. Bennet’s greatest wish in life is to see her daughters well-married. At the time, well-married for the upper-classes usually meant being married to someone wealthy; it didn’t usually include loving or even actually caring for one’s husband or wife. Women wanted someone who could take care of their material needs and men wanted a woman to give them an heir and take care of the household. This seems to be the type of marriage Mr. And Mrs. Bennet have. It’s hard to tell if they have any affection for each other at all, even after about 20 years of marriage.

S: When you read it with that in mind it’s easy to see why Mr. Bennet might be annoyed or frustrated. Rather than having a son to inherit everything he might be constantly worried about whether or not his daughters will be taken care of after he’s gone, and with the area in which they live being apparently lacking in eligible bachelors, it’s no wonder he chooses to call upon Mr. Bingley.

R: Right, that’s a good point. And Mr. Bingley and company put in an appearance at their first local ball and make quite an impression. Mr. Bingley dances twice with the eldest Bennet daughter Jane, which is as much as one can do without starting gossip about a couple. We learn that Jane finds Bingley’s sisters to be fine women, but while everyone is excited about Mr. Bingley’s friend Mr. Darcy and his fortune, he soon shows himself to be proud and unapproachable. He turns his nose up at the local women, directly snubbing Elizabeth Bennet within her hearing, and refusing to dance or even speak with anyone not of his own party if he can help it. Elizabeth manages to find it humorous and brush off the insult.

S: There’s too much gossip for my liking during the ball. It makes me think less of Elizabeth, which is a bummer because I assumed I’d really like her character from the first introduction. However, it occurs to me that I’ve been guilty of doing the same thing: telling others of someone’s rudeness in order to make myself feel better or validate myself. 

I also really dislike Mr. Darcy. At the moment, he reminds me of a much quieter version of Mr. Willoughby and that makes me wary of him.

I do like Mr. Bingley, although knowing his family is new money makes me wonder if they are going to spend it wisely. I’m not sure if I like his sisters yet. So far they appear to very much like Jane but I do dislike that they seem to have no control over their spending; it would appear they are rather spoiled.

R: It’s difficult to not defend Darcy at this point because I know the outcome of the story. If I were coming to the book with no prior knowledge, then Darcy’s behavior is almost entirely indefensible, despite Mary Bennet’s attempt to do so later on. As he is now, he is reprehensible, which doesn’t excuse the gossiping that goes on about him after the ball. So far Mr. Bingley seems to be the only wholly unspoiled character.

Finally, we meet another local family, the Lucases, whose eldest daughter Charlotte is good friends with Elizabeth. She opines that Mr. Darcy has every right to his pride because of his station in life. Elizabeth agrees, but laments that he hurt her pride with his comment at the ball (I wonder if she’s being facetious here), but also promises that she will never dance with Mr. Darcy, even if he offers.

S: That’s a good observation about wondering if Elizabeth is being facetious. I read it as more of a truth said as an aside: she doesn’t want pity from anyone for having been snubbed by the wealthiest bachelor who has visited, but she does feel hurt; since Miss Lucas is her closest friend she feels she can be completely honest. 

I don’t mind Miss Lucas or Mary at the moment. I think Mary’s explanation between pride and vanity is really interesting, and makes me rethink my initial emotion regarding Mr. Darcy. At the moment I still dislike him, but I can see where they are coming from in his defense. I’m sure he has to be very careful who he selects as friends and what he does (‘…ten thousand a year…’), but should one abide rudeness, even in characters in stories?

I am really surprised at how short the chapters are, and yet how much information can be gleaned from them. At the moment I can’t tell how I’m going to like this book. It moves so quickly, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but after reading the somewhat slower and more demure Sense and Sensibility this one almost gives me whiplash of the mind!