Sullington Windmills WI

We had a very nice Valentine's morning discussing the well-known love story that is Pride and Prejudice.

 

As Caroline Bingley says (although not meaning a word of it) "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!"

 

But how much did our group enjoy Pride & Prejudice?

The book was loved by some but not by all. It appeared that those of us who had read it before (some having read it many, many times) really enjoyed it, whilst those who were reading the novel for the first time did not enjoy it as much.

 

The language was found to be both challenging and amusing, as it is so different to English in use today. In fact many comments were made about how both language and characterisation seemed to offer caricatures of people and society, until we reminded ourselves that it is a novel about the contemporary society of the author. It was agreed that as such it offered an accurate picture of life and social mores, particularly for women (of a certain class), in the Regency Period. 

 

Although some of us were not convinced to read anything else by Austen, we do all look forward to our trip to Chawton in the coming months. Seeing where the book was written may well help bring the story to life.