Why
is Pride and Prejudice rated among the 10 best novels of the world?
Introduction: In contrast to the
simplicity of style, Jane Austen’s plots are extremely complex. She doesn’t
draw two or three characters in isolation. She prefers a family with manyfriends
and relatives and tries to make things as difficult as possible. There is
enough material in any one of her six novels to serve the modern novelist in
writing two or three good-sized stories.
The Plot of Pride & Prejudice:
has perfect symmetry, precision and simplicity. There are no obtrusive
characters, no digressive episodes. Language is simple and the relationship of
characters is perfectly drawn. There are main and sub-plots, but the
interdependence is maintained and the interplay between the characters and
events are in perfect organic unity. The main plot is about Elizabeth-Darcy courtship –
state synopsis with analysis… the sub-plots are the novel are: Jane-Bingley, Lydia-Wickham
and Charlotte-Collins, but are closely and tightly linked to the main plot.
Thematic unity of the play: the
main and the sub-plots are logically and thematically unified. The theme of
love and marriage is exemplified through the main and the sub-plot. The
Charlotte-Collins sub-plot exemplifies a marriage based on economics plainly
lacking in love and devotion. The Lydia-Wickham marriage like that of the
Bennets is based on physical charm and will soon sink into indifference. All
these serve by contrast to highlight the propriety of Darcy-Elizabeth marriage
based on emotional compatibility and intellectual understanding.
Symmetry of the plot: is evident
in the series of balancing incidents. The novel is divided into three parts.
The first and the last balanced against each other. Part I occurs largely in
Longbourn and Netherfield Park, Part II is at Rosings and
Part III is at Pemberley and then return to Longbourn. The events between these
places revolve so symmetrically that by fine precision, Jane Austen makes
her plot unique. There is a perfect correspondence between characters and
actions leading to the organic unity of the plot.
The plot as a Five-act Drama: All
of Jane Austen’s plots are structurally so dramatic that it can be stated with
confidence that she would have been a highly successful dramatist. Cross
compares the workmanship of Pride and Prejudice to that of
Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing and A.C. Bradley, the great
critic of drama thinks that the entanglement of errors, misunderstandings,
cross-purposes and view-point of comedy all seem to point a good deal to the
influence of drama. Bake points out that she has greater affinities with
dramatists like Congreve than with novelists. The plot can be divided into
the five acts of drama. Act I – exposition or Introduction, Act II brings in
the complication, Act III presents the climax inElizabeth’s rejection of
Darcy’s offer of marriage and later her realization of her mistake about Darcy
and Wickham, Act IV shows the resolution of the conflict. At this, there is a
meeting between the two at Pemberley which clarifies many misunderstandings and
Act V is the final stage of the novel where all events roll towards a
resolution.
Dramatic Irony: is the prominent
feature of the novel and the different between appearance and reality is
emphasized at every stage. The plot of P&P is dramatic, coherent and
well-integrated. Give here examples of Appearance and Reality. The
narrative mode is also dramatic with action and character being
developed though dialogues effectively. Some of the scenes have great dramatic
vividness and intensity. Darcy-Elizabeth repartees at Netherfield, the two
proposal scenes and the clash between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth. In these
scenes, Jane Austen reveals herself as a master dramatist with a
perfect ear and sense of timing, instinct for climax and anticlimax.
Why among the ten best
novels of the world? The above qualities of her novel are the basic reason
for P&P to be one of the 10 best novels of the world.
Conclusion: Jane Austen’s
incidents are natural, he characters have an independent reality and yet they
fall into a neat logical scheme. The characters of P&P and indeed of her
other novels give us a sense of spontaneous life we get from a play of
Chekov.
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