Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous novels of english literature.

The twentieth century however, has seen Austen elevated by critics of diverse hues, to being one of the best female novelists and of the six novels she wrote, all are deemed classics, with at least three (Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility) of them being counted among the best in English fiction. Among all the novels of Austen Pride and Prejudice is the greatest work. It is regarded as the masterpiece not only of Jane Austen, but of English literature too. It has always been the one most widely read and most often reread. “The research carried out for café chain Costa declared that Pride and Prejudice is third of the most re-read books in the world.”It is also the one that has chiefly invited dramatization, for both stage and film, partly perhaps because of its abundance of bright dialogue and its highly dramatic symmetry of structure. Not only today, but in her age too the book was very popular.
Pride and Prejudice had a long and varied life before it finally saw publication on January 28, 1813. Its manuscript was first written between 1796 and 1797, and was initially entitled First Impressions, but was never published under that title. The novel, First Impressions, was probably in the form of an exchange of letters between characters (epistolary form). Her father submitted it to a London Publisher the following year, but unfortunately for Austen (and perhaps for the publishing house), the manuscript was rejected and remained in her household. She continued to work on the book, and the story remained a favourite with close circle of friends, relation, and acquaintances she took into her confidence. Although the original ideas of the novel came from a girl of twenty-one, but the final version had the literary and thematic maturity of a thirty-five year old woman who had spent years painstakingly drafting and revising, as is the pattern with all of Austen's works.

Pride and Prejudice is a major work of art in its own right.It represents Austen’s first complete success along a certain line of experiment, the tracing of a young woman’s progress from immaturity and inexperience to a better understanding of herself and her world. It is a criticism of life expressed in terms of comedy and shows Austen’s greatness, limitations and aesthetical view on different colours and aspects of human life. The key point in the novel is the study of human behaviour; Austen is almost like Shakespeare in this respect.

Pride and Prejudice is a beautiful creation of the eighteenthcentury because of the emphasis on man in his social environment rather than in his individual conditions. The use of satire and wit, a common form of eighteenth century literature, also contributes in labeling the book as eighteenth century. Jan Fergus comments : “In Pride and Prejudice, Austen intentionally uses eighteenth-century literary devices to an eighteenth century end, moral and emotional didacticism."The story is based on a conventional eighteenth century idea- a misunderstanding about the central character. Discoveries about the real characters of the protagonist form the denouncement of the novel. The moral life is to be equated with delicacy and integrity of feeling, and its capacity for growth under adverse conditions.