Amazing! Since we've got enough people signed up for this, I propose, for our first book (though I believe many of you have read it already) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

So, on Monday, February the 21st (2011) I will open the floor for discussion and debate. Until that time, you can read the book or brush up on the details, and we can then exchange ideas on this 19th-century novel.

All right, discussion is wide open, and here are a list of questions that I thought of while reading the book. Feel free to use them as a beginning, but, by all means, don't limit yourselves to my questions and you can change the direction of the conversation as you see fit.

Jump in at any point, and, please read all posts above yours.

Here they are:
- Who is more guilty of pride and/or prejudice, Mr. Darcy or Lizzy?
- Is Collins actually in love with Lizzy? How about with Charlotte Lucas?
- Of the Bennet parents, how do they come off as? How does Mrs. Bennet compare to Lady Catherine? How does Mr. Bennet compare to Col. Fitzwilliam?
- Of what importance is the relationship/rivalry between George Wickham and Mr. Darcy?
- How do you draw the line between pride and arrogance?
- How does Lizzy and Darcy's relationship compare to that of Bingley and Jane?

Anyway, some food for thought. Post freely!

- Don't you think Mr. Darcy's first proposal of marriage to Lizzy was very arrogant?
- Did he really think he was doing the right thing by breaking up the love between Bingley and Jane? (Darcy had a lot to learn about women!) Fortunately, he was able to make right most of his mistakes.
- Bingley and Jane had a "starry eyed" type of love, while Elizabeth and Darcy's love was perhaps on a more mature basis.
- I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book again after many, many years!

Arrogance - an inflated sense of self-worth.
Pride - an appreciation of self-worth.

Oh well, these are just some thoughts...

Must say I really enjoyed the book. I struggled to get into the style and numerous characters at first (60 pages or so) then flew through the rest.

Elizabeth and Darcy are well suited as they are both guilty of pride and Elizabeth especially is very prejudicial - happy to listen to stories of other people and make judgements without trying for the truth.

* Bingley and Jane had a "starry eyed" type of love, while Elizabeth and Darcy's love was perhaps on a more mature basis. Couldn't agree more. Bingley very easily influence by others.

* Don't you think Mr. Darcy's first proposal of marriage to Lizzy was very arrogant? Had a good laugh at this, no matter how much I loved someone I couldn't accept a proposal like that:)

* - Of what importance is the relationship/rivalry between George Wickham and Mr. Darcy? Without the history between the two of them, the book would have been much shorter, as this created and cemented the dislike Elizabeth felt for Darcy.

Did anyone else like Mr Collins? I loved him - I cringed every time he opened his mouth - a more silly individual I've yet to find (except perhaps Mrs Bennett)

Glad I read it, enjoyed it immensely.
Well that's my two cents worth.

Could we all name our favourite character? Mine is, and always will be, Mr Bennett.
That wonderful line about Mrs B never forgiving Lizzy if she didnt marry Mr Collins, and him never forgiving her if she did! It is always with me.
I love the book.
Mr Darcy , to me, has so much more prejudice than Lizzy. If he were not so gorgeous I would never forgive him for turning Bingley off Jane and for his arrogant attitude to Lizzy and her family. But he IS gorgeous so what can I say?

Are you sure you're talking about Mr Darcy, Ren, and not just Colin Firth?

Nah, not really!
I just never cared for Yes Men I guess.
My least favourite IS Bingley. What a drip.

Ren, I never thought of Mr. Darcy as being gorgeous, but now that you mention it I agree! Actually, I might pick him as my favorite character...

* Did anyone else like Mr Collins?
I really disliked him greatly. I thought that his attitude was both childish and arrogant at the same time. He expected Lizzy to want to marry him, and he expected that because of his inheritance and his connection to Lady Catherine it would make him a more desireable suitor. I was shocked that Charlotte accepted his proposal and I think that it's not a marriage of love but one of convenience for the two of them. Nevertheless, it did remove undue pressure off of Elizabeth and made her more available for Mr. Darcy.

I think that my favourite character was Darcy. I'd love to be that proud and without a care in the world. He is not afraid to voice his opinions, and he does back them up pretty well, even if he's a tad quick to judge.

Is Lydia that much of an attention-seeker that she runs away with Wickham, or is she actually convinced that she loves him?

I didn't mean like as in good person or someone to admire, but in that he was so awful I looked forward to more of him. So pompous and servile at the same time.

* Is Lydia that much of an attention-seeker that she runs away with Wickham, or is she actually convinced that she loves him?

I think Lydia loved Wickham and was so self absorbed that she didn't even consider the effect her actions would have on her family. Surely if she was seeking attention she would not have stayed with him for 2 weeks and then marry him, but revealed herself when her family came looking.

I think it's important to keep in mind the realities of the times - almost ALL marriages were marriages of convenience rather than love. Charlotte's choices were very limited - as, indeed, though it's not stressed in a way that modern audiences would necessarily pick up on it, were Lizzie and her sisters'.

I've known several young women just exactly like Lydia. I find that Austen's less than admirable characters are the ones that it's easiest to find corollaries of in modern times. I've know women like Mrs Bennet, too.

Although I really do like Mr Bennet, I think that if I knew him in real (modern) life, I'd find him unpleasant. In these days, a man with that much contempt for his wife is not really a sympathetic character.

I don't know if it is contempt. I would rather say sarcasm, or dry humour.

Mr. Bennet certainly does a good job of balancing out Mrs. Bennet's quirks. I think that they complement each other pretty well, and, though it might not seem that way initially, their marriage is a very solid one. Between the two of them, the girls are taken care of really well and their needs, both physical and mental, are provided for.

Does anyone know a 'real life' Lady Catherine? I'm afraid I do! Unfortunately!

I know my sister would probably love to be a 'real life' Lady C!

What do you think Mary Bennet's chances of surviving in that society are? She seems to be very neglected and shunned my Mrs. Bennet, and she doesn't seem to even want to stand out except on rare occasions. I feel that she'd be the sister forced to stay behind and take care of their parents when they hit old age.

I think she would LIKE to be the one to stay behind and take care of their parents - and read, read, read. She seemed very introverted.

How hard do you think it was for Darcy to forgive Wickham (or at least feign it) in order to try and save Lydia's honour?

Very hard indeed - in fact, this is one of the few points I found in his favour (I didn't really like him much). Dealing with Wickham, and actually being related to him, must have burned like fury, but he did it. For a man of his pride, very very tough.

I always wondered how things worked out for them, years later. Did having to swallow some pride humanize Darcy a bit, so he mellowed as he got older? Or did he grow to resent it, and to hold it against Lizzie?

Ah, the great debate af the future of a relationship (see also: would Romeo and Juliet have stayed together had their parents been in favour of the union?).

I think that the relationship that Lizzy and Darcy had would be one to stand the test of time. They're both very assertive and headstrong individuals, and they would have had epic arguments between the two of them. However, these would have just served to strengthen the bond between the two and to enable them to have tools to work through and problems and hardships they would have encountered years down the road. I also doubt that either of them mellowed, despite having to choke down their pride when they had to admit to the other that they had been wrong about something.

I also think that the relationship between them and Wickham/Lydia would have become more and more distant. Aside from Darcy's history with Wickham, Lizzy seems to get fed up with Lydia quite easily for Lydia's attitude when she comes back to Longbourn as a married woman and flaunts it greatly in her sisters' faces. While Darcy and Lizzy might be proud, both Wickham and Lydia are arrogant, a more annoying trait.

I have recently downloaded a book on my Kindle entitled "Darcy's Voyage" by Kara Louise. In the prologue, which is all I've read so far, Darcy and Elizabeth meet in a public transportation carriage. Chapter I begins two years later. Has anyone read this book? It seems to be about the Bennett family as well??

There are quite a few books about these characters around. In fact, one was written by Funtrivia's own skylarb.

So, back to our book - Does Darcy become any less proud throughout the book? After all, he does admit his mistake with Jane and Bingley, and he takes care of Lydia, however, does that diminsh his pride in any way? Does he reach any catharsis?

Anyone want to summarize what they thought of the book?