★★★☆☆
The fact that it was published over 200 years ago gave me some trepidation when I started it, especially since the only other experience I have of reading Jane Austen was during Uni which gave me plenty of resources, background, and support for understanding it!
“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
However, these worries were futile because although the witting style and vocabulary is definitely something to get used to, the characters and themes struck me as very universal! A young man who thinks he’s the best (and lets everyone know it), and couldn’t possibly understand why someone wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings could definitely be used to describe people in this day and age. A friend who is self-serving and self-absorbed and a handsome man who is inclined to open your eyes to the world.
The relationships in this novel were dynamic, and I really enjoyed the contrasts Jane Austen made between our protagonist Catherine, and what would happen if this was a novel in which she was the heroine. It was such an interesting and engaging writing style, and although Catherine was indeed our heroine who endured a number of dissatisfying and embarrassing events, the parallels drawn between her and heroines of novels she so happily read were endearing!
“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.”
– Jane Austen