I have written promotions for the other novels, but no one needs encouragement to read P&P. So if the lessers must rise, the greatest must fall. So here is EVERYTHING WRONG with Pride & Prejudice. (To be clear, this is satire! I love P&P)
The proposal scenes are totally unbalanced. We get every single CRINGEWORTHY word of Mr. Collins’s terrible proposal, we get exactly one line of Darcy’s (“he spoke well” but what did he SAY Miss Austen? Cruel authoress!), and absolutely nothing from the cutest couple: Jane and Bingley. (Want the outpouring of the main character’s heart? Try Persuasion)
Too many coincidences! Unless Mr. Darcy is a Time Lord (love you, Doctor Who), there is no way he can always show up at exactly the right time. He arrives when Georgiana is about to elope, comes one day early so he can run into Elizabeth at Pemberley, and walks in the VERY MOMENT when Elizabeth reads the letter from Jane about Wickham. And I’m not even going to get into how very convenient it is that Elizabeth’s estranged cousin knows Darcy’s aunt. Try harder Jane Austen! (To read a book without coincidences, try Mansfield Park).
For a strong heroine, Elizabeth Bennet faces almost no real difficulties. Elinor has to deal with her father’s death, but Mr. Bennet just goes on living. Fanny Price must stand strong after rejecting a proposal, but Elizabeth has her father’s and sisters’ support after Mr. Collins. Anne must wait 8 years to be reunited with her true love, Elizabeth waits like 5 weeks. Catherine Morland must travel alone all the way home and wait six months for Henry’s father’s approval to marry, Elizabeth always travels accompanied and marries as soon as she wishes. Emma has to spend weeks convincing her father that marriage to Knightley is a good idea, Mr. Bennett consents before his daughter even talks to him. It’s easy to be strong when nothing bad ever happens to you Elizabeth! (You want real strength, read Sense & Sensibility, Elinor is a paragon)
Darcy is the least likeable leading man in existence. He makes fun of the Bennets behind their backs, he’s arrogant, he’s snobby, he’s a know-it-all, and he thinks he has the right to make decisions about his friends’ love lives. He is so terrible at flirting that Elizabeth spends half of the book thinking that he hates her. Okay, even I can’t go this far when Rochester and Heathcliff exist. Let’s just say Darcy needs some serious work at the beginning. (If you want a really lovable leading man, try Northanger Abbey. Henry Tilney forever !)
P&P is not long or conclusive enough! I need far more pride and extended prejudice. Why can we not learn the fates of Georgiana, Kitty, and Mary? Why only two measly weddings at the end of the book? I know Jane Austen is capable of three! (For a longer book that leaves literally every single eligible character married, try Emma)
Pride & Prejudice, not as good as you thought! Don’t forget Emma, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, and even Lady Susan.