Pride and Prejudice as a Feminine Satirical Novel

Stepping into the pages of Pride and Prejudice is like entering into a completely different world. It is a novel that portrays a culture so unlike our own times, its characters inhabit a society so unlike ours, their problems so different from our own; it is extremely difficult for us to ‘identify’ with the fictional characters portrayed. This is a quiet world, often alien to those living in the dynamic 20th century. The late 18th century houses seem to be galaxies away from us, the wit and language is as of another planet. The immediate value of the novel then, is that we become more acquainted with this new world and the characters that populate it. The alien properties of the novel enable us to, perhaps, derive an even greater benefit from it and we are permitted to see the novel as a work of art. In reading any novel of the 20th century, we are apt to lose ourselves by the too easy identification of ourselves with the characters and their problems. We find it difficult to detach ourselves from the content in order to observe the form and technique the novelist uses.In reading a Jane Austen novel, we come to appreciate the technique used by her, her methods of characterization, her construction of the plot and her subtlety of dialogues. Paradoxically, this appreciation of technique and form makes us more intensely aware of life. We come to see the people and the problems more clearly outlined, their minds and passions more plainly revealed than they are in life. The very detachment that we feel when we read a Jane Austen novel is thus an advantage in separating ourselves from our immediate situation, our daily cares and our own bias. We may become better readers of her novels than her contemporaries were.