Photo by Tessa Fabsik

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen was published in 1813. After 210 years, it is up for debate if this novel is still relevant.

After 200 million copies sold, 15 media adaptations, and 210 years of history, it is clear that Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is a classic.

But after more than two centuries as a published work, readers debate whether Pride and Prejudice is still relevant in today’s society. After reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time this summer, it left me thinking a few things.

To summarize, Pride and Prejudice follows the life of Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters as they try to find husbands and navigate the social scene of the upper class in the early 1800s of England.

One part of Pride and Prejudice that appeared outdated to me was an essential plot point: the indicator of marriage as the key to a woman’s success. This idea was essential to the plot and could be a flawed idea to present to a young, mostly-female audience.

Despite this issue, Jane Austen presents the protagonist, Elizabeth, as a free thinking woman who demonstrates integrity and intelligence within the novel. Elizabeth rebels against the pressure to get married quickly which showcases how the values of the book exceed the time period of which it was published. Therefore, I think Elizabeth is a positive role model using modern-day values.

Although the values of the author may be fitting in the present day, the writing style is definitely different from that of books published now, which does take some adapting. For me, there were some older words that made Pride and Prejudice hard to understand. There are also lengthy descriptions of abstract images that seemed random and did not apply to the plot. However, the chapters containing too much fluff were balanced with thrilling and fast paced chapters. Within these chapters, the book maintained a very interesting plot containing lots of twists and turns as well as lively dynamic characters that make it even more enjoyable. 

I also think Pride and Prejudice demonstrates a very interesting aspect of humanity. Even after 210 years, emotions and thoughts of the characters in Pride and Prejudice match those of people today. The novel demonstrates the timeless emotions of anger, desperation, and most of all, love.  As I read the novel I could not help but compare it to the rom coms and romance books of today. 

My main opinion is that the real value of Pride and Prejudice is not within the dated depiction of England in the 1800s but rather within the descriptive and completely timeless portrait of human emotion. I think Pride and Prejudice is still relevant today because of these emotions that it demonstrates. Therefore, I think if the readers can get past the older language style, they are sure to enjoy uncovering the mysteries of Pride and Prejudice that have kept it a prominent literature classic.