Ashley's First Impression Journal

As I read the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice,  I immediately started to become  engaged in the story and continued reading the next four chapters. This book is much more unique than the other types of novels I usually read in my spare time. Jane Austen had created characters that all speak in traditional English which gives the novel a classic touch. In the beginning of this book, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett's main priority seemed to be finding a husband with good fortune for one of their five daughters. Mrs. Bennett was much more interested in meeting Mr. Bingley who is told to be a fine and fortunate young man.  Mr. Bennett on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled as Mrs. Bennett was.

             Mr. Bennett seemed to have favoured his youngest daughter Elizabeth the most, as he was going to put in a good word for her. His wife seemed to prefer the other two daughters because she felt that Jane was more attractive and Lydia was better humoured than Elizabeth. In my opinion, Mrs. Bennett seems to think least of Elizabeth, because she feels she is not as beautiful and humorous as her other daughters. I noticed Mrs. Bingley had been more eager in finding and meeting Mr. Bingley because of all the good news she had heard. It seems it had been extremely important for her to find a man for one of her daughters as soon as possible.

             In my opinion, I feel that the idea of  having an arranged marriage in this novel is interesting because they rarely happen these days.  This is because in our society, people are given much more freedom and are able to choose their own spouse. I also find it very interesting that women were defined by who they married rather than the person they were.  I feel that because Mr. Bingley, Jane and Elizabeth Bennett have major roles in these chapters, they will  continue to play important roles in this novel. Some themes I notice are family and social expectations because it is clear that wealth is important and parents have a lot of say in their children’s life choices. Another theme that I find is very evident during these chapters and will be in later chapters in the novel is love and romance. In conclusion, I very much enjoy reading this novel, and I look forward to finishing it.