Pride and Prejudice Read-Along: Conclusion

We have come to the end of the Read-Along and the end of the story. And yes, P&P remains my most favorite Austen read of all! Every time I read it I just smile with satisfaction and all the good feels that it brings! Thanks so much to Amber at Seasons of Humility for hosting the Read-Along and I hope that we will have another one soon! Hint Hint Amber!

So many good things in the last chapters that we read!

Again with the letters! Oh for some ability to communicate quicker, but it does seem that the mail system was much quicker than it is today! So Mr. Gardiner has found Lydia and it is as the family has feared, she is living with Wickham without getting married to him! Oh the scandal! Oh the embarrassment to Lizzy and her sisters! It appears that Mr. Gardiner has fixed everything so that Lydia and Wickham will be married. I love this quote from Lizzy,

"And they are really to be married!" cried Elizabeth, as soon as they were by themselves, "How strange this is! And for THIS we are to be thankful. That they should marry, small as is their chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are forced to rejoice, Oh, Lydia!"

I imagine that "Oh, Lydia" spoken in such a voice of despair! "Oh Lydia" indeed! That girl is trouble!

And poor Jane, still trying to make everyone out to have some good in them,

"His consenting to marry her is a proof, I will believe, that he is coe to a right way of thinking. Teir mutual affection will steady them; and I flatter myself they will settle so quietly, and live in so rational a manner, as may in time make their past imprudence forgotten."

Dream on Jane!!!

I found this a bit interesting considering that I always thought of Mr. Bennet as a jovial and loving kind of guy, this is the first time I have seen him impatient,

"He(Mr. Bennet) was writing and, without raising his head, coolly replied: "Just as you please." "May we(Lizzy and Jane) take my uncle's letter to read to her?" "Take whatever you like, and get away."

I understand he was trying to respond to the letter from Mr. Gardiner and it required much haste, but this is the first time we see him more than just exasperated with the whole group...especially Lizzy.

Isn't it a miracle how quickly Mrs. Bennet bounces back from her vapors over Lydia's disappearing with Wickham once she hears that she is married?

"To know that her daughter would be married was enough. She was disturbed by no fear for her felicity, nor humbled by any remembrance of her misconduct."

Any wonder where Lydia gets her behavior? Ack!

Wickham is just abhorrent! The man has no scruples and totally makes me mad! I was in agreement with Mr. Bennet in saying that Wickham and Lydia shouldn't be welcome at Longbourn but one cannot cut off ones own flesh and blood no matter how stupid they are.The two have no shame for their behavior and what they put Lydia's family through. Two selfish individuals that take take take throughout life.

"She blushed, and Jane blushed; but the cheeks of the two who caused their confusion suffered no variation of colour."

Don't you just love when Lydia is going on and on about being a married woman and how she will get all of her sisters husbands, how Lizzy responds?

"I thank you for my share of the favour," said Elizabeth; "but I do not particularly like your way of getting husbands."

And then through another letter and Lydia's slip of tongue we find that Mr. Darcy is actually the one who orchestrated the marriage of Wickham and Lydia to save the Bennet family from ruin. Wow! What a change in this man! I love how Lizzy's whole opinion of him changed when she found out what he truly did for her family.

"Oh! how heartily did she grieve over every ungracious sensation she had ever encouraged, every saucy speech she had ever directed towards him. For herself she was humbled; but she was proud of him. Proud that in a cause of compassion and honour, he had been able to get the better of himself."

I love how even in politeness someone can pointedly make known how they feel about someone. When Wickham tries to bring up to Lizzy how horribly he was treated by Darcy I love her response,

"I DID hear, too, that there was a time, when sermon-making was not so palatable to you as it seems to be at present; that you actually declared your resolution of never taking orders, and that the business had been compromised accordingly."

She let him know that she was onto him and he no longer fooled her! Love it!

Mr. Bennet quite nicely reverted back to his old self in being sarcastic and humorous to his family members. I love what he said when Bingley moved back to Netherfield and Mrs. Bennet wanted him to go call on Bingley.

"No, no. You force me into visiting him last year, and promised, if I went to see him, he should marry one of my daughters. But it ended in nothing, and I will not be sent on a fool's errand again."

hahahaha! Poor Mr. Bennet, so abused by his wife AND his daughters!

And once Jane and Bingley agree to marry Mr. Bennet's response cracks me up:

"You are a good girl; "he replied, "and I have great pleasure in thinking you will be so happily settled. I have not a doubt of your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means unlike. You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income."

I always have to snicker when Jane being so happy tells Lizzy that she wishes she could be just as happy. This shows that Lizzy and her father have the same sense of humor:

"If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can have your happiness. No, no, let me shift for myself; and, perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet with another Mr. Collins in time."

OH MY! That always has me snort-laughing!

What do you think of Lady Catherine's visit to Elizabeth? That woman is something else! I love how even though Lizzy feels like her chances with Darcy have been totally ruined she still will not back down to Lady Catherine and promise not to enter into a marriage with him. That lady had me ready to go through the book at her! I might not have been as nice as Lizzy was and there is another instance of putting someone in their place but yet being so polite while doing it!

"I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship. You may ask questions which I shall not choose to answer."

GO LIZZY!

Of course Mr. Collins has to rear his ugly head once more before the book ends in yet another infamous letter! Again, he is such an odious man! And a rector! Gah! He exasperates me just as much as Lady Catherine does!

I love love love when Darcy and Lizzy start talking about their love for each other and when they first realized they may have hope for a future.

"It taught me to hope," said he, "as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before. I knew enough of your disposition to be certain that, had you been absolutely, irrevocably decided against me, you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine, frankly and openly."

He definitely knew that Lizzy wouldn't be afraid to speak her mind to Lady Catherine if she still hated him. Can you imagine how light his spirit would have been when he heard? Just the opposite of what Lady Catherine would expect! ha!

When Lizzy and Jane are talking and Jane can't believe that Lizzy is engaged to Darcy, Lizzy's whole outlook is so light and happy. I love this between them:

"Why, I must confess that I love him better than I do Bingley, I am afraid you will be angry."
"My dearest sister, now BE serious. I want to talk very seriously. Let me know every thing that I am to know, without delay. Will you tell me how long you have love him?"

"It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley."

Snort-laugh once more!!!

Once again we get whiplash from Mrs. Bennet's behavior! She goes from hating the sight of Darcy but putting up with it for the sake of Bingley, to being over-the-moon thrilled when she finds out that Lizzy is going to marry him.

"God gracious! Lord bless me! only think! dear me! Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it! And is it really true? Oh! my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane's is nothing to it--nothing at all. I am so pleased--so happy. Such a charming man!--so handsome! so tall!--Oh, my dear Lizzy! pray apologise for my having disliked him so much before. I hope he will overlook it. Dear, dear Lizzy. A house in town! Every thing that is charming! Three daughters married! Ten thousand a year! Oh, Lord! What will become of me. I shall go distracted."

Ack! She drives me crazy!

To show how content and happy Lizzy is:

"I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."

I love that line!

One final word from Mr. Bennet to show his humor...in another letter to Mr. Collins:

"I must trouble you once more for congratulations. Elizabeth will soon be the wife of Mr. Darcy. Console Lady Catherine as well as you can. But, if I were you, I would stand by the nephew. He has more to give."

LOVE IT!!

I loved all the summing up at the end of how everyone was getting on. Georgiana has her eyes opened by Lizzy taking liberties in teasing Mr. Darcy! I'm sure she has never seen anyone treat him with anything less than dignity and respect so I'm sure she was shocked. I love this:

"By Elizabeth's instructions, she began to comprehend that a woman may take liberties with her husband which a brother will not always allow in a sister more than ten years younger than himself."

I know that's a lot of quotes, but there is so much in these chapters to love! I love that both Darcy and Elizabeth were humbled and found a rich love for each other.

On Amber's blog she has some questions to discuss. I will leave my answers in the comments on her blog.

If you have read along with us feel free to comment your thoughts on the ending. If you have read P&P before feel free to comment your thoughts. If you haven't read it before, please do so! It is soooo good!

I've loved the read-along and look forward to the next one!