A Little Taste of Pride and Prejudice

I’ve just finished the classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for the first time. To be honest, Pride and Prejudice was my first Jane Austen novel and I must agree I enjoyed it.  On many such occasions, I began to speak and think in the same tone as the narrative. For instance, I would say, “That is very disagreeable” or “If that should quell my fear of such an issue,” but for the most part, my friends and family were left unscathed by my reading.

From what I have heard from people who enjoyed the book, is that Mr. Darcy is such a dreamy young man whom many of them would enjoy meeting. Although I do not disagree, I do find that Mr. Darcy’s countenance is one that intrigues me. While I did not get the giddy, happy feeling of instance love, I was more inclined to learn of his actions and why he did the things he did. It was his arrogance that drew me to him, his abrasive attitude, and his quick judgement of character. By the time Mr. Darcy changes his manners and begins to act more civil, I was in love, not from his apperance or his wealth, but by his attitude. By working hard to find humility and prove to Elizabeth that he can change for her, Mr. Darcy puts forth his best side and it is well received.

Although Elizabeth is a smart girl with quick wit, and a lovely face, she, like Darcy jumps to judgement too quickly. In a way, Elizabeth finds herself to be better than her “foolish sisters” through the way she talks of them to her father, begging him to knock some sense into them. Likewise, Elizabeth judges Mr. Darcy as well even though he gives her plenty of reasons to.  But disregarding this, she is a wonderful girl, who holds her head high even though Miss Bingely abuses her at every moment.

An interesting symbol Austen paints in her story is Pemberley, Darcy’s estate. It is a very beautiful place, full of natural beauty. It has running waters, wonderful flowers and is the epitomy of a beautiful countryside landscape. In one discription, Austen calls the river in the front of the house a “natural importance”, which could possibly reference Mr. Darcy’s own views on his importance and social status. It is an unmasked beauty full of memories and paintings that could also allude to Darcy’s life.  Mr. Darcy is a man who lives behind his arrogance and his wealthy. Upon meeting people, he is quiet and withdrawn. In contrast, his home is open and free, it is full of beauty and vulnerability.

While the character’s can go deeper and there are many more symbols and themes, these are just a few of my thoughts and ideas. I enjoyed the book a lot and look forward to seeing the 2005 movie, which I haven’t seen.

The Wrong Name Choice

I do have a great fondness for names, whether they are of people I like, people I dislike, people I want to be, or people who are famous beyond belief. No matter who you are, or who they are, there are many names out there that are intriguing, mesmerizing, beautiful, and golden. Yet, on the other hand, there are many names which I would like to forget I ever heard.

At times, I wonder who thinks up these names, who gave these parents the right to name their child. As an example, who in their right mind would name your child Candi, Brandi, Mandi, or Dandi (and yes, I have met a young girl by the name of Dandi). Do these parents think that their daughter will grow up into a sucessful businesswoman, maybe the CEO of Merck with the name of Candi? Would any sucessful businesswoman want to be called Candi, because obvioiusly, she’s had to work hard to get to where she is, and with the name that sounds like some porn model….I just can’t imagine how she does it.

But even if we ignore the stripper names and we jump into the world of “Things to never name your baby” it’s a wild and crazy place out there. There are rhyming names, and alliteration names, and names with apostrophes. Now, why would you want your child to have their name D’ac’ershan or Pl’acny. Can anyone pronouce this? Can anyone understand what it means? For some reason, I think not

then there are those poor souls with names that rhyme. For instance, there is a set of triplets named Kara Rene, Sara Kaye, and Tara Faye. Now please, tell me why these poor girls must rhyme? Does it sound pleasing to here “Kara, Sara, and Tara, get in here right now?” Pesonally, I would just get confused. But if that isn’t enough confusion for you, perhaps you would like to name your twin girls Mallory Kaye and Micha Kaye, or perhaps Jordan Patrick and Jordyn Elizabeth?

But i do love the names celebrities give their children, they’re the best out of all of them. Apple? Pilot Inspektor?  Why don’t we just name our children spot and our dogs Thomas a’ Becket?

It is not to say that I don’t like names, in fact I have a strong passion for them and do spend time trying to find the perfect name for my children to be (since I have none yet.) But there must be some common sense when naming your children, because how would you feel if your parents named you Eazi Candi OatmealPi?