Time spent with Jane...

Thought I better update my progress with Pride and Prejudice. This is the first time it's taken me more than a month to finish a book on my list. I have a lot going on at the moment (a new job - yay me!), and find myself reading a lot less than usual. But I am half-way through the book and hope to finish it this week. Maybe next week. We'll see. Happy to report that I actually really do like Pride and Prejudice. Even though I know what happens in the end, I'm still interested in the development of a relationship between the very stuffy Mr. Darcy and the silly Elizabeth Bennet. As a character, Elizabeth bugs me at times. Not as much as her superficial mother, but she bugs me all the same. She's just so... silly and immature. She's also my favorite character. I know, it's a contradiction.

On a side note, an interesting little factoid I found out that relates to this book somewhat is that "Darcy's status as a romantic hero transcends literature. In 2010 a protein sex pheromone in male mouse urine, that is sexually attractive to female mice, was named Darcin in honour of the character." Huh. Weird, but kind of awesome. Also, the Jane Austen Book Club is actually a pretty good movie.
 

A thought that continually runs through my head while reading this book is appreciation for how far women have come since Elizabeth Bennet's time. Sure, the rules of courtship and chivalry that existed then would be really nice to experience, but my god, if you couldn't draw, play an instrument or possess some acceptable level of attractiveness, you were really shit out of luck, weren't you? Thankfully, we women can rely on more than filling out a corset, tinkling the piano keys or painting landscapes to get by in these modern times. 

All the same, Mr. Darcy, feel free to direct your stuffy self to my door any time.