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Jane Austen(1775-1817), an English
novelist, started writing from an early age and completed six major novels in
her life. Today Austen's books are more popular than ever. Some of her novels
have been made into films while her books continue to be best-sellers
Richard Jenkyns, a professor of English
from the University of Oxford says that her novels are about marriage, friendships
and the family, which are still with us today." The stories are timeless,"
Jenkyns says.
Pride and Prejudice(《做慢与偏见》)(1813) is Austen' s most famous work. It is a love story about
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. At first, they dislike each other. Elizabeth is
pretty, smart and lively. She is proud because Mr. Darcy doesn't know about her
and her family. Mr. Darcy is handsome, rich and has a better family background.
So, he is proud as well. At the same time, Mr. Darcy holds a prejudice against
the Bennet family. He has no understanding of why the family, especially the
mother and daughters who try so hard to find wealthy and powerful husbands. He
thinks they are vulgar. Anyway, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy finally fall in
love and become a romantic couple but their families don't want them to do so.
In Pride and Prejudice, some of the main
things that Jane Austen wanted to teach people are as follows. Opposites can
attract each other. Lovers should not only make each other feel relaxed or
comfortable, but also educate and improve each other.
Austen is often called the greatest romantic
writer, so it is surprising she remained unmarried. "Maybe she was too
romantic, waiting for the perfect man," Jenkyns says.