Journaling with Jane Day 2: Pride and Prejudice
Welcome to Day 2 of Journaling with Jane. Today sees us looking at the themes of Jane Austen's most famous (and dare we say most popular) novel Pride and Prejudice.Pride and Prejudice is a novel that means so much to so many people and we didn’t want to chose just one theme for this most significant book.
Centered on the lives and loves of the Bennett girls, at heart this is a novel of family and the connections between families and homes.
It is also a novel that celebrates the importance of tolerance and understanding – a theme that Jane returns through repeatedly in her work. In Pride month, and with movements around the world challenging institutionalised prejudice, this is also a chance for us to examine both things we are proud of and the people that we have become, as well as to challenge our unconscious bias.
Now, open your notebook, and take 15 minutes to write or draw on what these key themes of Pride and Prejudice mean to you.
If you would like, here are some further prompts:
- What does family mean to you?
- Who is your family?
- What are you proud of?
- What would you like to challenge about yourself?
- What are your unconscious (or indeed conscious) biases?
Pride and Prejudice is also about the importance of thinking for oneself and having independence of mind; Mr Darcy is strongly contrasted with the easily led Mr Bingley, who relies more on his friend’s judgement than his own.
For a more Romantic-era journaling prompt, inspired by P&P, we suggest:
- How do you think?
- What, or who influences your thoughts?
