Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet teases Darcy and he cannot resist her. 'Indeed I do not dare...'

I have long regarded this exchange as one of the sexiest in fiction and one that shows how far Austen thrived on sub-textual erotica!

For teasing shows interest. Who would tease someone they didn't like? In order to tease you I have to know or try to know something about your habits, mind and inclinations. Teasing is an imaginative investment and an emotional risk. It flatters you. It makes you( temporarily) the sole focus of my attention and receiver of my mental and psychical energy.

'Despise me if you dare...' Elizabeth Bennet challenges Darcy, knowing all too well that he does despise people and has even appeared to despise her earlier in the novel. Her message is complex. It stresses her uniqueness in speech, her self assurance and her palpable intelligence. She is intimate indeed! And such a challenge is a secret come on- secret even from herself.

But then she cannot ignore Darcy; she cannot leave him alone; she cannot give up on this very special register as to do so would consign her to the banal sterile world of trimmed shrubberies and clumsy officers who never read , and would never desire to know 'another' in such a relentlesly demanding way.

Darcy's reply is an admission of acceptance and even surrender, and reveals how far he is bewitched by Elizabeth Bennet. ' Indeed I do not dare...' He accepts her contract; he yields to her. The subtext is that he is facing a threshold in terms of relationships that he has never met before, let alone crossed . He stuns her with this gallant reply and this makes for a momentary erotic hiatus!

Darcy may have money and worldly status but Elizabeth has power and Darcy lets her have it. He admires. He is fascinated. His gaze never wanders from her face and his words cannot stop seeking her out. She has teased him into surrender...

Pride and prejudice is so ahead of the time that Jane Austen lived in, and it reflects greatly on feminism. Not only is it a wonderful love story, it's an inspirational story to all women to stand up for yourself and what you believe in.

Elizabeth Bennet is a sensible woman who sticks to her principles no matter what. She refuses Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy's offers of marriage even though Mrs. Bennet only wants her five daughters, including Elizabeth, to marry rich men. The reason for refusing both? Simple: She doesn't like either one of them and does not think either of them to be suitable partners.

Pride and prejudice is so ahead of the time that Jane Austen lived in, and it reflects greatly on feminism. Not only is it a wonderful love story, it's an inspirational story to all women to stand up for yourself and what you believe in.

This book was so good I read it in two days. The first time I read it was in sixth grade, and I have just recently re-read it, and it was just as good, if not better than the first time.

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice was the best book I have ever read. I finished it in a week, because I couldn't put it down! I really recommend that everyone read it, especially women! It contains a lot of romance.

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice - A true MUST READ. I am a big fan of Jane Austen so it is unlikely I would criticise any of her work. However, Pride and Prejudice is really her very best.

A refreshing and enlightening experience.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin is a brilliantly witty comedy of manners, pivoting around the turbulent courtship of Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Pitting her pride against his prejudice results in the quintessential battle of the sexes. A beautifully crafted masterpiece of Nineteenth Century fiction that you will not be able to put down. M. Whelan