Comparing Themes

I think that, even though our two books were very different, they had a similar theme: Just because everyone is doing it, doesn't mean it is right. This is shown in both books. It is shown in Pride and Prejudice through Elizabeth. Elizabeth has lived her life pressured by her family to grow up to be perfect: marry a rich man, stay at home and raise the children, and not work. However, Elizabeth doesn't like this lifestyle. She, unlike her sisters, believes that there are more important qualities to a man than how much money he has. Through out the story, Elizabeth is looked down on for believing what she does, but she never changes what she believes in. This theme is shown in What My Mother Doesn't Know through Sophie. Sophie likes a boy, Murphy, but no one else does. She is embarrassed by him, so she doesn't want people to know that she likes him, or even notices him. However, by the end of the book, Sophie realizes that what other people think shouldn't get in the way of what she thinks, and that she shouldn't be pressured by society.

~Carolyn

Character Analysis: Sophie

Characters: Sophie is the main character in the book What My Mother Doesn't Know. She is also the speaker, and she writes the poems that make up the book. I think that Sophie is a very stereotypical kind of teenage girl. She is confused about lots of different things, especially boys. She is also very adventurous, which is shown with her "in-town vacations" and when she talks to Chaz online.
Sophie also doesn't have a very good relationship with her parents. She describes how they are always fighting and yelling, and how it negatively effects her.
Because Sophie doesn't have that bond with her parents, she turns to her two bestfriends, Grace and Rachel, for advice whenever she has problems. Sophie seems to be very open with her friends about things, but she is also afraid she won't impress them, like when she hid who Robin really was.

~Carolyn

What My Mother Doesn't Know Initial Thoughts

I was very pleased after finishing What My Mother Doesn't Know. It was very different from Pride and Prejudice, but I liked it a lot more. One of the reasons I liked it was because it was it was set in a modern time, so I could understand it much more easily. Also, it was much more relatable. The plot was more interesting to me, and so I was more excited to read it. It wasn't as much of a chore as reading Pride and Prejudice seems to be. I also liked the poetic format it is written in. It makes it a very quick read. I would only have to read one or two poems at a time, so it went by faster.

Overall, I liked What My Mother Doesn't Know a lot more than our classic, Pride and Prejudice.

~Carolyn

Pride and Prejudice Cover Analysis

This topic may seem a little bit "out of the box", but I think you may actually enjoy reading this. When I was trying to get a hold of this book at libraries and bookstores, I saw that Pride and Prejudice had lots of different book covers.

The one I received has a portrait of a lady on the front. I was always wondering who that lady was. At last, I think I have finally found the answer. If Jane Austen were to come up with the cover for this book, I think that she would pick Elizabeth to be on the cover, just Elizabeth. In the story Elizabeth has some very different thoughts that go against what her mother (and maybe sisters) have established for her. Maybe what Austen was trying to convey was solely Elizabeth because she is so different from the rest of her family.

~Ana Gabriela

Book to Book Connection

While reading Pride and Prejudice, Carolyn and I decided to start What My Mother Doesn't Know. What My Mother Doesn't Know is such a quick and easy read; we finished shortly. Though both of us are not finished with Pride and Prejudice, I can still identify the connection between the two books.

In Pride and Prejudice, the main goal for Mrs. Bennet is to get her daughters married. In What My Mother Doesn't Know, the main character, Sophie is looking for what she calls "Mr. Right."

I think Sophie is like Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, Kitty, Jane, and Mary. The reason being is because at first Sophie is like the Bennet's because of their values. When the Bennet's are thinking of men they would would possibly marry, they think of looks and wealth. Sophie used to think that love would be linked with good looks. The tables are turned and Sophie goes against everything her peers have established. She dates what is considered a "loser" because of the commoness between them. He is isn't exactly good looking, but that brushes past Sophie because she likes him for other things beside just that.

Sophie is definetely a dynamic character in the story, not because she realized something, but because she grew as a character. She looks past what everyone can't penetrate. What I mean by that is, in the end, Sophie could see who a person was underneath their looks while her peers could just be mesmerized by good looks. I think her values in the end can compare to those of Elizabeth's. Elizabeth's sisters are in love with Mr. Bingley's fame; she focuses on the things deeper within.

~Ana Gabriela

Chapter XII (Thoughts and Summary)

Chapter XII reveals the way Mr. Darcy feels about Elizabeth. The story quotes:

"Elizabeth had been at Netherfield long enough. She had attracted him more than he liked."

Jane Austen really highlights that aspect of the book by talking about the so called, "moments" they had together. Austen speaks of a time where they were left alone for about half an hour. Mr. Darcy notes how hard he was trying to be engrossed in his book.

Jane gets better soon and comes home. Mrs. Bennet is not happy about it though. She wishes that Jane would get a cough and have to stay at the Bingley Estate for a longer period of time.

~Ana Gabriela

Chater XI (Thoughts)

Chapter XI was an interesting read for me. Jane Austen put a statement at the end that just sends chills down you spine.

"He began to feel the danger of paying Elizabeth too much attention."

I feel that this was a contradicting statement considering he was trying to impress her in earlier chapters. I think the reason that he is kind of venturing away from Elizabeth is because her personality came through to him. I can infer that Elizabeth kind of saw that he was trying to impress her, so she kind of went along with it. I also feel that she really started to like him; that's also when Darcy started to get the bad signal. 

At one point in the chapter, the Bingley's are joking with Mr. Darcy, but Elizabeth was hurt and started to defend Darcy. Here is an excerpt: 

"And as to laughter, we will not expose ourselves, if you please, by attempting to laugh without a subject. Mr. Darcy may hug himself."

"'Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!' cried Elizabeth..."

The first part of the little scene, was kind of showing the playfulness between Darcy and the Bingley's. The Bingley's are basically saying, "If we are going to have a laugh, Darcy can automatically be the subject of the laughter." 

Obviously, Elizabeth is hurt, and she says the first thing on her mind in an effort to defend Darcy. I honestly think that Darcy did not like that she was only trying to be nice, so that is why he was having those thoughts mentioned in the beginning of this post.

~Ana Gabriela 

Character Analysis: Mr. Darcy

Characters: In the reading, I have found that Mr. Darcy has some thoughts about women. I think that Mr. Darcy is very stereotypical against women. The men in the story all have lenses on.

"Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover skreens and net purses. I scarcely know any one who cannot do all this..."

This quote justifies that the men all have lenses on. I think that because of the time era. In the modern day, we have a view that all men are equal. ("Men is said in a different manner here) I think that the time period had a different view about the genders, especially women. What really showed that in the quote was when Darcy said, "I scarcely know anyone who cannot do all of this" 

~Ana Gabriela

Character Analysis: Elizabeth

Characters: I have found that the character I can relate most to in our book is Elizabeth, or, as her family calls her, Lizzy. In my opinion, Elizabeth is the only one of the Bennet girls (including, and especially, Mrs. Bennet) that does not have a feminist attitude or outlook on life. As I described in Mrs. Bennet's character analysis, she has a very strong vision of what she wants her daughters to grow up to be. Lizzy, unlike her four sisters, has no intention of growing up to be this person. She feels like she doesn't need a husband, which worries her mother, and that she can be whomever she wants to be. This really shows when she turns down the handsome and rich Mr. Darcy, because she doesn't like his personality. Any one of her other sisters would have accepted him eagerly, but not Elizabeth. She sees past men's looks and wealth, to what she believes is most important, their personality.

~Carolyn

Pride and Prejudice (Lenses)

Pride and Prejudice really has some different ways of portraying women. The most obvious opinions are from the men in the book. Mr. Darcy has a very prominent opinion; I can infer that he thinks of women as "ornaments" so to speak. A better way to call this would be a stereotype. He thinks that women are made to do specific tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Elizabeth sort of challenges that aspect of his thinking.

Book to Book Connection:

This Chapter of the book really connects with the plot of the book Feed. In the book, the characters are all used to the feed, a transmitter implanted in the brain. When a girl named Violet challenges that aspect, it reminded me of this book.The character's in Pride and Prejudice are all kind of used to the fact that men kind of see them as "accomplished". Elizabeth reminds me of Violet because she is so variant from the other people in her family. Both of them kind of stand up to the situation which is the connection I see between these two books.

~Ana Gabriela

Character Analysis: Mrs. Bennet

Characters:  In our book, there had been one very obvious static character: Mrs. Bennet. A static character is a character that stays the same throughout the book. However, I am only half way through the book, so she does still have time to change, she just hasn't so far. Mrs. Bennet is a very odd character. She is a woman, but she is also a feminist. She has a very clear idea of what she wants her five daughters to grow up to be, and this vision is very sterotypical of a woman. She wants them to find a rich, handsome man, marry him, and be a stay at home mother raising children while he goes out and works. All of her daughters wish this for themselves too, except for one daughter, Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet doesn't show it, but I think that she is worried about Lizzy. She is afraid she won't marry the "right kind of man" or worse (in her opinion), not marry at all. Mr. Bennet thinks that his wife is very frantic and should try to calm down, that their daughters will be fine. But she doesn't listen. She is willing to do anything to ensure that her daughters will each have perfect lives.

~Carolyn

Chapter IX Reflection (Thoughts and Summary)

In Chapter IX, Mrs. Bennet takes Catherine and Lydia to visit Jane. Mrs. Bennet spends the majority of her time there trying to convince Mr. Bingley to stay in Netherfield, which upsets Elizabeth. Lizzy is also embarrassed about the way her mother acts, only talking about how beautiful Jane is and comparing city life to country life. Mr. Bingley also decides that he will wait until Jane is fully recovered until he has another ball.

This is another chapter that really shows Mrs. Bennet's personality. She is desperate for her daughters to be successful, married women, and is willing to do anything to help them achieve that. All of her daughters are also more than willing to do anything, except for Elizabeth. In my opinion, Elizabeth is the only one who's opinions I agree with.

~Carolyn

Chapter VIII Reflection (Thoughts and Summary)

In Chapter VIII, the Bingley sisters make fun of the Bennets, especially Elizabeth. They poke at her because of the way she looks after walking from her home to the Netherfield. Darcy and Mr. Bingley try and defend the Bennets at first, but they do disagree with Lizzy's decision to walk all the way to the Bingley estate. They also agreed that, given the Bennets are rather poor, they are not suitable choices for marriage. Darcy also describes what he thinks is an "accomplished woman," which Elizabeth thinks is too specific and demanding.

When Darcy was describing his idea of an "accomplished woman", he was being very stereotypical and feminist. Mr. Bingley also shows feminist opinions, saying that women should be able to make baskets and do household chores. As I mentioned in a previous post, they believe that women should stay at home and raise children, and the men should do the working. That is a very stereotypical and feminist outlook.

~Carolyn

Chapter VII Reflections (Thoughts and Summary)

The main idea of Chapter VII is that Mrs. Benent sends Jane to the Bingley Estate in Netherfield. The thing I find interesting is that when Jane asked for the carriage, Mrs. Bennet refused to give it to her, even though they both knew it was going to rain. So Jane had to go on horseback instead.

"No, my dear, you had better go on horseback, because it seems likely to rain; and then you must stay all night." 

From a child's and mother's standpoint, it was a very cruel thing to do. Mrs. Bennet had a master plan in her head, though. Since she knew it was going to rain, she wanted her to go on horseback, so she would have to spend the night. That would give Jane some time to get acquainted with Mr. Bingley.

Jane went according to plan, but when Jane arrived at Netherfield, she fell ill. A letter came home to Lizzy, telling her what was going on. Elizabeth was scared that Jane would die. In this scene, Jane Austen really highlights Mrs. Bennet's personality. When Mrs. Bennet recieves news of Jane's illness, she is not worried about Jane dying; she is even happier than before because Jane would have to stay longer to recuperate. I thought that it really showed the true colors of Mrs. Bennet. I think that once her personality was revealed, readers will not be fans of her anymore.

~Ana Gabriela

Chapter VI Reflection (Thoughts and Summary)

In Chapter VI, Mr. Bingley's sisters come to visit the Bennets to try and become better friends with Jane and Elizabeth. Mr. Bingley makes it obvious that he likes Jane very much. Lizzy believes that Jane loves him too, but it trying to hide it for some reason. She talks about this to Charlotte, who thinks that if Jane doesn't show Mr. Bingley she likes him back, that he may lose interest in her and move on. There discussion turns into a small argument about how you should behave to your "future husband." Also, at a party, Darcy makes it extremely obvious that he likes Lizzy, but she refuses to dance with him, saying he is "too proud to like." However, Darcy tells one of Mr. Bingley's sisters that Elizabeth is now the "object of his admiration."

After reading this chapter, I am left with the impression that the only female charater in the story whose values I agree with are Elizabeth's. She refuses to dance with Darcy because, unlike the other girls, she values personality more than wealth. Even though all of the other girls are trying to convince her to be with him, she sees past his riches.

~Carolyn

Chapter V Reflection (Thoughts)

Chapter V discusses the ball between the Bennet's neighbors, the Lucases, and the Miss Bennet's.

I think that the women discussing the ball are like feminists themselves because they are jumping to conclusions with who Mr. Bingley liked more. They debated that though he danced with Charlotte first, he liked Jane better because he danced with her twice. I think the ladies are jealous of Jane and this discussion is sort of a way to vent to others. Elizabeth was the only person who did not get asked to dance, so it was also like a pity party for her. I think that discussion made Elizabeth feel worse about herself; since she had no partner.

Though Elizabeth did not get asked, she does have some very different values than her peers. I feel that she really looks past fame and fortune. For example, her peers are trying to get her to get acquainted with Mr. Darcy; she deosn't see anything in him other than wealth.

~Ana Gabriela

Chapter V Reflection (Summary)

In Chapter V, we are introduced to the Bennets neighbors; Sir William Lucas, his wife, and their children. Their oldest child, Charlotte, is Lizzy's best friend. They two women of the families are talking about the ball the morning after. They came to the conclusion that even though Mr. Bingley danced with Charlotte first, he still thought Jane was the prettiest girl. Then they talk about how Lizzy might be interested in Mr. Darcy, but she hates the idea. Even though he is rich, Lizzy values personality over wealth.

~Carolyn

Chapter IV Reflection (Thoughts and Summary)

In Chapter IV, the Bennets are talking again about Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bennet, who at first was not so excited about the idea of one of his daughters marrying a man he didn't know, came out and told his family that he had actually met Mr. Bingley and they had now become friends. This news excites the girls and they talk more about what they think of Mr. Bingley and how they all hoped of marrying him.

After reading this chapter, I am under the impression that most of the Bennet girls are sort of feminist themselves. They all seem to agree with their mother's words "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." They all act like they have to do the same thing with their lives: marry a rich man, have children, and stay at home and raise them while their husband works. They all want this type of a life, and Mr. Bingley fits the role of rich man well.

~Carolyn

Chapter III Reflection (Thoughts and Summary)

Chapter III was describing the ball that the Bennet girls attended. There, they got a chance to meet Mr. Bingley and dance with him. It talks about Mr. Bingley's manners and who Mr. Bingley danced with. In this chapter, the author, Jane T. Austen focuses on Lizzy the most. While Lizzy's sisters are off dancing, she is moping in the corner because no one has asked her to dance.


Mr. Darcy, a friend of Mr. Bingley's describes Lizzy as, "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men" 

I understand that Mr. Darcy was talking about her, but I think that moment showed his true colors because of one crucial thing. He was talking right next to Lizzy. Lizzy heard the whole conversation right where she was sitting from. I think it shows that he wants her to know what he is thinking and he doesn't care if she hears or not.

~Ana Gabriela

Chapter II Reflection (Thoughts)

As said in my earlier post, some sentences said by Mrs. Bennet really show the reader who Mrs. Bennet really is.

In this excerpt, Mr. Bennet is showing, not bias, but more affection to his daughter, Lizzy. Mrs. Bennet's emotion lashes out; very prominent here.

"I hope Mr. Bingley will like it Lizzy."

"We are not in a way to know what Mr. Bingley likes," said her mother resentfully, 'since we are not to visit.'

She is lashing out at Mr. Bennet for "sticking" with Lizzy. I also think she is being hipocritical here because she is in hopes that he will marry her daughters. But in the sentence above, it's almost like she doesn't want Lizzy to marry him.

~Ana Gabriela

Chapter II Reflection (Summary)

In Chapter II, the Bennet family is discussing an upcoming ball. This is an important ball because there, they will meet Mr. Bingley. They are preparing for the ball and talking about what they will do while they are there. In this chapter, the characters Lizzy, Kitty, and Mary are introduced. Lizzy is trimming a hat for Mr. Bingley, Kitty is facing a cough, and Mary is in a disagreement with her father.

~Carolyn

Chapter I Reflection (Summary)

In Chapter I, Mrs. Bennet is telling her husband, Mr. Bennet, about a new man that is in town. His name is Mr. Bingley. Mrs. Bennet hopes that one of her five daughters will marry him because he is said to be very handsome and rich. Mr. Bennet is not as frantic about marriage, but he mentions that he would want Lizzy to be the one to marry him. Mrs. Bennet is shocked that her husband would favor one of their children. In this chapter, the author also describes the contrast in Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. She says that Mr. Bennet is an "odd mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice", while Mrs. Bennet is described as "a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper."

~Carolyn

Chapter I Reflections (Thoughts)

In Chapter I, the first sentence in the book really did not seem like it was from the author's point of view, but from Mrs. Bennet's.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife"

This is almost stereotypical of rich men. Mrs. Bennet acts like she knows that rich men want wives. I think that the sentences shows the reader what kind of as person Mrs. Bennet is.  The sentence shows that she jumps to conclusions. Not all rich men may want a wife.

~Ana Gabriela

Pride and Prejudice Initial Thoughts II

After reading only a few pages of Pride and Prejudice, I already have a lot of thoughts on it. Obviously, it takes place in the past. This is a disadvantage to me because I'm not as farmiliar with the time period. The difference between then and now that I first noticed is the dialect that they speak with. The author, Jane Austen, uses a lot of words that aren't in most people's vocabulary, so it can make the story confusing. I've found that I have to re-read a lot to understand what's going on. But once I did comprehend the plot, I like it. It's already interesting, and I've only read one chapter.

~Carolyn

Pride and Prejudice Initial Thoughts I

To me, Pride and Prejudice is very confusing. Being a classic, it was set in the past and the dialect is very old-fashioned. I also think the plot is very hard to follow.

It talks about the Bennet family; Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters. Mrs. Bennet notices a very handsome man named Mr. Bingley is planning on buying a property near their home. She is very interested in having her daughters visit him because she wants him to possibly marry one of them. I think that the plot was hard to understand because the author placed very common words, of the time, into the story.

I used context clues to help me figure out the plot, but I am at a disadvantage since I am not from the time when the book was written, so I have a different way of understanding the story.

~Ana Gabriela

Welcome to Our Blog

We are reading the books Pride & Prejudice and What My Mother Doesn't Know. While we're reading, we will be frequently posting chapter summaries, opinions, and more.

~Carolyn and Ana Gabriela