Week 10!

Week 10 

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, 1813

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Pride and Prejudice is one of my very favorite novels because of Austen’s sheer, unadulterated cleverness. Her witty commentary, presented in a polite and seemingly innocent manner, is always underlined with a conflicting message. This opener to the novel is effective because Austen uses such a broad statement, that, by society’s standards, is unquestionably true. In her day, it was a truth universally acknowledged. However, there is something in Austen’s way of working the sentence that shows Elizabeth’s unnerve with expectations and the status quo. 

Good writing does not always have to be obnoxiously obvious. Someone reading this novel for the first time with no prior understanding of Elizabeth as a character or Austen’s prose would probably not even pick out the nuance. However, after finishing the novel, if they flipped back to that first sentence and read it again, it would all make sense in a perfectly clever way. 

Editing tip for the week is to remember that everyone has a unique and valid voice, and that if you are ever given the privilege to edit their work, you must highlight that rather than putting it down. My editing mistake to show this week was in my own condescending editing of a paper that deserved better. Make sure to always remember that one!