Weekly Journal #4 (September 22, 2016)

     
     Humor is a major part of Pride and Prejudice. Most of this humor is derived from dialogue and social interaction throughout the book, and many jokes come from interactions within the Bennet family, many of these made at the expense of Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet is in the habit of embarrassing her daughters with some of her remarks. While these moments are not generally centered around political views, as in this SNL skit, the embarrassing and humorous nature of such family conflict is a recurring motif in Pride and Prejudice. The idea of sometimes being self-conscious of or embarrassed by one's family is universal, and a common theme of much comedy today. In the novel, it actually ends up having some serious implications; the way the Bennet sisters and Mrs. Bennet carried themselves was one of the reasons why Mr. Darcy originally convinced Mr. Bingley not to marry Jane.