**This is a strongly opinionated piece and contains spoilers for Pride and Prejudice, read at your own risk.

Growing up, Pride and Prejudice was my favorite book. It was always my go-to for reports and essays. I’ve probably read it a million times (may or may not be a hyperbole), and I enjoyed it every time. But as I read as I aged, I started to dislike it and pick out all the problems within it.

The main problem I’ve noticed in Pride and Prejudice is that it’s lacking in the romance department. Sure, Jane and Mr. Bingley fall in love and have a happy ending, and yes, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth get married at the end, but there aren’t really any truly romantic scenes between Darcy and Elizabeth. Most scenes between the two are Darcy being slightly rude (I think he’s just antisocial; I would be too if I was practically required to attend every party) and Elizabeth being extremely prejudiced against him because he has money and she doesn’t. Also, realistically, she would’ve been forced to marry Mr. Collins even though he was her cousin and it was kinda weird.

The first time Mr. Darcy proposes, Elizabeth rejects him. Why? Because she believes that he separated her sister, Jane, and Mr. Bingley for his own selfish reasons. Mr. Darcy only wanted what was best for his friend, and since Jane was so shy, he believed that Bingley’s feeling were unrequited. Also, Jane’s mother, Mrs. Bennett, is notorious for being a gold digger (although she was doing it for the sake of her daughters, even if they had objections). Darcy thought separating them would be best, when Jane actually did love Mr. Bingley. This whole situation makes Elizabeth extremely angry, which causes her to reject Mr. Darcy.

Many people often accuse Mr. Darcy of being too prideful and saying that he was too angry because he knew Elizabeth would say yes. I believe that Mr. Darcy actually did love her, and he was understandably upset that Elizabeth denied him because of the situation with her sister.  Also, I noticed that the first proposal scene was very intense and detailed, and you could feel the anger between the two. In the second proposal scene, I just wasn’t feeling it. It wasn’t romantic at all. Mr. Darcy basically says, “Have your feelings changed?” and Elizabeth says, “Now that I’ve seen your estate and how nice you are to your family and servants, yes.” Of course, he also reunited Bingley and Jane.

Darcy and Elizabeth get married, and nothing else really happens. Her family is confused because she’s always hated him for his pride (which they only assumed) and her prejudice against him. We don’t get anything else, except for the only romantic scene (possibly), which happened in the 2005 movie version starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth and Matthew Macfadyen (who I had a huge crush on) as Darcy. Mr. Darcy just kisses her a lot and keeps calling her “Mrs. Darcy”. When I think about it, it’s kind of cringey.
While I still absolutely love this book, I can’t help but kind of hate Elizabeth. She seems like she’s trying to be different, and she’s sort of ridiculous in her hatred towards Mr. Darcy, which I can relate to. I especially like the realistic part where Charlotte Lucas marries Mr. Collins because she’s getting too old to search for a husband and she knows she needs to settle down with the first financially stable guy she can get. Still, it’s a good book, and I recommend it.