"Light, bright & sparkling"-Is this an adequate description of Jane Austen's novel Pride & Prejudice? Elucidate.

Very interesting quote you have been given. The problem
that I personally have with it is that it makes out Pride and
Prejudice to be a superficial novel, without depth or without talent. It
reminds me of one of my lecturers when I was studying English who said to our seminar
group (which was about 75% female) that Jane Austen's novels were a 18th Century form of
chic-lit and were only for single menopausal women. You can imagine how that went down -
the lynching only lasted for 5 minutes before security came in and escorted the lecturer
away :-).

The problem is with views like this quote is that
it ignores that Pride and Prejudice is about serious issues. Yes it
is hilariously funny in places, and the humour is something we can all appreciate, and
it does make the novel "sparkle", but often the humour covers up serious, brutal
realities of life for Austen's heroines, and indeed, for women in general at that time.
For example, one of the key issues is the importance of marriage and how vital it was
for women. If we understand that then we can understand how happy Charlotte Lucas was to
marry even someone as stupid as Mr. Collins - it gave her independence, social standing
and prevented her from becoming a spinster who was a dependent nuisance to her family.
Understanding this fact gives new meaning to Mr. Collins' chilling threat to Elizabeth
that if she does not accept him she might never get another
proposal.

So - don't be deluded by the humour and
superficial "shell" that Pride and Prejudice has - probe a little
deeper and you will see it is about a lot more than just bodices and
balls.