Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Jonna Stewart

Book Review >>> Jonna Stewart Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Austen, Jane and Seth Grahame-Smith. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2009. 359 pp.

In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith uses an interesting new technique for satirizing the Victorian culture: zombies. Grahame-Smith took Austen’s original story and added zombie and ninja action, which was absurd enough to reveal the absurdity of the cultural backdrop that it was thrown against. Mostly, Grahame-Smith satirizes the Victorian predomination of marriage, even against the onset of an epidemic of a disease that turns the people of their beloved country into the walking dead. Within the amusing discussion guide that follows the story, the author inquires of the readers: “Some critics have suggested that the zombies represent the authors’ views toward marriage-an endless curse that sucks the life out of you and just won’t die. Do you agree, or do you have another opinion about the symbolism of the unmentionables?” (359)..The author does wittingly make the meaning behind the symbolism quite clear in the reader’s discussion guide, but he also uses his wit throughout the novel. He replaces the well-known first line of the novel about the search for marriage with a line about a zombie’s similar search for brains, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains” (13). Though the Bennet sisters are warriors who are highly trained in the deadly arts within this version of the classic story, the issue of their need to marry is still a main concern, especially with their mother who appears even more insensible than usual under the circumstances. Grahame-Smith writes, “The business of Mr. Bennet’s life was to keep his daughters alive. The business of Mrs. Bennet’s was to get them married” (15). Marriage was such a major concern for Victorian society and a frequent theme in Victorian literature, and this novel illustrates an entertaining way of questioning these concerns. This novel could be considered a nuisance to some Austen fans, but it is written in a spirit that is not far off base from the spirit with which Austen wrote her Northanger Abbey, which mocked and satirized the genre of the gothic novel. A fan of zombie pop culture and classic literature might assume that this novel is the perfect mixture. It may depend on how strongly the reader feels about the original novel. Although one who is more familiar with the themes of Victorian literature and Austen in particular will be able to understand the satire, they will also be able to pick out the differences in the style of context easily, which could be distracting. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies may be more entertaining to someone who was less familiar with the original text. I found that the majority of the amusement that I experienced throughout my reading came from Austen’s original content. However, GrahameSmith’s rewrite of the final confrontation between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth Bennet is extremely entertaining. In fact, to some Austen fans who do not wish to read this novel due to any offense it may give them, I would suggest they would enjoy this scene, and it would

be worth reading the book to relish this rewritten confrontation. Of course, Grahame-Smith takes on quite a challenge by having his name written just beneath the name of an author as beloved and talented as Jane Austen to share the authorship of this novel. It must have been difficult to add new material without majorly altering the original plot and outcome of the novel. This could be the reason why I noticed a lack of variety in Grahame-Smith’s additions to the text. I felt that much of the additional dialogue and whims of the characters were redundant. Many times the plot was filled with “would have’s,” showing a lot of thinking, but no action. Elizabeth’s newly attributed training of the deadly art’s, though compatible with her classic warrior spirit, leads her to many extreme impulses, which she does not act on, probably because they would drastically alter the plot. Though maybe not preferable to the original for some readers, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is an interesting read. The classic romance of the novel remains, but it does contain new complications in the face of the growing hordes of “unmentionables” that threaten the country. The Bennet sisters’ primary purpose is to serve and protect their country as brides of death, yet the Victorian importance of marriage might be the only thing more important than the terrifying plague. In the midst of the zombie mayhem, there are still soldiers to be sought after, balls to be thrown, and men with great fortunes to be won. The classic characteristics of each character within the novel are emphasized by the additional tumult. Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, and Mr. Collins appear even more foolish in the face of the circumstances, and Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are twice as stunning with their warrior skills. By creating a new view of this classic and well-loved story, Seth Grahame-Smith raises some of the same concerns of the Victorian era in a contemporary way that not only lightheartedly entertains the reader, but, in addition, gives them insight into the cultural issues of one of the greatest periods of English literature.