All Things Pride and Prejudice

At least part of the fascination of Pride and Prejudice lies in its being so true to life in how it portrays people. The book parades a host of characters but none of them could possibly be described as a hero in the pulp fiction sense. Every single one of them has some sort of weakness and they all do stupid things from time to time.
 Perhaps Jane is closest to being a heroine but then again she's just much too naive for that. Heroes are shrewd they look right through people, and someone who just takes everyone at face value and in every ambiguous situation gives them the benefit of the doubt, well, they're a saint or a victim or both rolled into one, a martyr.
 This lack of true pulp heroes is probably one of the key things that make Pride and Prejudice so believable and the fact that the characters lie, both to each other and even to themselves about their own feelings. Part of being human is saying things you don't really mean. That's the burden of being a social animal, keeping up appearances is important, especially in a society as regulated and obsessed with protocol.
 And of course, nobody is perfect, and everybody has several sides, some of which are dark. Perhaps only Jane is all white and puffy like an angel, but therein lies her worst weakness, after all our weaknesses are but extensions of our strengths. And in Jane's case that weakness is readiness to humbly resign to her fate whatever it may be. Lizzy does persuade her to go to London to try and talk with Mr. Bingley. Had it not been for Lizzy, Jane never would have done that. On her own, as soon as she learns of Mr Bingley's unexpected departure she starts telling herself how she must forget about him. So angelic and saintly though Jane may be, she's no perfect human being either.
 And I imagine I don't even have to say anything about the other characters. But, it's these imperfections that make Pride and Prejudice such an enthralling read, it's like a glimpse of somebody else's real life rather than a fantasy about how things should be in a perfect world.
  There are no heroes in life but it's no worse for that.