The Spiritual Power of the Novel

One of my greatest triumphs of my college social life was convincing five of my guy friends to watch the BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice. They assumed it was just another “chick-flick” and that Jane Austen was an author for emotional women. After five enjoyable hours of film, they were all of the opinion that every man should strive to imitate Mr. Darcy. His example of virtue and honor seemed so worth emulating that he was often discussed more than saints on our conservative Catholic college campus. He was relatable, because he visibly struggled with certain vices, particularly pride. Yet he strove to overcome his weaknesses, especially when they were pointed out to him by the woman he loved. She instilled a desire to become the best person that he could possibly be—to be a holy, good person.