If confession is good for the soul, then I must start the new year with a confession about my addiction. I seem to be addicted to the movie Pride and Prejudice I have watched it 4 times in the last month, and can even recite some of the actors lines. Yes, this is sad, and I know some of you will be encouraging me to leave the house more often, but what can psychology do to de-mystify this behaviour. Yes, I understand that both pride and prejudice are barriers to understanding, and maybe are at the heart of many social evils, but that does not help me. Maybe I am an opponent of social class, and just want Elizabeth Bennett to triumph over that; that does seem to be pretentious of me. Maybe I just like period costumes. Worry no longer; research published in the New Scientist this week suggests that Victorian novels like Pride and Prejudice teach us how to behave!. Now I know I am in trouble, because my other addiction is watching Wedding Crashers. Now who doesn’t like crab cakes?
