The psychological
effect on the reader is three-fold: to reveal his or her own hypocrisy,
to work out his or her own marriage values, and to identify and evaluate
his or her own personality traits.
The reader's
hypocrisy is revealed when he or she realizes that they are sympathetic
to Elizabeth's character, but condemn her for judging others. The
irony is that the reader is doing the same thing to Elizabeth.
The reader is
able to work out his or her own marriage values by seeing the differences
in the reasons people married (financial security, status, convenience,
love) in Pride and Prejudice and the effect these choices had on
their happiness.
The third effect
is to allow the reader to identify with and evaluate personality traits.
The different lifestyles shown include those of a flirt (Lydia), a follower
(Kitty), a scholar (Mary), a sociable and dignified but wishy-washy person
(Jane), and a confident leader (Elizabeth). This enables the reader
to not only realize who he or she is, but also decide who he or she wants
to be.