by Jane Austen
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Jane Austen
Firstly, I'd like to mention that I adore both - book and 2005 film interpretation, so let's start with classic - book.
Book is really easy to read, even if it was written in the early 19th century and Austen grabs your attention just enough to make you want to keep going. I immediately connected and found something similar with Elizabeth Bennet (main character) and me. I desired to see how their lives would pan out. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Pride and Prejudice stars Elizabeth Bennet. To me, it also stars her romantic interest, Mr Darcy, because her story is impossible without Fitzwilliam. As I have already mentioned, the novel opens up with the famous line:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”. At first time, I read it as a spoiler or a hint that main theme would be about a rich man, maybe on the lookout for a deserving woman, the pressure to find a husband is much more intense for the latter.
The main theme of the novel touches on the fact in those days(and for many to come), a woman was considered to be faulty or unlovable if she remained unmarried. This is especially interesting, as Jane(author) herself remained single for her entire life.
At first look , the story of Elizabeth Bennett is a typical love story with (spoiler!) a very happy ending. The men in the novel are constantly in positions of power, and will usually use this power to take advantage of the women. But, it isn't all hopeless. Character such as Elizabeth stand up for herself, who acts like a beacon of hope for her female readers. It's a classic novel, so I don't even know a better benefit for this engraved, exceptional gold of world’s literature. My words can be beaten only by Mr.Darcy’s magnificence through the prism of art. To give a right overview about Bennett family, and other characters, let's talk about the 2005 film version in the next part!
If you’ve paid attention to the “book part” , I was talking more about theme, purpose and marriage in the 19th century. Pride and prejudice has been adapted hundreds of times, they seem endless, isn't it? The most famous are: 1995 BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth as a memorable Mr.Darcy and (my favourite) 2005 film adaptation starring Matthew McFadyen as Mr.Darcy and Kiera Knightly as charming Lizzy Bennett.
Kiera was by far my favourite in this film, she portrayed Elizabeth outstandingly , even if she was a little more forward than the book states. I still got a sense of independence, free will and lots of laughter from her. Also, nice role was for Rosamund Pike, who played Jane, one of her sister's.
Matthew, who portrayed Mr.Darcy, also did a superb job. He looks at the part, and played the part fantastically, portraying Darcy as a highbrow, wealthy gentleman who slowly falls in love with Elizabeth, against his better judgement. The costumes and decorations are convincing for the time period. One of the most important part are landscapes of rural and typical England for the time. At some points in the film it seemed very dark, foggy, miserable, but the end is brightened up to sunshine, bringing us to very happy ending of the love story between Mr and Misis Darcy yet.
Perfect scene(my favourite)
The scene in which Lizzy turns down Mr.Darcy’s marriage proposal is a moment where Austen has given power to her female character. Elizabeth listens to Mr.Darcy’s proposal, which seems to have come out of nowhere, given his apparent disgust of her and her family. She notes to herself that he seems a bit nervous, and “spoke of apprehension and anxiety”, but that she could also tell “he had no doubt of a favourable answer”. When Lizzy does turn him down, women across England rejoiced, as a woman finally defended her interests.
https://youtu.be/_BgYPrKqf2o?si=f1_3XWBJGoOYrwnk
Here you can watch the full scene)
