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Pride and Prejudic­e, comparis­on of differen­t films

2.996 Words / ~10 pages sternsternsternsternstern_0.25 Author Astrid L. in Oct. 2010
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Akademisches Gymnasium Linz

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2008

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The Plot:

Pride and Pejudice is one of the most famous love stories in history and is often compared to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Jane Austen's second book was released in 1813 but first drafts were formed in the years from 1796 to 1797 under the title “First Impressions”, however the drafts were rejected by Austen's publisher. Only after Jane Austen reworked it and changed the title a publisher was found. Jane Austen's book shows us how false pride and prejudices can overshadow one's opinion about another, like Elizabeth Bennet's opinion about Mr. Darcy's true character.

The novel starts out with the frequently quoted phrase “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This sentence combined with the following events describes the arrival of young Mr. Bingley who just rented the beautiful manor of Netherfield Parks.

This news causes huge commotion in the small village of ongbourn, where the Bennet family is living. Mrs. Bennet is overjoyed about the fact that a young, wealthy gentleman who is still in need of a wife is going to live so close to their home. She already plans a bonding of one of her daughters to Mr. Bingley.

The Bennet women meet Mr. Bingley at a ball, where the famous couple Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet get acquainted. Unfortunately the first meeting could not have been worse. Mr. Darcy's obnoxious behaviour and comment about Elizabeth's looks brings Elizabeth to the conclusion that having met Mr. Darcy was a regretful happening.

However miserable the meeting of the two went on izzy's sister Jane and Mr. Bingley got easily infatuated with each other.

One time Jane gets invited to dinner by Mr. Bingleys sisters who have both come to stay with him and has to stay at the mansion after Mrs. Bennet forbids her to take the carriage and has to travel through rainy weather and gets sick.

After convincing her parents that her sister needs her at Netherfield Parks Elizabeth takes a trip there. At the manor Elizabeth meets Mr. Dracy again where we can see the slow transition in Mr. Dracy's behaviour. Elizabeth amazes Mr. Darcy with her wit and intellect when conversing with Mr. Bingley's sister who tries to impress Mr. Darcy in hopes to capture his interest.

At home Mr. Bennet informs the family that a cousin of his, Mr. Collins, plans to visit them. Mr. Collins is a pastor in search of a wife. The pastor is an annoying sycophant with an equally nerve-wrecking characteristics. First Mr. Collins focuses his interest on Jane but after Mrs. Bennet points out that her eldest daughter may soon be engaged he focuses his attention at Elizabeth.

During a walk the girls meet Mr. Whickham, a former acquaintance of Mr. Darcy's.

Mr. Whickham convinces Elizabeth that his misfortune was caused by Mr. Darcy and destroys the small progress the two of them have made in becoming more respectful of each other.

The situation between Elizabeth and Darcy tenses as Elizabeth discovers that Mr. Whickham does not attend to the ball Mr. Bingley is hosting at Netherfields. The reason for Mr. Whickham's non-attendance is said to be Mr. Darcy himself.

Following the ball Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth who is understandably shocked and unwilling. Elizabeth declines the offer with her mother's heavy disapproval and her father's equally strong approval to the decision.

Soon after Elizabeth's rejection she finds that her best friend Charlotte accepts the engagement to Mr. Collins.

Another incident that disturbs the family peace is the abrupt departure of Mr. Bingley and his company. Jane is devastated and Elizabeth tries to convince her mourning sister that the cause of Mr. Bingley's leaving was his sister's fear of the commitment he already grew for Jane.

Jane leaves with her aunt and uncle for ondon to forget about  Mr. Bingley and gets convinced by his unmarried sister that Mr. Bingley has no interest in her at all and spends all his time with Darcy and his sister.

A little while later izzy takes a trip to visit Charlotte and Mr. Collins. While staying with them Elizabeth meets the infamous ady de Bourgh who can be as much of a nuisance as Mr. Collins.

One day Elizabeth learns that Mr. Darcy is visiting ady de Bourgh, they come across each other a few times and Elizabeth spends a lot of time Colonel Fitzwilliam, which seems to bother Mr. Darcy.

Elizabeth is immensely surprised to see Mr. Darcy visiting her one day and they seem to make some progress in their realtionship but after a conversation with he Colonel izzy is devastated. Mr. Darcy was partly the reason for Mr. Bingley's departure from Netherfield Parks and therefore indirectly causing Jane's misery. Hence it's not really surprising that Elizabeth rejects Mr. Darcy's proposition of matrimony. In fact Mr. Darcy's confession is so poorly said and done that anyone can understand Elizabeth's enraged reply. In the middle of their disagreement Elizabeth mentions Mr. Whickham's misery caused by Mr. Darcy who thus gets irritated as well and leaves.

The next morning Elizabeth gets a letter from Darcy explaining his relation to Mr. Whickham and confesses the truth behind the “misery” Mr. Whickham has been under, as well as his reasons for convincing Mr. Bingley to leave Netherfield Parks.

Some time later Elizabeth and Jane return home but the family does not stay whole for a long time because ydia gets invited to move with the regiment to Brighton and soon after izzy travels alongside her uncle and aunt. On the trip she comes across Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's mansion. Upon seeing it Elizabeth can imagine being the manor's landlady. Although the family was not supposed to be at Pemberley Elizabeth runs into Mr. Darcy, which was an awkward situation it being their first meeting after the unfortunate happenings last time they met.

However, they overcome the unsettling atmosphere and Mr. Darcy invites Elizabeth and her relatives to stay some time longer. Elizabeth gets to meet Mr. Darcy's sister Georgiana and also Mr. Bingley. Also the relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth gets more and more relaxed until Elizabeth receives a letter from Jane stating that ydia and Mr. Whickham ran away together. The family is in discomposure and Mr. Bennet left for ondon but returns without remarkable success. Fortunately soon after the family gets a letter from their uncle saying that Mr. Whickham agrees to marry ydia at the mere condition of a yearly income of 100 pounds.

ydia and Mr. Whickham arrive at ongborn and Elizabeth discovers that Mr. Darcy help to successfully convince Mr. Whickam to matrimony.

Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy return to Netherfield Parks only a short time later and Mr. Bingley finally proposes to Jane who gladly accepts the proposal.

Another rather surprising event is the arrival of ady de Bourgh demanding izzy's promise not to marry Mr. Darcy. izzy who is rather confused about the demand can not agree and leaves ady de Bourgh

Characters:

Elizabeth Bennet:

The second oldest of the Bennet sisters is witty, strong-willed and quite temperamental. Elizabeth or izzy as she's called by her family and closer friends is a rare flower in a society based on wealth and beauty. Elizabeth is slightly pessimistic, some would call it realistic when compared to her older sister Jane. Her honesty is often cause of great commotion and looked down upon by the Bingley sisters who act as antagonists in the novel not only to izzy but also to Jane. During the novel we can see a change within herself caused by a realization izzy makes. Upon recognising that Mr. Darcy is not the man who she at first thought she was izzy comprehends the faults she made herself. Elizabeth let first impressions and prejudices cloud her normally sharp and bright mind. izzy is extremely independent.

 

 


Jane's home in Bath   Chawton Estate   Jane's England

 

 

 

 

 

Austen's biography:

 

Jane Austen was born on 16. December 1775 in Steventon (Hampshire) to Reverend George Austen, a pastor, and Cassandra Austen. Austen shared a unique bond with her sister Cassandra. The children received a home schooled education by their father, the girls mostly learned about art, music and embroidery all of which can be found in Austen's books.

At 14 Austen wrote her first of many short stories, called ove and Friendship and in her early 20 most of her important novels were written though they were edited and published some time later.

In the year 1795 Austen worked on Elinor and Mariane, a former version of Sense and Sensibility, in the same year she meets Tom efroy. The next two years are spent for First Impressions or now known as Pride and Prejudice.

Jane Austen loved the country side, she loved dancing and had many friends in the neighbour hood, on account of this it's no surprise that Jane Austen was rather shocked and disappointed when her father retired from being pastor. He passed on the parrish to his son James and moved to Bath along with his wife and two of his daughters, one of which was Jane.

The years in Bath made Jane miserable, she missed the country side and absolutely loathed the city. After her father's death the family had financial problems leaving them to move to Jane's brother Frank and his wife Mary to Southampton in 1805.

During the time in Bath Jane barely wrote anything and although her mood increased a little bit in Southampton she didn't write anything at all.

In 1809 Jane's brother Edward offered to let the women (Jane, her mother and sister) live at Chawton Estate, the women accepted glad to be back in the beloved Hampshire again.

The estate gave Jane the ideal atmosphere to write.

In the time she lived at Chawton Estate Jane overworked Sense and Sensibility as well as Pride and Prejudice, also she found a publisher for her books and started writing on new works rather intensely. 1814 Mansfield Park was published and two years later Emma was released. Presuasion and Northanger Abbey were issued in 1818.

In the year 1816 Jane began to work on Sanditon but had to stop her work due to her illness, Austen  suffered from the Addison's disease. May 1817 Jane and her sister Cassandra to Winchester in order to stay close to her doctor but all this could not help Jane, she died on 18 of July, 1817.

Jane Austen only got 41 years old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comparison of various adaptations (1980, 1995, 2005)

1980:

The BBC version was a 5 parts series with a whole of 270 minutes. Even though it is as long as the 1995 adaptation it appears like a bad soap opera. The acting is stiff and seems plastic, the scenery doesn't occur authentic to the description of the book. Moreover the dresses and dances do not seem part of the 19th century. The character's acting is lifeless and does not allow the audience to empathize with the wonderful world Jane Austen created.
Elizabeth Bennet comes across as a foolish, young girl that acts obstreperous,  stubborn and haughty, furthermore Elizabeth's monologue are unfitting and out of place.
For most part of the movie Mr. Darcy looks bored and a little bit dumb, he does not give the impression of being the wealthy and sophisticated man he is described in the book or strikes one in the 1995 version.
Due to the character's unsatisfying acting the relationship between the couple also gives of an image  of an impassionate school play romance.

1995:

The BBC adaptation of 1995 seems to be the most exact of all. The actors play expressively and you can actually feel the love growing between Elisabeth and Darcy. izzy is the proper, sophisticated young woman I imagined her to be and Darcy is the self-restrained gentleman who at first appears frosty and unemotional.

The dialogues between those two are a pleasure to hear and can bring out one or another laughter in the audience.

The costumes were either original 1800s pieces or reproduce. The crew invested a lot of time researching and studying the life back in the Regency time, therefore this production is the only one where the dances don't appear ridiculous and inaccurate.

To sum it up the 1995 production is the most detailed one without loosing its magic. It captures the attention of the audience and holds it until the movie is over.

2005:

The Hollywood production lasts approximately 120 minutes and is therefore a lot shorter than the other two versions. The movie is shot in typical Hollywood style: More scenes than bearable have been cut and mixed so the story gets a little bit mixed up, characters, like Mrs. And Mr. Hurst, are skipped. The 120 minutes give the characters no time to develop right, the love between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is not sparkling and magical-like in the 1995 version. Everything seems rushed and stressed, the setting, costumes and so on are anything but authentic. Pemberley seems like a Hollywood star's mansion and definitely not like it belonged to an highly educated, wealthy man with a big status in society. Keira Knightley plays Elizabeth Bennet as a sassy and whiny girl with absolutely no hint of the sophisticated young lady Miss Austen paints. Mr. Darcy appears to be a love sick man with some major inner issues and not the conflicted sir, who is torn between his status and the expectations of his family and the passionate love he feels for an “unfit” woman.

Women's right in Regency times:

Until the end of the 19th century married women had no right of property, be it that which they owned at marriage or any which they acquired after marriage either by inheritance or by their own earnings. In marriage all property legally belonged to the husband. In those times husband and wife were seen as one person in law: the legal existence of the woman was suspended and incorporated into the personality of her husband. A husband could leave property to his wife in his will (because that would not take effect until after the marriage was ended by his death), but could not make a legal gift to her and was responsible for all her debts, whether contracted during the marriage or before.

egally, therefore, prior to the Married Women's Property Act 1884 married women were classed as 'femmes covert' and a woman's personal property was transferred automatically to her husband on marriage; her real property came under her husband's control but remained hers for inheritance purposes.

Married women during their 'coverture' (that is, during the marriage) had no legal testamentary rights at all in relation to real estate. Any personal property of a woman which she had before the marriage, or acquired after the marriage, became her husband's absolutely, and as such, he had the right to leave it by will. Only with her husband's permission could a wife make a will leaving personal property - even if it had been hers before her marriage. Moreover, his consent only applied to a particular will and this consent had to be strictly proved. His consent could be revoked even after her death. The only exception to this was her right to make a will leaving her 'paraphernalia' - clothing and personal ornaments.

A married woman might make a will if she had an equitable interest such as a trust in her favour. Harriot Mellons provides us with one of the best examples of this. Harriot was an actress who married the incredibly wealthy banker, Thomas Coutts. On his death he left her nearly three quarters of a million pounds. She put it in trust which meant that on her second marriage to the Duke of St Albans, she was able to retain control of her property.

Such separate estate was usually set up by a 'strict' settlement, involving a life estate to the husband with remainders in tail to each of his male children in order of seniority with provision for the wife and younger children of the marriage. The wife's provision comprised 'pin money' (an annual income for personal expenses during her husband's life) and 'jointure' (provision for her after her husband died).

In the context of marriage, a "settlement" is a legal document that usually ensures that some or all of the property that the wife brings to the marriage ultimately belongs to her, and will revert to her or her children (though she does not necessarily have personal control over it during her marriage); otherwise it would basically belong entirely to her husband. And a settlement can also specify a guaranteed minimum that the children of the marriage are to inherit. For instance, using Jane Austen as a guide here in Northanger Abbey, Henry Tilney can't be entirely disinherited by his father, General Tilney, because some of his inheritance is guaranteed by the marriage settlement of his late mother.

Pride and Prejudice overs us an interesting insight into just how these work. We read that "Five thousand pounds was settled by marriage articles on Mrs. Bennet and the children.". A settlement was generally part of an overall pre-marital financial agreement between the wife or wife's family and the husband or husband's family. Therefore we read that the negotiations made to Persuade Wickham to marry ydia guarantee "by settlement, her [ydia] equal share of the five thousand pounds secured among his children after the decease of [ Mr. Bennet and his wife,] and, moreover, to enter into an engagement of allowing her, during his life, one hundred pounds per" year. In addition, Darcy undertook to pay his debts and purchase an officer's commission (as an ensign or sub-lieutenant) in the regular army.

Before the 1884 Married Women's Property Act, most women were not allowed to own houses or gardens. This was the fate of Dorothy Nevill (1826-1913), who was unfortunately typical of the period. Having been as she said, "compromised in a Hampshire summerhouse", she was married off to a wealthy cousin, in whose 23-acre Hampshire garden she was able to pursue her horticultural interests. She built 13 greenhouses, corresponded with leading scientists, including Darwin, and amassed a vast and important collection of plants, rivalled only by Kew. When her husband died, however, he left his remaining money in trust to his chidren, and Nevill was obliged to sell her home, her garden and her collection.

 


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