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TO CONTRAST AND COMPARE JANE AUSTEN’S NOVEL

“PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” AND IT’S POST-1995 FILM ADAPTATION

(BBC mini-series)

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The written piece of literature varies from its film adaptation in certain respects and the

two also share some features.

RESEARCH QUESTION

What are the differences and similarities between Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and

Prejudice” and its post-1995 film adaptation (the BBC version).

DELIMITATION

The researcher will delimit her study by finding out the differences and similarities

between Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” and its post-1995 film adaptation (the

BBC version) in terms of plot, setting and characterization.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

The significance of this research lies in finding out the differences and similarities of a

novel and its film adaptation and thus the comparison and contrast of their impact on thereader and the viewer. To articulate the difference between visual and textual narratives



INTRODUCTION

“The novel is a narrative that organizes itself in the world,

while the cinema is a world that organizes

itself into a narrative” Jean Mitry

The question is that do we prefer our own dreams or someone else’s? Imagination is theexercise of our inner mind, when aided by a competent author we are able to stimulate

the creative area of our mind to produce alternate realities. Books are windows to other

worlds and offer those who will discover them, endless pleasure. A writer paints a

glorious picture using language as a paintbrush and the reader gets the opportunity to laydown their own interpretations to the vision widening the scope of the author’s original

intention. There is nothing more relaxing and exhilarating as losing oneself in the pages

of a good book, this aspect of stimulation of our creative mind is in huge danger today as

we starve ourselves from pleasures of book reading and instead indulge in theentertainment media of films, television, internet and such as we allow them to do all the

thinking for us. Hence, now we have begun to lose the art of imagination and the use of the written language.

The film adaptations of books strive to link opposing elements and mentalities __art and

commerce, individual creativity and collaborative fabrication, culture and mass culture or

even the verbal and the visual. The concept of film adaptations has met with great disdain but the artistic idealist cannot ignore the reality that these adaptations will continue to be

made. The novel as a narrative form whether artistic or a mass consumer attraction can be

traced back to antiquity till the writings of Petronius progressing on to the eighteenthcentury to the writings of Samuel Richardson, Daniel defoe, Henry fielding bringing us to

one of English literature’s most phenomenal novelist __Jane Austen generally

acknowledged to be one of the great English novelists, so it is no surprise that her novelshave remained continuously in print from her day to the present.

My research is based on the careful contrast and comparison of Jane Austen’s novel

“Pride and Prejudice” with the BBC version of the post-1995 film adaptations, further theresearch will include the parallels and differences found in terms of plot, setting,

characterization and dialogue.

I am aware that fidelity to the book is an important consideration but it is not necessary

that the changes the director and screen writer make will destroy the original work. in the book I have chosen “Pride and Prejudice” the narration is in third-person meaning that

the reader is placed at a distance from direct contact ,the point of view seems vague or

rather indirect .with the characters the reader is most close to is Elizabeth , as a reader wesympathize with her plights, we get infuriated with her , we laugh with her or even

crying with her but we fail to comprehend the emotions and turmoil of the other

characters like Darcy who till the reading of his letter to Elizabeth remains the villain .But in terms of film adaptation the reader becomes the viewer, the unfolding scenes and

the switching frames sometimes giving the close-up shots and sometimes the long shots,

the subtle hints of what is yet to come, the half-veiled expressions keep the viewer

guessing but interested .through use of elision and interpolation film adaptations may



alter the plot or setting adding and subtracting out of the novel. The closeness of the

viewer with the on screen story makes it more quickly comprehendible or rather like

being handed to the reader on a plate where little or no imagination is at play.

McLuhan also stated that different media invite different degrees of participation on the

part of a person who chooses to consume a medium. Some media, like the movies, were"hot"—that is, they enhance one single sense, in this case vision, in such a manner that a

person does not need to exert much effort in filling in the details of a movie image and books which due to their minimal presentation of visual detail require a high degree of

effort to fill in details that the author may have intended to portray. A movie is thus said

by McLuhan to be "hot", intensifying one single sense "high definition", demanding aviewer's attention, and a comic book to be "cool" and "low definition", requiring much

more conscious participation by the reader to extract value.

“Cool mediums incite critical analysis while hot mediums require little audience

participation much like movies and books” (Understanding media, p.22.)

Each of these genres is invaluable and should occupy some place in our lives .the choice

of which to pursue at any given time must be a matter of personal taste and convenience.Some movies are original screenplays. Not produced from a book therefore film is the

only way to experience them. Often times, a book which has not been widely been

circulated is adapted to screen to inspire people to purchase the book itself, in order to getthe “whole story”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_perception

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_perception



LITERATURE REVIEW

Jane Austen is generally acknowledged to be one of the great English novelists, so it is no

surprise that her novels have remained continuously in print from her day to the present.Contemporary reviewers found much to praise in them. Reviewing for the Quarterly

Review (1816), Sir Walter Scott characterized its strengths and weaknesses:

“The author's knowledge of the world, and the peculiar tact with which she presents characters that the reader cannot fail to recognize, reminds us something of the

merits of the Flemish school of painting. The subjects are not often elegant, and certainly

never grand; but they are finished to nature and with a precision which delights thereader....”

George Henry Lewes, writing in 1852, accorded her the status and identified issues thatcritics would be repeating and arguing about for the next century and a half:

“First and foremost let Austen be named, the greatest artist that has ever written,using the term to signify the most perfect mastery over the means to her end. There areheights and depths in human nature Miss Austen has never scaled nor fathomed, there

are worlds of passionate existence into which she has never set foot; but although this is

obvious to every reader, it is equally obvious that she has risked no failures byattempting to delineate that which she has not seen. Her circle may be restricted, but it is

complete. Her world is a perfect orb, and vital. Life, as it presents itself to an English

gentlewoman peacefully yet actively engaged in her quiet village, is mirrored in her works with a purity and fidelity that must endow them with interest for all time.”

Austen's novels have aroused intense emotional attachments among readers. E.M. Forster

admitted to reading and re-reading her with "the mouth open and the mind closed." Somereaders carry admiration to the point of sentimental adoration; for them, her charactersare beloved friends and Austen is dear Aunt Jane, a proper, sedate, kindly Victorian old

maid. Such readers are often called “ Janeites”, after a short story called The Janeites

which Rudyard Kipling wrote in 1924.

For Virginia Woolf, Austen was "a mistress of much deeper emotion than appears on the

surface. She stimulates us to supply what is not there."

Hopkins's essay is revealing because her thesis that the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice"fetishizes the looks of the heroes" and "foreground[s] that fetishization by a variety of

devices" depends upon her argument that the camera continually focuses on Colin Firthas Darcy; by arguing that we watch many of the events on screen from Darcy's vantage

point (2-4, 8),

Adaptations of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice have been analyzed in numerousscholarly studies. The BBC drama received praise for its faithfulness to the original

novel, which highlights the importance of environment and upbringing on the

development of young people's character and morality, although high social standing and

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/janeites.html

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/janeites.html



wealth are not necessarily advantageous. Describing the adaptation as "a witty mix of love stories and social conniving, cleverly wrapped in the ambitions and illusions of a

provincial gentry" (The New York Times) critics noted that Davies's focus on sex andmoney, combined with Austen's wry, incisive humor and the "deft" characterization,

prevented the television adaptation from "descending into the realm of a nicely-

costumed, brilliantly-photographed melodrama".The critical response to Pride and Prejudice was overwhelmingly positive. Gerard Gilbert

of (The Independent ) recommended the opening episode of the serial one day before the

British premiere, saying the television adaptation is "probably as good as it [can get for

a literary classic]. The casting in particular deserves a tilt at a BAFTA

British Academy of Film and Television Arts”

”Firth not being in the slightest bit soft and fluffy – and Jennifer Ehle showing the right

brand of spirited intelligence as Elizabeth." He considered Benjamin Whitrow a "real

scene-stealer with his Mr. Bennet" , but was undecided about Alison Steadman's portrayal

of Mrs. Bennet. Reviewing the first episode for the same newspaper on the day after

transmission, Jim White praised Andrew Davies for "Injecting into the proceedings a pace and energy which at last provides a visual setting to do justice to the wit of the book. With everyone slinging themselves about at high

speed (the dances, in a first for the genre, actually involve a bit of sweat), it looks like

people are doing something you would never have suspected they did in Austen's time:having fun."

The novel's wit shows irony with "unmistakable strains of cynicism, laughing at human

nature without any real hope of changing it". Laughter in the story, which ranges from

irresponsible laughter to laughter at people and laughter of amusement and relief, can

also be linked to the sexual tensions among the different characters. Despite their appealto modern audiences, laughter and wit were seen as vulgar and irreverent in Austen's

time. The BBC drama made changes and additions "with a view to exposing a character,or adding humor or irony to a situation". The adaptation comically exaggerates thecharacters of Mrs. Bennet, Miss Bingley, and Mr. Collins, even showing Mrs. Bennet on

the verge of hysteria in many of the early scenes.

Critically acclaimed and a popular success, Pride and Prejudice was honored with

several awards, including a BAFTA Television Award for Jennifer Ehle for "Best

Actress" and an Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for

a Miniseries or a Special". The role of Mr. Darcy elevated Colin Firth to stardom. Ascene showing Firth in a wet shirt was recognized as "one of the most unforgettable

moments in British TV history". This serial inspired author Helen Fielding to write the

popular Bridget Jones. Besides these adaptations over time other attempts have beenmade to bring Pride and Prejudice alive on screen such attempts include “Lost in Austen”

a TV series, “Pride and Prejudice :a latter comedy”, “Bride and prejudice” and of course

the 2005 film adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” starring Kiera Knightly .

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/The_Independent

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/British_Academy_of_Film_and_Television_Arts

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Jim_White_(journalist)

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Helen_Fielding

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bridget_Jones

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/The_Independent

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/British_Academy_of_Film_and_Television_Arts

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Jim_White_(journalist)

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Helen_Fielding

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bridget_Jones



CONTENT

CHAPTERS

PLOT:

The plot is the map of the story the chain of events that progress through the story, aseries of actions and incidents following one another in chronological order and cause

effective relations make up the plot of a story. Each plot of the story seems to be linked

together in unity, because of their great length; novels usually have main plot and manysub-plots in their narrative. Sub-plots can contrast with, parallel, or complement the main

plots in order to emphasize and support a character’s actions. Most plots are concerned

with development and resolution of conflict, which the main characters must face and tryto overcome; they are normally arranged in a pattern as given below:

• Exposition: the beginning of the story.

• Inciting incident: first rise of action or conflict.• Development: events that occur in result of first conflict.

• Conflict: highest point of interest or suspense in story.

• Resolution: conflict ends and things fall into place.

• Falling action: action to follow climax.

• Denouement: the characters go back to their lives before conflict.

There are several differences between the plot of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” and the

film adaptation most revolve around the fact that screen writers have to add that isinterpolation and subtract that is called elision to make sense of the sequence of events in

the film or in other words the plot of the film adaptation.

To translate Austen's emphasis on the heroines' subjective experiences onto film withouta witty and intrusive narrator, the novel's first ironic sentence (the exposition):

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune

must be in want of a wife” (Pride and Prejudice)

The dialogue above is delegated to Elizabeth in an early scene of the series. The

adaptation instead opens with a view of Darcy's and Bingley's horses as they race across afield toward the Netherfield estate, expressing vitality; Elizabeth watches them before

breaking into a run herself. While the novel indicates Elizabeth's independence and

energy in her three-mile trek to Netherfield, the In what is perhaps the most radical

fencing and swimming seen in the lake scene in which Darcy’s inner turmoil is broughtforth and being one of the most famous scene of the whole series is absent from the

book .Darcy is often presented in profile by a window or a fireplace when his friends

discuss Elizabeth. Many passages relating to appearance or characters' viewpoints werelifted directly from the novel. The BBC drama departs from the late 18th-century vision

of emotional restraint and instead visualizes emotions as a modern interpretation of the

story. While the novel leaves both Elizabeth and the reader uncertain of Darcy'semotions, the adaptation uses additional scenes to hint at Darcy's inability to physically



contain or verbally express his emotional turmoil. Scholars argue that activities such as

billiards, bathing, the adaptation of this scene also shows her rebelliousness and love of

nature.

When we look at the similarities between the book and the film adaptation there are

several to be found, first would be Mrs. Bennet’s insistent badgering of Mr. Bennet to govisit Netherfield and his deceptive reluctance and the sentence “I’m sick of Mr.Bingley”

resonates in our minds as we compare the two, as the film moves on Jane and Bingley

meet at the assembly and so do Elizabeth and Darcy, one couple falls in love the other under false first impressions strives to dislike each other, hence the die is cast as Jane

Austen intended it to be so. Later when Jane falls sick Elizabeth makes her three mile

trek through muddy countryside to meet her is also a good scene, later the friction

between Elizabeth and Darcy is tangible at the Netherfield ball, the chemistry betweenColin Firth and Jennifer Ehle is just what ought to be between Darcy and Elizabeth in

those intense scenes like when Darcy proposes and Elizabeth refuses, when later Lydia

elopes with Wickham Darcy comes to the rescue and the reconciliation between

Elizabeth and Darcy followed by their marriage so far makes it the closest match to thenovel Jane Austen wrote in the eighteenth century.

The film adaptation also has several interpolations that are additions to the original novel

to help make the characters seem real the scenes when the Bennet sisters are dressing up

for the ball and like when all the men engage in their hobbies like hunting .the mosttechnically difficult part of the production was the portrayal of the letters, this problem

was solved by using techniques like voice over, which is a production technique, where a

non-diegetic voice is broadcasted live in the film, along with the voice over flashbackswere also used , these are interjected scenes that take the narrative back in time from the

current point the story has reached to those events that have occurred prior to the story’s

primary sequence of events or to fill a crucial back story making the characters read theletters to themselves like Elizabeth read Darcy’s letter in which dialogue is added to

clarify from the novel for the modern audience but left the novels dialogue mostly intact.



SETTING:

Settings are very important in a novel because characters are usually involved deeply

with their environments. They include places, historical period and social

circumstances in which each incident of the story takes place. They also create the

atmosphere of each incident, emphasize the character’s qualities and influence thedevelopment, organize the narrative and sometimes act as the antagonist or a

supporting character. According to Roberts and Jacobs (2003), there are three types

of settings, which are as follows:

• Objects of human manufacture and construction.

• Outdoor places, natural surroundings, living creatures and the time inwhich things happen.

• Cultural and historical circumstances.

Jane Austen’s Pride and prejudice novel shares many similarities and differences and

similarities with the film adaptation in terms of setting. The serial expands on Austen'smetaphorical use of landscapes, reinforcing beauty and authenticity. Elizabeth takes

every opportunity to enjoy nature and to escape exposure to Mr. Collins and LadyCatherine. The most significant use of nature in the novel is Elizabeth and the Gardiners'

visit to Pemberley in Derbyshire,

“It was a large handsome stone building, standing well on b ground, backed by a ridge

of high woody hills, in front, was a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater .but without any artificial appearance”…she had never seen a place for which

nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by

awkward taste.”

The scenes where Elizabeth first sees the Pemberley house in all it’s majesty are verysimilar to the description above, the natural beauty of the place is as breathtaking as

Austen promised us. It is also where Elizabeth becomes conscious of her love for Darcy.

The BBC drama makes nature an integral part of the story in the form of Old England,and Elizabeth's appreciation of the beauties of Derbyshire elevates Darcy in her and her

relatives' opinion. In contrast, Darcy's gaze through the window works as a movie screen,

projecting Elizabeth's actions for him and the viewer. His participation in the Englishlandscape is his redemption.

When looking at the differences the scenes at the beginning are that of country side

instead of an indoor conversation between the bonnets the film version shows two horse

riders riding hard in the countryside while Elizabeth after watching the energetic activityin play does her own bit of running through the charming English side both these scenes

portray the fact that how vital and full of life they are, none of these settings were even

hinted of in the novel.



CHARACTERS:

Characters are people in the novel created by the author, they are very important elements

of the novel that attract and impress the reader more than the other elements. According

to Tailangkha, characters give meaning and life to novels of which length allows them to

be described so vividly that the readers feel as if they were alive .they must be presentedas good or bad, likable or unlikable, so that the readers learn to care for what happens to

them. The character around which the story revolves is called the Protagonist and the

villain of the piece is called the Antagonist. There are many types of characters as given below;

• Round characters: characters that develop along the progression of the story.

• Flat characters : characters that remain stagnant throughout the story

In the novel and the film adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” there are severalcharacters that have been portrayed differently such as Mr. Collins; Austen in her

novel describes him as :

“He was a tall, heavy-looking young man of five and twenty. His air was grave and

stately and his manners were very formal.”

But in the film adaptation the actor who played the role was more like a midget, hismanners were not stately but he was still as annoying as portrayed in the novel.

As for the similarities there can be no better Mr. Darcy than Collin Firth or a better

Elizabeth than Jennifer Ehle, the look that passes between them when Elizabethcomes to Pemberley as she sits on the piano stool and Darcy sits across the room is

evidence to their awesome chemistry that almost sets the screen on fire

To portray the characters as real human beings Davies, the screen writer added short backstage scenes such as the Bennet girls dressing up to advertise themselves in the

marriage market .New scenes where men pursue their hobbies like hunting with their

peers departed from Jane Austen’s focus on women .the biggest technical difficulty proved to be adapting the long letters in the second half of the story. Davies employed

techniques such as voice over. He also used flashbacks like when Darcy’s letter is

being read his voice over and flashbacks are seen and heard to emphasize the crucialimportance they hold.

As for the characters like Jane, Kitty, Lydia, Mary, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet etc all

were wonderfully portrayed.



RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The research methodology employed in this thesis is Qualitative involving the

comparison and contrast between Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” and the post-1995 film adaptation (the BBC mini series). I will be exploring the two mediums in

terms of plot, setting and Characterization.

CONCLUSION:

On the most fundamental level, Austen's novels are made up of stories which slowly and

quietly emerge from the inner life and circumstances of a group of intimately- connected

characters. Those public scenes she dramatizes most often focus the reader on the

outward manifestations of some inward embarrassment, misinterpretation, or frustrationfrom boredom. The narrator's tactful ironies which are not over determined are central to

the effect of these books. Now although all of the films made from Austen's novels canoffer scenes of beautifully-patterned dancing, none escapes the obligatory still moments

of characters simply sitting in a room together -- Austen's characters may be said to be

conceived in terms of how much understanding they have of themselves and other

characters while they sit around on chairs or walk side-by-side. Yet the staple ingredientof moving pictures is quick visual movement and mesmerizing music and sound,

moments of which become memorable to the movie-goer when epitomized in a catchy

snatch of dialogue. The genre of novels and their film adaptations are both important for us but some things can’t be replaced the essence of book reading or novels will still win

at the end of the day regardless of which age and time they are of.



REFERNCES

Books:

Understanding media by Macluhan

Jane Austen Goes to the Movies by Linda TroostThe encyclopedia of novels into films by John C Tibetts and James N. Welsh

Article:

Jane Austen on Film: Or How to Make a Hit by Ellen Moody publish The East-Central Intelligencer: The Newsletter of the East-Central/American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, N.S.12 (Sept. 1998), 12-17. ed in

Websites:

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/index.htmlhttp://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_serial

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/08/great-geek-debates-books-vs-http://www.jimandellen.org/austen/janeausten.onfilm.htmlhttp://www.jrinla.com/BBC-Masterpiece-reviews/pride-and-prejudice

http://www.helium.com/items/1195118-books-vs-movies

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/index.html


http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_serial

http://www.jimandellen.org/austen/janeausten.onfilm.html




http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_serial

http://www.jimandellen.org/austen/janeausten.onfilm.html




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