Pride for Pride and Prejudice (Blog #1)

Pride for Pride and Prejudice: The Most Beloved Adaptation

by Samara Osburn

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular romance stories of all time. Thus, it's no surprise that dozens of directors have attempted silver screen adaptations. Some of these adaptations are straitlaced and focus on the preservation of Austen's dialogue and on historical accuracy while others simply use the classic as a loose framework for a more modern romance. Arguably, one of the most popular historically accurate adaptations is the 1995 TV miniseries staring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as Darcy and Elizabeth, respectively. 

The TV series' representation of Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship varies little from the book, only adding a few extra scenes here and there, and almost completely relies on the tension created as a result of the strict social rules of the time. Many of the pivotal relationship interactions between Darcy and Elizabeth are relatively public, highlighting the Regency Era's gendered etiquette practices, regardless of the original scene writer. 

Elizabeth and Mrs Gardiner looking at Pemberley.

Perhaps the most famous additional scene in this series, that is, a scene not written entirely by Jane Austen, is the "Darcy Lake Scene." As Elizabeth and her Aunt and Uncle visit Pemberley, they stumble upon a dripping wet Darcy who had just taken a dive into one of the property's lakes. Although this scene was not in the book, its anxiety plays off of the norms of the time; unmarried men and women were chaperoned to avoid any "indecent behavior." Despite having two chaperones, Elizabeth was unable to evade this awkward and scandalous encounter.

Elizabeth overhearing Mr. Darcy & Mr. Bingley

Other changed scenes are not so drastically altered, such as Darcy and Elizabeth's first meeting. Darcy's infamous words during this interaction remain the same, but Elizabeth's response does not. In the book, Darcy simply walks off after critiquing Elizabeth and the rest of the night is glossed over. The 1995 adaptation purposely sends Elizabeth past Mr. Darcy towards her close friend Charlotte Lucas. As she passes her offender, she cannot help but smile to herself, obviously humored at the interaction (initially). Elizabeth immediately recounts the exchange to Miss Lucas, making subtle head tilts towards Darcy. In this scene, Elizabeth makes it perfectly clear that she's heard his unintended insults which only serves to add more tension to the story.

Elizabeth turning pages for Georgiana Darcy

In fact, a majority of added scenes (scenes not found in the original novel) fill in the blanks, so to speak, between major plot points or play on Elizabeth's relationship with Darcy. For example, in the TV series, when Darcy invites Elizabeth to Pemberley after their awkward lake encounter, Caroline Bingley makes a jab at Elizabeth about Wickham. The mention of Wickham's name causes Georgiana Darcy, who was playing the piano, to suddenly stop. Before any of the other guests notice the shared panic of the Darcy siblings, Elizabeth jumps to the rescue, verbally chastising herself for not turning pages for Georgiana and causing her to pause. Elizabeth and Darcy share a look during this instance, which can be interpreted in a variety of ways but undeniably layers their relationship for viewers.

Overall, the nearly 6 hour BBC miniseries sticks to mostly original content and, instead of focusing on the potential dramatization of their relationship, it highlights the natural anxiety of their interactions.
This stress is presumably natural due to the etiquette practices of the Regency Era. Because this adaptation of Pride and Prejudice focuses primarily on historical accuracy, instead of a renovation of the story, it represents traditional ideals concerning marriage and gender. We primarily see things through Lizzie's "abnormal" point of view, however the underlying social norms are still present.
In short, this adaptation hardly contributes to the conversation of gender-based treatment in any way that Jane Austen didn't. The original story of Pride and Prejudice does provide social commentary in variety of ways: Charlotte Lucas marrying Mr. Collins for money, Elizabeth refusing to reveal her age to Lady Catherine because she is considered too old, the entirety of the Wickham affair which could ruin the social status of the entire family. All of these instances are Austen's comments on a woman's place in Regency Era society and the BBC TV series refrains from altering Austen's words on these matters by not updating the treatment of gender to reflect the year the adaptation was released.