The BBC Does it Again: Pride and Prejudice (1995)

By Breyana Rolon

Pemberley
http://janeaustenfilmclub.blogspot.com

It took me only two days to get through the entirety of the six-part BBC miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, directed by Simon Langton (1995).  It felt as though I was being sucked right back into Jane Austen's beautiful novel of hilarious wit, heartbreak, and, of course, romance. I was convinced by the short clip watched in our class of Mr. Darcy's first proposal to Miss. Elizabeth Bennet that I would have to choose this adaptation to watch fully and discuss. I was happily surprised that my boyfriend, who is in no shape or form a fan of watching anything overtly romantic or dramatic, was as entranced by the work of director Langton as I was. The great thing about this series, though, is that while it is, in fact, romantic and beautiful, it is in no way dramatic or showing romance in a way that many would describe as "disgusting" or "mushy." I truly hope that, if she were alive to see it, Jane Austen would have been proud of the work that came out of her novel and put on the screen.

Simon Langton's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice follows the images I had in my head fairly well that were developed from my reading the novel. The use of the dialogue from the novel was amazing with the way in which Langton organized and constructed the characters. The actors themselves were phenomenal in their portrayal of characters I've quickly grown to love. Having this stretched out in six 45- to 50-minute episodes allowed for director Langton to include much more information from the novel than adaptations such as the 2005 film adaptation directed by Joe Wright, which, in comparison, is a serious disappointment. Throughout the span of this miniseries, we get a deeper look into how the Bingleys and Mr. Darcy see the Bennet family. While it is clear from the novel how embarrassed Lizzie and Jane get by the rather blunt and silly members of their family, seeing the progression of the family's decline in reputation with my own eyes was so close to perfect through this adaptation.

Jane Austen's novel is making fun of the society she was forced to be a part of, and BBC's miniseries does an excellent job of showing just that. There were a few details that the series included that I found interesting. One of those was the choice to make Jane blonde where the rest of the family had dark hair and dark eyes. Jane looks like the milkman's daughter in a way that never seemed to be more accurate. Mrs. Bennet was blatantly rude in a way I had not imagined her being in my mind, especially and particularly towards Mr. Darcy. Lydia and Kitty were also painted as even sillier than I had imagined: being pushed on the swings by the soldiers, yelling across the road to the soldiers, whispering in their ears. They were far cringier than they already were in my head. What was even worse was when Lydia did choose to run away and Kitty made it seem as though that were a perfectly normal and reasonable thing to do.

The Bennet Sisters
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Kitty's inability to look at Lydia's situation in the same way that everyone else did, however, does seem to point to a progressive new wave of women growing up within the time period. Lydia is shown as being quite the sexual creature, boasting about having sex before any of her older sisters to Mr. Wickham in a way that would have been seen as disgusting to any onlookers, but is something many young girls today talk about frequently. Lydia's inability to hold back her excitement at her situation as if she'd won some grand prize was just a tad shocking to me: "Lord, it makes me want to burst out laughing when I think that I have done what none of my sisters has. And I the youngest of them all." While I definitely appreciated her determination to get exactly what she wanted, it's impossible for me not to be disgusted by the situation she put herself and her family in with her wild behavior.

Lydia Bennet laughing hysterically
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The role that gender plays in the miniseries is an old tale with the wonderful twist of both Jane Austen and director Simon Langton. While I knew that Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, and Kitty were always laughing, sharing too much information, or being the loudest any room they inhabited, I hadn't quite thought of them as such a drag on the family's name as they actually were. In the novel and in the series, Mr. Darcy made it absolutely clear that, aside from Jane and Elizabeth, the three wild women had a way of taking away any shred of respect from the Bennet name that would exist otherwise.

Mrs. Bennet having her usual heart attack
http://www.frockflicks.com

In a witty and deft response to Lady Catherine de Bourgh's outburst to her family's situation in life, Elizabeth points out that her family's station is not really that much below that of Mr. Darcy if one is only looking at titles: "Lady Catherine, in marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is a gentleman, I am a gentleman's daughter. So far we are equal." Jane and Elizabeth see no reason to marry for fortune rather than love. They both, as we know, do find that fortune through their matches, but doesn't finding someone economically independent remain an important factor for relationships today? Not only that, but it was well known then that women in their situation had no other option than to find wealthy husbands just as those with money would happily marry into more money in order to build their fortune. So why was a mother being excited about such "an advantageous" union really be such a big deal? Such brassy language, of course, is still seen as unseemly. Even I got a bad taste in my mouth every time I heard one of the girls giggle too loudly or Mrs. Bennet discuss marriage at a ridiculous volume in a room packed full of people. It makes me a bit uncomfortable to have to watch women work so hard to get not only what they want in a partner, but also the life that has been maintained for them their whole lives.