SYNOPSIS

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF JANE AUSTEN’S

NOVEL “PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” AND ITS POST-1995
FILM ADAPTATION (BBC mini-series)

SUBMITTED BY: RIMAL BUTT

ROLL NO. : 0424 (4rth SEM)

CO -ORDINATOR: SIR SAFI

SUPERVISOR: MADAM ATTEYA SHAHNAZ

Faculty of English Language, Literature and Applied

Linguistics

National University of Modern Languages

August 2010
 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

In the world of glitz and glamour we find the two genres of novels and their film
adaptations a subject of discord between many people .Everything has a place and a
purpose in this world, as once it was commented:

“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). 1

The question is that do we prefer our own dreams or someone else’s? Imagination is the
exercise 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 lay
down 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.2 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 the
entertainment 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 3 progressing on to the eighteenth
century 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 novels
have remained continuously in print from her day to the present.

This research is based on the careful comparison and contrast of Jane Austen’s novel
“Pride and Prejudice” with the BBC version of the post-1995 film adaptations. Further
the research will include the parallels and differences found in terms of plot, setting and
characterization.

In movie-making 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. The
book chosen for the research is “Pride and Prejudice” in which 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. The character the reader is most close to is
Elizabeth; as a reader we sympathize with her plights, we get infuriated with her, we
laugh with her or even cry 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 comprehensible 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 a
viewer'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.) 4

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

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

The written piece of literature varies from its film adaptation in certain respects and the
two also share some features.

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION

What are the similarities and differences between Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and
Prejudice” and its post-1995 film adaptation (the BBC version)?

1.3 DELIMITATION
The researcher will delimit her study by finding out the similarities and differences
between Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” and its post-1995 film adaptation (the
BBC version) in terms of plot, setting and characterization.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH
The significance of this research lies in finding out the similarities and differences of a
novel and its film adaptation and thus the comparison and contrast of their impact on the
reader and the viewer. It will, thus, articulate the difference between visual and textual
narratives.

1.5 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). The researcher will be exploring the
two mediums in terms of plot, setting and characterization.
 END NOTES
1
Jean Mitry, Encyclopedia of Novels into Film, printed in United States of America, The Facts on
Film Reference Library, Facts on File,Inc. p.xv

2
Diana Howard, retrieved from;
http://www.helium.com/items/1125150-movies-versus-reading-books

3
John C. Tibbetts and James M. Welsh, Encyclopedia of Novels into Film, printed in United
States of America, The Facts on Film Reference Library, Facts on File,Inc , . p.xv

4
Marshall Macluhan and Lewis H. Lapham , Understanding Media: the Extensions of Man,
reissued by Gingko Press, 2003 ISBN 1-58423-073-8. p.26
 Chapter 2

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 the
reader....”1

George Henry Lewes, writing in 1852, accorded her the status and identified issues that
critics 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 are
heights 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 by
attempting 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.”2

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." 3
Some readers carry admiration to the point of sentimental adoration; for them, her
characters are beloved friends and Austen is dear Aunt Jane, a proper, sedate, kindly
Victorian old maid. Such readers are often called “Janeites”4, 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." 5

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” 6 depends upon her argument that the camera continually focuses on Colin Firth
as 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 numerous
scholarly 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
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) 7 critics noted that Davies's focus on sex and
money, 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” 8

”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."9

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 appeal
to 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 the
characters 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. A
scene 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 been
made 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 .
 END NOTES
1
Sir Walter Scott in The Quartley Review taken from the site;
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/index.ht
ml
2
George Henry Lewes, retrieved from;
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/index.ht
ml
3
E.M. Forster, retrieved from;
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/index.ht
ml
4
Rudyard Kipling in ‘The Janeites’1924, retrieved from;
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/index.ht
ml
5
Virginia Woolf, retrieved from;
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_19c/austen/index.ht
ml
6
Hopkins, retrieved from;
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 ,retrieved from:
http://www.jimandellen.org/austen/janeausten.onfilm.html
7
The New York Times, retrieved from;
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_ (1995_TV_serial)
8
Gerard Gilbert, The Independent, retrieved from;
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_ (1995_TV_serial)
9
Jim White, retrieved from;
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_ (1995_TV_serial
 Chapter 3

PLOT OF NOVEL VS MOVIE

The plot is the map of the story. It is the chain of events that progress through the story, a
series of actions and incidents following one another in chronological order. The cause-
effect 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 plots and many
sub-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 try
to 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 is
interpolation 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 without
a 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) 1

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 a
field 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, and what is perhaps the most radical fencing
and swimming seen in the lake scene in which Darcy’s inner turmoil is brought forth 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 were lifted 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's emotions, the
adaptation uses additional scenes to hint at Darcy's inability to physically contain or
verbally express his emotional turmoil.
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 go
visit Netherfield and his deceptive reluctance and the sentence I’m sick of Mr.Bingley” 2
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 ill Elizabeth makes her three mile trek
through muddy countryside to meet her is similar to the book. Later the friction between
Elizabeth and Darcy is tangible at the Netherfield ball, the chemistry between Colin 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 the novel 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. For example, the scenes when the Bennet sisters
are dressing up for the ball and when all the men engage in their hobbies like hunting.
The most technically 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 broadcast live in the film. Flashbacks were 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 the letters to themselves
like when Elizabeth reads Darcy’s letter in which we hear his voice narrating the contents
of the letter, this is used to clarify from the novel for the modern audience but the screen
writer has left the novel’s dialogue mostly intact.3
 END NOTES
1
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Wordsworth Classics, p.2, line1
2
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Wordsworth Classics, p.6 line11
3
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_ (1995_TV_serial
 Chapter 4

SETTINGS OF NOVEL VS MOVIE

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 the
development, organize the narrative and sometimes act as the antagonist or a
supporting character. According to Roberts and Jacobs (2003)1, 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 in
which things happen.
• Cultural and historical circumstances.

Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” shares many similarities and differences with
the film adaptation in terms of setting. The serial expands on Austen's metaphorical use
of landscapes, reinforcing beauty and authenticity. Elizabeth takes every opportunity to
enjoy nature and to escape exposure to Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine. 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 rising 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.”2

The scenes where Elizabeth first sees the Pemberley house in all its majesty are very
similar 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 English
landscape 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 activity
in 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.

END NOTES
1
Roberts, Edgar V,. & Jacobs, Henry E. (2003), Literature: An Introduction of Reading and
Writing , second edition , Upper Saddle River , NJ Prentice Hall.
2
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice , Wordsworth Classics, p.163 line12-19.
 Chapter 5

CHARACTERISATION OF NOVEL VS MOVIE

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.
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 presented as 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 several characters
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.”1

But in the film adaptation the actor who played the role was more like a midget; his
manners 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 Elizabeth comes
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.
In the whole duration of the film we hear dialogues that resonate in our mind being
exactly that which Austen wrote in her book. Like Mrs. Bennet exasperated comments
“My dear Mr. Bennet have you heard that Netherfield park is let at last?”2, other such
similarities would be when Darcy comments on Elizabeth “she is tolerable: but not
handsome enough to tempt me.”3 .The screen writer Andrew Davies did his utmost to
stay close to the original text of the novel.
 END NOTES
1
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Wordsworth Classics, p.45 line4-6
2
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Wordsworth Classics, p.2 line 7-8
3
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice Wordsworth Classics, p.9 line 10
 Chapter 6

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 frustration
from 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 can
offer 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 ingredient
of 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.
 WORK CITED

Books:
Understanding Media: the Extensions of Man by Marshall Macluhan and Lewis H. Lapham
The 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.ht
ml
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1995_TV_serial
http://www.helium.com/items/1125150-movies-versus-reading-books
http://www.jimandellen.org/austen/janeausten.onfilm.html