Pride and Prejudice Adaptations in Modern Film Essay -- Jane Austen

Love in Relationships vs. Love for Oneself   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a day where loving yourself first is not only accepted but often expected, it is a stretch for the 20th (or 21st) century mind to see marriage as a necessity, as it was for Jane Austen and some of the greatest of her heroines. Marriage for money and convenience, as well as familial preservation, formally dominated matchmaking choices. Love and romance were but luxuries in the business-like fashion of marriage. Austen contested this reality and criticized it, but she also placed one thing above romance: the Self. Austen undoubtedly prizes respect for the Self above social expectation and relationships. Handler and Segal (45) noted that themes of â€Å"independence, dependence, and choice† are recurring throughout all of Austen’s works. Recent film adaptations to Austen have decided to downplay these themes, however, in exchange for playing up the romance. These films reveal the 20th century emphasis on romance at the cost of excluding the already estab lished importance of self-knowledge. Pride and Prejudice, Austen’s first written but later published novel, is a commentary on the importance in society of inheritance and achievement. Austen obviously valued one’s achieved virtues over inherited status, a revolutionary notion for a female of the day. Elizabeth Bennet, Austen’s own mouthpiece to criticize her times, bridges the gap between 19th century sensibility and 20th century self-exploration. Lizzy, though given the opportunity on more than one occasion (Mr. Darcy’s first and Mr. Collins’s only proposal) to save herself from her impending poverty as well as preserve her family’s estate, choose rather to be alone than to be in a situation that would compromise her principles. She is a woman of a strong-willed character who puts herself above her society’s expectations of her. If Elizabeth’s parents had known of her initial refusal of Darcy their disbelief would have probably outweighed her reasons for rejectin g him. Even Mr. Bennet, though a staunch supporter of Elizabeth, may not have felt that she had acted prudently considering the family’s situation. This was before her sister Jane was engaged to the wealthy Mr. Bingley, and concern over the future entailment of the estate to Mr. Collins was still great. She didn’t even consider Darcy until her began exhibiting signs that he respected her, such as his ... ...rement for well-rounded development, and as it has become more common, its importance has been taken for granted. How Austen would deal with this present reality is unsure but likely with some disdain. Austen did not preach revolution and women’s’ rights, she only presented her world as she saw how it was and how it should be. Now that the Self has now been placed on the back burner for romantic interests or has been ballooned to the point of excess is only a creation of the present, a true novelty in human history. That our mediums for entertainment reflect this is only as expected to fit our cultural ideas. Works Cited Austen, J. Pride and Prejudice. Penguin Putnum, Inc. New York: 1989. Fielding, H. Bridget Jones’s Diary. Penguin Putnum, Inc. New York: 1996. Handler, R., Segal, D. Jane Austen and the Fiction of Culture. Rowman & Littlefield, Inc. Maryland: 1999. Haskell, M. â€Å"The Innocent Ways of Renee Zellweger.† New York Times, April 8, 2001. Bridget Jones’s Diary 2001 directed by Sharon Maguire. Clueless 1995 directed by Amy Heckerling. Emma 1996 directed by Douglas McGrath. Pride and Prejudice miniseries 1995 BBC/A & E