Pride and Prejudice - Part Two

While the totality of the BBCs 1995 Pride & Prejudice was quite enjoyable, I would like to focus on one particular scene – the second to last one where Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are walking and they become engaged. The setting of this scene was remarkable to myself, as they are seen walking down not the concise, clean-cut, beautiful walking paths seen all throughout the rest of the movie, but rather, they are walking down a muddy, messy, dirt lane with cornfields surrounding them, hardly romantic, dare I say? This seems to symbolize the messy background of their relationships, and how things don’t fit perfectly between them. It shows the impropriety of Elizabeth’s family mixed with the haughtiness that derives from Mr. Darcy’s. Also, in this scene it seemed rather odd how Jane and Mr. Bingley were walking so close to Darcy and Lizzy, and how they didn’t notice this significant exchange going on behind them. The last shot of this scene when the Jane and Bingley are seen walking side by side with Darcy and Lizzy following in almost a direct line shows the preciseness that this was to happen all along. As someone else (I forgot who, I apologize!) mentioned earlier, there was no doubt that each of the couples were going to work things out in the end of this miniseries. The ending was more predictable than it seemed to be in the book and the 2005 Wright’s version; nevertheless, I still found it compelling and equally as respectable. In this depiction, reference to Lydia’s immoral behavior seems to be heightened, beginning with her snorting in the first half and ending with her multiple shots lying in bed with Wickham close by. Why do you think that sex is more heavily implied in this version than others? Also, in these scenes, Wickham is always seen with a drink either on his desk or in his hand. He appears as a lush, and thus more significantly unappeased by his relations with Lydia. Do you agree, or disagree, and why so?