Spatial Anxiety

The article, Spatial Anxiety: Adapting the Social Space of Pride and Prejudice, written by Robin Swicord, discusses film adaptations of the novel "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, with particular focus given to the treatment of minor characters. The author argues that the novel encourages the reader to feel a sense of superiority over minor characters, and that the time constraints of feature-length film adaptations lead to more time for minor characters and upset the social hierarchy implied in the novel. The article uses evidence from “the 1967, 1980, and 1995 BBC television serials and the two feature-length films” where Swicord “suggests that the sympathetic representation of social anxiety and impropriety common to both feature-length adaptations reveals the unsavory social implications of accepting too readily this novel's worldview” (Swicord, 2007, p. 31).

In the first episode of the 1995, BBC series, Mr. Charles Bingley, a rich man from the north of England, settles down at Netherfield estate near Meryton village in Hertfordshire for the autumn. Mrs. Bennet, unlike her husband, is excited at the prospect of marrying off one of her five daughters (Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia) to the newcomer. Bingley takes an immediate liking to Jane at a local country-dance, while his best friend Mr. Darcy, rumored to be twice as rich, and refuses to stand up with anyone including Elizabeth. Elizabeth's poor impression of his character is confirmed at a later gathering at Lucas Lodge and she and Darcy verbally clash on the two nights she spends at Netherfield caring for the sick Jane.