The 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice is wonderful. Not only does it have the amazing Colin Firth, but it is hailed as being the most loyal to the novel. This is true, the story and the characters reflect the book very accurately. However, I did notice a difference in Lizzie from the novel to the film. Elizabeth appears more mature than the Elizabeth of the novel. While she is still witty, still lively, still humorous, she also has a thoughtful quietness that is missing from Jane Austen's Lizzie. In the novel Lizzie is a little more vivacious, and takes great pleasure is being silly about more serious things. For example, after Darcy has proposed Lizzie questions him about how he came to fall in love with her. She treats it as a great joke, and the conversation is very lively with her wit. The Lizzie of the film treated the proposal with far more tenderness. The Lizzie of the film is more characterized by her quiet, penetrating looks than her lively wit. In the novel Lizzie is only twenty, she is very young. Jennifer Ehle who played Lizzie in the film was 26. I feel as though the Lizze Bennet of the film is the 26 year old version of the Lizzie of the novel. She has matured, grown more thoughtful, and more elegant.
Discussion Question:
Mr. Darcy of the film definitely changes, does the Darcy of the novel really change that much?
Also, Mr. Darcy of the film is a much more prominent character than Darcy of the novel, We even see scenes with him in which Elizabeth isn't present. Why is this? Why did the directors and writers make this choice and how does it change the way we see/feel about Darcy?
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