Let's talk about Darcy. First of all, I found that while reading the book (which I have several times), Darcy is written as a character to be disliked, at least initially. He is pompous and arrogant and self-absorbed. Although he is "handsome" and "wealthy", his attitude and disposition are meant to completely ruin him as a hero of the book. While I already have a rough time disliking Mr. Darcy, the BBC mini-series made it even harder not to like him. Firth's character is more sympathetic, which plays with his looks and wealth, and made me as the viewer side with him long before he is revealed to be a "good guy". There are also scenes in the BBC mini-series that include Darcy that are not in the novel. The first scene shows Darcy really making an effort to find Lydia and Wickham, in order to help Elizabeth save the family name, and hopefully get back into her good graces. This shows how much Darcy needs to redeem himself with Lizzie and how he has changed from the beginning of the series. The other scene that is interesting, but also not included in the novel, is the wedding scene at the end. It isn't included in the book, but makes a good ending to a mini-series.
Questions:
1). Is Darcy's portrayal shift intentional? How would making him more sympathetic and liked effect the audience?
2). Do you think the extra scenes that Darcy are in are realistic? Would he actually have put that much effort into personally finding Lydia and Wickham?
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