'Pride & prejudice' by Jane Austen

 

Hello readers! I'm Insiya Alvani, a student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog I have written as a response to a Thinking activity assigned by yesha ma'am. In this blog, I'm going to discuss Jane Austen's Novel Pride and Prejudice and servel questions like movie adaptations, character of Elizabeth and Mr.Darcy, narrative technique etc..

1) Which version of Novel is more appealing? Novel or film (adaptation)? why?

During the study of the novel Pride and prejudice we see the film directed by Joe Wright based on Jane Austen's Novel. Novel and film both versions are good. In the film all the dialogue was kept the same and almost the entire movie was going to be from the perspective of Elizabeth. So, after watching the film we easily connect the idea of the novel which was presented in the book but if you want to do both first read the book and then watch the movie it is better. Here I share the Trailer of pride & prejudice movie.

2) Character of Elizabeth 

The second daughter in the Bennet family, and the most intelligent and quick-witted, Elizabeth is the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice and one of the most well-known female characters in English literature. Her admirable qualities are numerous, she is lovely, clever, and, in a novel defined by dialogue, she converses as brilliantly as anyone. Elizabeth Bennet, also known as "Lizzy" to her loved ones, is around twenty years old during the novel. She is considered attractive, with her eyes as a standout feature; however, she is not considered as classically beautiful as her eldest sister, Jane. 

Elizabeth Bennet is bold, intelligent, and independent, with a witty sense of humor. She considers herself to be a proper young lady and a good judge of character. However, throughout the novel, Lizzy realizes that she is not perfect; she does misjudge people at times, and her pride eggs on these mistakes. Furthermore, her prejudice leads to her struggling to understand other peoples' points of view. 

Elizabeth takes pride in her individuality. She knows who she is and what she wants in life and in a partner. She enjoys bantering with friends and family but makes sure to keep it polite. She teases Mr. Darcy finds it amusing when he turns down her invitation to dance: she has a self-aware sense of humor and enjoys making her friends laugh. 

Elizabeth displays great common sense and intuitiveness; the latter she prides herself on to her own folly. Although Elizabeth would like to marry for love, she is wise enough not to pursue Mr. Wickham because he cannot provide for her, and physical attraction does not guarantee marital happiness. As for her intuitiveness, she is able to recognize the emotions of others and understand unspoken opinions. However, Lizzy misunderstands critical moments, which lead her to assume Mr. Darcy is a bad person based on his rudeness. On the other hand, Elizabeth also assumes Mr. Wickham is a good person because he has impeccable manners and appears upfront and honest with her. Hence, she believes him when he tells her Mr. Darcy ruined his life, when in reality, Mr. Darcy was only protecting his teenage sister.

 

Elizabeth Bennet is a strong character because she is multifaceted: she has flaws such as pride and leaping to conclusions, as well as strengths like loyalty, kindness, and intelligence. She learns and grows over the story. 

3) Character of Mr.Darcy 

In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy is a wealthy English aristocrat and the owner of Pemberley, a country estate. He inherited Pemberley, ''ten thousand a-year,'' and other wealth from his father, who passed numerous years prior. At the beginning of the novel, Darcy is staying with his close friend, Mr. Bingley at Netherfield Park. Jane Austen’s best realized male character, he displays all the worst, and the best, qualities of gentlemen at the upper end of the landed gentry class. 

As Elizabeth Bennet is the main narrator of the story, Mr. Darcy's reception at Meryton is first explained through Elizabeth's observations of his interactions at the ball party. Elizabeth draws a distinction between the ''pleasant countenance'' of Mr. Bingley and the ''disgust'' of Mr. Darcy. While everyone agreed that Mr. Darcy was the better match for money and beauty, Mr. Bingley's kindness won the hearts of those in attendance at the ball party.

He likes Elizabeth and is a silent lover of her. When he proposed to her again(after being sure of Lizzie’s feelings towards him), he still didn’t force it on her and was willing to happily accept whatever her decision was, as evident by this dialogue – 

"If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever."

Darcy is conscious of his superiority over others. He has a class prejudice against the low landed gentry of Longbourn neighbourhood and he makes no secret of his feelings. He is a man of reserved and refined nature. Because of his intellectual superiority over his friend he is a man of dominating personality. He in start of the play can be seen egoistic whereas a the end seems a different person. Perhaps, love forces him to change his nature. Elizabeth who once has rejected his proposal accepts him as her husband. With the passage of time Darcy learns from his mistakes. He becomes a gentleman in a true sense at the end of the novel. 

Thanks for visiting this blog!

Words - 923

Images - 3

Video - 1