Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Today marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride & Prejudice.
The trivia surrounding the book is vast and entertaining -- my favorite, perhaps, is the account of a 40 year old Polish orangutan who is a Pride & Prejudice devotee. And the adaptations are legion -- from the amusing "Bridget Jones's Diary" to the delightful 1995 BBC miniseries to the (in my opinion) execrable 2005 Keira Knightley vehicle to the hideously inaccurate,but nonetheless charming, Laurence Olivier/Greer Garson movie.
Likewise, feminists have sought to appropriate the book, either because of its heroine's supposed "oppositional relation to power" or as a cautionary tale. Reams have been written about Pride & Prejudice's "significance," the unjust underrating of Jane Austen as a literary figure, and the like.
But I have never been able to put Pride & Prejudice into any sort of intellectual construct. Perhaps that's because I fell in love with it before loving Austen was cool -- around 1979, when I read it in the fall of my seventh-grade year. I was entranced by the elegance of the language; by the characters (who doesn't know a Mr Wickham or Mr Collins?!); by the wit, spirit, and intelligence of the heroine; and (yes, I admit it!) by the love story -- which is distinguished by the fact that Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy actually earn their happy ending by transcending major character flaws for each other.
These days, it's obvious I'm hardly alone in my affection for the Austen oeuvre. The question is why. I suspect that it has something to do with the modern state of intersex relations -- that despite the significant and manifold disadvantages women confronted in Regency England, modern women nevertheless yearn for a social system in which some rules govern the behavior of men, women and the relationships between them. (For more on this -- and the lessons modern ladies could extract from Austen's heroines, do read Elizabeth Kantor's absolutely wonderful The Jane Austen Guide to Happily Ever After.)
But maybe there's more to it than that. To what do you attribute the reawakening of interest in Pride & Prejudice and the rest of Austen's work?
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May '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
I'm something of a philistine, but what I love about the Austen novels is their soothing, pre-teevee, pre-radio, pre-telegraphy pace.
Sep '12
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Big Austen fan here. I too love the language and the wit. It took me a long time to realize that most Austen characters are actually rather flat--that is you know exactly how to think of a Mr. Collins or Lydia Bennett because they are uniformly foolish. Most people in real life aren't so easy to pigeonhole, but that is OK because Austen tells a darn good story. And her world is very moral and understandable, though the problems she presents are complex.
We recently watched a four part version of Emma--I didn't recognize any of the stars--on Netflix (I think it was.) It was, of course, very entertaining, but I realized that I found it somehow restful. It was partly the lovely English countryside and the ordered world, but it was also that there was some agreement on good and bad, right and wrong--rare in the modern world. Also, for better or worse, everybody had a place in the social body and understood how to treat one another. I know that industrial England was very harsh for multitudes, but Austen's countryside version is a welcome break from modernity with all its puzzles.
Jan '12
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice is my favorite novel!
The writing sparkles; there is a wonderful brevity (which, of course, is the soul of wit) in the dialogue, a briskness to the narrative, as well as a concern for the deeper human qualities, as revealed to us, the reader, from a definite Christian perspective.
Elizabeth Kantor's book, The Jane Austen Guide to Happily Ever After, is a wonderful 'companion' to P & P; I plan on giving it to each one of my five granddaughters, as they approach womanhood.
May '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Carol Platt Liebau:
To what do you attribute the reawakening of interest in Pride & Prejudiceand the rest of Austen's work? · · 33 minutes ago
Colin Firth, wet.
Jan '12
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Merina Smith:
We recently watched a four part version of Emma--I didn't recognize any of the stars--on Netflix (I think it was.) It was, of course, very entertaining, but I realized that I found it somehow restful. It was partly the lovely English countryside and the ordered world, but it was also that there was some agreement on good and bad, right and wrong--rare in the modern world. Also, for better or worse, everybody had a place in the social body and understood how to treat one another. I know that industrial England was very harsh for multitudes, but Austen's countryside version is a welcome break from modernity with all its puzzles. · 1 minute ago
Did you watch the 2009 BBC version with Romola Garai as Emma and Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley?
It was so well done and stayed faithful to the book, Jane Austen's 'Emma'.
Sep '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
I tend to favor Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Someone had to say it, right?
Mar '11
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Carol Platt Liebau: Today marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride & Prejudice.
The trivia surrounding the book is vast and entertaining -- my favorite, perhaps, is the account of a 40 year old Polish orangutan who is a Pride & Prejudice devotee.
Is this the fan?
Mar '11
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
I suggest Bride and Prejudice as a good Amero/Bollywood adaptation.
I play Aishwarya Rai against your Colin Firth.
May '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
I love the Bollywood version called Bride and Prejudice.
Mar '11
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
My wife says:
I love this story because
Men are real men!
Women are real Women!
And Small Flattering Parsons from Hunsford are Real Small Flattering Parsons from Hunsford!
Sep '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Don't over analyze. It is still read today, and loved, because of the superb writing, memorable characters, and a great plot. Even in our oversexed violent graphic culture, quality is still recognized.
And my vote for best adaptation of a Jane Austen work - "Sense and Sensibility" with Emma Thompson. A most excellent cast of actors, and I believe the ending in the movie is more satisfying than the ending in the book. Kudos to Ms. Thompson.
Nov '11
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Scott Reusser
Carol Platt Liebau:
To what do you attribute the reawakening of interest in Pride & Prejudiceand the rest of Austen's work? · · 33 minutes ago
Colin Firth, wet. · 24 minutes ago
Cynic!
On one level, P&P is the grownup Cinderella. Just a little more substance to the love story, and substitute a foolish mother and sisters for the evil stepmother and stepsisters, but the happily ever after is about the same.
A little more deeply, I think part of the appeal is that Jane Austen shows women valued as women. Not as feminist superheroes, nor sexual objects, nor yet domestic ciphers; her heroines are thinking, intelligent, utterly feminine, talented women of character who are loved for these qualities by a man worth being loved by.
May '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Leigh
Scott Reusser
Carol Platt Liebau:
To what do you attribute the reawakening of interest in Pride & Prejudiceand the rest of Austen's work? · · 33 minutes ago
Colin Firth, wet. · 24 minutes ago
Cynic!
No, no -- I'm saying I, me, really love seeing Colin Firth wet.
(Truth: That A&E version really is fantastic and has become a family tradition here.)
Jun '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
double post
Edited on January 29, 2013 at 6:40pmJun '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Why the renaissance of Jane Austen/Pride and Prejudice? Here are a few reasons that resonate for me:
1. Austen is a wonderful writer, the dialogue sparkles, the plots work, and the lead characters are fully-realized characters whom we love.
2. Austen takes us back to a time when--at least in the class in which she lived--virtue meant something. Marriage was the most important thing a person could do; goodness was its own reward; classy integrity (as opposed to, say, sluttishness) was the mark of a real heroine.
3. Men acted like men; women acted like women [No, this is not a plea for us all to return to 1810]. Yet Jane Austen proved that a talented woman could break a mold and still be feminine.
4. Her books make people happy and the happiness lasts (as opposed to the evanescence of titillation).
5. Her books translate beautifully to TV and movies (especially to the mini-series format).
6. She created a language that no one in the world ever used, yet it works perfectly.
An underrated translation of Austen to the screen was the pre-action movie Kate Beckensale as Emma. She was a perfect.
Dec '11
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
tabula rasa:
3. Men acted like men...
Wickham may have been a cad and Collins a sycophant, but Mr. Darcy was positively dreamy. He most certainly stole the show!
Edit/add-on: I may have to disagree with your choice for the most delightful portrayal of Emma. I thought Gwyneth Paltrow did a remarkable job.
Edited on January 29, 2013 at 5:18amMay '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
I like the brawling, foul-mouthed Jane Austen of Old Harry's Game, the brilliant Andy Hamilton BBC radio series set in Hell.
Sep '12
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Barbara--Yes, I think that was the version of Emma. Wonderful! I do love Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley, but Jonny Lee Miller was very fine. And Romola Garai--charming and elegant.
Jul '10
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
Back in the old days I would occasionally rent P&P from Blockbuster - the A&E production. Purchasing that very expensive set at that time was not an option. One time I was perusing their sale tapes and found a few. When I paid for them, I asked if there would be a time when P&P would go on sale. The saleswoman looked it up on her computer and remarked that because I was the only one who ever rented it, she would sell it to me that day. For $5.95 I was in possession of one of my favorite movies. What a day!
I have read the book many times and it is probably my favorite novel. The writing, the characters, the story - simply perfection.
Why popular today? As others have said, men were men and women were women. There were roles and rules, and society in general respected them. The rules, when broken, had consequences that people understood. For too long in our modern age, many haven't wanted to acknowledge that those consequences exist. Perhaps the tide is slowly turning. One can hope.
Apr '11
Re: Happy 200th, "Pride and Prejudice"!
The Keira Knightley P&P is just as good as the Emma Thompson S&S. I haven't seen any other adaptations, but I can't imagine how anyone could call it "execrable."