pride and prejudice

¶ … Austen's Pride and Prejudice

As is expected when a major novel is condensed into a motion picture, scenes will be eliminated because of the restraints of time. Some of the plot changes had adverse effects on Elizabeth's character. Her looks, expressions, and costumes are not what we imagine when we imagine Austen's Elizabeth. While the 1995 film version of Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice, is an acceptable piece of entertainment, it is lacking when it comes to one of the primary characters, Elizabeth Bennet.

Perhaps one of the most obvious differences between Elizabeth in the novel and the movie is that the Elizabeth Kiera portrays is lovely, which is not something would we expect with Austen's Elizabeth. We are told that she is not the prettiest of the Bennett girls and we need to have a reason to believe that Darcy is attracted to her mind and not her physical appearance. Her mannerisms are also not we would come to expect from the novel. In the movie, Elizabeth fidgets and seems to giggle far too much for the clever girl with whom we are more familiar. Her expressions are lovely, indeed, but they are not what we come to expect from our strong Elizabeth. After all, the first words in the novel are ones that come from a confident, cool young lady that does not lack any backbone. The lack of wit almost changes the character of Elizabeth completely. It was as if the film version of Elizabeth needed to be less witty because she was so beautiful. This is why the character is so strong in the novel - she does not rely upon her looks for anything that her personality cannot provide for her. In addition, the film version Elizabeth seems a little younger than she should be. Having said this, it is difficult to image a man such as Darby falling for her.

The film version of Elizabeth is also changed by certain plot changes that were made in the movie. Perhaps one of the most annoying scenes in the film is when Elizabeth goes outside in her bedclothes. Austen's Elizabeth would have never done such a thing. It is also worth noting that it is difficult to believe that the Bennets were as poor as the film depicted. A few of the party scenes where Elizabeth is the object of Darcy's attention are excluded from the film and they do not allow us to see Elizabeth's true character like we should. It is also worth noting that her personality seems to change halfway through the film. The first part of the film she spends far too much time giggling and in the second half of the film, it seems as though she has her sights set on being nothing more than a victim.