Here are a few of my thoughts on Pride and Prejudice, which I am reading--for the second time in the last year--in my British Literary History II class.First of all I have to give praise to Jane Austen for her absolute brilliance. In her creation of this story, she wrote one of the best love stories in history, as proven by it's popularity these days--I know of only one girl that has not read it. Jane Austen also gave life to some of the most fascinating characters that I have ever read. And she is a master of dialogue which feels authentic but so often drips with wit and sarcasm. . . which makes the interplay between her characters so fascinating.
I know of a few guys who have read this book and not liked it, but for the most part I think Pride and Prejudice has a real appeal for the male gender. Personally, I relate to Mr. Darcy. I understand him. In fact, I relate so well to him that Internet personality tests tend to give him as an example of my personality type. It's a shame that I don't have his whole rich thing going on. . .
As far as the filmic adaptations go, I have to disagree with pretty much every woman that I have ever talked too. The 2005 version directed by Joe Wright and starring Kiera Knightly is by far the best. I know that it isn't as true to the book, but it is a far better as a film. I do think that Colin Firth is absolutely brilliant as Mr. Darcy in the older TV mini-series but that isn't enough to sway me--I think Matthew Macfadyen is highly undervalued for his role as Mr. Darcy. But characters aside (I'll come back to them), the 2005 movie is beautifully filmed while the other two major versions feel like sophisticated soap operas with simplistic camera work and staged scenes counterbalanced by intelligent dialogue. The new version also has an excellent musical score which was, I believe, nominated for an Academy Award. Now, back to the characters. Kiera Knightly is BY FAR the best Elizabeth Bennett of any version, and not just because I am more attracted to her. If you look in her eyes--where Elizabeth Bennett exists, that's why Darcy fell for her in the first place, her "fine eyes"--you'll see that Kiera Knightly becomes Elizabeth Bennett to the core. None of the other actresses who have portrayed Elizabeth have captured the same tomboyish wild spirit that Kiera Knightly did, which is unfortunate, because that was an important aspect of Elizabeth Bennett's character. Donald Sutherland is also quite good as Mr. Bennett, though his role is much reduced from the book, and Judy Dench is perfect as Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Rosamund Pike is also an excellent Jane, and I really liked Tom Hollander as Mr. Collins.
Anyway, I didn't intend to blab that much about the film, but it's pretty well done; an excellent job of putting Jane Austen's story into a 2 hour film.
The long and short of things is that Jane Austen is pretty cool, and reading Pride and Prejudice is not a painful experience, even for guys.
