Love, Power, and Gender: Pride and Prejudice (1995)

 

Pride and Prejudice (1995), a BBC Miniseries:

    Although there have been numerous adaptations of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I believe the 1995 BBC miniseries, which starred Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, does a particularly effective job of showing how just how social expectations affect relationships in this time period. The story, which takes place in nineteenth-century England, follows Elizabeth and her four sisters as they make their way through a society where a woman's future usually hinges on finding a suitable spouse to take care of them and rid their family of the financial obligations of birthing a woman who is seen as nothing but a bargaining chip. Marriage is not only about love but also about survival and financial stability, because a male relative (in this case, the rather squirrely Mr. Collins) will inherit the Bennet family property. Elizabeth wants a relationship built on not only the basis of true love, but respect.  However, Mrs. Bennet is eager to get her daughters married. The most intriguing aspect of the miniseries, in my opinion, is how Elizabeth defies societal norms without totally abandoning them. Despite being a romance, I believe the story also condemns a society in which men are often judged based on their income and social standing, and women are evaluated based on their chances of being married.

Elizabeth Bennet: A Woman Who Refuses to Conform:

    One of the earliest examples shown in Pride and Prejudice (1995) is in Episode 1, around 14:30-16:30, during the Meryton dance when Darcy refuses to dance with Elizabeth and then makes a rather snide comment about her appearance. Darcy, as a wealthy man, is immediately more attractive to the community even though his behavior is pretty arrogant. I find this scene very interesting because it shows how easily social status can influence people’s opinions unfairly, because no one (besides Mrs. Bennet, or course) really bats an eye at Darcys rather rude exit of the conversation. Darcy is treated as a desirable bachelor because of his wealth, while Elizabeth is expected to worry only about how she acts around men and to make herself seem desirable and ready to marry. Elizabeth, however, doesn’t respond by striving to win his approval. She instead just laughs at how he acts and refuses to take him seriously, which visibly irritates as well as fascinates him, as you can see how he follows her with his eyes with a grimace on his face. To me, this is truly one of the first signs that Elizabeth doesn’t fit into the traditional expectations for women in her society. She judges a man based off his character and not his financial/social position. Another example that stands out to me is in Episode 1, at 18:20, where Elizabeth and Mary discuss dancing and social standings. The dances, on the outside, seem like events for mindless entertainment, but in reality they are actually pretty important social gatherings used for courtship and gossip. The women who attend are usually expected to present themselves to the high society as suitable wives for their husbands. The miniseries did an outstanding job of showing that even seemingly small, casual social events like dances are actually more important to the women than expected, as they are gradual gateways into marriage. 

Love or Security?:

    Another thing that I thought was done well by Pride and Prejudice (1995) is the contrast between Elizabeth and Charlotte Lucas. In Episode 2, during Mr. Collin’s rather embarrassing proposal, Elizabeth refuses to marry him even though his financial advantages over the family could provide a better life for them all. Mrs. Bennet places immense pressure on her to accept, showing that Elizabeth’s decision to refrain from marrying him also affects more than just her romantic future, but the Bennet family itself. Elizabeth’s refusal is admirable because she recognizes that marrying someone she simply doesn’t love would make her unhappy for the rest of her life. I also think that it is important to recognize that her decision is also not one that many women of her time could make. Charlotte’s subsequent engagement to Mr. Collins in Episode 3 shows why this was such an outwardly puzzling choice by Elizabeth. Charlotte accepts his proposal despite the lack of romantic attraction towards him, because she wants financial stability and a secure home, and the feeling of being a burden of her parents is relinquished. Now, I don’t think the decision Charlotte made necessarily meant she had lower standards of marriage than Elizabeth, but instead I believe she understood that there were limited options here for her, especially as a slightly older woman who had even fewer prospects of marriage than Elizabeth. In some ways, Charlotte’s decision is just as practical as Elizabeth’s rejection. The contrast of these two women calls into question of just how society truly allows women to choose freely. Elizabeth can reject Mr. Collins because she wants to wait for someone who is truly her perfect match, but Charlotte feels she simply cannot do the same. The problem is not that women make different choices, but is it that circumstances determine how much autonomy they truly have.

Mr. Darcy's Proposal:

    Darcy’s catastrophic first proposal to Elizabeth happens at the end of Episode 3 (46:00-51:00), and here is truly where I believe the best scene of the show comes to a head. Darcy admits that he loves Elizabeth, but his proposal is complicated by his awareness of her family’s lower social standing. His attitude suggests that he initially believes his wealth and status should make him an acceptable husband, even despite his very rude behavior toward her. Elizabeth, to no ones surprise, rejects him angrily. The scene works very well on screen because you can actually see how the tension of Darcy’s overconfidence and Elizabeths refusal to be intimidated by his word vomit. This also allows us to follow Darcy’s line of thinking as Colin Firth is very good at making such small gestures or nervous twitches show just how out of touch he is. Compared to reading the novel, the 1995 adaptation shows how the relationship changes visually by giving you a more in-depth look at how Darcy becomes more respectful and soft-spoken to Elizabeth, and how Elizabeth recognizes this change in him and in turn becomes more open.