This week, cinema theatres are playing the latest inspiration from this book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, in which, as the trailers and title suggest, there are zombies. Thankfully however, it is only the world in which it is set that there are zombies, our beloved characters have not turned into the undead.
For the uninitiated, the original story is set in the countryside of 19th Century England. Elizabeth Bennet, the second of five sisters, and the most interesting one of them all falls hopelessly in love with the handsome Mr. Darcy, who is the perfect leading man. However, this does not happen immediately.
In fact, the first time they meet, Mr. Darcy is so intolerably proud, so horribly arrogant and so cuttingly mean that you, along with Elizabeth, begin to actually dislike him.
There are a lot of misunderstandings, a lot of things that happen along with insanely clever things that are said throughout the book after which, towards the end Mr. Darcy proves, not by words but by his actions that though he may be proud (and suitably so, being so rich and handsome) he is at the core, a good man. A very good man. That is when we all fall in love with Mr. Darcy.
Of course there are a host of other characters, all unique and they all give us an in-depth understanding of human character. And, they all teach us a lesson.
There is Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet’s mother, whose primary objective in life is to get her five daughters married.
There is Jane, Elizabeth’s sweet and simple elder sister, her love interest Mr. Bingly. There is Mr. Collins who can teach a lesson or two on the ways to suck-up to one’s employer.
His bride, who really settles for a marriage less worthy, her ignorant three sisters, who are not worthy of mention here, and of course, the original rouge whose charm temporarily deceives the otherwise perspective heroine – Mr. Wickham.
To simplify this equation, I shall refer to another modern rendition - Bridget Jones Diary. Daniel Cleaver aka Hugh Grant is Mr. Wickham and the drool-worthy Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy. And, though Bridget Jones is no Elizabeth Bennet, she does come close. She too, immediately dislikes the proud Darcy, when she overhears a conversation in which he makes clear in no uncertain terms that she is not good enough for him.
Much closer to home is the recent Bride and Prejudice starring Aishwarya Rai. Her Darcy looks down on her customs, her embarrassing mother, her eccentric father and her shabby but comfortable home. It all ends well though, as every rendition of pride and prejudice should.
“I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine,” says Elizabeth, reflecting on the arrogant Mr. Darcy and all his supposed faults.
It is this, the initial attraction, marred by a certain prejudice about the character of the other which keeps Elizabeth from fully identifying with her feelings from the beginning.
When Mr. Darcy’s feelings are finally declared, he also makes it clear that he is aware that he is going beneath his station. Of course we all know how that can end and it does end with Elizabeth giving him a piece of her mind. This results in change. And the hero through small kindness to those close to the heroine, show that in fact he is good.
This situation has recurred across so many movies and books across the world that we cannot really keep count. But what stays is this. An ending where each of the characters loves the other, acknowledging the other’s faults.
Now even the most hardened cynic will find this difficult to resist.
There have been earlier fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast which more or less have this theme but it is Pride and Prejudice that has so many other characters who actually recur in real life, leading us to believe that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth could very well be one of us... perhaps this is why another rendition of Pride and Prejudice is never tiresome. And, of course, it is always nice to hear another story of an ordinary girl meeting her match in a rich and handsome world.
What the zombie movie will bring, I cannot tell, but I hope that the heart of this beloved story will remain the same.
0 comments:
Post a Comment