On Lizzy and love (novel *and* movie references!)
Posted by Sara DJ on December 13, 1997 at 00:17:10:
In response to Good post, Michele, written by Mark on December 12, 1997 at 13:56:10
Both from Mark:
] ] ] Consider that the book revolves around one Miss Elizabeth Bennet. So, why is it that in this book supposedly about love, do we not know when she fell in love? We simply are not told.
] Yes, but you still reach a point where you say, "Hey, I'm here! How did I get here?" I never see this in Lizzy.
Now me:
I agree, with regard to the book. Her love of Darcy sort of just materializes at the end. I must also add, though, that in the movie P&P2 one gets a sense that Lizzy was attracted to Darcy from the start, and even through all the twists and turns needed before they can love each other admittedly and openly, in the movie Lizzy is more obviously falling in love (it was thrown out in a previous thread [I can't remember by whom] that her conversations and comments to Darcy could have been taken as flirtations, hence his first proposal), shown by her continual interest in his opinions (for example, Jane says something to her like, "but why do you care what Mr. Darcy thinks?" To which Lizzy replies something like, "I can't bear to know he is in the world thinking ill of me," or something like that. I'm obviously going on memory here, but you get the idea). In the book, though, we are given less to "work with" on the stage of our imaginations, and we read on not knowing just when it is she falls for him. What I find interesting is that, like Mark said, this story works so well because we *do* see it from her perspective, and don't even know when she falls for Darcy, and shouldn't we because we're in her head, so to speak. I think this shows the brilliance in JA's writing; it is much more like a real experience of falling in love (as MB described).
Also, it takes a screenwriter to pull out (put in?) a sense of her falling in love over the course of the movie, which is of course expected by modern audiences even though not what JA had in mind (another example is from S&S w/Emma Thompson, who admitted to having to make Edward over just a bit to make him likeable enough for mass audiences), and I think this contributes to P&P being "pigeon-holed" as a love story. Movies are, of course, fantasy, and JA's writing more true to life; JA's writing converted to a movie perhaps makes a more life-like fantasy (thus ensuring the financial success of the venture!).
-- SaraDJ, as usual hoping her rambling makes a whit of sense!
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