Becoming Jane

Ah, to have lived in the Regency era. When men were chivalrous, women wore always-flattering empire waistlines, and every love story was just as though it was written by Jane Austen herself.

Okay, maybe not. But I do love Jane Austen, and a good empire waistline. Emma is and will always be my favourite Jane Austen novel; and I love the movie with Gwenneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam.

This year I decided to read some of the classics, and as I've enjoyed Emma many times, started with some of Jane Austen's other novels. First was Sense and Sensibility. It was...okay. Certainly nothing like Emma; nowhere near as enjoyable, in my opinion. I have yet to watch the movie.

Next was Pride and Prejudice. LOVED IT. And as great as it was on the first read, the second was even more enjoyable as I picked up on a number of things I had missed on the first go-round. Mr. Darcy's letter to Lizzie is so strong. Their conversations in the last several chapters are full of the real love and respect and admiration that can only develop over time. Mr. Bennet's admonition to Lizzie, "Do any thing but marry without love". And I wince along with Lizzie every time her mother opens her mouth.
The 2005 movie made with Keira Knightley, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn and Matthew McFadyen was fantastic. The casting was spot-on, with the exception of Jena Malone who was just entirely wrong for the role of Lydia. The only real complaint I have with the movie is that it galloped through the story. It clocked in at just under two hours; it could have been extended by thirty or forty minutes and it would have added so much to the telling of the story. The part about Mr. Darcy having paid off Wickham's debts and paying for him to marry Lydia, was skipped entirely; to the story's detriment, I feel. Elizabeth's line during Darcy's original proposal, "If you had behaved in a more gentleman-like manner", is a pivotal point in the story and in Mr. Darcy's growth; again, it was ignored. And - just a tiny quibble - no kiss at the end?

I am now in the process of watching the 1995 BBC mini-series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. As it is a six-part series, I am hoping that the story will keep more of the integrity of the novel. I have watched Part 1 so far. I'm not nearly as happy with the actors, with the exception of Colin and Jennifer, and the women playing the younger Bennet daughters, Kitty and Lydia. I'm particularly unimpressed with Alison Steadman as Mrs. Bennet, who does little but shriek her way through the part. Mrs. Bennet should be unrefined and obnoxious, but one must imagine that she couldn't conceivably have kept up such a tone without losing her voice. The other unforgivably-cast character is Caroline Bingley, played by Anna Chancellor's nose. Seriously. However, many of the lines in the movie are taken directly from the book; and that part, I am enjoying. Besides, it's really mostly about Darcy and Lizzie anyways, right?

My next "conquest", after finishing the remaining five hours of the mini-series, will be the biopic "Becoming Jane". I'm not wild about Anne Hathaway but it may be an interesting film, as it is based on the book of the same name by historian Jon Spence.