Pride and Prejudice

[author_by_night]

So not for the first time, but especially as I'd finally watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries I tried reading Pride and Prejudice, but something about JA's style is... hard for me to get into. I decided to try watching the BBC series, and figured I'd share my thoughts.

- I definitely see how LBD!Lydia and P&P!Lydia are different. There *is* a bit of values dissonance - while yes, I understood why what happened to Lydia in P&P was a crisis, a lot of it was about her possibly NOT getting married and that being bad and so on. I can see why LBD made her a little more of a wild child - because how Lydia behaved in the novel was seen, at the time, the same way LBD!Lydia's character was seen by 2013 audiences. Although there's still a lot more sympathy towards her. The movie goes as far as to imply she skipped her sister's joint weddings - see below for my thoughts on that - in favor of being with Wichkam. Not sure whether or not the novel implies that. In any case, the web series made her very much a victim. And actually, even before everything with Wichkam in LBD, Lydia's shown as much more sympathetic and even misunderstood. We're supposed to like LBD!Lydia. We're not supposed to like her in P&P.

- Speaking of Jane and Elizabeth's wedding... were joint weddings popular in 1813, or was that the series (and possibly the novel)? It struck me as sweet, but just bordering on cheesy.

- It was fun watching young!Colin Firth. Poor guy totally got typecast, though. Although not in The King's Speech.

All I really have to say.

ETA: Oh, and for anyone curious, the reason I never got into LBD initially was because I'd started so many web series that ended up not finishing because of lack of funding, and/or they were college kids who ran out of time, so I decided to wait until there were more episodes... then I never went to see if it had been finished. Anyone have any other completed web series recommendations? (Or at least ones with promise to be completed.)

Comments

[linda-lupos.livejournal.com]

The joint wedding was in the book; makes sense since Elizabeth and Jane were so close and Darcy and Bingley probably wouldn't mind (they were practically siblings anyway). Lydia is very empathically NOT invited. In fact, I don't even want to know how Darcy would react had she shown up. In a way, the miniseries and movie actually gloss over a little how strongly Darcy dislikes Wickham - due to time restraints no doubt.
The book actually goes a little into Lydia's behavior after the happy ever after - Wickham soon falls out of love (well, 'love'), Lydia lasts a little longer but soon cools on him, too. They have money problems and Lydia keeps applying to Lizzy for help, adding that Lizzy should not tell Darcy about it if she had rather not (Lizzy would MUCH rather not). While the Wickhams are never invited to Pemberley, Lizzy does occassionally send them money out of her own account. They do occassionally stay at the Bingleys, but eventually manage to wear out even Bingley's patience so far that he begons to talk of giving them a hint to be gone. :p

What's sweet is that Georgiana moves back to Pemberley for good and she opens up a little due to Lizzy being there. :)


... I just remembered another miniseries you should see: Death Comes To Pemberley. It's a murder mystery set about ten years after P&P, and it stars Jenna "Clara Oswald" Coleman as arguably one of the best Lydia's I've ever seen (although I think LBD Lydia is my favourite, she's adorbz :p). Also they do some pretty amazing stuff with the characterisation of Darcy.


Might I perhaps suggest Northanger Abbey to give JA a last try? It might be more accessible as it's a more humourous book and very much a novel about novels - might be more appealing to an English major?

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Wow, to be able to make Jane and Bingley impatient and unwilling to help, when they're basically Nice People (TM). :P Yeah, Lydia's clearly the equivalent of someone who wastes her life away, and loved ones can't just watch it, so they pull away.

I thought the series showed that Darcy hated Wickham - or at least gave him reason to. I mean, the guy did basically take advantage of his sister, and honestly, Georgiana seems a lot more... innocent than Lydia, so it's ickier. Like, I can see her not even considering what he's talked her into. O_o I think it's sweet that she stays at Pemberley. I did love how quickly Elizabeth grew onto her. :) (Although it's hard not to, she's "the adorbs." Heh.)

Speaking of "the adorbs", LBD Lydia is definitely my favorite of the... 2 1/2 I've seen, but in retrospect I think LBD is almost closer to Kitty - more misled into following the wrong stuff than outright "corrupt." (I swear I read that somewhere as well. Maybe TV Tropes?) Because in the miniseries at least, I did think we were supposed to feel a little bit badly for Kitty. In some weird way Lydia was kind of her Wickham - not in a sleazy way, but she doesn't really have her sister's best interests at heart, whereas I think Kitty truly did have Lydia's, and she does have a small meltdown when she takes in everything that's happened. :(

I've heard of Death Comes to Pemberly, but I wasn't sure if it was any good! I trust your judgment, though...

I need to re-read NA. I did read it, but while I was in London for school, so I was somewhat distracted. :P

[linda-lupos.livejournal.com]

Right, good point about Lydia! She *is* that self-destructive flake who drives away people who could help by being... herself, basically.

Hehe Georgiana *is* the adorbz. But there is a certain amount of values dissonance involved. Although it ís pointed out that Georgiana was only 15, which even today isn't accepted (or even less, really; Lydia running off with Wickham is unacceptable because they eloped, but the fact that she's sixteen isn't considered as shocking as the fact that she eloped. These days it'd be the other way around), let alone that Wickham is ten years older!

... huh, LBD did add a sympathetic note to Lydia. Good thing too, really, otherwise the whole Wickham plot would kind of flop. NOT saying that nasty, brainless people deserve what Wickham did to Lydia, but it would add a kind of "well what did you expect? Ugh Lydia" to it.
And poor Kitty. She's kind of like Mary in that she always plays second fiddle to her sisters. At least according to the book she got out and improved once her older sisters were married and she had their good examples! (She married a clerk in her uncle's law office, according to what Jane told one of her nieces/nephews, because Word of God existed even in the early 1800s.)

Death Comes To Pemberley is pretty good. It's fluff - basically published P&P fanfic - but it's a nice way to spend a few hours with some familiar characters.