Comparing Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Novel to Joe Wright's Film

This report provides a comparative analysis of Jane Austen's novel, *Pride and Prejudice*, and the 2005 film adaptation directed by Joe Wright. The report begins with a series of study questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy, covering key chapters from the novel and prompting critical thinking about character motivations, plot developments, and thematic elements. The core of the report then compares the novel and the film, highlighting differences in narrative perspective, character portrayal, and thematic emphasis. The analysis explores how the film adaptation modifies the source material to appeal to a modern audience, examining changes in dialogue, scene construction, and character arcs. The report also considers the critical reception of the film, noting the mixed responses from Austen fans and the impact of cinematic choices on the overall interpretation of the story. The essay concludes by discussing the challenges and motivations behind adapting classic novels for the screen, particularly the balance between fidelity to the source material and the need to engage contemporary viewers. The report references scholarly sources to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of the novel and film's relationship.

Running head: COMPARE AND CONTRAST REVIEW
Compare and Contrast Review
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

A novel when taken into consideration for filming has huge responsibility resting on
the shoulders of the filmmaker to execute it to perfection so that people can connect the both
(1). The chosen novel for the project is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, which has been
made into a film by Joe Wright in the year 2005. The report will have a set of 30 study
questions based on the Bloom’s taxonomy and then there will be section that will compare
the novel and film and discuss the differences that are found in both the genres and their
execution.
Study questions
Section 1 (Chapter 1 – 12)
1. What happened after Darcy refused to dance with Elizabeth?
Answer- Elizabeth developed a disliking for Darcy.
2. What differences exist between Darcy and Mr.Bingley?
Answer- Darcy was a man who had different taste and could not be persuaded by the
environment unlike Mr. Bingley.
3. What factors would you change if Elizabeth liked Darcy at first sight?
Answers- Darcy’s character would have been toned down so that their first interaction
would be pleasant.
4. What were some of the motives behind sending Elizabeth on a horse rather than a
carriage to Bingley’s house?
Answer- The motive was to make Elizabeth fall sick so that she would spent the night
at the Bingley’s.
5. Can you develop a possible solution to the loquaciousness of Elizabeth’s mother?
Answer- Elizabeth’s father if took the charge of talking with visitors, the
embarrassing conversations could have been avoided.

Section 2 (Chapter 13-23)
1. How was this section similar to the previous?
Answer- In both the sections, Elizabeth’s mother intended to get her daughters
married off to rich men.
2. Can you see a possible solution to her mother’s worries?
Answer- Her worry was about the property that would belong to Mr. Collins after the
of Elizabeth’s father and the solution was to get a new heir in the family.
3. Do you think Elizabeth marrying Mr. Collins would be a good thing?
Answer- No.
4. What is Elizabeth’s mother’s motive?
Answer- Her prime motive was to get her daughters married to wealthy men.
5. Can you distinguish between the character of Elizabeth’s mother and father?
Answer- Her father was a sane person and believed that his daughters would take their
own decisions.
6. Could this have happened if Elizabeth’s mother was not the way she was?
Answer- None of the episodes would have ensued if her mother was not the way she
actually was.
Section 3 (Chapter 24-34)
1. Who was the girl for whom Wickham fell?
Answer- Miss King.
2. Create an outline of Wickham’s character.
Answer- Wickham followed wealth and wished to earn fortune by marrying a rich
girl.
3. Why Wickham’s interest for Elizabeth vanished?
Answer- Because Elizabeth did not have huge fortune to back her up.

4. What would be the consequences if Elizabeth had a fortune?
Answer- Wickham would have married her.
5. Devise a solution to Elizabeth and Darcy’s cold relationship?
Answer- They should talk to each other and clarify issues.
6. What do you think about Darcy?
Answer- Darcy is a man who has pride but also has a different kind of choice and
unpredictability about his character.
Section 4 (Chapter 35-49)
1. What happened after Elizabeth visited Pemberley?
Answer- She came across Darcy unplanned.
2. What were the differences between the previous encounter and the one mentioned
in this section between Elizabeth and Darcy?
Answer- Darcy was utmost polite and sported a very humble attitude.
3. Could this meeting have such results if held at a different location?
Answer- No, because people here knew Darcy and hence said facts about him that
were unknown.
4. Why the changes in Darcy evident?
Answer- Darcy’s real humble attitude has not been written about in the previous parts
of the book hence it is evident.
5. Is paying Wickham money for marrying Lydia a good thing?
Answer- No, because he is greedy and his love is not for Lydia but for the wealth.
Section 5 (Chapter 50-61)
1. What happened after Lydia and Wickham visited Netherfield?
Answer- Lydia spoke about her wedding and Wickham behaved as if he did no wrong
in eloping with her and taking money to marry her.

2. Mention a difference between Darcy and Bingley?
Answer- Bingley was expressive while Darcy was much reserved in character.
3. What would change if Wickham was a good man?
Answer- The eloping embarrassment for the Bennet family could be avoided and
Darcy acting as a savior would not have been possible.
4. What were the turning points?
Answer- Darcy’s help in getting Lydia married to Wickham and preserving the family
respect of the Bennet’s.
5. Solution to Elizabeth’s wedding?
Answer- Darcy proposed and all other rumors were hence put to rest.
6. What is your take on the Darcy and Elizabeth love story?
Answer- Not a love at first sight but surely it was a story in which opposites at the
beginning had attractions towards each other.
The Comparison Essay
There have been many adaptations of the novel but the most recent of one of them is
the 2005 film by Joe Wright that is referred to in this essay. Jane Austen wrote the novel and
the publishing year was in 1813 (2). The film that was released in 2005 had Keira Knightley
casted as Elizabeth Bennet and alongside Matthew Macfadyen. Initially it was decided that
the film would be based closely on the lines of the novel and the dialogues would be
unchanged from the original text. However, that was not practiced and the dialogues and
scenes were altered in the movie. The change was done so that the film could connect with
the modern audience and so that the younger generations can connect with the characters (3).
The narrative in the book was completely on the perspective of Elizabeth but in the movie,
few scenes were added to display the perspective of Mr. Darcy as well. This approach to

show the perspective of Darcy was added in order to give the character a better arch and to
show the friendship of his character with Mr. Bingley. The movie was critically acclaimed
and Keira Knightley received a nomination for the Oscars for the role of Elizabeth. However,
it was seen that Austen fans and viewers from UK had a mixed bag of response for the film.
In the film, Elizabeth is found keeping secrets from her family and distances increase
between her and Jane. This was in complete contrast to the book where Elizabeth never kept
any secrets from the entire family. The character of Mr. Bennet is shown as a warm and
affectionate father, which is in contrast to the book, as Austen never downplayed the fact that
the family misfortunes and his wring financial decisions were reasons the family was
suffering for so long. The relationship of Mr. Bennet and his wife has also been shown as a
warm and loving relationship, which is in absolute contrast of the book. While watching the
film closely it is found that the character of Elizabeth is far more impatient in the movie than
in the book, she seen yelling at her parents in the film but the book never showed Elizabeth in
such light. Wight made a drastic change in the mood of the film as he completely shifted the
time-period of the plot from 19th Century to late 18th century, this decision was taken because
the clothing pattern is lot impressive in the 18th century (4) and it amounted to beautiful visual
frames on screen. It is often seen that whenever a classic novel like this is presented in the big
screen, makers somewhat circumvent the material and that leads to mixed response from the
audience and critics alike (5). The reason behind such motive primarily is the urge of the
filmmakers to create visuals that are more appealing to the modern audience because making
profits is equally important in today’s world than that of Austen’s period (6). This version of
the novel on screen was regarded as the most abridged version of the novel until date.

Reference
1. Selby K, Giddings R, Wensley C. Screening the novel: The theory and practice of
literary dramatization. Springer; 2016 Jul 27.
2. Fullerton S. Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austen's Masterpiece.
Voyageur Press (MN); 2013.
3. Saboo AR, Chakravarty A, Grewal R. Organizational debut on the public stage:
Marketing myopia and initial public offerings. Marketing Science. 2016 Mar
25;35(4):656-75.
4. Bermingham A, Brewer J, editors. Consumption Of Culture. Routledge; 2013 Sep 13.
5. Selby K, Giddings R, Wensley C. Screening the novel: The theory and practice of
literary dramatization. Springer; 2016 Jul 27.
6. Levison L. Filmmakers and financing: business plans for independents. Taylor &
Francis; 2013 Apr 26.