Translating 19th Century Literature into Tweets and Vlogs
Pride & Prejudice
A Short Summary
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen was first published in 1813. It follows the story of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters as they navigate the treacherous waters of courtship and the societal ladder. Mrs. Bennet is mostly concerned with her daughters marrying rich men since after Mr. Bennet dies, they will lose their home. Jane, Elizabeth's sister, falls in love with Charles Bingley, the new eligible bachelor in town. His friend William Darcy comes with him and Elizabeth catches his eye (against his better judgement, as he later tells her whereupon she rejects him). Unfortunately for him, Elizabeth highly dislikes him for insulting her and breaking up her sister and Bingley. Action rises and falls and they eventually realize they misjudged each other and decide to get married.First Impressions
The Romance genre was forever changed with Pride & Prejudice, and the novel became a quintessential part of the literary canon. The bones of the story are the cliche romantic trope that people can't get enough of (even if some of them claim that it's overdone).
- Girl meets Boy
- Boy secretly likes Girl but is aloof
- Girl dislikes Boy because he is stupid
- Boy confesses love, which Girl rejects
- Events transpire that cause the Girl to reconsider
- They confess their love and live happily ever after
This general format is now fairly standard. Plenty of books, YA Non/Fiction and Romances to name a few, incorporate it into their plots.
One of my favorite aspects of Pride & Prejudice is that "the novel, initially entitled First Impressions, is essentially concerned with second impressions, a revision, or even, adaptation, of an original impression" (Cartmell). Darcy and Elizabeth must overcome their pride and prejudices against each other.
Countless adaptations have been released since its publication. The earliest adaptations were released in the the 1930s, and the most recent is the film version of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. On my way to discuss The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and how it encapsulates the Contemporary era, I will explore some of the most popular adaptations in books and film as well as other platforms through the 20th century up to the present.
