When adapting a famous piece of literature such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the director and script writers must stay true to the novel but differ enough to make the story interesting and different from other adaptations. One way of doing this is through the use of time, place, and social environment which all play a huge role in developing the setting of a story. Setting is important because it can impact the way an audience views the adaptation, as well as how the characters interact and develop with each other and their environment.
The Pride and Prejudiceadaptation starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy stays very faithful to the novel and is set in England. However, the setting is more dramatic in this movie than in the original book. In the scene when Darcy proclaims his love to Elizabeth, it begins by Elizabeth running through the rain with dramatic instrumental music playing in the background and Darcy following her without her knowledge until they reach the gazebo. Once here, the music stops, and Darcy starts to confess his love for Elizabeth until Elizabeth goes off about how she could never love a man like him. The rain and music place an emphasis on how important this scene is to the movie and to the development of Darcy and Elizabeth’s feelings for one another. It also makes the scene more dramatic and suspenseful for the viewers watching it. This makes the audience hopeful that Elizabeth and Darcy will end up together because the rain usually leads to two characters kissing but they are wrong and left with Darcy walking away and Elizabeth with a blank look on her face. In the book this scene isn’t as suspenseful because Darcy comes and knocks on Elizabeth’s door and they have this conversation in the house.
In the second adaptation I watched, Bride and Prejudice, the setting plays a key role in the casting of actors, their roles and relationships, and the culture of the people. This adaptation is set in India which allowed for Pride and Prejudiceto take a Bollywood spin. Due to its being set in India, there are different cultural norms. For example, throughout the movie no one kissed, but in Indian culture each wedding consists of three days’ worth of celebration. Also, in this adaptation they focus a lot more on the dances and family aspect of Pride and Prejudicethan anything else. Being set in India also makes Darcy and Elizabeth different than any other adaptation because Darcy is unable to understand a lot of the Indian culture and why Elizabeth acts the way that she does.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. The Keira Knightley one captured my interest because it stayed true to the novel and allowed me to see and understand the characters and plot development on a deeper level. However, I liked the Bride and Prejudiceadaptation the best because it was a musical with a ton of dancing and singing involved. It also taught me a new dance move, “screwing the lightbulb and petting the dog,” and therefore more about the Indian culture. Overall, I found it very beneficial to watch these adaptations and would watch more of them.
The different settings of the two adaptations play a key role in allowing the audience to further understand the text and to bring a new, modern spin on the original text. It also allows the audience to see the characters act out their different emotions and understand different cultures.
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