Honest to Austen: Pride and Prejudice

Whenever my sister and I used to visit my Nona’s growing up, we’d pile in front of the television and go through all of her VHS tapes. While I would lean towards The Little Mermaid or We're Back, my sister would never fail to pick up the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. By the time she was ten, she knew virtually every word, and I'd scowl and then nap on the bean bags beside her.

So it was kind of weird actually reading Pride and Prejudice. I had this intimate knowledge of the story from having halfheartedly watched the series so many times, but when I had to sit down with the physical book at seventeen in my first year of university, I was really surprised by my reaction to it. Because I really, really loved it.

Jane Austen is on fire in this story of love and hate and sisterhood and station. It explores a lot of the same territory as Sense and Sensibility, but the story layers in a much more complex fashion, and each character appears more defined. In the former, the roles of the youngest sister and the mother felt a bit thin on the ground, but Pride and Prejudice really revels in fleshing out those roles and making you love each and every character, no matter how silly or light they might be. 

But the real charm is in the Jane/Bingley and Lizzie/Darcy romances which feel electric, even years later. Austen beautifully ties both together and when they unravel (in more ways than one), it's a total punch in the heart. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's a survivor of a story, and reading it, it's easy to see why. 

The Adaptations

There have been so many adaptations of this book, it's hard to know where to start. The 1940 film starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier is delightful but barely resembles the story we know and love. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries webseries is a great modern update, but not as great as Bridget Jones' Diary. The 2005 film is pretty good (especially with Rosamund Pike as Jane), but nothing beats that old 1995 one, no matter how many times I've seen it. 

Honest to Austen: Sense and Sensibility

One of my 24 before 25 goals has been to read all of Jane Austen's work. Prior to this year, I'd only read Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice, so it's been a pretty interesting experience to go back through the canon and pick up Sense and Sensibility, Austen's first published novel.

The story focuses on the Dashwood family who, following the death of their father, lose their status and are forced to move to the English countryside to live within their new means. Elinor, the oldest sister, is closed, quiet and carries the main burden of the family. Marianne, the middle sister, is hot-headed, passionate and obsessed with the idea of falling in love.

Interestingly, Sense & Sensibility has a lot in common with Pride & Prejudice, Austen's second novel. Both prioritise relationships between sisters, are riddled not with mistaken identities, but with mistaken motivations and assumptions. Friendships feature significantly, and the silliness of older women given little to do but matchmake and deceptive charming men are both very prominent subplots.

It's main point of difference is in the twisting relationship between Elinor and Marianne, the core relationship of the novel. They're not super close like Jane and Lizzie; however, Elinor shares many traits with Jane - she's emotionally closed, revealing very little of herself to those she loves. Unlike Lizzie, who understands Jane inherently, Marianne doesn't understand Elinor, and the emotional climax of the story comes not at the collision of Elinor and Willoughby, or with Elinor and Edward, but between Elinor and Marianne. It's interesting, and unique for stories now, let alone back in the early 1800s.

I really loved Sense & Sensibility, and it was a great starting novel - both for Austen as a writer, and me as a reader.

A Totally Biased Ranking of Sense & Sensibility Adaptations
7. Scents & Sensibility (2011). 
Hahaha, okay, so this is kind of awful. It follows the basic structure of Sense and Sensibility but instead of regency era women struggling with a new station it's modern day and involves two sisters who make soap. I give it one out of five Austen bonnets.

6. Sense & Sensibility (1971).
This was the first actual adaptation of Sense and Sensibility which is pretty fascinating, especially given the first Pride & Prejudice adaptation was 33 years in 1938. It's not a bad adaptation by any stretch of the imagination, but it is quite dated, and started the trend of writing out the rather unfortunate trend of writing out the youngest Dashwood, Margaret. On the plus side, you can watch  the whole thing on YouTube.  Two-and-a-half out of five Austen bonnets.

5. Sense & Sensibility (1981). 
Both the 1971 and this BBC adaptation, in many ways, feel like filmed stage plays as opposed to actual TV-series'. They're not bad - in fact they're both pretty enjoyable, but they're pretty dull compared to some of the later adaptations and a lot of the cast lacks the sort of palpable chemistry. Two-and-a-half out of five Austen bonnets.

4. Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000).
There's a lot to like in Kandukondain Kandukondain, a Sense & Sensibility set against the backdrop of the Bollywood film industry. It makes for a pretty fun film, plus Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is gorgeous. It's just it clocks in at almost three hours and contains a bit too much filler for me. Three out of five Austen bonnets.

3. From Prada to Nada (2011).
Oh man, I don't care if it's kind of bad, I love this adaptation of the story. Camilla Bell and Alexa Vega actually do a terrific job embodying the elements of Elinor and Marianne that make the story so engaging, and the take of it against the backdrop of the Mexican community in East LA is awesome. Three-and-a-half out of five Austen bonnets. You can also catch this one on Netflix Australia, so you should defs check it out.

2. Sense & Sensibility (1995).
This is often held up as the Sense & Sensibility adaptation, and it's not hard to see why. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet are, well, Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. It helps that it's beautifully shot too, and quite well shaved of fat to make it a successful and self contained film. Four out of five Austen bonnets.

1. Sense & Sensibility (2008)
This is, in some ways, the most faithful, adapted work. The spirit of the series is the most realised, even though a lot of the elements have been expanded and depleted as required. Mama Dashwood and little Margaret are really expanded upon, as is the relationship between Colonel Brandon and Willoughby. I was basically sobbing by the end, and I do really think that Hattie Morahan is the quinesential Elinor Dashwood. Four-and-a-half out of five Austen bonnets. It's also on Netflix Australia, so you should get watching.