The 1995 BBC film Pride & Prejudice offers “equipment for living” (Burke, 1973) for women seeking to build self-confidence and the ability to stand up for their own best interests. Right, fans? We all have role models and I’d be willing to bet that for a large number of women in the United States, one of them is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. And not because you might have been assigned Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice to read in high school.
In 1996, the BBC film Pride & Prejudice aired in the United States on the A & E channel and swept the nation. Women ogled Colin Firth (Darcy) and fell in love with Jennifer Ehle (Elizabeth). This production brought the book to life. Unlike other remakes, this is a period piece, and yet, Austen’s work is timeless. The masterful transcription of this book-to-film rendition offers women everywhere hope to grow in strength and to stand up for their own best interests.
Below you can view a presentation on my paper on this subject. The paper itself, which includes cited references, is also linked below. Let me know if you love Elizabeth Bennet as much as I do!
