So this week we enjoyed the middle section of Pride and Prejudice. Any thoughts, especially from those who has never seen this production? Is there anyone out there experiencing this for the first time – never seen an adaptation or read the novel?
I do want to ask this: Why all the fuss about the scene where Darcy dives into the pond upon his return to Pemberley? I know it isn’t in the novel, so that’s not what I’m talking about. Why does everyone think this is such a great scene? I don’t get it. It just escapes me.
Please share your thoughts in the comments!
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I think the reason people get so vocal about the diving scene is this: Colin Firth is a good looking man. In a wet shirt.
I have nothing more to say than that I’m excited that this is airing on PBS – my mom isn’t a reader at all, and she’s really enjoying this miniseries. She even said to me “I wish I enjoyed reading like you and Aaron do: I’d probably enjoy this book.” All I said was “Well, I have 4 different copies of it, let me know if you want one.” 🙂
She also said that she doesn’t understand Mrs. Bennet’s obsession with getting her girls married, but we won’t get into issues of the laws of entailment/womens’ rights in marriage and after their husband’s death there – too long and boring for most.
This is so much better than the movie with Kiera Knightley – I don’t know what THEY were thinking. 😉
Andrea – Well, ok, I guess I can see the wet shirt thing. I don’t find people particularly attractive when they are wet so I guess that explains why it meant nothing to me. 😉
Sallie, I was wondering the same thing when I saw that scene! My friends had swooned over the swimming scene, so I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. Colin Firth is easy on the eyes, but I wasn’t as taken by him as my friends seemed to be.
yeah, the shirt thing makes no sense, but oh well. I do agree with the whol Kiera Kinghtly movie thing. It was horrible, it didn’t even make sense. This one is so much better!
I thought that scene was a time waster, myself.
I’m still trying to figure out why Mr. Darcy seems to be the most popular of Jane Austen’s men. He says Lizzie is not pretty enough for him, then “proposes” to her by telling her it’s against his better judgment-then is upset that Lizzie turned him down. That makes him stupid, in my opinion.
Maybe the book is different?
Anyway, from the adaptations I’ve seen, Tilney is my favorite Jane Austen man.
And Jane is not prettier than Lizzie. She is not unattractive, but to me she is not the great beauty the story wants us to believe.
My favorite scene is actually right after the pond–when he and Lizzie first run into each other and they are so flustered. Their conversation is so funny :-).
I did like the Kiera Knightley movie. I think in the time alloted they did a good job. There just wasn’t enough time to develop all the characters like in the mini-series.
My favorite Jane Austen man is Frederick Wentworth from Persuasion. He was always constant in his feelings for Anne and the letter he wrote her at the end of the book is so romantic.
Elaine – I really like that scene, too.
abrianna – I had that problem with John Thornton in North and South. I don’t want to give anything away to anyone who hasn’t seen it, but the first time I watched it I had a hard time with it. I’ve since watched it a few more times and really like it a lot. But I still have a hard time reconciling the John Thornton in Part 1 and the John Thornton in Part 4. 🙂
I think next week we’ll do a favorite scene and quotes post for P&P. 🙂
Sallie –
I can see why most would wonder about the swimming scene – Colin Firth is a wonderful actor, but personally, I found myself thinking “Okay…so he’s bothered by something and needs to go for a swim. Great. How is this relevant?” I’m LOVING that you’re doing these series: Austen doesn’t always get enough credit for her books and stories outside the circle of confirmed ‘Janeites’, so this is a good way to show folks that her novels aren’t all that bad. In fact, they’re downright enjoyable to me (hence the 4 copies of P &P, etc).
Abrianna – keep watching the miniseries. Once it is over, you will see why Darcy is the public’s favorite. 🙂 And I HIGHLY suggest the book. You’ll love it!
I’ve never read a Jane Austin book and am new to the movies so I thought I’d share my thoughts.
I am enjoying this version of P&P quite a bit! Much better than the Kiera Knightly version. Her hair drove me crazy–it always looked so messy and the characters weren’t developed very well. I also had a hard time understanding the dialogue and had to turn on the subtitles feature to understand what they were saying.
I also don’t understand what all the fuss is about Mr. Darcy. I don’t like him at all. So far my favorite Jane Austin male character is Col Brandon from S&S. The only version of S&S I have seen is the Emma Thompson one and it is one of my very favorite movies of all time. I am eagerly awaiting the Masterpiece Theater showing of S&S, I hope I like it as well as Emma Thompson’s version. (o:
Blessings,
~Ms.B
I have P&P on my Netflix list. I’m saving it for a weekend my husband is away because I think he would hate this kind of movie. Actually, I know he would hate this movie.
I remember seeing this movie years and years ago and the only thing I could remember was that Colin Firth was very handsome. I really have tried to read the book and I’m trying again (through Daily Lit) but I just can’t get into it. Does it help once you see the movies?
I really am an avid reader and I do love classical literature, but there was something about Jane Austen I just can’t get into.
I don’t really get P & P. I haven’t read the book, but I’ve seen two movie versions and I don’t care for the love story. They hate each other for almost the entire movie and then at the end they are in love. I like a love story where people actually like each other for most of the movie. Mrs. Darcy isn’t very pleasant and they are both stubborn. Would make for an intersting marriage. He was so stinking rich that there is no way he would have married her with her foolish, scandlous family. It’s not a realistic story, but then I guess I’m not a romantic, just call me Elinor.
Mrs. B. – Colonel Brandon is one of my very favorite characters and I think that version of Sense and Sensibility is My. Favorite. Movie. Period. I iron to it, um, more often than I am going to admit! I am looking forward to the new version in a few weeks. The extended trailer they had on Sunday evening definitely piqued my interest!
Becky – I found the first few chapters of P&P hard to get through. Once I got into it, it was a page turner. But I had to start a couple of times before I finished it. Maybe try again after you see the movie and really push yourself to get past the first few chapters. 🙂
I’m on chapter 6 now and it’s starting to get better. It’s nice having a chapter a day delivered to my e-mail. I can take 15 minutes of my lunch break and use that time to read my chapter that day. It’s pretty convenient!
It’s nice to have kindred spirits in Amy and Ms B regarding Mr. Darcy!
Andrea,
I have every intention of watching the last episode. I am enjoying the other characters and the way the story is developed. And Colin Firth is doing a great job at being snobbish and introverted.
My husband is introverted too, but I can assure you that he never called me unattractive or proposed to me “against his bettter judgment.” If he had, my answer would have been the same as Lizzie’s-no.
And I also find it odd that he, having a quiet personality, cannot recogonize that Jane is the same way. Because she did not show the passion he thinks she should have, he takes Bingley away from her. What passion has he shown Lizzie?
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
Sallie–Oh yay! Someone else who likes Col. Brandon. And I have owned S&S for only a few months and have watched it four times already! It was just so wonderfully done. (o:
And I reread my comment and realized that I need to slow down in my typing….I spelled ‘Austen’ wrong and signed my name ‘Ms.’ instead of ‘Mrs.’
Abrianna–I thought the same thing when reading both of your comments as well. (o:
Blessings,
~Mrs.B
IMO, I think ,everyone should read the books before seeing the movie.
I think the swimming scene was put there to build up the tension of Mr Darcy. Just like the fencing scene. He really is smitten with Lizzie and is suffering. I see the scene as him trying to distract himself from his suffering.
When I first saw the swimming scene, I thought it was weird because it was so out of character for Darcy, but then it grew on me. 😉
Mrs. B,
I love Col. Brandon, too. I think Capt Wentworth is my favorite, though. You really should read both books.
Col. Brandon as represented in the Emma Thomson Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Austen hero as well, followed closely by Mr. Knightly in Emma. But I like Henry Tilney, too — I’ve just started reading Northanger Abbey. That and Mansfield Park are the only Austen books I haven’t read yet.
Her books are a little hard to get through in some places, I think primarily because the language is so much different and so much more wordy than the way we speak now.
I don’t know if it is because this is my third time watching this version of P&P or if it is because I have read the book since the last time, but I am getting more from it this time than ever — all the little nuances in Elizabeth’s and Mr. Darcy’s expressions. Jennifer Ehle can say so much with the lift of an eyebrow. I didn’t used to like Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy — he was handsome and played pride and arrogance well, but I never warmed up to him in the end. But this time I am seeing the struggle and the changes he undergoes. Darcy will probably never be warm and demonstrative, but now he’s not seeming to me as stiff as he did in previous viewings.
Amy, I disagree that they hate each other through the whole movie and then suddenly find that they love each other instead at the end. Austen’s first title for this novel was First Impressions, and that is what is neat to see unfold in the story — they both had wrong first impressions of each other, but as they get to know one another more they find more that they like, and then love slowly dawns.
Oh my most favorite movie AND book! Does it get any better? Even my precious hubby is sitting through this movie version of P&P with me to “see what all of the fuss is about”! And he likes it!
On to the Darcy swimming scene….I think it shows a spontaneity on Darcy’s part which is foreshadowing the change of character that he is going through. Almost like baptism, a washing off of the old and a cleanliness for the new.
Call me romantic, maybe it IS solely for the opportunity to show Colin Firth in a wet white shirt! ;o)
Really enjoying this thread- thank you so much, Sally!