Lizzie Bennet Diaries Gentleman

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A gentleman is society's perception of a well-to-do, cultured, and an aesthetically pleasing male. Jane Austen explores the idea that the theory of a gentleman is based on one's own interpretation, and not society's prejudices, and that first impressions can often be wrong. In the Youtube adaptation The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, the writers and actors also experiment with how two characters left poor impressions and are not considered gentlemen by Lizzie and Lydia's own standards. In the third chapter of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen compresses her 18th century society's apprehension of what a gentleman is into small town satire during the important first ball. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth represents Austen and her ideology. In this …show more content…

Staying true to the theme in Chapter 3 of Pride and Prejudice, the video's main statement is that regardless of Darcy's fortune and status, he is not a gentleman according to Lizzie, though he might be to other people. Even though Elizabeth barely knows him, she came to the conclusion almost immediately that Darcy is a pompous, self-entitled person and because of that, he is certainly unable to be the gentlemanly type. When Lydia and Lizzie reenact the wedding scene–which is the adaptation's equivalent of the Meryton ball in the novel–Lydia portrays Bing Lee as a very inappropriate and womanizing character and Lizzie portrays William Darcy as the boring and stuffy type. These are examples of what qualities a gentleman doesn't have. In the sixth episode of the series, Mrs. Bennet seems to represent the society in place of the townspeople in the novel; and through her, their prejudiced opinion of a who is a gentleman and what is a quintessential individual. Lizzie quotes her stereotypical southern mother as saying that they're "handsome–and rich!" (LBD, 0:28). To her mother, regardless of if she likes William Darcy or not, him and Bing Lee are admirable

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