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Portrayal of women in movies
Portrayal of women in movies
Portrayal of women in movies
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Abstract — The female bildungsroman, also known as the bildungsromane, is known as a sub-genre of novel where the principle focus of the novel is the education of the protagonist. Literary critic M.H. Abrams defines the bildungsroman as, "the development of the protagonist's mind and character, as [s]he passes from childhood through varied experiences…into maturity and the recognition of [her] identity and role in the world". The character of Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen's celebrated novel Pride and Prejudice is one such bildungsroman heroine. The reader is given insight into her psychological development as she matures over the course of the novel. She begins the novel as a clever, but somewhat immature character. While she initially revels in her powers of discernment, she later learns that she has allowed prejudice and her own pride to blind herself to reality. Her education and maturity are the principal foci of the novel and the principle foci of film adaptations of the novel, as well. In order to illustrate this continuing emphasis on development, this paper discusses relevant passages from the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The paper also analyzes how three modern film adaptations deal with the maturation of Elizabeth Bennet-- focusing on the ways they recognize the power of Austen’s coming-of-age narrative and its importance to the plot, independent of the courtship of Darcy and Elizabeth. The three modern adaptations analyzed within are as follows: Pride & Prejudice (2005) directed by Joe Wright, Bride & Prejudice (2004) directed by Gurinder Chadha, and Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) directed by Sharon Maguire.
Elizabeth Bennet overcomes many obstacles on her journey to adulthood. The most profound obsta...
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..."The Absent-Minded Heroine: Or, Elizabeth Bennet Has a Thought." Eighteenth-Century Studies 39.3 (2006): 337-50. Project Muse. Web. 10 Apr. 2011.
Labovitz, Esther Kleinbord. The Myth of the Heroine: the Female Bildungsroman in the Twentieth Century. 2nd ed. New York: Lang, 1988. Print.
Leitch, Thomas M. Film Adaptation and Its Discontents: From Gone with the Wind to The Passion of the Christ. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 2009. Print.
Leitch, Thomas M. "Twelve Fallacies in Contemporary Adaptation Theory." Project MUSE. Johns Hopkins UP, Spring 2003. Web. 02 Feb. 2011.
Pride & Prejudice. Dir. Joe Wright. Perf. Keira Knightly, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone. Studio Canal, 2005. DVD.
Zacharek, Stephanie. "Pride & Prejudice." Rev. of Pride & Prejudice (2005). Salon. Salon Media Group, 11 Nov. 2005. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. .
Phillips, Gene D. Conrad and Cinema: The Art of Adaptation. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1995.
The Regency Period in England was an extravagant era often associated with prominent social, political, economic, and artistic advancements. It took place in the early 1800’s and was a time of much elegance and aristocracy. Movies and books set in this time period all seem to highlight the elegance and romance that was prevalent at the time. Famous Regency Era literary works, such as Pride and Prejudice, portray young English women getting their happily-ever-after endings with their true loves. Unfortunately, such endings did not actually happen to real women of the era because they lived very austere and vapid lives. They hardly had a choice in many of their lives’ decisions and had little to no career options. These women were raised from birth to be lady-like, obedient, and agreeable in order to attract respectable men to marry, as they were fully dependant on men. Women were essentially treated as property passed on from their fathers to their husbands. They had many restrictions placed on them and often weren’t even allowed to walk outside without proper accompaniment. Because the expectations placed on women were so rigid and absurd, some feminist authors from the time ridiculed these social standards in their writing. Famous novelist Jane Austen was known for satirizing many social customs of the Regency Period in her romantic fiction novels, placing a special emphasis on women’s rights. Pride and Prejudice in particular depicted protagonist Elizabeth Bennet as a smart, headstrong, free thinking individual who didn’t let negative outside forces sway her beliefs. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen challenges the social propriety and creates her own ideals for women through Elizabeth Bennet’s independence, intelligence, and stron...
Fordyce, James. "Sermons to Young Women." Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Robert Irvine. Peterborough: Broadview Press Ltd, 2002. 392-402.
Whenever books are adapted for film, changes inevitably have to be made. The medium of film offers several advantages and disadvantages over the book: it is not as adept at exploring the inner workings of people - it cannot explore their minds so easily; however, the added visual and audio capabilities of film open whole new areas of the imagination which, in the hands of a competent writer-director, can more than compensate.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Kate Chopin and Jane Austen could readily be referred to as literary heroines of the nineteenth century. Both women often challenged conventional societal methods within their works, which inherently caused these literary geniuses to write in complete secrecy. Chopin and Austen gave birth to characters such as Edna Pontellier in The Awakening, and Elizabeth Bennett, the renowned protagonist of Austen’s novella Pride and Prejudice. While noble in their respective ways one can easily mistake Edna and Elizabeth to be selfish creatures of society because of their ardent pursuit of happiness and love, and their disregard of nineteenth century societal constructs and family expectations. In similar aspects Edna Pontellier and Elizabeth Bennett were able to successfully challenge Nineteenth Century conventional methods with regards to marriage and society.
A. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1994. Print. The. Bloom, Harold, ed., pp. 113-117.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to love and marriage is the focal point of the narrative. But, the lesser known source of richness in Austen’s writing comes from her complex themes the well-developed minor characters. A closer examination of Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s dear friend in Pride and Prejudice, shows that while she did not take up a large amount of space in the narrative, her impact was great. Charlotte’s unfortunate circumstances in the marriage market make her a foil to Elizabeth, who has the power of choice and refusal when it comes to deciding who will be her husband. By focusing on Charlotte’s age and lack of beauty, Austen emphasizes how ridiculous and cruel marriage can be in this time.
In 1813, a woman’s main goal was marriage. Females wanted to find a man who could provide for them and take care of them; not all women wanted love. Many were fine with living on a wealthy estate and living in an upper-class manner. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a novel about the Bennet sisters, five girls whom, in the time of 1813, are all unmarried and are looking for husbands. The central conflict is based around two young women, the eldest of the five Bennet daughters, Jane and Elizabeth. The girls have their similarities and differences, and can be compared and contrasted in many ways; in terms of which is stronger at handling the pressure of relationships, context clues give a valid answer. What the reader must interpret for his
Each of Jane Austen’s characters in her novel, Pride and Prejudice, experiences a significant character development. Whether the change occurs by self-realization or through the assistance of another character varies from each individual character. For Austen’s leading man, Mr. Darcy, his character improvement is documented through his two marriage proposals to Elizabeth Bennet and her subsequent first rejection of his proposal. His first proposal demonstrates his extreme arrogance, elitism, and blindness to his many flaws. While his latter proposal shows not only the recognition of his deficiencies, but the overall improvement in his mentality. Mr. Darcy’s two proposals, though having the same intended end result, are completely different
The first chapter of George Bluestone’s book Novels into Film starts to point out the basic differences that exist between the written word and the visual picture. It is in the chapter "Limits of the Novel and Limits of the Film," that Bluestone attempts to theorize on the things that shape the movie/film from a work of literature. Film and literature appear to share so much, but in the process of changing a work into film, he states important changes are unavoidable. It is the reasoning behind these changes that Bluestone directs his focus, which is the basis behind the change. He starts to look at the nature of film and literature, as a crucial part in the breakdown of this problem. It is only through a discussion into nature of each of these, that Bluestone can discover where film and literature seperate, and also develop a close to accurate theory on the laws that direct the course of change from novel to film.
During the 1800s, society believed there to be a defined difference in character among men and women. Women were viewed simply as passive wives and mothers, while men were viewed as individuals with many different roles and opportunities. For women, education was not expected past a certain point, and those who pushed the limits were looked down on for their ambition. Marriage was an absolute necessity, and a career that surpassed any duties as housewife was practically unheard of. Jane Austen, a female author of the time, lived and wrote within this particular period. Many of her novels centered around women, such as Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, who were able to live independent lives while bravely defying the rules of society. The roles expected of women in the nineteenth century can be portrayed clearly by Jane Austen's female characters of Pride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice. Dir. Joe Wright. Perf. Keira Knightley and Matthew Mcfadyen. 2005. DVD. Focus Features, 2006.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. New York: WW Norton &. Company, 1996.
The main protagonist of the story, Elizabeth Bennet (nicknamed both Lizzy and Eliza), is the second daughter in the Bennet family. Second only to her elder sister in beauty, Elizabeth’s figure is said to be “light and pleasing,” with “dark eyes,” and “intelligent…expression” (24). At 20 years old, she is still creating her place in society. Known for her wit and playful nature, “Elizabeth is the soul of Pride and Prejudice, [she] reveals in her own person the very title qualities that she spots so easily” (“Pride and Prejudice”) in others. Her insightfulness often leads her to jump to conclusions and think herself above social demand. These tendencies lead her to be prejudice towards others; this is an essential characteristic of her role