While I know it is part of the English canon, and rightly so, with its insights to the societal values of the time and the richness of the language, I still found this novel did not hold my concentration very well. Some parts of the story were quite exciting or humorous and I was drawn in at these times, but mostly, I found the novel to be verbose and long-winded.
Also, the feminist side of me didn't want to believe that women should be so actively thinking of who they will marry and be on the constant lookout for the perfect partner. However, the romantic side of me knows that no matter the era, the pursuit of marriage is actually the main thought had by an unmarried woman, and it is in the thoughts of all those who surround her, whether we wish to believe it or not! We can scoff at internet dating and the business of creating the perfect wedding, but in every era, children are raised with the idea that the fairytale wedding is the ultimate life achievement and a sure sign of success. So, while Mrs Bennett seems excessive in her encouragement of her daughters' marriages, deep down we know it is what every mother wants for their daughter, and what every woman wants for herself.
I had to watch the movie, in the end, to see if it helped me to be a bit more excited about the book, and the movie was brilliant! A story like this needs the visual, to enable the viewer to actually see how a character looks at another character, and how their tone of voice conveys their sincerity. So in this case I recommend see the film first. You can't help but love the story then.
My rating:
**
Hi Wendy, did you watch the BBc version with Colin Firth? divine! Or the newer version with Kiera Knightly? Also a good portrayal but to me not as good.
ReplyDeleteI personally love the book, but really enjoy the movie too. Prefer the book as it has more detail than the movie gives us.
Thanks for visiting! The Keira Knightly version was the one I loved, I've only seen snippets of the Colin Firth version. Everyone fell in love with him in that! You can see my reviews for films at my other blog, A Choc-Top and Me (http://sicefilms.blogspot.com).
ReplyDeleteOh dear Wendy! The BBC version is much better and truer to the book, it's also scads longer as it's a mini-series rather than a movie... in saying that though, Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen do quite a lovely job of telling the story. On your point about the focus on marriage? You really need to think about the fact that most women in that time would have had no means of income or prospects for making an income on their own like we do today. Most of them would've relied on a husband to provide that for them... I would imagine I'd be pretty focused on getting myself married if I was going to end up a poor, un-married spinster, with no house, no money, no prospects and having to rely on the kindness of the richer sector of the community.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
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