Pride and Prejudice is a book by Jane Austen published in 1813. The book follows the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy who must overcome their pride and prejudice to follow their hearts’ feelings and marry. Scholars and critics consider the book a masterpiece of the literature world. For the reading public, the book is part of the most loved and favorite books of all time. Numerous screen adaptations have been made based on this amazing book. Today, we are going to take a look at some differences between the book and the 2005 movie.
1) Mr. Collins’s
proposal to Charlotte Lucas
One difference between Pride and
Prejudice's book and the 2005 movie is Mr. Collins’s non-existent marriage
proposal to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s friend. In the movie, Charlotte Lucas
only comes to the Bennet’s house to tell Elizabeth about her engagement with
Collins, surprising Lizzy. In Jane Austen’s book, we can see that the events
leading up to Mr. Collins’s proposal started with the time Charlotte Lucas
passed listening to Mr. Collins when the Lucases invited the Bennets to dine
with them. Charlotte’s objective was to keep away Mr. Collins’s addresses to
Elizabeth, who rejected his marriage proposal before, by engaging them towards
herself. This led to Mr. Collins’s stealthy escape from Longbourn the following
morning after last night’s dinner with the Lucases. When Mr. Collins arrived
with Charlotte, he proposed to her marriage. He asked her parents for their
consent, and they fully agreed as they saw Mr. Collins as a great eligible
match for their daughter. After that, Charlotte told Lizzy about her
engagement. Elizabeth was surprised at first, but she wished her happiness.
Since these events are not present in the movie, Charlotte’s talk with Lizzy
feels empty.
2) Lady
Catherine de Bourgh visit to Longbourn
When Lady Catherine de Bourgh arrives at
Longbourn to inquire Elizabeth about the rumor she may marry her nephew, Mr.
Darcy, she arrives at different times and does different actions in the book and
movie. In the 2005 movie, she arrived at Longbourn at night when the Bennet
family was about to sleep. The Bennet family received Lady Catherine, and she
demanded to talk with Elizabeth alone. In another room, she inquired Lizzy
about the marriage rumor and forbade her to accept a proposal from Mr. Darcy.
In Jane Austen’s book, Lady Catherine arrived in the morning when everybody was
together in the dining room. She entered the house and asked Elizabeth to come
with her on a walk to a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of
their lawn. There, she inquired Elizabeth about an alarming report that
mentioned she might marry her nephew. She asked Elizabeth to confirm the rumor
as a scandalous falsehood. These events make the movie’s scene different from
the book.
3) Pride and
Prejudice ending
Pride and Prejudice’s movie ending is
completely different from the book. The 2005 movie presented two different
finals. In one of them, Mr. Darcy is talking privately with Mr. Bennet to ask
for his consent to marry Elizabeth. Then, Mr. Bennet asked Lizzy to enter the
room. He asked her what she was thinking since Lizzy mentioned before that she
hated that man. Elizabeth replied that she loved him and told her father
everything he had done for her. At this, Mr. Bennet was completely happy and blessed
Elizabeth and Darcy union. In the second ending, the movie presents a beautiful
scene where the married Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are enjoying an intimate
romantic moment at Pemberley. A passionate kiss crowned this ending. In Jane
Austen’s book, the ending part talks about the life of the characters after the
events of the novel. We can see that Elizabeth and Darcy are married, Jane and
Bingley move into an estate near Pemberley, Mr. Bennet misses and visits Lizzy
frequently, Kitty improves her character by spending time with Lizzy and Jane,
etc. These are three different endings that provide the story with a beautiful
conclusion.
