Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV Series) - Themes and Style

Themes and Style

See also: Pride and Prejudice#Major themes and Pride and Prejudice#Style

The adaptation received praise for its faithfulness to the novel, which highlights the importance of environment and upbringing on peoples' development, although privilege is not necessarily advantageous. Describing the adaptation as "a witty mix of love stories and social conniving, cleverly wrapped in the ambitions and illusions of a provincial gentry", critics noted that Davies's focus on sex and money and Austen's wry, incisive humour and the "deft" characterisation, prevented the television adaptation from "descending into the realm of a nicely-costumed, brilliantly-photographed melodrama".

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife".

—First line of Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice

To avoid a narrator, the serial delegates the novel's first ironic sentence to Elizabeth in an early scene. The adaptation opens with a view of Darcy's and Bingley's horses as they race across a field toward the Netherfield estate, expressing vitality; Elizabeth watches them before breaking into a run. While the novel indicates Elizabeth's independence and energy in her three-mile trek to Netherfield, the adaptation of this scene also shows her rebelliousness and love of nature.

In what is "perhaps the most radical revision of Austen's text", the BBC drama departs from a late 18th-century vision of emotional restraint and portrays emotions in a "modern" interpretation of the story. The novel leaves Elizabeth and the reader uncertain of Darcy's emotions and the adaptation uses additional scenes to hint at Darcy's inability to physically contain or verbally express his emotional turmoil. Scholars argue that activities such as billiards, bathing, fencing and swimming (see the lake scene) offer Darcy to a female gaze; he is often presented in profile by a window or a fireplace when his friends discuss Elizabeth. Many passages relating to appearance or characters' viewpoints were lifted from the novel.

The novel shows irony with "unmistakable strains of cynicism, ... laughing at human nature without any real hope of changing it". Laughter in the story, which ranges from irresponsible laughter to laughter at people and laughter of amusement and relief, can also be linked to the sexual tensions among the different characters. Despite their appeal to modern audiences, laughter and wit were seen as vulgar and irreverent in Austen's time. The BBC drama made changes "with a view to exposing a character, or adding humour or irony to a situation". The adaptation comically exaggerates the characters of Mrs. Bennet, Miss Bingley and Mr. Collins, even showing Mrs. Bennet on the verge of hysteria in many of the early scenes.

The serial expands on Austen's metaphorical use of landscapes, reinforcing beauty and authenticity. Elizabeth takes every opportunity to enjoy nature and to escape exposure to Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine. The most symbolic use of nature in the novel is Elizabeth and the Gardiners' visit to Pemberley in Derbyshire, where Elizabeth becomes conscious of her love for Darcy. The story makes nature integral in the form of Old England. Elizabeth's appreciation of the beauties of Derbyshire elevates Darcy in her and her relatives' opinion. Darcy's gaze through the window works as a movie screen, projecting Elizabeth's actions for him and the viewer. His participation in the English landscape is his redemption.