Kristin Porcelli

Maynard
ENC 1101
January 20, 2015
Austens Own Darling Child
Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813, is a classic and has been one of the
most popular choices of remakes over the years. Austens original story takes place in England in
the 1790s. The Bennet family, consisting of Mrs. Bennet and her five unmarried daughters,
Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, are enthused by the arrival of wealthy and young Charles
Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy from London in Netherfield Park. Mr. Bennet has passed, and
their estate will go to Mr. Collins if one of the daughters does not get married in time. The
Bennets, Bingley, and Darcy go to a ball, where Bingley dances with Jane and Darcy refuses to
dance with Elizabeth. Over the next few weeks however, Darcy becomes attracted to Elizabeth.
The story tells the evolution of a relationship that initially seemed absurd because of Darcys
pride and Elizabeths prejudice. Pride and Prejudice was not truly the original work, it was first
called First Impression and was written in the form of an exchange of letters. This style of
writing could have stemmed from the fact that Jane Austen herself was proficient at writing
letters and making envelopes. Tom Lefroy, Janes supposed first love, was a law student from
Ireland and many believe he could have been the main influence in the creation of this novel. In
her letters written to her sister Cassandra, she wrote about him and how they ran into each other
at a ball, similar to what happened in Pride and Prejudice. A central theme of the story is how a
first impression of someone can be wrong and ones opinion about a person can change over time
as one gets to know them. The title Pride and Prejudice signifies how prideful and prejudiced
were initially how Elizabeth and Darcy felt about each other. Pride and Prejudice has been
remixed into a new book over 19 times. Remixing is the process of copying, transforming,
and/or combining pieces of literature or art to create a new piece of work. Some of these books

are solely a retelling of the story, others tell the story in a more modern sense, and others depict a
certain part of the book or tell it from a different perspective. Remixes of Pride and Prejudice
dont stop at novels; the story has been adapted into several movies, and even an Internet series.
This paper will show the similarities and differences between Pride and Prejudice and their
remixes into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the 1940 film Pride and Prejudice, The Lizzie
Bennet Diaries, and Bride and Prejudice.
One of the most popular book remixes of Pride and Prejudice is Pride and Prejudice and
Zombies by Sean Grahame-Smith. It was published in 2009 and was made into a graphic novel in
2010 by Tony Lee. Pride and Prejudice fans are currently hoping for an upcoming movie
adaptation. Grahame-Smith retains Austens storyline yet is able to incorporate zombies into the
story as it takes place in an alternative universe version of Regency era England where zombies
roam the English countryside. Zombies are referred to as unmentionables. The ubiquity of
zombies in England entails certain things to be quite common; sometimes messages being sent
get eaten, citizens must learn ninja type skills to protect themselves from their typical everyday
zombie risks. Grahame-Smith cleverly combines several events with zombie apocalypse-like
characteristics. The characters are all proficient in martial, or deadly arts, and this cooperates
well with Elizabeths feisty character. At the ball, Elizabeth hears Darcy commenting to Bingley
that Elizabeth is not good enough for him, and she is so infuriated by his arrogance that she
intends to kill him. Fortunately for Darcy, a zombie attack unfolds and Elizabeth has to defend
everyone. As she is fighting off the unmentionables, Darcy starts to see her in a different light.,
similar to Austens original, Elizabeths witty personality is what entices Darcy. Another example
of Grahame-Smiths ability to include a zombie theme without taking from the story is when
Jane gets sick and must stay in Netherfield Park with Bingley and Darcy. Elizabeth has to fight
through a zombie attack on her way there. When Darcy first proposes to her, she kicks him in the

stomach. When Darcy tries to separate Bingley and Jane, its because Darcy is worried Jane was
bitten by a zombie and contracted the plague.
The 1940 film Pride and Prejudice was the first film adaptation of Jane Austens novel,
but is more directly a remix of a screenplay by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin, therefore not a
true adaptation of the story. This film transforms Pride and Prejudice to a different time setting.
The other differences between Austens original story include how the characters and plot were
altered in the film, partly due to natural novel to film adaptation consequences. In this movie,
Lady Catherine isnt the rude snobby old lady but rather sweet and favored Darcys relationship
with Elizabeth. Elizabeths actor, Greer Garson, played her character excellently but was too old
for the role, and Lawrence Oliver just barely passed for playing Darcy. Many events transpired in
a shorter time frame than in the book, and some events were left out. For example, Elizabeth
doesnt go to Derbyshire, Darcys home estate. This point in the novel was the first time she had
seen Darcy since he unsuccessfully proposed to her, and when they learned of Lydias elopement.
The movie was reviewed as a lighter and more comical version of Pride and Prejudice and does
not engage Janes original sense of facetiousness.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a remix of Pride and Prejudice in a few ways. Its one of the
most popular and most well-liked modern remixes of the book. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is not
a book or a movie, but an Internet series that began in 2012. This modern day relatable series is
composed of over 80 four minute episodes primarily of Lizzie, played by Ashley Clements
talking about her everyday life including struggles with her family, being a graduate student, and
what its like being a woman and how they are expected to carry out their lives. The series is
filmed by Lizzies good friend Charlotte. Lizzie, Charlotte, Lydia, and Jane are all involved in
the episodes as they film in Lizzies room, giving a new inside perspective of whats happening
as Lizzies family tries to impress the new rich boys in town, Bing Lee and Darcy. This

adaptation focuses on the story from Lizzies perspective but sticks to the original plot of first
impressions when Lizzie finally deals with Darcy. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is perhaps the most
accurate modern remix of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of Elizabeth Bennet, given
there are so many episodes, there is a superfluous amount of detail of Lizzies background.
Lizzie is still witty and bubbly, just as Elizabeth is in the original book. The first 59 episodes are
building up Lizzies life and personality and placing the audience in her shoes as much as
possible. This is an interesting transformation, because when we finally see Darcy in episode 60,
we see him through Lizzies eyes. He dresses as a hipster which is a good time transformation
because it gives Elizabeth the impression that he is stuck up.
The 2004 film Bride and Prejudice takes an interesting but very successful Bollywood
twist from the English culture of the original- taking place in India, this adaptation tells the story
of a family with four unmarried daughters whose parents are eager for them to tie the knot,
specifically Aishwarya Rai, representing Elizabeth, and Martin Henderson, representing Darcy.
The central plot of parents fervent to set up their unmarried daughters is consistent. This
Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice goes back and forth between comical and serious, but
overall is a good remix that gives audiences a similar story though the eyes of a different culture.
The dance scenes of this movie represent the Netherfield Ball. Mr. Kohli plays the role of Mr.
Collins, the transformation of interest in inheritance of English property to the American Dream.
Part of the combination of romance and comedy comes into play during the scene where Mr.
Kohli is denied and angrily storms out of the Bashki home. The Bollywood version of Elizabeth
Bennet, Lalita Bakshi, preserves her well admired wit. This remix of Pride and Prejudice is
unique in the transformation from the English setting to the Indian setting. This fact makes the
movie even more remarkable as one of the truest adaptations of the story.

Pride and Prejudice was the foundation for countless remixes. What makes Pride and
Prejudice so prone to being remade is that generally, people love fairy tales and happy endings.
Readers and audiences love Elizabeths character as she is very relatable, independent,
outspoken, and witty. Girls tend to drool over Darcy, which adds to the innate likability of love
stories. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was a remix of the story by combining Austens
original work of an English setting with his idea of a zombie apocalypse. The 1940 film
adaptation remixed the novel by transforming it to a different medium and transforming the
setting to the 1920s. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries transformed the story to a modern day setting,
told through short videos. Bride and Prejudice transforms the story from an English setting to an
Indian setting. These remixes all generally copied the storyline of a family with four unwedded
daughters. Their property is at the mercy of one of them getting married, so the eager mother
plays match maker with the new wealthy and young boys that arrived in their community. The
characters that represent Darcy and Elizabeth initially resent each other, but over time grow
fonder and realize their feelings for each other.