The Bildungsroman and the Big Screen

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...

... middle of paper ...

..."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. .