Thursday, January 28, 2016

Happy 203rd Anniversary, Pride and Prejudice!!!

Two hundred and three years ago, Pride and Prejudice was published. 
And I believe our world was made a little bit better--at least, over the years, Pride and Prejudice has positively affected the many lives of its readers. For 203 years now, it has blessed the lives of many. 
In the last couple centuries of its existence, Pride and Prejudice has been adapted into many movies, television series, and stage performances (see my blog post about two movie adaptations). It has been translated into many languages. So many people have enjoyed this wonderful work of literature. 
Here are a few of my favourite gems of quotes from this marvellous book:
Mr. Darcy, to Elizabeth


Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth
For more Mr. Darcy quotes, see this blog post.

I love Pride and Prejudice!!!





Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Pride and Prejudice BBC 1995 VS. Pride and Prejudice 2005 (a.k.a. the Fake Pride and Prejudice)

I love Pride and Prejudice. The book. So naturally when I was looking at the movies and watching them (I've only seen the two in the title. :) naturally I was looking for something that stuck to the book and had actors who really seemed like Jane Austen's characters. 
The BBC adaptation with Colin Firth was fantastic. Perfect. (Almost. I still don't like the Lake Scene.) 
I watched the 2005 one purely to make fun of, insult, and condemn it. Harsh, yes, but I was not disappointed. 
It was terrible. Ghastly. Shocking and scandalous.  To quote Mr. Knightley, "It was badly done indeed!"
There's too much to compare, so I'll only compare some characters and then if you want a good bashing of the fake movie, go to the Pride and Prejudice '95 Forever Club's blog:
I completely agree with everything they said. 
And now I want to add my own thoughts and comparisons. 
Not Mr. Darcy (left) and Mr. Darcy (right)
That guy on the left IS NOT MR. DARCY!!! He's not. That is Matthew MacFadyen. He is not Mr. Darcy and never was and never will be. Why? 
1. He is too shy and awkward to be Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is only quiet because he is to proud to speak to people. He is NOT shy. 
2. Mr. Darcy would never say "You have bewitched me body and soul." (I will have to rant about the proposal scenes later.)
2. His nose! That is NOT Mr. Darcy's nose, ladies (and gentlemen). 


Just to reiterate--the guy on the left is NOT Mr. Darcy. The gentleman on the right is. Mr. Darcy would not go out at any early hour in the morning in his nightclothes etc. People, you can try to cast up the Lake Scene to me insulting the Pajama Scene in the Fake one, but let me remind you--Jane Austen didn't write either of those scenes and her book is still the best.
NOT Elizabeth Bennet and Elizabeth Bennet
I hope the difference is quite clear. Lizzy Bennet is NOT a tomboy. She is not a slovenly peasant. She is a gentlewoman's daughter and she is very proper about her appearance. Also, Keira Knightley just wasn't Elizabeth like Jennifer Ehle. She was too unladylike and too flirtatious towards Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth Bennet was a wonderful character and Jennifer Ehle played her perfectly. 
Not quite Mr. Bingley (left) and Mr. Bingley (right)
So the Fake P&P made Mr. Bingley a minor enough character that he doesn't strike me particularly as awful, but just the same--He was not nearly as good as the Real Mr. Bingley on the right. (You may notice that all the real ones are on the right--because they are always right. Whatever. I have this thing for lame puns and stuff.) 

Jane Bennet
The one person I don't have too much of a problem with in this movie is Jane. This Jane is all right. She's still not Perfect like the real Jane is, but she's all right. I have no complaints. In fact, many P&P '95 fans still prefer this Jane because she's "prettier" and in the book it says she's the prettiest; many people think Susannah Harker as Jane was not pretty enough. However, read this post by Elegance of Fashion explaining why she's still the prettiest. 

Lady Catherine De Bourgh (on the right)
Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the one on the right (Yes, thank you, Mary). The Lady Catherine in the fake one was just not quite her, whereas the real one is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I adore that Lady Catherine. Also, in the Fake One, that scene where "Lady Catherine" shows up to question Elizabeth--in the middle of the night??? Why???


Lydia Bennet (on the right)
The Lydia in the Fake one is rather underdone. You just don't get who she is or anything. The real Lydia is perfect. She's obnoxious, flirtatious, and completely boy crazy in a really annoying sort of way, and she snorts like she's supposed to. I would hate to know her in real life so I love her as Lydia Bennet. She's perfect. 

Not Mr. Bennet (left) and Mr. Bennet (right)
I honestly cannot see how anyone could like Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet in this movie. Mr. Bennet is NOT supposed to be how "Mr. Bennet" was in the Fake One. He only said a couple of things, and those funny lines he was supposed to say?--he mumbled them. Mr. Bennet, on the right, was perfect. I adore the character of Mr. Bennet in the book, and this Mr. Bennet did a perfect job of capturing that character. 

Not Mr. Collins (left) and Mr. Collins (right)
Tom Hollander is not Mr. Collins in this movie. He is far too dull and boring and he is not amusing at all. Mr. Collins, on the other hand is soooo perfect. He is the perfect caricature that Jane Austen wrote her character to be.  
I absolutely ADORE Mrs. Bennet. (In case you thought I was talking about "Mrs. Bennet" from the fake one, let me tell you I am actually talking about Mrs. Bennet. Herself.) Jane Austen created such an awesome character in Mrs. Bennet. I copy her a lot (esp. after reading/watching Pride and Prejudice) by saying things like "You have no compassion on my poor nerves!" and "Oh, Mr. Bennet!" I can do a pretty fair impression of her, too, and my sisters find it quite funny. 
This leaves little room to say anything about the other "Mrs. Bennet" but that's okay because there's really not anything to say. She just wasn't Mrs. Bennet, she didn't have "nerves" and she was far too bustling-motherly. Too much like a proper mother (though not quite) and not enough like Mrs. Bennet. 

I was thoroughly disgusted with the Fake Caroline Bingley. She just wasn't. She was far too modern for one thing (That dress she's wearing? Ladies in Regency England did NOT wear sleeveless dresses. Umm...) Caroline Bingley in the Real One, though, was really, really good. She was perfect as Miss Bingley. She said those snarky things with perfect insinuations and her interactions with Mr. Darcy were exactly what they should be. Perfect. 
When "Mr. Wickham" first showed up in the movie, I thought, "Wait...is that Mr. Wickham?" I doubted it as long as I could, sure that it probably wasn't Wickham...but who else would it be? Of course it was "Wickham." Yeah, I think he was a pathetic Wickham. Not at all right for Wickham. In the Real One, however, Mr. Wickham is a great Wickham. I do think he was a little too old and he was a little too...slimy...or something, but still, overall, he did a fantastic job of being the character of Mr. Wickham. Infinitely preferable to the fake one. 

That concludes our character comparison. Now...There are a couple of things I need to rant about:

-THAT FIRST "PROPOSAL SCENE" Was. Horrible. Horrifying. Absolutely dreadful. Positively shocking. It was quite possibly the worst scene in any movie I have ever seen. To begin with: The rain. That was such an American attempt at making it a romantic drama movie instead of a Jane Austen adaptation. Next, their conversation! What on earth possessed them to make up that nonsense when Jane Austen wrote such a masterpiece of a scene? "You have bewitched my body and soul." "I love you...most ardently." That is sooo not Jane Austen. That second line is a poor attempt to faintly echo Jane Austen. This is Jane Austen: "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." That is Mr. Darcy. That is perfection. 

-The Second Proposal Scene: In. Their. Pajamas. Early in the morning. "Your hands are cold."????? Horrors. Chills (not good chills). Screams of agony. Why, oh why, must you butcher the name of Jane Austen in such a manner? Could you not content yourself with something less awful? No? Well. And the scenes before and afterwards are also quite dreadful. 
-The whole movie was so different from the book. I sincerely hope nobody thinks that movie is an accurate representation of Jane Austen. It isn't. 

So...I hope this offended no one and if you were previously a fan of the 2005 version I'm sorry...that you were so mistaken and I hope you watch the real version and read the book. :) 
My faces when watching the Fake Pride and Prejudice. :)
(For more "My Face When"s from the Real P&P, clickhere to go to my last blog post.)
(For Mr. Darcy quotes, click here.)








Friday, January 8, 2016

Pride and Prejudice: "My Face When"

If you've watched the BBC 1995 Pride and Prejudice, you've noticed the great facial expressions the actors have at certain points in the movie. And if you're like me, you can relate to most of them. (Note: Even if you haven't seen P&P, you should still be able to appreciate this post. :)
I've identified a few of my favourite expressions and when my face looks like that. A few are about homeschooling, a few are about church-related things, and a few are things I'm sure everyone relates to. Here you go. 
My face when someone says they love Pride and Prejudice.

My face when I make a sly hint to my friend about her crush. 

My face when I realise I really shouldn't have said that.

My face when I'm doing algebra.

My face when I'm saying goodbye to my friends 

My face when one of my parents starts talking about their mission...again.

My face when one of my siblings gets permission for something I wasn't allowed to do.

My face when my siblings are in trouble and I was not involved.

My face when I'm forced to listen to someone's boring description of their weekend.
My face when I'm defending homeschool after someone insults it.
My face when I volunteer my friend for something
My face after I've stayed up late finishing something--and then I have to get up at 5:30 for Bible study in the morning.
My face when someone says something funny and only I get it. 

My face when my siblings are arguing over something completely pointless again.

My face when someone insults homeschoolers, Mormons, or flutists.

My face when one of my siblings says something they shouldn't...in public.

My face when I'm trying to get my sister's/friend's attention in church.

My face when I meet someone I don't like and I have to pretend I like them.
My face when someone says they don't like chocolate.

My face before a dance..."Are we ready for this?"

My face when one of my siblings offers to do my chores for me (my face very, very rarely looks like this :)

My face when someone calls Pride and Prejudice boring...and they haven't even read it.

Me and my group of friends when our other friend asks her crush to dance at a dance.

My face when I'm finished with school, a project, or anything of the sort. 

My face now that this is over, waiting to see if anyone liked it. 
I hope you did. :) 



Monday, January 4, 2016

I Wish Mr. Darcy Would Say That to Me!

My sister and I watched Pride and Prejudice (obviously the 1995 BBC adaptation with Colin Firth) on New Year's Eve, and throughout the movie I was thinking, "Oh, if he would say that to me!
So here I've compiled 8 things Mr. Darcy said in the book that I wish he would say to me. And I'm sure there are many out there who would also love for Mr. Darcy to say these things to them!
This was somewhat difficult, for there are many things which Mr. Darcy said in the movie, where in the book it did not write out what he said, but I was able to complete a list of things he said that are actually in the book. 
Note: The pictures are from the P&P with Colin Firth, and most of them are not actually matched up to the scene in which the quote was. Sorry.
Note 2: The generalizations of this post might not apply to you, especially if you already have a special someone and don't care about Mr. Darcy. :) 

You were? Really? You wanted to meet me? I am more than delighted that we happened to run into each other. 
Who wouldn't want to hear this from Mr. Darcy?
So you may not think this is something you would particularly wish Mr. Darcy to say to you, but if you think about it--he's saying you have something in common! I would love it if Mr. Darcy said he had something in common with me, and it's true--I don't perform to strangers either. 
If Mr. Darcy thought my performance was good, or even tolerable, I would...Well, I would probably call him a liar or something, but anyway...I would love it and, like Miss Bates (wait, wrong book), be unceasingly grateful for his kindness. :) 
As if anything you ask is too much! I would love to meet your sister! 
It was??? I'm so flattered!
Similar to the last one...but different. Wouldn't it be beyond wonderful if Mr. Darcy did something for you and the whole time you were all he thought of? I would love that!

This was the very end of his letter to Elizabeth; "I will only add, God bless you." I think this shows a remarkable example of Mr. Darcy's true gentlemanly and kind character. It's just lovely. 
And last of all, of course we must have this quote. Wouldn't we all love it if Mr. Darcy declared that he loved us? 
There you have it. 8 things we wish Mr. Darcy would say to us. 

For romantic quotes from Jane Austen's other heroes, see my Jane Austen post: Happy 240th Birthday, Jane Austen!