2013 marks the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s corset heaving masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice, and two centuries on, independent minded young ladies east and west are still swooning for the priggish Mr Darcy.
n a post-suffrage era, it seems very few universal truths have changed. Mothers will nag their daughters to settle down and marry (preferably to the richest candidate, property ownership a definite plus), girls will tussle for ttheir sister’s clothes, and there will always be that inappropriate charmer who steals your heart.
However, there has been one big change in the audience of Pride and Prejudice since the publication debut of the novel. The novel has been translated into languages unheard of, and read in destinations unimaginable to Jane Austen. With shrinking boundaries between east and west, subjectivities of girls growing up either side of the world are converging as they tussle with the challenges of globalised modernity.
The novel has been translated into languages unheard of, and read in destinations unimaginable to Jane Austen
This is apparent in the successful Bollywood crossover of the novel, Bride and Prejudice, by Gurinder Chadha. Set in Amritsar, some deft localization of names and social mores translates Elizabeth to Lalita and William Darcy the wealthy aristocrat into Will, heir apparent of an international hotel dynasty. Darcy’s perceived distain for Elizabeth’s class is shifted to apparent snootiness towards India and its culture. Climactic elephant ride into married bliss in the final scene aside, Chadha’s adaptation retains the mores and angst of its original matter. And with modern Indian girls becoming increasingly confident in their right to be outspoken and respected for their opinions, beliefs and life choices- even in the face conservative opposition, the archetypical figure of strident Elizabeth remains a powerful literary allay.
Unfortunately, the twenty first century has proved to be a fallow time for tousle haired wealthy bachelors
Mr Darcy’s power to set bosoms heaving (bolstered no end by a certain wet shirt and future Oscar winner) has also straddled the centuries. Unfortunately, the twenty first century has proved to be a fallow time for tousle haired wealthy bachelors- even the future king is looking a little more vicar than dashing fairytale hero these days. But that’s fine, as long as girls have independent, bookish heroes like Elizabeth and Lalita for inspiration, they can go about making their own dreams come true.
