Shooting Jane Austen: Romantic and realistic imagery in two recent film adaptations of Austen's Pride and Prejudice

This diploma thesis is concerned with the comparison o f Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice and its two film adaptations. Special attention is paid to the recent tendencies o f film-makers to put emphasis on the romantic aspects o f the main plotline, to tone down the realistic background and social satire o f the story, and to favour minimalism, which often results in psychological reductionism o f the characters. The analysis is divided into two parts. The first part concentrates on the depiction o f individual characters, particularly their personality reflected in their behaviour. The second part examines the storylines o f the two adaptations in terms o f fidelity to the original; dealing separately with scenes which were omitted and scenes which were included in both versions. The thesis tries to find sufficient evidence o f the tendencies mentioned above in order to illustrate the growing trend o f these tendencies