Two Darcys, Two Proposals
I have a line in my short story for the Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest that harkens back to Darcy’s second proposal in Pride and Prejudice. My line, spoken by a very contemporary British man, the hero (so to speak) of my story, is: “I can’t stop thinking about you. But one word from you and I’ll be silent–forever.”
I thought it would be fun to compare the original text of Pride and Prejudice to what is spoken in the 2005 movie version, when Matthew MacFayden as Darcy proposes to Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth.
(People tend to be very passionate about what movie version of Pride and Prejudice they like best. So if you are not a fan of this version, please bear with me.)
Here are Darcy’s words, spoken by Matthew MacFayden, as he proposes the first time, in the temple of Apollo at Stourhead estate in Wiltshire (it’s gorgeous–see pic at right):
“Miss Elizabeth, I have struggled in vain and I can bear it no longer. These last months have been a torment. I came to Rosings for the single object of seeing you. I had to see you. I fought against my better judgment, my family’s expectation, the inferiority of your birth, my rank and circumstance, all these things, and I am willing to put them all aside and ask you to end my agony.
I love you–most ardently. Please do me the honor of accepting my hand.”
And here are Darcy’s words, from the book:
“In vain have I 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.”
The other sentiments expressed, about the inferiority of her birth, etc., as well as the actual proposal, are not given in dialogue.
Now, let’s look at the second proposal. Here are Matthew MacFayden’s words from the movie:
“My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever.
If, however, your feelings have changed, I would have to tell you, you have bewitched me body and soul and I love–I love–I love you, and never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”
And Darcy’s actual words from the book:
“You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.”
These comparisons bring up all kinds of thoughts–from how novels were written 200 years ago to dramatic license of screenwriters to the immediacy of dialogue, to showing vs. telling.
Which version gives you chills?
Voting Opens Today for the Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest
Welcome to my blog! I am a historical romance writer journeying on the pathway to publication. Today, the Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story Contest opens for voting. It is sponsored by The Republic of Pemberley, a large site with a wealth of Austen information (which also includes full texts of all her novels), and editor Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose.com. There are 84 total entries! The popular vote to pick the top ten begins today. Then, an editorial board will choose the winner, which will be published in a Jane Austen short story anthology to be published by Ballantine Books this fall. So head over and check out all the stories–mine is #70, The Lost Portrait of Jane Austen.
Portraits of Jane Austen
In my short story, The Lost Portrait of Jane Austen, I imagined that an artist painted her a proper portrait. But in real life, Jane Austen never sat for a formal portrait. (In her family of 5 brothers and 1sister, all her brothers except her handicapped brother George had formal portraits. Cassandra had a silhouette done. This definitely reflects the place of women in those times, doesn’t it?)
Jane’s sister Cassandra did the famous pencil and watercolor sketch of her, below, around 1810 (Jane would have been 34 or 35). It now resides in the National Portrait Gallery in London. According to Jane biographer Claire Tomalin, this sketch was regarded as “inadequate and unflattering” by those who knew her. But it is the only image we have of her that has been drawn from life. People who knew Jane described Jane as having hazel eyes, round cheeks with high color, and curly hair.
This unfinished sketch spawned every other portrait that has ever been painted of Jane.
A more flattering portrait based off of this sketch was commissioned by her family by a Mr. Andrews of Maidenhead, 1869, that is still owned by her family. (For reference, Jane died in 1817, so this was commissioned many years after her death.):
And here is a 1869 engraving, based off Mr. Andrews watercolor, used on the 1870 A Memoir of Jane Austen by her nephew Edward Austen-Leigh:
Here’s one, based off the above engraving, which appeared on her biography by GE Mitton, 1905:
And then there’s this one, called a “more sentimentalized Victorian version” of the above portrait:
This silhouette is owned by the National Portrait Gallery and was found in an old edition of Mansfield Park and inscribed with the words “L’aimable Jane.'”
This pencil and watercolor sketch was found in the Prince Regent’s librarian, Rev. James Stanier Clarke’s so called “Friendship Book,” a personal album he kept of over a hundred drawings, verses, and autographs. It is speculated to possibly be of Jane from the time she was invited to view the Prince Regent’s library in 1815. The book itself was sold at an estate sale to a used book dealer, and discovered in his shop in 1955. You can read a scholarly article about it here.
