Adapting Jane Austen's Dry Wit to the Screen

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen has been adapted many times in many languages. A complete accounting of every adaptation that's ever been made is probably impossible, but in the English language there have been five major adaptations of the novel that still exist. In 1940, 1967, 1980, 1995, and 2005 respectively. Later this year Netflix plans to expand that number to six when they release their new adaptation with Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden this fall. Fans of the various versions argue over which is the best adaptation, who is the best Lizzie, who played Darcy the best, etc. But can we determine which version is the most faithful to the book? Well, as long as we agree on what we mean when we say faithful, and we accept that pure fealty to the written word isn't the only thing that makes a given adaptation good, then yes, actually.

[00:00:52]Comparing these adaptations to the written text of Miss Austen's novel and counting up the percentages of words that are lifted directly from the page is a fairly straight-forward, if tedious, process. So let's do some math.

[00:01:04]>> [music] >> Welcome to Think Thing, a YouTube channel where we're taking a close look at Pride and Prejudice adaptations this year in celebration of Jane Austen's semi-quincentennial [music] birthday. This video is part of a series where I'm breaking down specific chapters from Miss Austen's [music] novel and comparing them to the various major English language screen [music] adaptations. If you're a big Jane Austen head, then this is a good place to be.

[00:01:26]Okay, so let's take a look at chapter eight of Pride and Prejudice. Last time we dissected chapter one, which was fewer than 900 words long. This chapter is long by comparison, more than twice the length of chapter one, though still manageable at 1,932 words in total. The chapter describes some of the events that take place at Netherfield as Jane Bennet convalesces following her contracting a fever.

[00:01:52]Lizzie has come to look after her and as a result, she's forced to spend time with the party gathered there, which includes Mr. Bingley and his two sisters, Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Louisa Hurst. Mr. Hurst is also present, as is the odious and proud Mr. Darcy.

[00:02:07]The first section of the chapter involves the Bingley sisters expressing their astonishment at Lizzie's state upon her arrival at Netherfield, having walked the 3 miles from Longbourn. We must allow her to be an excellent walker, I suppose. Her manners are so bad.

[00:02:22]>> I could hardly keep my countenance. She looked almost wild.

[00:02:26]>> Her hair is so blown, is it so untidy?

[00:02:28]Wasn't her petticoat 6 in deep in mud?

[00:02:31]>> She looked positively medieval. A mixture of pride and impertinence.

[00:02:35]>> No conversation, no style, no taste.

[00:02:37]>> It seems to me to show an abominable sort of conceited independence, hm? Must have affected your admiration of her fine eye. Not at all. They were brightened by the exercise.

[00:02:50]The second half takes place after dinner in the drawing room as Lizzie joins the party once Jane has fallen asleep. The novel contains a few different scenes that take place at Netherfield during this visit from Lizzie and Jane, and the various adaptations will often conflate the particulars of what happens and what is said in one scene with another. Only the 1980 and 1995 versions take care to separate these events out, but even here there's still some conflating of events.

[00:03:16]Chapter 8 contains some lovely examples of Jane Austen's dry wit. For example, in the opening paragraph, we have this description of the goings-on at Netherfield. Jane was by no means better.

[00:03:28]The sisters on hearing this repeated three or four times how much they were grieved, how shocking it was to have a bad cold, and how excessively they disliked being ill themselves. And then thought no more of the matter, and their indifference towards Jane when not immediately before them restored Elizabeth to the enjoyment of all her former dislike. Restored Elizabeth to the enjoyment of all her original dislike. Sick burn, lol. Hey, just a quick aside from the edit bay, I noticed with some interest that the word original is read as former in the LibriVox version read by Karen Savage.

[00:04:00]Both my printed copy of the book and the digital one I used to copy and paste the text from the chapter use original, but I see that former is present in other editions. I know it's been over 200 years and that the book is in the public domain, but little wording alterations like this fascinate me. Are editors making changes in publications? Did Miss Austen herself author different versions? If anyone has any insight, please chime in in the comments. Okay, where were we? The description of Mr. Hurst in the following paragraph is also pretty great. He was an indolent man who lived only to eat, drink, and play at cards, who when he found her to prefer a plain dish to a ragout, had nothing to say to her. As the chapter progresses, there's a subtle little dance going on with respect to Darcy and Lizzy. At this point in the story, they're barely acquaintances. Lizzy has very little regard for him and has dismissed him as proud and ill-favored. If it were up to her, she would not spend any time with these people at all. She really can only stomach Mr. Bingley. Indeed, after declining to participate in their game of loo and saying she prefers to read her book, Caroline teases her mercilessly. Miss Eliza Bennet, said Miss Bingley, despises cards. She is a great reader and has no pleasure in anything else.

[00:05:12]I deserve neither such praise nor such censure, cried Elizabeth. I am not a great reader and I have pleasure in many things. Later in the chapter, Caroline inquires after Georgiana Darcy and asks Darcy how tall she is now. Darcy says, She's now about Miss Elizabeth Bennet's height.

[00:05:28]Or a little taller. Calling out Elizabeth here is a subtle indication that he sees Elizabeth and he notices her physically. Still later, Caroline chides her brother for thinking women who can paint tables, cover screens, and net purses are accomplished. She lists the attributes a woman must possess to be considered truly accomplished, including a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages to deserve the word.

[00:05:54]And besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address, and expressions. Darcy then pipes up. And to all this, she must yet add something more substantial in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading. This is a dig at Caroline's earlier teasing and a clear defense of Elizabeth. Even the mere fact that Darcy refers to her as Miss Elizabeth Bennet, while Caroline constantly insists on calling her Miss Eliza Bennet, is an indication of Darcy's fundamental respect for Lizzy. Remember these moments as we take a look at the various adaptations. The chapter concludes with some notable lines as well. After Lizzy has left the drawing room to go check on Jane and then go to bed, Caroline remarks that Lizzy is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own. And with many men, I dare say it succeeds. But in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art.

[00:06:48]"Undoubtedly," replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed, "there is a meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation.

[00:06:57]Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable."

[00:07:00]Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject. That's so good. Not so entirely satisfied as to continue the subject. A classic Jane Austen dryly hilarious description.

[00:07:14]I think people assume that Austen is comparatively easy to adapt to the screen because her books are so full of characters talking to each other in delightful and nuanced language. But this sort of subtle dig that Austen imbues her omniscient narration with is really hard to translate to the screen.

[00:07:32]How do you show not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject? If you depict Caroline as being set in her place and humiliated by Darcy, that's too much. If we see her ignore the line entirely, it's not enough. There's a sweet spot that Austen nails in her prose that I think eludes most of the producers of these adaptations. The last paragraph of the chapter has another good example of this. Lizzie returns to the group and tells them that Jane has taken a turn for the worse. They agree to send for a doctor in the morning. Reacting to the news, Austen writes, Bingley was quite uncomfortable. His sisters declared that they were miserable. They solace their wretchedness, however, by duets after supper, while he could find no better relief to his feelings than by giving the housekeeper directions that every attention might be paid to the sick lady and her sister.

[00:08:20]And how do the various adaptations of Pride and Prejudice do with interpreting this chapter?

[00:08:25]Let's start by looking at the 1967 version from the BBC because, unlike its interpretation of chapter 1, which it put to screen more faithfully than any other adaptation, this time it's in dead last place, adapting only a little over 5% of the content from chapter 8. As before, I'm discounting dialogue tags, which are the he said, she replied business that are included in conversational prose. In chapter 8, there are 88 dialogue tag words, bringing the total number of words that a given version could possibly adapt to screen to 1,844.

[00:08:59]The 1967 adaptation only used 96 words from chapter 8 in the series, and they're all from that first bit of the chapter when the Bingley sisters are marveling at the disheveled state of Lizzie's appearance upon arriving at Netherfield. There is a drawing room scene in the 1967 version, but it's the later scene from chapter 11, where Mr. Darcy is writing a letter to his sister and Caroline entreats Lizzie to take a turn with her around the room. Both the 1940 and 2005 feature films combine these two drawing room scenes into one.

[00:09:29]At least the 1967 version had the good sense to simply cut one of them rather than smushing them together. The result, however, is that 1967 bottoms out the list as far as chapter 8 goes. All right, um, all astonishment.

[00:09:43]Speaking of 2005, it's the second least faithful adaptation of chapter 8 at just under 10% of the chapter represented on screen.

[00:09:51]As noted a moment ago, this version conflates two different drawing room scenes from the book into a single scene here. Despite its lack of fealty, this version has a lot going on that I quite like. Hello again from the edit bay. I'm just chiming in to let you know that I had edited a whole section here discussing the filmmaking in the drawing room at Netherfield scene in the 2005 film, which includes some really wonderful filmmaking. But Studio Canal and Universal, the copyright holders of the film, demonetized the video because of it. So, I've had to significantly cut it back and just use still frames to make the points, which is a lot less useful. I'll post the unedited video in the members-only section if anyone's curious about it. It's really frustrating because I've used footage from the 2005 film many times in other videos and not gotten dinged by the copyright holders. It wouldn't be so bad if the rules weren't seemingly applied arbitrarily. I also got dinged by the BBC for using footage from the 1980 series, so I've had to cut that back as well. Anyway, back to the video. This is very good filmmaking. The beginning of this scene frames Darcy entirely from behind as he writes his letter. When Bingley talks about how amazed he is at all the accomplished women he meets, Lizzie's smile tells us so much about her inner state. When we cut in on Darcy finally, it's from Lizzie's point of view that we see him. Darcy's addition to Caroline's list of traits that an accomplished woman must have, that women must improve their minds through extensive reading, is the right tone, but it loses something because the filmmakers chose not to include the bit from earlier in the scene where Caroline is teasing Lizzie, saying that she's a great reader and takes pleasure in nothing else. Only after this ribbing does Darcy's line have the double effect of defending Lizzie and stinging Caroline. Without it, it sounds a bit like it's a tease itself. Lizzie shutting the book so quickly only serves to highlight how uncomfortable the statement makes her. Lizzie's statement that such an accomplished woman would certainly be a fearsome thing to behold is not from the book, but it fits the tone of the scene if not Miss Austen's prose. Bingley's laugh here is delightful.

[00:11:54]The 1940 MGM adaptation starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier includes nearly 16% of the content from chapter 8, but it also conflates the drawing room scene from a few chapters later here as well. The 1940 adaptation gets the extensive reading line more or less right here. Caroline teases Lizzie about being a bookworm early in the scene.

[00:12:14]Miss Elizabeth is a great reader, I'm sure, and has no pleasure in anything so frivolous as cards.

[00:12:20]Is that true, Miss Elizabeth?

[00:12:22]Not at all. I'm not a great reader, and I have pleasure in many frivolous things. Thank you.

[00:12:27]And then later we have this exchange.

[00:12:29]She must also possess a certain something in the tone of her voice, in her address, in her expressions, as well as in her figure and carriage. To which you must add something more substantial in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.

[00:12:43]Call and response, but not so subtle.

[00:12:46]Now we come to 1995, which is the second most faithful translation of this chapter, adapting 24% of the actual words from chapter 8 to the screen.

[00:12:55]This version absolutely nails the Lizzie and Darcy dynamic from the chapter that I described earlier.

[00:13:01]I wish I could play it for you, but the BBC is persnickety about copyright regarding this version in particular.

[00:13:08]This whole series is available for free on YouTube right now, so you can go watch it yourself. This scene is in episode 1. If you're like me, there's a danger in seeking out just one scene from the 1995 series because I'll wind up watching the whole thing again.

[00:13:22]Darcy's look at Lizzie at the end of this scene is so good. Finally, we come to the 1980 version, which is indeed the most faithful adaptation, at least in terms of words taken directly from chapter 8. 29% of the chapter's words have found their way into this episode of the series. The 1980 version reproduces Caroline's teasing Lizzy about being a great reader. Miss Eliza Bennet despises cards. And includes Darcy's remark about accomplished women needing to improve their minds through extensive reading. To all this she must add to the improvement of her mind by extensive readings. But the lines feel unconnected and flat, like the producers didn't understand the dynamic at play in this scene at all. I'm still making my way through the 1980 version, but this is my chief complaint with it so far, that it's faithful but a bit cold and lacks the wit and charm of the book.

[00:14:12]It's as if the director and actors are missing what it is that's special about the story. I'm still in the first half, so I may warm to it yet, but the misread of this scene in particular is what made me want to focus on this chapter for this video. I'll also note that 1980 is the only version to include Darcy's rejoinder to Caroline at the end of the chapter. Eliza Bennet is one of those who seek to recommend themselves to the opposite sex by undervaluing their own paltry art. There's a meanness in all the arts by which women seek to captivate men.

[00:14:43]Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable. But Caroline's reaction to it is much too big.

[00:14:49]Again, not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject is a subtle thing to depict, so we shouldn't be too harsh in our critique.

[00:14:58]At least they included the line in the first place. None of the other adaptations saw fit to do so. The 1980 version also feels dated from a production perspective, shot on a TV studio as so many BBC productions were at the time, but this would be nothing if the performances were compelling. I do quite like Mr. Hurst's reactions here. Doesn't like cards. But otherwise this adaptation of the chapter leaves me fairly cold, despite its relative faithfulness to Miss Austen's words, so yet again, my favorite version is not the most faithful adaptation. If you're curious about which adaptation is in the lead in aggregate, combining the scores of our analyses of both chapters 1 and 8, the answer is that 1995 has a very slight edge over 1980. It's not surprising that the two longest series would have the most actual words from the book reproduced. The 2005 film is in dead last place, naturally, but again, I think 2005 has a lot to recommend it in terms of vibes and subtlety. If you've made it this far, then you're the sort of person who might be interested to know that there's a membership section for this channel. There are perks available for members there, but really it's just a way to show your support more than anything else. Making these videos is a lot of work, and the only way I can continue doing it is with the help of kind viewers like you. So, click and join, and let's hang out in the member section.

[00:16:13]>> [clears throat] >> Thanks so much, and I'll see you next time.

[00:16:17]Hmm.

[00:16:18]Ah, very true. That tedious waste of an evening.

[00:16:22]>> [snorts] >> What?