Pride & Prejudice Review: Episode 1

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

             "It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

      This 1995 miniseries by BBC is, in my humble opinion, the best adaptation of Jane Austen's famous novel ever to be filmed. It sparkles with wit and charm and beautifully enhances the source material while also preserving the original draw of the book. It is a prime example of a book-to-film adaptation done right.

      The first episode tells us of the arrival of Mr. Bingley at Netherfield Park and the flutter that this puts the Merryton society into. It is within this episode that the groundwork for pretty much all of the characters and relationships throughout the series is established. I particularly like the opening scene where the members of the Bennet family are introduced. There's very little dialogue, but through the music and some clever placings of the characters, all of the clashing personalities of this family are clearly seen and set in place. Mr. Bennet is a reclusive bookworm who spends much of his time hiding in the library and making sarcastic digs at everyone. Elizabeth (or Lizzie) is his favorite daughter and shares much of his wit and observations on life. Jane is the oldest daughter and the calming pillar of her family. Mary is plain and deadpan and more interested in her moralizing books than anything else. Kitty and Lydia are still nearly children and fight as often as they conspire together, often driving the anxious and hysterical Mrs. Bennet to distraction with their carryings on. Mrs. Bennet herself tends to favor Lydia over everyone.

      Then we are introduced to the arrival of Mr. Bingley and to Mrs. Bennet trying to make plans and play her cards right in order to make a match between one of her daughters and this rich bachelor. While, from a modern standpoint, we may look back and be horrified at this culture of matchmaking and marrying like you're buying an insurance policy and looking for the best offer, really that was what happened. It was all about making a good alliance and about climbing the social ladder. And, as Lizzie and Jane observe, really a woman had little other options for security if she was not an heiress to an estate herself. The Bennet Estate of Longbourn is entailed (which means it can only pass down to a male heir) and so all of the Bennet girls must make a good choice of husband and marry for money.

      Lizzie, though, is determined that nothing but the very deepest of love will induce her to matrimony. She and Jane have seen and observed daily through their parents what happens when one or both partners can't respect their spouse, and so the girls are determined not to let this happen to them. Lizzie tells Jane to marry for love but "...just take care you fall in love with a rich man."

       Luckily for Jane, it's not long before she catches the eye of Mr. Bingley (the rich bachelor who has just moved into the local park) and the two of them begin to fall in love. Lizzie too has caught the eye of a rich young man. Mr. Darcy is Mr. Bingley's best friend and has an estate worth twice what Bingley's is (as Mrs. Bennet gleefully and loudly tells her daughters). Lizzie has an ill first impression of him, though, as the first time they meet he rather stiffly tells Bingley that Elizabeth's appearance is tolerable, at best, and that he is in no mood to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. Needless to say, Lizzie determines that Mr. Darcy is the worst sort of proud and disagreeable and swears that she will never even stand up to dance with him.

       Already within this episode the tensions between the characters are already set in place. Lizzie hates Darcy. Darcy, despite himself, is beginning to notice Lizzie because she is the first woman not to throw herself at him. Jane and Bingley are falling in love, but Bingley's friends and family don't like Jane's connections and relatives...due in a large part to Mrs. Bennet's abysmal manners. We've learned that, for gentlefolk, the Bennets are poor and that Mr. and Mrs. Bennet do little to appreciate each other or to curb the behavior of their children. We've learned that the girls must make a good match. And there's been a lot of dialogue with so many good quotes that I could spend an entire review just listing them all.

5/5