Mediatic and cinematic adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels have had a paramount impact on the imagination of readers through the second half of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries. The aim of my paper is to explore some of the ways in which this impact has influenced the reception of Jane Austen’s novels providing interpretive patterns that shape the imaginative response of contemporary readers. How old is Elinor Dashwood? and Mr. Collins? How does Emma Woodhouse look like? What is Mr. Darcy’s role in Pride and Prejudice? The paper will look at the ways in which cinematic and TV adaptations have responded to these questions and influenced the act of reading. After the 1940 Hollywood version of Pride and Prejudice Mr Collins who is described in the novel as being twentyfive has always been represented (and is usually imagined) as a middle aged clergy man; the 1995 BBC production has dramatically enhanced the centrality of Darcy’s role and, thanks to Colin Firth’s performance, transformed him in a postmodern sex symbol. These are only a two of the many examples of the ways in which adaptations have magnified some aspects of the texts, obscured some others, and sometimes even distorted their original features.
Glamourizing Mr Darcy: Austen’s Film Adaptations and the Paradoxes of Visual Pleasure.
Carlotta Farese
2017
Abstract
Mediatic and cinematic adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels have had a paramount impact on the imagination of readers through the second half of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries. The aim of my paper is to explore some of the ways in which this impact has influenced the reception of Jane Austen’s novels providing interpretive patterns that shape the imaginative response of contemporary readers. How old is Elinor Dashwood? and Mr. Collins? How does Emma Woodhouse look like? What is Mr. Darcy’s role in Pride and Prejudice? The paper will look at the ways in which cinematic and TV adaptations have responded to these questions and influenced the act of reading. After the 1940 Hollywood version of Pride and Prejudice Mr Collins who is described in the novel as being twentyfive has always been represented (and is usually imagined) as a middle aged clergy man; the 1995 BBC production has dramatically enhanced the centrality of Darcy’s role and, thanks to Colin Firth’s performance, transformed him in a postmodern sex symbol. These are only a two of the many examples of the ways in which adaptations have magnified some aspects of the texts, obscured some others, and sometimes even distorted their original features.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
