History and Context: Watching Pride and Prejudice

In our last class we talked about Primary Sources related to History. One very useful source to understand the past can be Novels. Therefore, we took some time to watch some trailers about different versions of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice novel made into a film. We watched 4 versions, from which the most strange was the one that included zombies. Following this introduction, I'll answer some questions the teacher presented us to express my thoughts about the novel. 

1. Why do you think "Pride and Prejudice" continues to be a referent for modern tales?

Pride and Prejudice was set in the 18th century, so one could think it's old and has no relation with our society. However, the topics and problems that the novel treats don't belong to an specific age of humanity, but to the human race itself. Therefore, the social differences between gender and the search of love are still appealing to "modern" people. 

2. What do you think is the effect that these different authors (film directors, producers, modern writers) want to achieve in today's audiences?

First, I think they tried to adjust the movie to our times, because this way the problems seem to be nearer to us than if they were from 200 years ago. Also, the modern authors doesn't want to only entertain the audience, but also to show the wrongs of the past so they are not done again (as the differences between genders or the strong influence of the family in marriage, for example).

3. If you had to choose one of the previous versions to analyse, which would be the one and why?

From all the trailers, I'll go for the first one (Pride and Prejudice - 2005), because I believe it's the nearer to the original novel. Although one could think it will be boring because it is "classic", I think it conserves the plot better and should be really fun in its essence.