Topic > Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary: Comparative Analysis

With her distinctive insight, Jane Austen delves into the depths of the words that make up the title of the novel Pride and Prejudice. Each of the characters in the novel displays pride or prejudice or both, in one way or another. Written in the 1800s, the dynamic Pride and Prejudice set the stage for other authors and screenwriters, among others, to create similar works that explored the ideas of first impressions and how prejudices can cause pride but can also change over time . . Some of the modern works that derive from Pride and Prejudice include Beauty and the Beast, Death Comes to Pemberly, Bride and Prejudice etc. Bridget Jones's Diary is another such work that is very similar to Pride and Prejudice. In the film Bridget Jones's Diary, director Sharon Maguire manages to maintain the main idea of ​​Pride and Prejudice by using characters with similar qualities and lives to those in the novel. The audience is introduced to Bridget, Daniel and Mark, who share obvious similarities with Lizzy, Wickham and Darcy respectively. With the use of parallel plots and characters, Bridget Jones's Diary can best be described as a modern spin-off of Pride and Prejudice. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The film begins with Bridget telling the audience that "it's her 32nd year of being single" and explaining that every year her mother "tries to fix her." This already sets the tone for a sort of Pride and Prejudice tale. Bridget, like Elizabeth, is of age to marry but has not found a suitable spouse. Similar to Lizzy's case, Bridget also faces the added pressure of a mother who constantly reminds her that she needs to find a husband. What Mrs. Bennet and Bridget's mother have even more in common is their determination to ensure that their daughters marry a wealthy man who can make them feel financially secure. For example, when talking about Mr. Bingley's arrival in town, Mrs. Bennet mentions how good it is for her daughters that he is "a single man of great fortune" (Austen 4). Bridget's mother also points out how Mark is "well off" when attempting to convince Bridget of his suitability as a possible future spouse. Both females face constant pressure from outside sources to settle down. The two characters happen to have their mothers as those who contribute most intensely to these pressures. In this way, Bridget and Elizabeth are relatable characters who face the same struggle at the hands of society. The parallelism doesn't end there. Elizabeth and Bridget, in similar circumstances, show and receive prejudice from and towards Darcy and Mark during their first meetings. In Pride and Prejudice, after Elizabeth's first meeting with Darcy, she forms an opinion about him. Elizabeth judged Darcy based on his behavior and immediately came to the conclusion that she did not like him. When she talks about him to the Lucases, she says, “I could easily forgive his pride, if it had not mortified mine” (Austen 41). Elizabeth shares three important things with the reader in this sentence. She explicitly states that Darcy is proud, that she is also proud, and that she actually holds a grudge because of Darcy's negative comments regarding her beauty. Later, in Bridget Jones's Diary, this is seen when Bridget first meets Mark and draws a conclusion about him based on his sweater and the fact that he still lives with his mother. In addition to this, Bridget overhears Mark tell her mother that Bridget is a "verbally incontinent spinster who smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and dresses.