Beyond Great Romance: The Fight for Women’s Rights in ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Films like Pride and Prejudice can transport you into another world. They immerse you into a new reality, captivate and capture your gaze for a couple of hours. Your entire focus is on the story that is unfolding right in front of your eyes. Films have the power to impact and inspire people directly and deeply. They do so by speaking on important issues, topics and subjects. They may also send specific messages to reach people, which can have an intense, emotionally charged effect.

The power lies with the writers, directors, actresses, and actors. So, they can create the most beautiful, touching, powerful, and significant stories to unfold on the big screens. Many films have had a profound hold on me, with stories that are so beautifully written and majestically carried out that they are essential, so let’s start to unpack one of these films and the significance it holds.

Pride and Prejudice 

Pride and Prejudice, directed by Joe Wright and released in 2005, is a cinematic adaptation of Jane Austen’s iconic novel. The film stars Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Darcy; it captures the essence of Austen’s narrative while infusing it with a contemporary cinematic sensibility. This adaptation has been widely discussed for its artistic choices, character portrayals, and fidelity to the source material.

Pride and Prejudice is still very much worthy and relevant to be discussed. Jane Austen wrote the story between 1796 and 1797, and centuries later, in 2005, the film adaptation came out. However, the important conversations that this film brings and what it represents are still ever-present and powerful in today’s society. 

One of the most notable aspects of Wright’s work for Pride and Prejudice is its visual style. Roman Osin’s cinematography employs sweeping landscapes and intimate close-ups to convey the story’s emotional depth. This technique manages to capture the viewer’s attention. The use of natural light and carefully composed shots creates a sense of realism and immediacy. The movie draws viewers into the 19th-century world of the Bennet family, creating anticipation and pulling people in further. The English countryside is painted with a painterly quality; it reflects the novel’s romantic and pastoral themes and shows the story’s unpredictability and intensity.

 Inequalities and Injustice 

Pride and Prejudice is a story based on love, finding romance, and the hardships and beauty that lie within that. However, another significant aspect of Wright’s adaptation is its focus on social context; this is true, particularly regarding women’s rights and their societal struggles. The film highlights the class distinctions and economic pressures that shape the characters’ lives and decisions. This is done with a keen emphasis on the limited options available to women. It shows a very dark and disgusting truth. The injustices for women scream out loud in this portrayal. The movie shows the severe contrast in treatment and expectations between men and women.

The Bennet family’s precarious financial situation and the societal expectation for women to secure their futures through advantageous marriages underscore the gender inequalities of the time. Elizabeth Bennet’s resistance to marrying for convenience and her insistence on marrying for love reflects a Proto-Feminism stance. This resonates with a modern audience and reflects what should happen, as opposed to what often did happen. 

Elizabeth’s Role

Elizabeth’s character embodies the struggles and desires of women in the 19th century, who were often seen as property and denied autonomy. The movie perfectly portrays Elizabeth’s independence, vulnerability, and wit. Her rejection of Mr Collins’ proposal, despite the economic security it would provide, and her initial resistance to Mr Darcy, despite his wealth, shows her demand for respect and equality in her relationships. This displayed true bravery from Elizabeth. She stands up for herself, speaks out, refuses to be silenced, and simply doesn’t accept a cruel and inequitable fate.

The danger that she was in for doing so was clearly represented throughout the movie, as well as the implications that could follow. This insistence on personal agency and emotional integrity highlights the need for women’s rights and autonomy, which remain relevant today.

Secondary Female Characters

The film also portrays other female characters who navigate their constrained societal roles in different ways and are incredibly brave. There is a poignant scene where Charlotte Lucas accepts Mr Collins’ proposal. Charlotte Lucas’s pragmatic acceptance of the proposal brings up the harsh realities and compromises many women face and endure.

I was screaming at my screen, “Noooo, don’t accept the proposal”, as I’m sure many others were too. However, her decision represents the harrowing truth of what many women faced and had to sacrifice in order for a more secure future for themselves and their families. Her decision starkly contrasts Elizabeth’s ideals, highlighting the varied responses to the same societal pressures and showing the immense ordeal women went through. 

Shining a light on the severe and vast injustices females faced and still face is critical. Inequality and injustices are still ever-present in today’s society; for this reason, we still need this conversation immensely and desperately. Thanks to some improvements in women’s rights in certain countries since the 19th century, the inequalities for women today don’t always generate the same uproar or desperation for change. Some in this world even find it easy to overlook, dismiss, and ignore. However, this level of injustice is still going on today. 

A Tree Can’t Grow if the Roots Are Rotten

“A tree can’t grow if the roots are rotten”- the roots representing society, the deep-rooted beliefs, values and ideas of women. How can things truly and permanently improve, and how can we reach equality when we cannot see beyond the surface? However, it’s what’s beneath the rotten fruit that is affecting it.

You wouldn’t think that women’s rights and simple equality would make some people so uncomfortable and be such an upsetting, disapproving and outrages thing to demand, how dare we want to be equal right? Wrong. We need to keep fighting and demanding change. It is important to keep on making our voices heard and keep on calling out people when they are wrong; we need to know our own worth and not let anyone tell us we can’t.

True, permanent, and powerful change in society and the world needs to take place. We are the change, we are the future, and let’s have Elizabeth Bennet remind us to stand up for what is right and scream about what is wrong. Women can make this stand; we can make this change. Women shouldn’t have to fight every day for something that should already be theirs but have been left with no other choice.

One day, women will live in a society that is just and free and will truly and completely be equal to men, and not just on the surface but deep within their roots. We need that optimise to see us through, carry us to victory, and claim that justice is ours to have. All women and girls must know that you are powerful and your voice matters.