Pride and Prejudice, Chapters 35 to 41

In this episode, we talk about Darcy’s letter and Elizabeth’s reaction to it, consider what Wickham might have done in his youth, revisit the Collins marriage, discuss Mr Bennet’s abrogation of parental responsibility and look at how Elizabeth is now seeing her family through new eyes. We then look at the character of Lydia.

For this episode, we are joined by Michael, who gives us some background information about the militia and the regular army in Jane Austen’s time. Harriet looks at how the film and television adaptations deal with dramatising the letter, and the presentation of Lydia, and Michael adds a couple of points about the military uniforms.

Things we mention:

 Books: 

• Claire Tomalin, Jane Austen: A Life (1997) 
•  John Burrows, Computation into Criticism: Study of Jane Austen’s Novels and an Experiment in Method (1987) 
• Amanda Grange, Mr Darcy’s Diary (2005) 

Illustrations:

• William Hogarth, A Rake’s Progress – III The Orgy
  

Movies and television:

• MGM, Pride and Prejudice (1940) – starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier 
• BBC, Pride and Prejudice (1980) – starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul
• BBC, Pride and Prejudice (1995) – starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth
• Focus Features, Pride & Prejudice (2005) – starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen
• Pathé Pictures International, Bride and Prejudice (2004) – starring Aishwarya Rai and Martin Henderson
• YouTube, Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012) – starring Ashley Clements and Daniel Vincent Gordh 

Creative commons music used:

• Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen. 
• Extract from Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major. File originally from Musopen.