Throughout the Romantic era, young women struggled to balance the traditional values ​​of their elders with the revolutionary ideals of the time. Radical writers such as Jane Austen attempted to give women a voice in the literary world so that they had the opportunity to rise above restrictive societal views that limited them to the roles of obedient wives and mothers. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, Austen's character, Elizabeth Bennet, is representative of contemporary young women of her time who were looking for love rather than "suitable husbands". Yet in her characterization of Charlotte Lucas and Charlotte's views on marriage, wealth, and social status, Austen reveals how women less fortunate than Elizabeth were forced either to conform to the roles they were born into , or risk being alienated from their community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In his adaptation of the novel, Joe Wright attempts to capture the essence of Austen's classic and its characterization of Charlotte Lucas on film. However, without the narrative element of the novel, Wright uses casting, camera angles, and dialogue to reveal Austen's theme without having to resort to creating voiceover narration that would distract from the story. general atmosphere. Austen does not address Charlotte's appearance in the novel until Mrs. Bennet discusses Charlotte during her visit to Netherfield. In her conversation with her daughters, Bingley and Darcy, she specifies that Charlotte “is very simple. Lady Lucas herself said it often and envied my Jane's beauty” (Austen 30). Charlotte is not as beautiful as Jane or Elizabeth, and Mrs. Bennet feels that her plain appearance is a shame because it is necessary for a woman to be attractive to find a wealthy suitor who resembles her or is superior to her in class. Charlotte herself realizes that her lack of beauty may be the reason she has not found a husband; therefore, his views on marriage are quite opposite to Elizabeth's. Discussing the idea with Elizabeth, Charlotte explains: “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are so well known to each other or so similar in advance, this in no way advances their happiness… and it is better to know as little as possible the faults of the person you are with. to spend your life” (Austen 16). As Charlotte and Elizabeth discuss the flaws of their suitors, the mention of personal flaws causes the reader to wonder about Elizabeth and Charlotte's personal character flaws. For Charlotte, whose personality is pleasant and kind, her fault would certainly be her lack of beauty. She has no control over her own appearance because it was entirely by “chance” that she was born natural. Therefore, her inability to be selective regarding a potential husband is directly related to her unhappiness regarding her appearance, and she realizes that she must take a "chance" by accepting any marriage offer she might receive and hope that happiness will be the end result. In Joe Wright's adaptation, Charlotte's marital beliefs and personal appearance are simultaneously revealed to the viewer in the Netherfield ball scene. Wright cast Claudie Blakley as Charlotte, placing her alongside Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Jane (Rosamund Pike): by conventional standards, she may not be as beautiful in appearance as the other actresses , because she is not as thin nor as tall asKnightly. or pike. When Charlotte is first seen next to Mr. Collins at the ball, their dark features and shorter figures actually complement each other. The similarities between their appearances are striking considering the contrast between Mr. Collins and Elizabeth, who is at least half a foot taller than him and much more attractive. Casting a relatively simple actress resembling Mr. Collins and similar in appearance, foreshadows their connection and eventual marriage. While the reader must discern Charlotte's desperation to find a husband through her conversations with Elizabeth, the film reveals her interest in pursuing Mr. Collins the moment he is introduced to her at the ball. While Elizabeth and Jane appear shocked and perplexed that Mr. Collins asks Elizabeth to dance, Charlotte pays attention to him and has a friendly, hopeful smile on her face. Additionally, while Collins dances with Elizabeth, Charlotte can be seen in the background, right behind him, while watching him dance. Charlotte's voice is also very pleasant throughout the scene. She never comes across as nagging or negative, and unlike Elizabeth's, her voice has less force behind it. The qualities that Austen develops in Charlotte early in her novel are all present in this initial ballroom scene when the viewer is first introduced to Charlotte. Before Collins proposes to her, the viewer knows that she will accept based on his plain appearance, her age, her kindness towards him, and the apparent lack of other proposals, even though Wright never fully addresses any of these questions outwardly in the dialogue that has taken place in the film thus far. Wealth and material possessions are not as important to Charlotte Lucas as the social implications surrounding them. Although Charlotte never believes she will have the opportunity to marry someone as wealthy as Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy, one of the reasons she sets her sights on Mr. Collins is because " his prospects of future wealth were exceedingly fair” (Austen 83). Mr. Collins will be heir to the Bennet estate and by marrying him, Charlotte will not have to burden her brothers with taking care of her. The prospect of such financial stability is the best she could hope for as a twenty-seven-year-old single woman. Charlotte considers Mr. Collins her "chance" to conform to the role of wife and mother and find happiness in a domestic lifestyle. After Charlotte marries Mr Collins and goes to live with him near Rosings, Elizabeth visits her and remarks that she has made her new house "neat and comfortable" and that the living room is "in good proportion...in its appearance and its furniture” (Austen 104). Charlotte clearly takes pride in her home and possessions, and she takes great care to make her home as beautiful as possible. She is satisfied with her home because, in the eyes of her social relations, she appears to be a married, decent and financially secure woman. Charlotte believes in making the most of the opportunities given to her: she feels lucky to have found a suitable husband and is comforted to be able to conform to a more traditional role because, unlike Elizabeth, she would prefer to be married to a man. that she doesn't like rather than being considered an old maid. Wright introduces Charlotte's need for wealth and material goods into the film through the dialogue between her and Elizabeth, notably when she relates the news of her engagement and in the scene in which Elizabeth arrives at Charlotte's new house. When Charlotte comes to the Bennets to announce her engagement to her closest friend, she smiles and hastily tells Elizabeth that sheis going to marry Mr. Collins. She says that she should be as happy with him as with any other man and that by marrying Mr. Collins she has been given a comfortable home and protection. Although Elizabeth seems stunned that her friend is marrying someone she doesn't love, Charlotte makes it clear that she is marrying Mr. Collins because with him she has the opportunity to rise socially as a married woman. . She tells Elizabeth that she would never have this same opportunity as an "old maid" and that Elizabeth should not judge her for making the decision to conform to the role of housewife. Later, when Elizabeth is invited to visit Charlotte in her new home, Charlotte tells her that she has a living room all to herself and that she loves being able to run her own household. She never believed she could ever control her own affairs and she seems very happy to be able to contribute to her marriage on a national level. Her happiness undoubtedly comes from her new social status as a married woman who maintains a fairly large household, rather than from the joy of being Mr. Collins' wife. However, as her dialogue with Elizabeth illustrates, the fact that it is her husband's house that brings her happiness rather than her husband himself does not change the fact that she is satisfied with her new life. In order to maintain a respectable reputation as a married woman, Charlotte follows societal rules of conduct regarding her new domestic activities. She strives to gain the approval of Lady Catherine (the ultimate example of the upper-class elite), who could help the Collins family establish valuable social connections. Even when Lady Catherine insults her by explaining to Charlotte how "everything should be settled in a family as small as hers" (Austen 128), she remains calm and politely listens to advice, even though Lady Catherine has probably never cleaned or took care of a household herself. Charlotte knows that pleasing Lady Catherine will have a positive effect on how the rest of the community perceives her, and this kind of high regard is consequential in her mind. Her status as a newlywed and middle-class wife did not earn her many invitations to social engagements in the community because "the lifestyle of the neighborhood in general was beyond the reach of the Collinses" (Austen 112). This is why Charlotte feels that she must be diligent in praising Lady Catherine, so that she will be invited to dine at Rosings more often. If Lady Catherine approves of Charlotte as a wife, Charlotte believes the rest of the community will agree. Although she may never be completely welcomed by upper-class society, Charlotte is content with her middle-class status and believes that her decision to marry Mr. Collins has pushed her upward socially. In Wright's film adaptation, Charlotte's desire for social approval is revealed through the use of different camera angles in the scene in which she, her husband, and Elizabeth visit Lady Catherine at Rosings. As they enter the room where Lady Catherine is waiting for them, the camera flashes from Mr. Collins who enters first, to Charlotte who enters second, and then to Elizabeth who enters last. As the camera shows Charlotte entering the room, her advance on Elizabeth appears somewhat aggressive. She seems to want to be seen behind her husband and in front of her single friend. When Charlotte speaks to Lady Catherine moments later, the camera first stops on her own face as she speaks and then focuses on Lady Catherine's face in close-up as if Charlotte were seeking approval in his expression. The camera angles here reveal Charlotte's own ideas about her self-importance as a married woman.