“I am well enough acquainted with you, Miss Elizabeth, to know that I can not alarm you, even should I wish it.”¹ Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular classic romance novels, and for good reason. It introduces a strangers to lovers relationship that uses the older ways of becoming acquainted with one another to create amazing suspense. Some other exciting aspects of the movie are the side relationships created in the background in the movie. Aside from the main relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, her sister Jane begins a relationship with Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte gets with Mr. Collins. Though these relationships are the better ones, Elizabeth’s other sister Lydia gets married to Mr. Wickham (who we don’t like).

Starting on the entire relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. In the beginning, the two are introduced at a ball and you can start to see a little bit of romance blooming between the two, mostly on Mr. Darcy’s side. He is seen looking over at Elizabeth through the crowd at her dancing. Later, after Jane becomes sick at Mr. Bingley’s home, Elizabeth comes to see her and meets Mr. Darcy before going off to see her sick sibling. The interaction between the two is one to note because Mr. Darcy’s response to Elizabeth is very attentive. He immediately greets her when she comes in and answers her questions quickly to make sure she gets the information she needs. A small detail that can also be noted in a later interaction while Elizabeth is still at the home is Mr. Darcy’s avoidance of her gaze. It makes it seem as though he is falling much harder in love and doesn’t want to look at her with the fear that he may feel a little embarrassed or red-faced.

After the marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, Elizabeth goes to visit their home out in the country. The group is invited to Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s mansion, and there Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy meet again. As the group is sitting and interacting, Elizabeth is playing the piano and Darcy is speaking with her. The interaction creates more of a boundary between them because Elizabeth reacts with more anger and pettiness in her voice. The next day, they all visit a Church where Mr. Collins is speaking from the Bible. Elizabeth is speaking with Darcy’s friend Colonel Fitzwilliam where she learns Darcy declined the relationship between Jane and Bingley. At this point, Elizabeth is very angry with Darcy and runs out in the rain to an old building. There, an argument ensues between the two, where Darcy admits his love for Elizabeth but she denies it and Darcy leaves also angry. From thereon, Elizabeth realizes her love for Darcy and Darcy continues to have feelings for her but wants her to realize it too. Much later, Elizabeth speaks with Lady Catherine (who is Darcy’s aunt) and it results in an angry Catherine and frustrated Elizabeth. The next morning, Elizabeth goes out to the fields where she sees Darcy coming towards her. This is the realization between the two that they both love each other.

Now let’s talk about the side relationships. Starting with Jane and Mr. Bingley, theirs was the most special relationship of the novel. Starting from when they met, you could instantly tell that they were meant to be. Jane was constantly watching and paying attention to Bingley, and him the same to her. Seeing their relationship and interactions was very sweet and though they had a break (due to Darcy), they did end up together and I’m glad they did. Next is Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Just by viewing the movie, one may think there was a large age gap, but actually there wasn’t! “Charlotte is 27 years old at the beginning of the novel and was headed toward spinsterhood before marrying Mr. Collins.”² “Mr William Collins, 25 years old as the novel begins, is Mr Bennet's distant cousin, a clergyman, and the heir presumptive to Mr Bennet's estate of Longbourn.”³ So in reality, Collins is actually younger than Charlotte. (There have been many movies and shows so this may not be the most accurate age but for the sake of this article, we will use it) Even though there isn’t a large age gap, the two do come from very different backgrounds. Charlotte comes from a poorer family and hasn’t had much luck in life. Mr. Collins, however, is sponsored by Lady Catherine and has a nice life, with a home, job, etc. I am happy for Charlotte, however, I do wish she had found someone that she may have actually loved rather than marrying so that she may have a chance at life. The final, and unfortunate relationship, is between Lydia and Mr. Wickham. This relationship actually has an age gap, with Mr. Wickham being around 27-29 years old, and Lydia being 15. During the movie, Lydia was definitely an adventurer, wanting to go out all the time and wanting to live the good life, but being stuck at home didn’t help. So, she decided to run away and marry Wickham (who we don’t like because he was mean to Darcy).

All in all, Pride and Prejudice is such a classic movie that I definitely recommend. It’s such a great film to watch if you like seeing two quiet characters find love with all the suspense. If you decide to get into the movie, I definitely encourage you to watch the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, as well as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, two of my favorite adaptations. Definitely a 10/10 movie!!