Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
Home> Volumes> Volume CHR Vol.70> Article
Research Article

From Novel to Film: Tracing the Evolution of Feminism via the Plots Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice in the 1940 and 2005 Version

Wenhan WengSchool of Art & Design, Australia National University, Canberra, Australia* Yuchen XieNanjing No.29 High School Yaxin LiSchool of Teacher Education, Nanjing UniverChinasity of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, Yue CuiBeijing Haidian Foreign Language School Zexin WuHangzhou Foreign Languages School

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

This research focuses on the film adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) in plots. Compared to Pride and Prejudice (1940) directed by Robert Leonard and Joe Wirght’s Pride and Prejudice (2005), this research explores the evolution of feminism and how these two film adaptations reflect on the waves of feminism during their periods. Robert Leonard’s Pride and Prejudice (1940) is relevant to the first wave of feminism while Pride and Prejudice (2005) by Joe Wright could relate to the third wave of feminism. To prove the points mentioned above, this research analyses the adaptations of plots in the 1940 and 2005 version and argues that both show association with the waves of feminism during their periods via plots adaptations. The connection between Pride and Prejudice (1940) and the first wave of feminism could be shown in the pursuit of women’s equal rights through adaptations. Meanwhile, Pride and Prejudice (2005) reflects on the third wave of feminism via advocacy of women’s empowerment and development, as well as the promotion of gender equality by challenging traditional values.

Keywords: from novel to film; the first and third wave of feminism; plots adaptations of Pride and Prejudice
Published: May 30, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2024.23431
Volume: CHR Vol.70
pp. 41-49
Download PDF

References

  1. Lichtenberg, S. (2021). The development of the feminist movement in Pride and Prejudice adaptations (Unpublished bachelor’s thesis). Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
  2. DeForte, J. (2016). An unfounded universal truth: a contemporary feminist understanding of pride and prejudice. The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research, 17.https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/ur/vol17/iss1/9
  3. Kirkham, M. (1983). Jane Austen, Feminism and Fiction: Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  4. Chowdhury, S. (2023). Pride and Prejudice Adaptations: A Comparative Study. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 8(3).
  5. Badinjki, T. (2019). Stereotypical Gender Roles and New Construct of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, 7(1), 43–47.
  6. Butler, M. (1988). Jane Austen and the War of Ideas. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Oxford Scholarship Online.
  7. Seeber, B. K. (2007). A Bennet utopia: adapting the father in Pride and Prejudice.
  8. Brosh, L. (2000). Consuming women: The representation of women in the 1940 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 17(2), pp. 147–159. doi:10.1080/10509200009361488.
  9. Budgeon, S. (2011). Third wave feminism and the politics of gender in late modernity. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com
  10. Snow, E. (1989). Theorizing the male gaze: Some problems. Representations, (25), 30-41.
  11. Oliver, K. (2017). The male gaze is more relevant, and more dangerous, than ever. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 15 (4), 451-455.
  12. French, L., & French, L. (2021). The ‘Female Gaze’. The Female Gaze in Documentary Film: An International Perspective, 53-70.
  13. Snyder, R. C. (2008). What is third-wave feminism? A new directions essay. Signs: Journal Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal On-Line, 27(2).
  14. Mohajan, H. (2022). Four waves of feminism: A blessing for global humanity.