“Becoming Jane” is a film that is based on Jon Hunter Spence’s novel “Becoming Jane Austen.” The film portrays the life of the famous English author, Jane Austen. After watching the film, I notice the similar themes, and connections between Jane Austen’s life and her novel “Pride and Prejudice.” Many even believed that Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” was based on her own life, but in the novel Austen was able to give herself a happy ending. Throughout the film, I saw Jane Austen as Elizabeth Bennet and Thomas LeFroy as Mr. Darcy. Many of the characters in Austen’s life is very similar to the characters in her novel. For instance, Austen’s parents were similar to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Marriage and social status is a big theme in both Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and in the film “Becoming Jane.” Alike Austen’s novel, in the film, Jane and Thomas face obstacles in getting married because of their different social status. Jane alike Elizabeth Bennet, is pressured into getting married to any men that proposes to her, because society deems women only worthy of marriage.
Thankfully, today we don’t practice this belief of women’s only purpose as marriage. The social class gap that prevents marriage from occurring, no longer exist as our economy and society changes. I believe that without people such as Jane Austen, we will not have been able to see this change in society. Austen defied society’s expectation of her into getting married, and instead chooses to live a life unmarried. Austen chooses to become a successful author, and proves that a woman can become successful without marriage or a man. Although society has changed, and women are no longer expected to marry the moment they come of age, there are still beliefs that men are superior to women. In order to destroy this belief, I hope to see more successful women like Jane Austen, prove that women are as good as men.
For those of you who enjoyed reading Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” in class, I suggest that you watched “Becoming Jane.” It is interesting to see the comparison between Austen’s novel and her own life. The following is the trailer for the 2007 film.
– Amy Wang
