Jane’s Pride
“Even if you are not putting your pen on a paper, it does not mean you are not writing.” Mrs. Edith Tiempo said this to one of her students, my professor in Fiction 1, Timothy Montes.
A writer is an observer. And what else can a person observe better than his/her everyday life. I too do this. At least I have something in common with one of the “greats”, Jane Austen.
If I do not know better, I would say that the set used in the movies “Becoming Jane” and “Pride and Prejudice” were one and the same. Watching these movies in the same order as I did (watching “Becoming Jane” first) will tease the audience. Knowing the story of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” (mentioned in the movie) will become a must. But, if “Pride and Prejudice” is viewed first, and given that the viewer does not know the movie’s background, “Becoming Jane” would then seem strangely familiar and its credits would give a bit of a surprise.
Majority of the materials used by Jane Austen in her works (particularly “Pride and Prejudice”) came from her own life. Several facts from both movies can be pointed out to prove this. The parent characters for example, the mothers serve as the matchmakers, often times pushing their daughters to a marriage that will benefit them financially. The fathers on the other hand, though most of the times submissive to their wives, would prefer their daughters marry for love. The wealthy woman character serving as the “feared one” is also present in both stories. And my personal favorite, the looser suitor character nicknamed “booby”. Even the protagonists from these movies seemed to be the same person. Their wittiness, will, stubbornness and ways to manage a relationship are the same. The only clear difference would be their ability to play the piano.
The female writer that Jane visited mentioned a line that caught me “that’s what the imagination is for”. Experiences (includes learning) and imagination, are the materials for a writer. Basing on her works, Jane seemed to have had lots of supply of both, allowing her to be one of the bests.
