Downton Abbey is a very interesting television series that focuses on a very big estate of Edwardian England in the past years. This is not just simply a television series, but is a very interesting series which is scandalous, presumptive, mysterious and very captivating. The Earl of Gotham is the right honorable Robert Crawly. He is addressed by his servants as “˜’my lord”. His oldest daughter, on the other hand, is a proud and outgoing character. She is good looking and has a renown humor or sense of homor. Conversely, Anne Bennet is a character from the movie Pride and Prejudice. Her character focuses on issues which are related to upbringing, education, morality, marriage and manners in the society. Pride and Prejudice has not only imitated interesting themes and memorable characters, but has also adopted dramatic prospects in order to fully entertain the viewers. The TV series Downton Abbey season one and the novel Pride and Prejudice have both used the theme of pride to bring out positive effects in the literary work and series. The plot development uses this theme to attract the interest and attention of the audience and viewers. The viewers end up loving the bitter sweet prospects of pride in the literary work and TV series. In this way, this easy compares the concept of pride as realized in the movie and TV series. These characters teach a very important lesson about pride and warn against having too much of it.
Downton Abbey
Introduction
The purpose of the paper is to compare characters from the TV series Downton Abbey and the movie Pride and Prejudice. The comparison will focus particularly on the concept of pride as it is realized in the TV series and the movie as well. The characters from the movie and the TV series have a greatness potential, but are caught up in a web of pride that leads not to success, but to immense regret and down fall.
Analysis of the Character Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth Bennet, who later becomes Elizabeth Daisy, is portrayed as a protagonist. The circumstances of the environment and time that she lives in, requires her to get married for security reasons and convenience. However, Elizabeth Bennet wants to marry for love and not convenience. Her complexity and character portray her as an endearing and admirable heroine in British literature. Still, Elizabeth has become one of the most popular heroines in history. Her ambition, independent thinking and intelligence are the qualities that set her separately from the other characters in the novel. When the readers first meet Elizabeth, they are convinced that she is the heroine in the story. However, as the plot thickens, her interaction with the world around her confuses the reader. She is made to choose between lust, money or love. The choice that Elizabeth makes hints at her structural function (Fellowes, 2011).
Analysis of the Character Lady Mary Crawly
Lady Mary Crawly is the oldest daughter of the lord and lady Grantham. She is the most entertaining character in the TV series. She is involved in numerous battles, but still carries herself in even amusement; in this case, she proves that she is a complex woman who is realistic about life and savoir faire. She can be a traditionalist when it suits her and becomes stubborn. After her cousin’s death, Mary assumes that she is the core inheritor. She is stubborn and very tough because she feels like she is the boy that her parents never had. In this case, she is very reluctant to find herself a husband. However, Lady Mary has very good and admirable qualities, but in some situations, she shows other character traits that are hard to imagine. When there is a great war breakout, Mary is caught in between becoming independent in a modern world and fulfilling her duties and responsibilities to Downtown. She speaks her own language and is driven by pride to settle old disputes. However, pride only leads to destruction and does them no good. All the other characters in the TV series deal with different life dramas. This gives viewers a reflection and glimpse in to the Edwardian era in the British society (Stafford, 2004).
Purpose of the Comparison
Both Drams take the audience to a another simpler era. In this case, the audience and the viewers get to understand a more pleasing, elegant and simpler world. In this way, the viewrs are able to relax from the stresses and destruction from the everyday life. Elizabeth Bennet and Lady Mary are portrayed as two women from the simpler era. They are both extravagant, proud and one of the most entertaining characters in the dramas. Both women face crisis in the two drams. Lady Mary has to face an inheritance crisis while Elizabeth Bennet has to face a marriage crisis. The main element preventing them from achieving their dreams is pride. The two women are attractive, witty, lively, and intelligent and have many other admirable characteristics. Both the plots begin from a relationship focus in relation to pride. Elizabeth has to overcome her prejudice and pride in order to enjoy a love relationship. Similarly, the Lady Mary has to surrender her pride in order to enjoy modern ship and fulfill her responsibilities to her family and Downtown.. The style used in the Television series Downton Abbey and the movie Pride and Prejudice is a free indirect speech technique. In terms of modern popularity, Pride and Prejudice and Downton Abbey are one of the most admired plays and movies in the modern times (Fox, 1999).
It is also important to note that Elizabeth Bennet and The Countess of Gotham must cope with antagonizing females and other members of their society. However, their sharp tongues and their tendencies to make quick judgments always lead them astray. In both the settings, these characters must overcome the obstacle of pride in order to find happiness and romance.
The two characters show an interesting attribute and use of pride to captivate and arouse the viewers and reader’s attention and interest in the play and series. In this way, the viewers and readers are able to identify other characters from their points of view. This simply means that the character traits of particular characters help to understand the independent, thrilling, compassionate, gentle and proud notions based on the plot of the series or the movie. Pride brings irony into the plot and is used as a literary device to show a moral dilemma. However, pride results to disgrace, unreasonable hatred, and undignified behavior (Austen & Howard, 2003).
Differences Between the Two Characters
The differences between the two characters emanate from the use of honorable names and titles, use of miss without the Christian name, use of the titles in speech and in the social and formal correspondence.
Use of Honorable
The honorable title is used to apply to the baron’s and viscount’s children plus the wives of the children. In the television series Downton Abbey the honorable title is used. The Counts wives is given an honorable title namely Lady Mary. On the other hand, Elizabeth is simply called by her name and is not given an honorable one.
Use of Miss without a Christian Name
It is important to note that the word Miss is used to refer to an elder daughter who is unmarried. In the movie Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is addressed as Miss Bennet. This is because she is the eldest daughter and is not married. Similarly, Lady Mary is known as lady but her first name is used. (Tori, 2010).
Effects of Pride on a Main Character
Stubbornness can be considered as a quality that is admirable, but it can lead to a down fall. This is because proud characters are usually stuck with many different ideas which they hold and trust in until it’s too late to change their opinions. At the end of the novel Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth has to overcome her pride and prejudice in order to enjoy happiness and romance. She is faced with this challenge because of her unwillingness to bulge from prejudice. Other times pride can lead to heart breaking agonies such as internal struggles, loss of a loved one, and other painful circumstances. However, Elizabeth Bennet and The Countess of Gotham use pride to defend what they believe is right (Crace, 2010). They have good intentions, but pride clouds their judgments and causes them to initiate on a course that could have devastating effects on their lives. Pride causes Mr. Bennet to isolate himself from Elizabeth.
Pride as a Theme in Downton Abbey & Pride and Prejudice
Pride is a theme that explores fundamental ideas and ideals in literary work such as plays, movies, and different forms of literature. Pride is a stumbling block that must be overcome because it causes tensions and misjudgments. In this case, pride interferes with the love of the two characters. In both instances, the society depicts the woman’s reputation as a very important aspect. This simply means that if a woman steps outside the predetermined social norms, then she becomes vulnerable to ostracism.
Pride is also related to the theme of class which is reflected in the nature of life in the upper classes. Lady Mary is from the upper class while the Bennets are from the middle class. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, the Bennets are not allowed to socialize with the upper class. This simply means that Elizabeth Bennet was not allowed to socialize with Dansy (Austen, 1999). This was because Dansy was from the upper class. This conception is also shared in the televisions series Downton Abbey, where Lady Mary is only allowed to socialize with the upper class. Satire is used to communicate the theme of pride in the television series Downton Abbey and Pride and Prejudice. In one of the quotes from the novel Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth proclaims “Good heaven! Brighton, and a whole campful of soldiers, to us, who have been offset already by one poor regiment of militia and the monthly balls of Meryton” (Austen, 1999, p. 39). This quote is used to show Elizabeth’s pride.
Negative Effects of Pride
In the novel Pride and Prejudice and the TV series Downton Abbey season one, pride and stubborness is damaging. This is because it awakens cruelty and clouds the judgment of the characters. Pride starts innocently, but could end up dangerously. In Pride and Prejudice, pride almost cost Elizabeth her happiness and romance. This means that pride is a source of self strength and confidence. On the other hand, it can also be a source of self destructive power. In other words, pride rejects authority, motivates emotional sins, and reproduces to judgment, slander, competition and revenge.
Conclusion
Pride is a powerful concept that can be termed as a “˜’ lights out”. This is because pride struggles to believe what it thinks is right and end up realizing the mistake when it is too late. The TV series Downton Abbey and the novel Pride and Prejudice are sharply plotted and skillfully sustained in to one the best TV series and novels in the recent times. The characters in this particular case show that there are many mysteries in life which may never be solved, but can be slathered in wit and pride.