allanhunter.net Blog

Jane Austen certainly knew the notion of the Six Archetypes thoroughly, so I was eager to see what the PBS series would give us in its new version of her first major novel.

The opening scene of seduction made me fear the worst, although from that point on I was considerably reassured by the way the drama was handled. I’m not sure why the unlacing of bodice and stays was put before us in this way, since we won’t be able to ‘place’ the event in the novel until near the end, when its shock value will be diminished. I’m aware that most people will know the plot pretty well so the dastardly deed will hardly be a complete surprise - and yet…

This production so far is an excellent one. The Dashwood girls seem at first rather colorless, but they soon begin to differentiate and grow upon us, as if their Orphan-like exile to Devon has allowed them to become more of who they essentially are, perhaps for the first time. Marianne is convincing as the 16 and 17 year old romantic in a way that was never quite the case when Kate Winslet took the part - she always seemed more knowing than the teenager we saw in this production.

This version also seems to be staying close to the text, which is such a relief to those of us who have favorite moments. It does, however, take us inside various characters’ minds in a way that Jane Austen limits in her novel - I’ll be interested to see whether this shifting viewpoint is a blessing or not. One plot-liberty that worked well was to have Marianne and Willoughby walk through his soon-to-be-inherited house, alone, unchaperoned, and the sexual tension that washed over the scene was truly dangerous. One sensed that Willoughby could, truly, make a formidable seducer.

It’s an important scene because in it, Willoughby tempts Marianne with his future residence, offering the Orphan a home, and yet he is, himself, not yet entitled to inherit so he is an Orphan in his own right, really. And so is Edward Ferrars. All these Orphans - and not all of them will be up to the task of becoming Pilgrims. Willoughby, in seducing little Orphan Liza, is barely rising above his own woundedness. He seeks to do something similar to Marianne - he’s a predator of habit, even if his intentions to her are a little more honorable. But it will be Brandon who will be able to recognize that she will have learned and grown from her mis-step, that Orphans need to make mistakes…

It should be interesting to see how things unfold.