Like many Jane Austen fans, I have watched (and enjoyed) "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries." For those who don't know what this is, I will give a small summary in this paragraph. For those who have seen this, you can skip to the next paragraph (when I get to the main point of this post). "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" is a series of videos on Youtube that are a modern day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. In this series, sisters Jane, Lizzie, and Lydia struggle with relationships, first impressions, financial difficulties, and misconceptions. They are seen through the eyes of Lizzie Bennet, the middle sister. Events are told in a vlog format, and we are introduced to many of the characters via Lizzie's opinions. These descriptions are often skewed because of Lizzie's original impressions of people, as well as her interpretation of events. Imagine the novel, but with characters from this time period dealing with technological advances, college, and mortgages, sex tapes.
Now, onto the real point of this post. The first time I watched this series was for a Jane Austen class, where I analyzed the inspiration of the author's books on modern day cinema and the differences that were created to fit it to this time period. The biggest, most important difference that I discovered was that there are real, strong lessons learned by the characters in the series. Instead of being left with that vague feeling of "Why did Lizzie fall in love with Darcy again? They barely interacted, but seeing his house and reading his letter suddenly made her change her mind about him? What?" we are able to fully comprehend why Lizzie changed her mind about someone she previously hated. There is more of a development in relationship, and Darcy is proven to be a kind, forgiving, and encouraging personality in Lizzie's life. The good characters are even better and more relatable, and the bad characters are completely despicable. I appreciated Lizzie's love of her sister Jane, her strong friendship with Charlotte, and her stereotypical older sister reactions to her overwhelming sister Lydia. I was glad to see her rally behind Lydia in her time of need, and how important the relationship between all three sisters ended up being. (Yes, there are only three sisters in this adaptation. Mary becomes the cousin that everyone forgets about, and Kitty becomes a literal kitty cat). The acting is great, the characters (even Lydia) lovable, and the emotions expressed in each video strong and believable.
The main reason that I started this blog is because recently I actually watched Lydia's vlogs (connected to the story, but on it's own channel). I am not sure why I hadn't watched these before, but I wish I had sooner. We get to see how much of a hot mess Lydia really is, of course; but we also get to see deeper emotions that are hidden in Lizzie's diaries. Although we got a few hints (when she looks sad at Lizzie calling her a 'boy crazy substance abuser and after her life takes a turn for the worse later in the series), these vlogs show the loneliness the much younger sister feels everyday, and her desperation to be a part of her Lizzie and Jane's lives. She makes a strong connection to Mary, and then clings to her as her only source of friendship. The deeper sadness that Lydia hides under her crazy antics and bubbly personality showed different layers to a character I used to think was annoying.
This is when the real spoilers for the series start. Then, Lydia meets up with George Wickham (after his falling out with Lizzie), and the vlogs take a turn for the depressing. In rebellion and anger against Lizzie, Lydia speeds off to Las Vegas, where she meets up with Wickham. The two begin a 'secret' relationship. The relationship quickly becomes disturbing. Wickham is abusive, there is no way around it. Not physically abusive, but emotionally. He starts by telling Lydia everything she wants to hear. He tells her the truth about his relationship with Darcy (while still finding a way to make Darcy seem like the bad guy), and then fills Lydia's head with compliments. He addresses all of her insecurities and makes it seem like he is the only one that understands her and loves her. Soon, he is separating her from her sisters, claiming that they don't understand her and he is the only one that has been there for her and cares about her. With things like, "You are amazing, no matter what everyone else says," making it seem like he is the ONLY ONE that sees her in this positive light. As the relationship progresses, Lydia becomes less spunky and more withdrawn, wearing gray and letting Wickham do much of the talking on the vlog. When Lydia suggests reaching out to her sisters, or expresses her concern about how they will take the budding relationship, Wickham reacts almost violently. He accuses her of not loving him enough, and he brings up what he'd done for her once more. This is such a realistic representation of an emotionally abusive relationship that I felt strongly for Lydia in a way that I never had before (and made me dislike Wickham more than ever before).
The relationship progresses in a way that when we discover she's filmed a sex tape with him, we almost understand WHY. We get to see a young, sweet, vulnerable girl get her heart broken and her trust shattered. The episode in which Lydia discovers Wickham's betrayal is a heart wrenching video, although still not as bad as a later video. His emotional abuse comes to a head, leaving Lydia sobbing in Lizzie's arms, chanting "Why didn't he love me?" The vlogs made this scene, and her severe pain, make perfect sense. Wickham broke her down by ripping away all of her relationships and then built her back up by professing his devotion. She built her new self around this relationship, so when it was torn away from her in such a devastating way, she didn't know how to survive.
The sisterly relationship is strengthened through these horrible events. Unlike the novel, Lydia learns from her mistakes and is able to rally again. The novel Lydia is oblivious to all of the terrible decisions she'd made and Wickham's terrible character. In the "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" Lydia is actually a fully actualized, three dimensional character. The relationship between the sisters is the important part of her story, not her romantic entanglements. I expected to like the older two Bennet sisters, but I wasn't expecting to really enjoy the character of Lydia Bennet. This modern take on the novel really stood out and did something that the book could not. It created four (including Charlotte) strong female characters who make important decisions and discover their best and strongest selves by the end of the series. While I will always love the novel, this series holds a very special place in my heart.
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