E is for — Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Eliza Bennett is my kind of heroine. She’s intelligent, witty, tart-tongued, and not brainlessly boy-crazy like some of her younger sisters. I enjoy her spirited banter with the haughty Mr. Darcy. I always wished that I could be so good with a repartee. I love the story, and the slow transformation of their opinions of each other never gets old.
Truth be told, I love all of Jane Austen’s major novels. (I haven’t read any of her shorter works.) Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, followed by Sense and Sensibility, the gothic Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Emma. I own four video versions of Pride and Prejudice, and, Colin Firth’s wet shirt notwithstanding, I like the BBC production with Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul the best. Maybe it’s because it was the first adaptation I saw, but whatever the reason, I thought the actresses/actors fit the characters the best, and Austen’s ironic humor really shone through.
Elizabeth Garvie as
Elizabeth Bennett in
Pride and Prejudice,
BBC 1985
Photo Credit: Jane Austen Wikia
Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams 
Eliza is one of my fav’s too. Lot of spunk.
Glad to be following along on your journey through characters. Great theme! After this April challenge, I’ll have to go through your old posts to read about your journey through self-publishing and see what you’ve got out there. 🙂
Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com
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Thanks! I’d love to have you visit! I’ll be reading more of your blog, too.
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I really enjoyed ‘Northanger Abbey’ and ‘Emma’ is a favorite too. Over the past couple of years Christian has found some comic-versions of Austen novels which I have really enjoyed collecting. Great choice for E!
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I had no idea there were comic versions. I’d love to see them sometime.
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Jane Austen is the best! Although Price and Prejudice is my favourite, I also have a soft spot for Persuasion. Have you ever seen the version of that novel with Ciaran Hinds? Beautiful.
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Yes, I love that one! It’s been a while since I watched it. Makes me want to go get it out again.
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It will always be Jennifer Ehle / Colin Firth for me – can’t believe it’s nearly 20 years old. I did rewatch the Garvie / Rintoul version some years ago and found it a bit stilted in comparison. As far as favourite Austen heroines go though, mine is Emma, flawed as she is. I’m never entirely convinced that the size of Mr. Darcy’s estate didn’t influence Lizzie just a little bit!
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That may well be. I very much liked the 2009 BBC production of Emma with Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller. Emma can be irritating, but she has her good moments, too.
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I liked that too. Also the first time I’ve seen a performance of her father (Michael Gambon) that made it credible that she should be so devoted to him.
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I saw a movie version, and I have to say, I like the book so much better!
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Yes, I have to agree there. The book is excellent!
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ARGH! Now I’m doubly unhappy that I haven’t read Pride & Prejudice! Great theme, by the way!
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Thanks! All of Jane Austen’s books are well worth reading. I was just checking out your site and now I have to go look at my bookshelves and report back. 🙂
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Woohoo! Please do! I love to talk about books!
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I have Pride and Prejudice and Emma lying around in my room but haven’t got around to reading it yet. Heh. I really should though, Eliza Bennett sounds like she’s an interesting one to get to know.
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She’s a great character, and so is Emma.
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