Pride & Prejudice returns to theatres and it still says everything about love

India Today

28-07-2025

'Pride & Prejudice' is back in theatres. Yep, Joe Wright's dreamy 2005 adaptation (the one with Keira Knightley twirling in a field and Matthew Macfadyen brooding in a coat like it's a full-time job) is gracing the big screen again. And if you're anything like me, you're already planning your outfit to cry in during that rainy 'I love you most ardently' scene.advertisementBut this isn't just a nostalgia trip. The fact that Jane Austen's classic is still turning heads and tugging at heartstrings more than 200 years after it was written says something big: 'Pride & Prejudice' isn't just a period romance. It's basically the blueprint for every modern story where a smart, misunderstood woman brings a proud, emotionally constipated man to his knees. You know the type. Let's start with the elephant in the drawing room: patriarchy. Austen was serving quiet rebellion way before it was cool. Elizabeth Bennet (the protagonist) isn't your average Regency damsel. She says no to a 'perfectly eligible' proposal because she values her self-respect. Revolutionary, right? And while we may not be batting away proposals from clergymen with estates, we are navigating job interviews, online dating, and dinner-table debates with that same don't-settle-know-your-worth-energy.
Modern feminism eats this up. Lizzy's refusal to marry for convenience is echoed in every storyline where a woman chooses independence over compromise. Austen may have dressed her heroines in bonnets, but she gave them an ageless battle to fight. Her women are not man-haters. In fact, in 'Pride & Prejudice', Lizzy is not someone holding herself back from love out of fear, she's someone who has the courage to not place her feelings above her dignity and her family's honour. One particularly striking line has her saying, "I could easily forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine" - a testament to a woman protecting her self-respect and emotional integrity against a man who, by virtue of his gender, enjoys privileges.The fact that Austen herself didn't make her men look obnoxious or worth hatred speaks of her powerful writing.Let's talk Darcy. Ah, Fitzwilliam Darcy, the prototype for every man who's ever taken 400 pages (or 12 episodes of a Netflix series) to say 'I like you.' He's awkward, proud, and emotionally stunted, but loyal, kind, and willing to change underneath. Sounds familiar? He's basically the spiritual ancestor of Mr. Big, Mark Darcy (yes, they named the 'Sex and the City' character after the original), and every gruff love interest in modern rom-coms.advertisementWe're obsessed with the Darcy arc because it gives us hope that maybe, just maybe, someone will love us enough to work on themselves, even if it takes a few social disasters and a surprise visit to Derbyshire. Here is a man who understands his own demons before confessing his feelings to a woman. And when the woman refuses him, he yearns for her but never forces his emotions on her or blames her for his misery.One of the most lovable scenes from the film perfectly sums up everything that Darcy stands for. During the film's climax (Oh, don't say 'no climax, please.' It's everything), he returns to Lizzy - perhaps for the last time - to tell her how he loves her with everything he is and everything he has. This is not a bend-on-your-knee, take-out-a-ring moment, but a confession of one heart to another.The sun is rising, but still behind the trees. The sky is painted in the most gorgeous shades of pastels, with a few stars still clinging on. It's cold outside, but a soft breeze fills the air - and then he appears, from afar, slowly filling your gaze. He looks into Lizzy's eyes and tells her, one final time: if she still believes he's not the right person for her, he'll go, and never dare to trouble her again. But if there's even the slightest chance for them, he is ready to prove who he is and who he can be - for her.advertisementIt's not a confession, but his heart - mushy and vulnerable - offered in his open palm to Lizzy. What does he say, exactly? You'll have to hold your heart, because it might just be the most romantic thing any man has ever said to a woman - in literature and in cinema.What you are about to read will set a new benchmark for love. Don't say you were not warned!"You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love--I love--I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."advertisementIn 'Pride & Prejudice', even if you strip away the empire waistlines and the inheritance drama, you've got something that still hits home: miscommunication, snap judgements, second chances. How many potential relationships have been ghosted into oblivion because of pride? Or misread emojis? Austen got there first.In a world where we judge people based on a LinkedIn profile and a three-second swipe, 'Pride & Prejudice' reminds us that first impressions are rarely the full story. Sometimes the guy you think is the worst turns out to be, well, still kind of the worst, but also your soulmate.Because Austen knew what she was doing. She wasn't just writing love stories, she was writing social commentary in a corset. Her characters are flawed, funny, fiercely human. And Joe Wright's lush, candlelit adaptation? It gave us a visual language for all that quiet longing.So yes, go watch 'Pride & Prejudice' on the big screen. Swoon over the hand flex. Cry during the misty field confession. But don't forget you're watching the original rom-com revolutionist in action.And Lizzy Bennet? She's still that girl.- Ends