A Cultural Reading of the Film and Fiction Versions of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

The term ‘culture' has undergone a characteristic paradigm shift. To define it in a few words would mean to limit its scope and extent. Pramod Nayar has stated in An Introduction to Cultural Studies that “culture is produced through everyday living: the food people eat, the fashions they adopt, the entertainment they prefer or the festivals they celebrate”(29). Any work of art is a reflection of the culture of that particular milieu because the author is not just a product of his times but also a conscious observer of his times. His creative outpourings are indeed slices of life he observed directly or indirectly. The paper entitled “A Cultural Reading of the Film and Fiction Versions of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice” aims at analyzing and identifying the cultural aspects in the novel and its film version. The researcher's investigation primarily constitutes dual modes of action: firstly, the cultural features in the fictional piece are examined and secondly, it is compared with the film counterpart. Culture is basically associated with human beings because man is a social being and mingling with other fellow beings leads to the generation of common practices or rituals. Literature focuses on the life and its myriad forms. Novels present the real world of the authors. The reader is bound to detect the political, social and economic elements inherent in the works of the writers. The writers are actually presenting a cultural overview of their times. The text chosen for study has been penned by a woman writer Jane Austen Since culture deals with everyday activities, there has been a spectacular interest in the study of cultures. The two texts (the novel and the film) are of specific interest chiefly because this is an age of intermingling of genres and cultures. A cross -study and examination will undoubtedly open up new vistas for cultural exchange and enhancement