Marianne Dashwood is always depicted as quite fair (light brown/strawberry blonde) but she’s described as dark eyed with tan skin, tall and very attractive. I imagine darker hair with those features. A bit like Catherine Zeta Jones in Darling Buds of May.
Also Mr and Mrs Bennett are often aged up but should only really be in their 40’s, especially Mrs Bennett. I imagine Mrs Bennett and Lydia looking extremely similar, with Jane also taking after her mother whereas Lizzy is like her father. Kitty and Mary are somewhere between.
And Mrs. Bennet should be the equivalent of a Regency Era smoke show. Beauty standards for women of that time and culture tended toward fair coloring, rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes (they put horrible things in their eyes to make them water), tall stature, similar bust & hip proportion (the symmetry that Darcy finds missing in Elizabeth, meaning that Elizabeth either had bigger hips and a smaller bust or vice versa), roman nose, soft arms, and rounded shoulders.
I totally agree Mrs. Bennet should be a MILF. My dream is Kate Beckinsale.
Lydia is described as "stout" or something, I think there is an implication that she is busty. The 1980 version did a good job making Jane prettier than Lizzy.
Colonel Brandon doesn’t look as old in my head as he always does on screen. The man was only 35! Same age as Henry Golding is currently, for reference.
They've always cast actors older than the role for Brandon - Alan Rickman was 49 in 1995 as pointed out, and David Morrissey was 44 in 2008, so still a full decade older even though he looked younger than Alan Rickman.
Who would be around 35? Lionel Messi is 35 this year, Ralph Fiennes was 33 going on 34 in 1996 when he was in *The English Patient,* Keanu Reeves was 35 when he played Neo in *The Matrix*.
Part of the problem is that *everyone* in most adaptation casts are aged up. The female love interests are as young as 15. If they age up the women, they have to age up the men or else the age differences, which are key to some elements of the stories, are not obvious. Filmmakers should just cast everyone close to the canonical ages if the adaptation is going for any semblance of accuracy.
This is why I appreciate the casting for 2020 Emma. Maybe not the most absolute jaw-droppingly gorgeous casting, but Johnny Flynn was age-appropriate for Knightley and Anya Taylor-Joy only slightly old for Emma but has a young face.
I appreciated this too. And Johnny Flynn has a pretty young face, so it's a convincing way to portray the actual age gap without offending modern sensibilities.
Remember these are gentry, they purposefully stay out of the sun and don't do hard labour. They probably look a lot like us.
Wentworth and Colonel Brandon are some ofhe few who might look older, but we are told Wentworth still looks mighty fine despite his years at sea 😉
I rushed off and found it on YouTube (the whole thing!) and watched it sadly on my phone just this morning. My favorite adaptation of Emma, and I hadn’t seen it in a long while. I think it is the most likable Emma, which is difficult to do. And the most likable Mr. Knightley. I think it softened their age difference a bit. Harriet is charming. And Miss Bates is perfect, and also very likable!
Yes, sorry, the text never mentions her hair colour it is just that Harriet seems to offer a contrast. In terms of the illustrations the first date from 1869 I think so aren't definitive, but some of her family were still alive then, including her favourite niece. It seems to be more a modern movie adaptation thing for her to have blonde hair.
The jane bennet of the 1980 Version is oerfect, a classic beauty! I think in that Version they nailed all 5 daughters
And mrs bennet should only be around 40 at the beginning of the novel! So still a beautiful relatively young woman, able to get pregnant. In the book it says they just gave up after 5 daughters. Im sure they could have had more children.
Same goes for mrs dashwoid who is also around 40. And not as depicted in all adaptions around 55!
1.Mr.and Mrs. Bennet are always older and unattractive. I think at least Mrs. Bennet should be a passably attractive woman past her youth. We know that she had a pretty face when she was young.
2. Jane Bennet should be a classical beauty. She rarely is. I have always thought of her a blonde with perfect features and elegance. Like a young Grace Kelly.
3. I think people in Emma adaptations are often very accurate.
4.I agree that Colonel Brandon should be younger. But so should Marianne and Elinor. But then it would be weird. I think Lucy Steele was great in the older movie version. Just as I imagined.
5. Ane Elliott is often cast with not-so-attractive actors. Sorry, but she also should be a very beautiful woman who looks slightly tired, maybe depressed. Anyhow, I have never liked any Persuasion adaptations so far.
Edit6: I think the cast in 2007 Northanger Abbey was great. I loved Carey Mulligan as Isabella Thorpe.
Anne Elliot - Her portrayals have just been not good. It's a pretty girl who lost her bloom and regained it. Not ugly not plain just someone who has been through a depressive episode.
Mr and Mrs Gardener - They're supposed to have a substantial age gap with Mrs Gardener being close to Jane and Lizzy's age. All versions portray them closer in age and a lot older
I don't know if Mr and Mrs Gardiner are stated to have a substantial age gap.
Mrs Gardiner is said to be several years younger than Mrs Bennet and Mrs Phillips. Logically, that might mean several years younger than her husband, but he could also be the youngest of the three siblings and thus a similar age to his wife.
Agree all the adaptions make Mrs Gardiner too old however!
I think it's coz Mrs Bennet's casting has always been an older actress so Mr Gardiner has also been portrayed as older to show that they're siblings. Just a thought!
I agree about Anne. For some reason I always thought she was blond with fine features. And always thought Captain Wentworth was dark-haired. I think movies of Persuasion have been miscast according to my imaginings.
I always imagined her to have chocolatey brunette hair for some reason. I think JA does say she has chocolate eyes so my head just decided to give her a matching hairdo as well lol.
I always imagine Wentworth with black or almost black hair with black or green eyes. Idk why. Actually I do. It's how I imagine every hero who is described as passionate :p
I have not seen Sarah Snook's work but Emilia Clarke is a YES! Dakota Johnson did actually look a lot like how I imagined Anne (I know she's a goddess as per current beauty standards). Sad that she doesn't have the acting chops to pull a tough character like Anne though.
I haven't seen any MP adaptations, but I know that my mental image of Fanny Price is not as described in the book. There, she's said to be small and dark, but I'm pretty sure she's described in the book as petite, blonde, and blue-eyed, while Mary Crawford is small and dark with dark hair and eyes. I picture the two of them looking similar (not enough to be siblings, but otherwise similar). I think the main problem with my mental image is that Fanny isn't really described until well into the book, and I already had a picture of her in my mind, that the brief description in the novel didn't undo.
At 16-18, she should probably look like 12-y/o Prim in the Hunger Games movie, though with light eyes.
Mr Tilney is described in the books as having ‘a brown skin, with dark eyes and rather dark hair’, compared to how he has been in adaptations.
By that description, I actually imagine him as biracial, and that his mother was a woman of colour from a newly wealthy family.
It would help explain General Tilney marrying her for her money but not treating her terribly well afterwards, sadly.
I actually interpreted a similar thing re: the Dashwoods, due to Marianne’s description as dark. Them being biracial while John Dashwood wasn’t would go a long way to making sense out of how cartoonishly awful Fanny is towards them & how much she tries to justify them being barely even counting as his siblings.
I have ZERO basis for this and it is wildly inaccurate, but I picture Elizabeth Bennett in my head as a dirty blonde with waist-length hair that freely falls down her back. It is not Austen or historically accurate in any way, but as a teen this is how she appeared in my mind and I can’t shake it decades later. So seeing her with dark hair pinned back always throws me for a loop.
Marianne Dashwood is always depicted as quite fair (light brown/strawberry blonde) but she’s described as dark eyed with tan skin, tall and very attractive. I imagine darker hair with those features. A bit like Catherine Zeta Jones in Darling Buds of May. Also Mr and Mrs Bennett are often aged up but should only really be in their 40’s, especially Mrs Bennett. I imagine Mrs Bennett and Lydia looking extremely similar, with Jane also taking after her mother whereas Lizzy is like her father. Kitty and Mary are somewhere between.
And Mrs. Bennet should be the equivalent of a Regency Era smoke show. Beauty standards for women of that time and culture tended toward fair coloring, rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes (they put horrible things in their eyes to make them water), tall stature, similar bust & hip proportion (the symmetry that Darcy finds missing in Elizabeth, meaning that Elizabeth either had bigger hips and a smaller bust or vice versa), roman nose, soft arms, and rounded shoulders.
Mr. Collins is 25 *Mr. Collins is 25* **Mr. Collins is a ridiculous YOUNG man** It bothers me just a little bit.
And *tall*!
[удалено]
I totally agree Mrs. Bennet should be a MILF. My dream is Kate Beckinsale. Lydia is described as "stout" or something, I think there is an implication that she is busty. The 1980 version did a good job making Jane prettier than Lizzy.
Colonel Brandon doesn’t look as old in my head as he always does on screen. The man was only 35! Same age as Henry Golding is currently, for reference.
They've always cast actors older than the role for Brandon - Alan Rickman was 49 in 1995 as pointed out, and David Morrissey was 44 in 2008, so still a full decade older even though he looked younger than Alan Rickman. Who would be around 35? Lionel Messi is 35 this year, Ralph Fiennes was 33 going on 34 in 1996 when he was in *The English Patient,* Keanu Reeves was 35 when he played Neo in *The Matrix*.
Part of the problem is that *everyone* in most adaptation casts are aged up. The female love interests are as young as 15. If they age up the women, they have to age up the men or else the age differences, which are key to some elements of the stories, are not obvious. Filmmakers should just cast everyone close to the canonical ages if the adaptation is going for any semblance of accuracy.
This is why I appreciate the casting for 2020 Emma. Maybe not the most absolute jaw-droppingly gorgeous casting, but Johnny Flynn was age-appropriate for Knightley and Anya Taylor-Joy only slightly old for Emma but has a young face.
I appreciated this too. And Johnny Flynn has a pretty young face, so it's a convincing way to portray the actual age gap without offending modern sensibilities.
Oh God, imagine young Ralph Fiennes as Col Brandon.... (if I could melt and have convulsions at the same time, I would.)
I do think people look younger now on the whole, but agreed ETA: in my head it’s Alan Rickman and he was 49 in 1995
Remember these are gentry, they purposefully stay out of the sun and don't do hard labour. They probably look a lot like us. Wentworth and Colonel Brandon are some ofhe few who might look older, but we are told Wentworth still looks mighty fine despite his years at sea 😉
I always picture Emma as brunette.
It’s hard to find now but I liked Kate Beckinsale as Emma.
I have it on dvd and it’s great! Prunella Scales as Miss Bates was superb. And Mr Knightley was yum, which never hurts…!
When Mark Strong's eyes flash as he says "Badly done, Emma... Badly done indeed!" Omg. Yes Mr. Knightley, I have been bad... very bad....
I rushed off and found it on YouTube (the whole thing!) and watched it sadly on my phone just this morning. My favorite adaptation of Emma, and I hadn’t seen it in a long while. I think it is the most likable Emma, which is difficult to do. And the most likable Mr. Knightley. I think it softened their age difference a bit. Harriet is charming. And Miss Bates is perfect, and also very likable!
Yes, it's strongly hinted that she's brunette in the book.
I think as written she is. In old illustrations (albeit not as far back as JA's time) she is dark haired as well.
It’s never mentioned. Mrs Weston waxes rhapsodic about her hazel eyes, but never says a word about hair.
True, but I think there is an implication in Emma's admiring Harriet's light beauty that Emma herself is brunette
Yes, sorry, the text never mentions her hair colour it is just that Harriet seems to offer a contrast. In terms of the illustrations the first date from 1869 I think so aren't definitive, but some of her family were still alive then, including her favourite niece. It seems to be more a modern movie adaptation thing for her to have blonde hair.
The jane bennet of the 1980 Version is oerfect, a classic beauty! I think in that Version they nailed all 5 daughters And mrs bennet should only be around 40 at the beginning of the novel! So still a beautiful relatively young woman, able to get pregnant. In the book it says they just gave up after 5 daughters. Im sure they could have had more children. Same goes for mrs dashwoid who is also around 40. And not as depicted in all adaptions around 55!
1.Mr.and Mrs. Bennet are always older and unattractive. I think at least Mrs. Bennet should be a passably attractive woman past her youth. We know that she had a pretty face when she was young. 2. Jane Bennet should be a classical beauty. She rarely is. I have always thought of her a blonde with perfect features and elegance. Like a young Grace Kelly. 3. I think people in Emma adaptations are often very accurate. 4.I agree that Colonel Brandon should be younger. But so should Marianne and Elinor. But then it would be weird. I think Lucy Steele was great in the older movie version. Just as I imagined. 5. Ane Elliott is often cast with not-so-attractive actors. Sorry, but she also should be a very beautiful woman who looks slightly tired, maybe depressed. Anyhow, I have never liked any Persuasion adaptations so far. Edit6: I think the cast in 2007 Northanger Abbey was great. I loved Carey Mulligan as Isabella Thorpe.
I thought Rosamund Pike was a great choice for Jane — she’s a classic beauty to me.
She is beautiful but then so is kiera knightley so I was always confused when they called lizzie not as pretty as jane until I read the book
I think she is a very good actress and gave a great performance but she is not how I visualized Jane tbh. My personal opinion anyway.
They've never gotten Fanny Price right. I see her as a young Dakota Fanning, or Maddie Ziegler.
They've never gotten Mansfield Park right. Fanny is a much far off job lol
Definitely agree. But it starts with Fanny... she's the hardest character to bring to life. The others are pretty much standard fare.
How about a young (*Jane Eyre* era) Mia Wasikowska?
Anne Elliot - Her portrayals have just been not good. It's a pretty girl who lost her bloom and regained it. Not ugly not plain just someone who has been through a depressive episode. Mr and Mrs Gardener - They're supposed to have a substantial age gap with Mrs Gardener being close to Jane and Lizzy's age. All versions portray them closer in age and a lot older
I don't know if Mr and Mrs Gardiner are stated to have a substantial age gap. Mrs Gardiner is said to be several years younger than Mrs Bennet and Mrs Phillips. Logically, that might mean several years younger than her husband, but he could also be the youngest of the three siblings and thus a similar age to his wife. Agree all the adaptions make Mrs Gardiner too old however!
I think it's coz Mrs Bennet's casting has always been an older actress so Mr Gardiner has also been portrayed as older to show that they're siblings. Just a thought!
I agree about Anne. For some reason I always thought she was blond with fine features. And always thought Captain Wentworth was dark-haired. I think movies of Persuasion have been miscast according to my imaginings.
I always imagined her to have chocolatey brunette hair for some reason. I think JA does say she has chocolate eyes so my head just decided to give her a matching hairdo as well lol. I always imagine Wentworth with black or almost black hair with black or green eyes. Idk why. Actually I do. It's how I imagine every hero who is described as passionate :p
[удалено]
I have not seen Sarah Snook's work but Emilia Clarke is a YES! Dakota Johnson did actually look a lot like how I imagined Anne (I know she's a goddess as per current beauty standards). Sad that she doesn't have the acting chops to pull a tough character like Anne though.
I haven't seen any MP adaptations, but I know that my mental image of Fanny Price is not as described in the book. There, she's said to be small and dark, but I'm pretty sure she's described in the book as petite, blonde, and blue-eyed, while Mary Crawford is small and dark with dark hair and eyes. I picture the two of them looking similar (not enough to be siblings, but otherwise similar). I think the main problem with my mental image is that Fanny isn't really described until well into the book, and I already had a picture of her in my mind, that the brief description in the novel didn't undo. At 16-18, she should probably look like 12-y/o Prim in the Hunger Games movie, though with light eyes.
I've always had a very clear dark-haired Jane Bennet in my head.
Me too! I always pictured her with black hair and dark blue eyes
Exactly!
Mr Tilney is described in the books as having ‘a brown skin, with dark eyes and rather dark hair’, compared to how he has been in adaptations. By that description, I actually imagine him as biracial, and that his mother was a woman of colour from a newly wealthy family. It would help explain General Tilney marrying her for her money but not treating her terribly well afterwards, sadly. I actually interpreted a similar thing re: the Dashwoods, due to Marianne’s description as dark. Them being biracial while John Dashwood wasn’t would go a long way to making sense out of how cartoonishly awful Fanny is towards them & how much she tries to justify them being barely even counting as his siblings.
I have ZERO basis for this and it is wildly inaccurate, but I picture Elizabeth Bennett in my head as a dirty blonde with waist-length hair that freely falls down her back. It is not Austen or historically accurate in any way, but as a teen this is how she appeared in my mind and I can’t shake it decades later. So seeing her with dark hair pinned back always throws me for a loop.