I can´t let the year slip away without paying attention
to the fact that Jane Austen died 200
years ago, so the bicentenary of her death has been celebrated during this
year. You may think that there´s nothing special about celebrating the 200th
anniversary of a writer´s death or you may even wonder why we ought to care
about it; however, celebrating this kind of anniversaries is a way of paying
tribute to a writer and his/her literary work and in some countries great pains
are taken to make sure that we mark such special dates by organising lots
of different events.
Why should I remember that the year 2017 marked the 200th
anniversary of Jane Austen´s death? Because there are so many films which are
based on Jane Austen´s literary work that I feel that the film industry is
somehow indebted to her excellent stories. Even if you haven´t read any of her
novels, you may have watched some of the film adaptations of her novels: TV
series or films the were released on the big screen or films which are not faithful
adaptations but which are clearly inspired by some of her most famous
characters such as Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett, Mr. Darcy, Elinor or Marianne Dashwood. Jane
Austen (1775-1817) occupies a central position in British literature as her
work excels at depicting the society of her age and, in particular, the role
of women in that society according to their social class. Enjoying her novels
is a personal matter and I don´t intend to persuade you to read them but as
readers and as filmgoers or as TV viewers, I think that we should feel grateful
for her work because of the influence that it has had on so many generations of
novelists, film directors and screenwriters.
This christmas, why
don´t you watch a film inspired by one of her novels? There´s a long list to
choose from. But as usual, watch what you feel like watching and enjoy yourself
because it´s Christmastime and there are so many choices that you can make!!
Happy Boxing Day, Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year!!
