Bridget Jonesis so firmly set in the 2000s that without its Easter eggs, it may be easy to forget that it is anadaptation of Jane Austen’s novelPride and Prejudice. Jane Austen wrote about female characters dealing with the issues that affected society at the time, andPride and Prejudiceis about Lizzie, who is fighting the pressure to marry whether she likes her suitor or not. While some parts ofBridget Jonesare now considered dated, the movies did the same thing by addressing body confidence, sexism, and, like Lizzie, the pressure to settle down with a man.
Bridget Jonesis one ofRenée Zellweger’s best movies, and she brings the same likability to Bridget that Austen did to Lizzie. Bridget deals with her problems by writing them down, which gives audiences a better insight into her. The choice to tell the story through the eyes of its modern heroine madeBridget Jonesone ofthe best Jane Austin movie adaptationsmade, as it is so distinctly different from the source material. However, theBridget Jonesmovies include several Easter eggs directly referencingPride and Prejudice, and some are more subtle than others.
10Mr. Darcy
The Most Obvious Pride And Prejudice Easter Egg In Bridget Jones
Bridget Jones’s reluctant love interest is Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth. InPride and Prejudice, Lizzie’s love interest is Mr. Darcy. Unlike many modern adaptations of classic novels which change their central characters' names,Bridget Joneskeeps this one name. This is an interesting choice, and the most obvious Easter egg in theBridget Jonesmovies. While Bridget usually calls Mark Darcy by his first name,when she interviews him professionally inBridget Jones’s Diary, she calls him “Mr. Darcy.”
The decision to cast Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy resulted in an interesting problem. InThe Edge of Reasonnovel,Bridget has to interview Colin Firth, who was playing Mr Darcy in the 1995 TV series adaptation ofPride and Prejudice. TheBridget Jonesmovie changed the book scene, as it couldn’t be filmed for the movie without casting a different actor to play Colin Firth. The interview scene was filmed for a DVD feature with Zellweger playing Bridget and Firth playing himself.
9Mark’s Original Comment Was Overheard
The Scene Plays Out Very Similarly To Pride And Prejudice
InPride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy insults Lizzie while at a ball. When another character asks him what he thinks of Lizzie, he responds “she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.” He also draws attention to the fact that she is single, assuming that she has been “slighted by other men.” This insult is the beginning of their antagonistic relationship, and a scene inBridget Jones’s Diaryplays out similarly.
Mark describes Bridget as a “verbally incontinent spinster,” and then notices that she has overheard everything. While the scenes are very similar, the characters react differently. Lizzie is furious, and this scene forms the beginning of the mutual dislike between her and Mr Darcy. Bridget is mortified, andthis scene is the catalyst for Bridget starting the diary that is central to the movie, intent on changing her life by finding a “nice, sensible man.”
8Bridget Works At Pemberley Press
This Name is Significant In Pride And Prejudice
At the beginning ofBridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget works at a publishing house called Pemberley Press, where she has an inappropriate crush on her boss, Daniel Cleaver. Bridget is overlooked professionally, repeatedly called the wrong name, and is patronized by other members of staff. The name of her workplace is a callback to an important location inPride and Prejudice, but it also reflects a key aspect of the novel’s plot.
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As the release of “Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy” approaches, fans are remembering the events of the first several movies in the franchise.
Mr Darcy’s country estate is called Pemberley. Many of the most significant events inPride and Prejudicehappen here, like Lizzie meeting Mr Darcy in his own home and hearing his housekeeper give a glowing description of him. That said,Pemberley represents aspirations in bothPride and PrejudiceandBridget Jones. Lizzie’s mother wants her to live there with a rich man, while in one of the best scenes inBridget Jones, Bridget is offered a new job and leaves Pemberley for better things, insulting Daniel in the process.
7A Character Runs Away In Both Bridget Jones And Pride And Prejudice
It Is Not The Character That Viewers Might Expect
BothBridget Jones’s DiaryandPride and Prejudicefeature a selfish side characterwho eventually runs away. This is Lizzie’s younger sister Lydia inPride and Prejudice, and this is a catastrophic event in the novel. At the time, running away with a man before being married to him could ruin the reputation of an entire family, and with both Lizzie and her older sister Jane still unmarried, this could ruin their social standing too.
This situation is updated inBridget Jones’s Diary, with Bridget’s mother Pamela being the runaway but returning home after she realizes what a mistake she has made. While the effects are drastically different, with little harm done in Pamela’s case, there are significant parallels between the characters that may not be noticed. Both Lydia and Pamela are reckless, selfish, and easily bribed by gifts. Neither apologize for the hurt that they have caused.
6There Is A Familiar Actor In Bridget Jones’s Diary
A Pride And Prejudice Actor Appears At Pemberley Press
When Bridget arrives at the humiliating book launch party, she embarrasses herself in front of world-renowned authors and colleagues. One of these colleagues with a non-speaking role is Crispin Bonham-Carter (distantly related to the actress Helena Bonham Carter.) He is seen briefly talking to the author Salman Rushdie, and later holding a large billboard in the office.Bonham-Carter had a main role in the 1995Pride and PrejudiceTV series, where he was much more talkative.
Bonham-Carter played Mr Bingley inPride and Prejudiceand was the main (and only) love interest for Lizzie’s classically beautiful sister Jane. InPride and Prejudice, Crispin Bonham-Carter spent a lot of time onscreen with Colin Firth as the two men played best friends, but they did not get a scene together at all inBridget Jones. Mr. Bingley’s first name is Charles, and while this could have been used as an extra Easter egg inBridget Jones, Bonham-Carter’s character is listed as Greg.
The Outcome Was Swapped In Bridget Jones
The villains in bothBridget JonesandPride and Prejudiceare involved in hidden scandalsthat fit their time periods and are only revealed later. Daniel Cleaver is one ofHugh Grant’s best villain performancesand the sleazy antagonist throughout theBridget Jonesfranchise. He is the equivalent ofPride and Prejudice’s romance conman and soldier, Mr Wickham. In each situation, Mr Darcy has a bitter personal history with the antagonist, which is central to his character.
InPride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy nearly loses his little sister, Georgiana, to Mr. Wickham, who tried to seduce and elope with her. His plan was for Mr. Darcy to pay him off in an effort to avoid a scandal. Back then, Mr Darcy was responsible for Georgiana and intervened before they eloped. On the other hand, Daniel Cleaver had an affair with Mark Darcy’s wife, which led to their divorce. Brawling might not be accepted in either time period, butMark Darcy did get to punch Daniel: a fate that Mr Wickham unfortunately avoided.
4Bridget Jones Uses Pride And Prejudice’s Most Famous Line
The Context Is Different In Bridget Jones’s Diary
Pride and Prejudicestarts with the memorable quote, “it is a truth universally acknowledged that any man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife.” As the novel is a social satire, this line is making fun of the fact that women in Jane Austen’s time would relentlessly pursue rich men. While wealth had never stopped being a desirable trait in general, women like Bridget could make their own income, and so the line was changed to reflect another social truth.
10 Hilarious Bridget Jones Moments That Still Hold Up Today
Bridget Jones, like many early 2000s comedies, has moments that have not aged well, while many other jokes and scenes are still hilarious today.
Bridget says “it is a truth universally acknowledged that the moment one area of your life starts going okay, another part of it falls spectacularly to pieces.” Many ofBridget Jones’s funniest moments are the scenes in which she is most relatable, and this line is likely to resonate with every viewer. WhileBridget Joneshas the same main themes and central plot asPride and Prejudice,this is a perfect example of aPride and PrejudiceEaster egg that has been updated for a modern audience.
3Both Mr Darcy Characters Confess Their Feelings Under Similar Circumstances
Both Scenes Involve A Smug Married Couple
The central romance story in bothBridget JonesandPride and Prejudiceis the same, with two people who don’t like each other falling for each other. Both the novel and the adaptation contain scenes that are unique to them, but some ofBridget Jones’s key scenes relate back to their equivalent inPride and Prejudice. One of these scenes is the one in which Mr Darcy finally confesses his feelings.
InPride and PrejudiceandBridget Jones’s Diary, both Lizzie and Bridget visit smug married couples, though only Bridget refers to them in that way. The couples patronize each woman for being alone while representing their marriages as less than ideal. Shortly afterward, Mr Darcy visits Lizzie and proposes to her, while Mark Darcy is more reserved, simply telling Bridget that he likes her just as she is. This may not bethe most romantic scene in theBridget Jonesmovies, but it is a pivotal moment.
2Mr Darcy Saves A Reputation
The Edge Of Reason Features Another Pride And Prejudice Parallel
WhileBridget Jones’s Diaryis the main adaptation ofPride and Prejudice, one plot that is paralleled inThe Edge of Reasonis Bridget’s prison storyline. Bridget was falsely imprisoned for carrying drugs that were planted on her, which is an extremely modern scandal that could not have taken place in Jane Austen’s era. However,Mark Darcy’s actions mirrorPride and Prejudice’s Mr Darcy almost exactly, and both quietly save a reputation.
When Lydia runs away with Mr Wickham, Mr Darcy quietly tracks them down and pays Wickham’s gambling debts to persuade him to marry Lydia, avoiding a scandal that would ruin her family’s reputation.InThe Edge of Reason, Mark Darcy uses his skills as a human rights barrister to fight for Bridget’s innocence, while personally tracking down the drug trafficker who planted the drugs in the first place. This allows Bridget to come home as a human rights celebrity, instead of ending her career.
1Mark Darcy’s Middle Name
When Bridget Marries Mark In Bridget Jones’s Baby, His Full Name Is Revealed
Though Lizzie and Mr Darcy get married at the end ofPride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones’s goal of getting married takes a longer time to happen. AfterBridget Jones’s Diaryends with Bridget and Mark finally kissing, the two split up and later reconcile inThe Edge of Reason. However,Bridget Jones’s Babybegins with Bridget single, and she and Mark rediscovering their love for each other. When the two marry at the end of the movie,one morePride and PrejudiceEaster egg is revealed.
Without Darcy, I’m Actually Relieved Daniel Cleaver Has A Small Role In Bridget Jones 4
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy will bring Daniel Cleaver back but in a smaller role, which is a huge relief now that Darcy won’t be around anymore.
When Bridget and Mark exchange their vows, this is the first time that the viewers learn their full names. While Bridget is the simple Bridget Rose Jones, Mark’s full name is Mark Fitzwilliam Darcy, Q.C. This is a reference to the Mr Darcy inPride and Prejudice, whose first name is Fitzwilliam. As theBridget Jonesseries has updated many elements of the original novel, this final Easter egg is a fun reference to the much older source material and a great tribute to the original Mr Darcy.
