ABSTRACT
When Joe Wright’s film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was released to theaters in 2005, mental health was making new headway in popular culture. During Austen’s time, what could be perceived as evidence of depression today was considered a symptom of something called melancholia. In the case of Wright’s adaptation – and even Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – the character of Elizabeth exhibits several of these symptoms, which include agitation, hallucination, and paranoia, though the depressive state appears to be the most noticeable. This chapter analyzes Wright’s film and the surrounding critical and commercial discourses to uncover how the film shaped the public’s awareness of mental illnesses and how they might react to the signs of depression seen in Elizabeth throughout the film. The authors contend that the film portrays Elizabeth’s depression as a part of her identity rather than as something that prevents her from obtaining the life and the love she seeks. The authors observe that the character achieves a happy ending not because she conquered her melancholy nature and emerged as a happy, but rather because she understands and embraces the honest nature of her emotions. Thus, the film normalizes rather than stigmatizes depression.
