Two versions of the same woman

how contemporaneity gave a voice to Georgina Darcy in the Lizzie Bennet diaries

Abstract

The webseries The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (TLBD), which aired from 2012 to 2013, was a contemporary adaptation of the classic written by Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813). Narrated as transmedia storytelling, that is, using different media and relying on the active participation of the public, TLBD managed to highlight the female characters present in its story. This research analyzes Georgiana Darcy’s character, as presented in Pride and Prejudice, and her transposition for the XXI century in the webseries, comparing the character’s participation and influence in the storyline of each work. It also observes how the context changed and how the use of transmedia storytelling made it possible to amplify the character and allowed her moments of protagonism in the adaptation. To that end, the theoretical framework of this research bases itself on adaptation theory, on transmedia storytelling theory, as well as studies of the novel and the webseries. The study showed that in Pride and Prejudice Miss Darcy is a small character in the story since she is barely seen, and we do not even hear her voice. In TLBD, on the other hand, even though Gigi is also a secondary character, she is given moments of protagonism in crucial episode(s) of the plot, thanks to the different media employed to tell her story. The modern Georgiana is a more self-assured woman who has her own opinion and voice, reflecting the position of women in today’s society.