Lydia Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series and in Pride and Prejudice novel

adaptation as a two-way dialogic process

Abstract

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012) adaptation offers commentary on Pride and Prejudice (1813) that enables the audience to make interpretations that would hardly be achieved by knowing only one of the works. In this paper, we address the dialogic relation between the novel and the adaptation (BRUHN, 2013; HUTCHEON, 2013). Knowing the novel enriches the interpretation of the adaptation, just as the adaptation comments on aspects of the novel. Under this perspective, the representation of the character Lydia Bennet in the adaptation is analyzed. Despite being secondary in previous adaptations and lacking depth in the novel, Lydia is a complex character in the web series. Transformations and additions explain aspects of the novel that could remain unnoticed by readers who do not understand the social, historical and cultural context of the early nineteenth century. Therefore, a dialogic reading of the adaptation could lead to a new perception of Lydia Bennet.