Pride, Prejudice and Propriety

I am quite fond of both recent versions of Pride and Prejudice, the longer BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle and the shorter one with Matthew MacFayden and Keira Knightley.  I have watched both multiple times and can't decide which I like best.  Each has scenes I prefer over the other and supporting characters I like better.


Yesterday I used the 2 hour version to put some civility and dignity back into my life after a phone call I received in which someone directed crude and foul language at me.  Of course, the manners demonstrated in both versions seem stiff and affected to us today, but there is something comforting in the pattern.  No matter how much one loathes another, he or she is still bowed to and given at least a surface respect.  The characters communicate their intent very clearly without profanity.  There is something to be said for keeping things civil. 


So, I hung up on the disrespectful perpetrator of foul language and stood there shaking briefly, until it occurred to me that I could get the nasty encounter out of my head and immerse myself in a climate of cordiality by popping in the DVD of Pride and Prejudice.


As Sir Lucas would say, "Capital!"