What Jane Austen and Alfred Hitchcock Have in Common
Different eras, different mediums — and yet ...
This summer, I caught a nasty (apparently non-covid) bug that lasted a while. Between that and the state of the world, I was rather down. I needed cheering up. So I did what I do every few years when I’m feeling blue: I re-read Pride and Prejudice. Okay, I also watched the 1995 BBC version, the only film or video depiction that’s halfway decent. I mean, it’s really quite good. Sure, it leaves out some dialogue and scenes and adds others. And nothing — nothing — can measure up to the book. But it’s not bad.
Re-reading Pride and Prejudice
Luckily, it had been just long enough since I’d last read the book. I pull it out every two to three years or so, and its sheer delight never wanes. I don’t know how many times I’ve read it. Rafael claims that I have a tendency to keep tallies, but there are two key things in my life that I’ve neglected to count: how many times I’ve hiked in Tennessee Valley, which must number in the hundreds, and how many times I’ve read Pride and Prejudice. I’m pretty sure I’m not up to 17, Benjamin Disraeli’s tally according to the preface of my worn copy. But I’m not dead yet!
Pride and Prejudice is universally loved — even what you might call accessible. But hey, I’m not too proud to go with the crowd on this one. It’s the most fun of Austen’s works to read, and that’s a high bar. And its enjoyment holds up to many, many readings.
Austen’s novels are, I believe, unfairly pigeonholed as romances. It’s true that her protagonists tend to be steered toward marriage, but that’s only because few other options are open to them, and their livelihoods often depend on marrying well. That doesn’t mean the books are about marriage.
I see them, instead, as coming-of-age stories that take us on their characters’ journeys of growth and learning. Each of Austen’s novels has a moment, or several moments, when the protagonist has an epiphany about herself and the world around her — usually a realization that she’s been wrong about everything up to that point.
Pride and Prejudice: check. Northanger Abbey: check. Emma: check. Sense and Sensibility: check. Persuasion: I think so, though this one is more nuanced. Mansfield Park: well, I can’t remember, as it’s my least favorite and I haven’t read it for a long time.
But I’ve recently had another realization about Austen: she had a lot in common with Alfred Hitchcock, especially when you consider Pride and Prejudice alongside North by Northwest.
Suspense
Another tally I haven’t kept, though it’s a shorter one, is how many times I’ve watched North by Northwest. It’s likely about four or five times, but I don’t know for sure.
What I do know: No matter how many times I read Pride and Prejudice, I’m always nervous by the end. Will George Wickham face justice — and will Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy ever get together? No matter how many times I see North by Northwest, I’m always on the edge of my seat by the end. Will Roger O. Thornhill and Eve Kendall escape from Phillip Vandamm and his henchmen — or will they drop off the edge of Mount Rushmore to a certain death?
To elicit this feeling time after time, even for audiences who already know how the stories end, is truly a masterful achievement. These two works exemplify the extent to which both Austen and Hitchcock mastered the tricky art of suspense. But while Hitchcock is known for his command of suspense, Austen isn’t primarily remembered for it. You can certainly find some scholarly articles on this aspect of her work if you search for them, but that’s not the first thing that comes to mind when most people think of her.
Yet I challenge anyone to read Pride and Prejudice without being swept up in the suspense.
Humor
I’m not actually a big suspense fan. I don’t seek it out. So that alone would not draw me to these two works.
What makes them so satisfying for me?
Pride and Prejudice and North by Northwest share many other fine qualities. The writing is impeccable, with many more quotable lines than just the famous first sentence of the novel. There isn’t one word out of place, and you can’t imagine them being written any better.
But what makes the suspense work for me, in addition to the excellent writing, is that they both combine humor with suspense in the most deliciously entertaining way.
Take the auction scene from North by Northwest. The tension mounts as Roger O. Thornhill confronts Vandamm and Eve Kendall in an auction house. Trying to make his exit, Thornhill finds himself surrounded by bad guys intent on ending his life. The way he gets out of this potentially deadly situation has me cracking up each time I watch the scene.
Humor is woven throughout the film. Humor is also woven throughout Pride and Prejudice — starting with its now-immortal first sentence and including scenes like this one, which has Mr. and Mrs. Bennet sparring about her nerves:
“Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.”
“You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least.”
Or Elizabeth explaining to Jane how she fell for Darcy:
“My dearest sister, now be, be serious. I want to talk very seriously. Let me know every thing that I am to know, without delay. Will you tell me how long you have loved him?”
“It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.”
These are only the smallest iceberg tips of all the humor in the film and the book.
Snappy dialogue
It would be so satisfying to be able to spew out witty repartee the way that Elizabeth Bennett, Roger O. Thornhill, and Eve Kendall do. You really should do yourself a favor and enjoy these works if you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t yet (but please, read Pride and Prejudice before seeing any of its film adaptations!) — in which case, here are just a few small examples to whet your appetite.
Check out how Elizabeth handles herself with Mr. Bingley’s pretentious sisters:
Or when accosted by Lady Catherine de Bourgh:
North by Northwest is also full of snappy dialogue. A couple small snippets:
Roger Thornhill: Now you listen to me, I’m an advertising man, not a red herring. I’ve got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don’t intend to disappoint them all by getting myself “slightly” killed.
Roger Thornhill: What’s wrong with men like me?
Eve Kendall: They don’t believe in marriage.
Roger Thornhill: I’ve been married twice.
Eve Kendall: See what I mean?
All roads lead to marriage
What do you know, we’re back to marriage! It’s not just the plot of Pride and Prejudice that leads to marriage; North by Northwest, after numerous mentions of marriage, ends with the silliest marriage-related scene of them all.
It turns out that Pride and Prejudice and North by Northwest had even more in common than I’d thought!
Speaking of marriage: While writing is a solitary endeavor, films can have many hands in them. I’d be remiss not to mention the key role of Hitchcock’s wife, Alma, in the making of his movies. It’s impossible to know how much of the greatness of North by Northwest came from him and how much she contributed, but she generally influenced his films. The screenplay for this one was written by Ernest Lehman, who also deserves credit for some very fine dialogue.
Admission: I haven't seen either of these movies. But I'm going to, now.
Good one, as always! Speaking of suspense, years ago I saw a production of Romeo & Juliet at the summer program the kids attended (Jonah had a supporting role in it). I was on the edge of my seat, hoping that it would end differently this time. Please. What a strange and wonderful experience. No other production of R&J ever had that impact. That's good writing and direction for you!