zombified austen

​I won’t go so far as to say that the movie was better in this instance, but seeing the film adaptation of this zombified-classic made it a bit hard for me to be as invested in the more tame plot the novel holds. Frankly, the movie goes for a more action-packed feel and focus, which makes sense — our modern audience’s attention span is already so short. But the novel’s afterword helped me to better appreciate what the addition of zombies in a Jane Austen book means in the larger perspective of the gothic genre. The afterword, written by English professor Dr. Allen Grove of Alfred University, makes it clear that the emergence and wild popularity of the gothic genre in Austen’s time (which she pokes fun at in Northanger Abbey, a fave of mine) would be most likely influenced Austen to like a version like this one to be made out of her now-beloved novel. Because, of course, there’s all sorts of reimagined literature already in existence concerning the Bennet sisters, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy. But Gothic writers in the early 1800s wrote the dark stuff they did as a form of rebellion when people all over the world were physically rebelling in revolutions over freedom and politics. Adding brain-hungry monsters to the landscape of a peaceful, high society-driven London and English countryside is delightful precisely because it doesn’t seem like the two should fit together, but they do. They really do! It makes sense to see the Bennet sisters highly trained in the deadly arts, in fact it’s incredibly satisfying to see them act dually as refined ladies and warriors. I at least think it adds a layer of true depth to these already interesting female characters, making them even more relatable and likable heroines for modern readers because they are more than capable of taking care of themselves and rival if not equal the warrior skills of their eventual husbands. And it also makes sense to see zombies infiltrating England, forcing what would otherwise be undisturbed young ladies and gentlemen into soldiers in the service of keeping their country safe. I just have to say, though, that I like some of the liberties the movie took in making a more action-based plot (aka, more of an attachment between Lizzy and Wickham, the congregation of St. Lazarus’ Church, and Wickham literally being the Anti Christ lol). The novel, however, has some fun quirks and plot points I appreciated, like Charlotte’s slow transformation from human to zombie, Mr. Collins’ unexpected end, and a final image of Wickham attached to Lydia, continually wetting himself. I’m glad to have tried my hand at some zombie literature, and essentially reread my beloved Pride and Prejudice in the process. It was also quite fitting to read during the current time I’m spending living in London, too!


Some of my favorite quotes from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies:

“Of all the weapons she had commanded, Elizabeth knew the least of love; and of all the weapons in the world, love was the most dangerous.”

“‘I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”

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