At UCLA, students in an advanced Jane Austen course have marked the author’s 250th birthday by creating their own one-scene adaptations of her novels. The course, taught by lecturer Cailey Hall, encourages students to look beyond the romantic elements of Austen’s writing and examine her commentary on class and society.
“If all an adaptation does is capture the romance of Austen’s novel, it’s missed the point,” Hall said. She added that Austen’s work stands out for its sharp wit and social critique: “I want my students to appreciate what an incredible hater Austen is.”
Hall, who has a background in English literature and has studied at Chawton House near Austen’s former home, designs courses that explore both the original texts and their many modern adaptations. Past classes have included titles such as “Austenland: Jane Austen’s Lives and Afterlives” and the current offering, “Jane Austen: Then and Now.”
Senior English major Mariana Souza said that understanding historical context through Hall’s class has changed how she views Austen. “She was a bold social commentator,” Souza said. “We not only get to learn about the novels alone, but also about Austen’s world. Understanding her childhood, family history and place in society helps put many of her composition choices into context, making it easier to understand why each story is the way that it is.”
For her final project, Souza reimagined “Pride and Prejudice” with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy meeting at a college campus dance. “We’ve been discussing adaptations all quarter, and how they do or don’t do justice to their source material,” she said. “A good adaptation excels at translating the themes and messages of a work, not necessarily replicating it scene by scene.”
The class examined various interpretations of Austen’s novels—from faithful renditions like the BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth to more contemporary retellings such as “Clueless” or Curtis Sittenfeld’s “Eligible.” Recent years have seen a continued surge in new adaptations, including this year’s releases like “Miss Austen,” “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” a planned Netflix miniseries based on “Pride and Prejudice,” and another film version of “Sense and Sensibility.”
“What makes Austen resonate is that she’s an incredibly careful observer with an astute ability to reflect or criticize,” Hall explained. Assigning students to pitch their own adaptations helps them think about translating these observations into new contexts.
The syllabus included close readings of three major novels—“Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” and “Persuasion”—followed by analysis of related films. During one session comparing scenes from “Fire Island” (a 2022 update) with the 2005 film version of “Pride & Prejudice,” students discussed how adaptations can highlight different aspects such as race or class.
One student observed that “Fire Island” made explicit links between wealth, race, looks, and social status: “Without this scene, we would have been paying attention to the money and might not have understood the role of race in this community.” Hall responded: “Yes, even if class in Austen does not exist in the same way or extent in the 2020s, what they’re articulating here is an alternate set of class hierarchies.”
Students also critiqued specific film techniques used in adaptations. For example, a swing scene from the 2005 movie prompted discussion about Elizabeth Bennet’s maturity compared with her portrayal in the book.
Even unsuccessful updates offer learning opportunities for Hall’s students: “Every time I read one of Austen’s novels, I discover something new,” she said. “To me, none of her novels feel like texts you could come close to figuring out after a single read.”
With ongoing global interest in Jane Austen’s work fueling fresh interpretations each year, Hall sees no shortage of material for future classes.
