Ending Pride and Prejudice III; the 2005 movie

This is our third feature on the endings of the major Pride and Prejudice adaptations. For the 1995 BBC series, click here. Click here for the 1980 BBC TV series.

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As stated in our 1980 ending post, the final scenes of Pride and Prejudice are difficult to adapt for the screen. Tidy endings tend to work best on TV and in movies, but the novel ends with an epilogue covering several years of developments, which would probably translate rather awkwardly to television or film. All dramatizers of the novel therefore have to make a difficult choice as to where to end the story. The 2005 movie has the distinction of actually having two endings – one for the United States and one, it seems, for everywhere else. Apparently the final scene of the American version was deemed a little too schmaltzy for most of the rest of the world, especially the UK. Here then, is a transcript of the script which covers both releases.

We start after Lady Catherine de Bourgh has warned Lizzy at Longbourn about rumors of her engagement to Mr Darcy, and taken her leave. In this version, the outdoor scene in which Mr Darcy and Elizabeth expresses their love for each other does not take place during a pleasant stroll to Meryton, but rather as Lizzy walks through the misty grounds of Longbourn at dawn. Mr Darcy, her partner in love and insomnia, joins her.

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EXT. LONGBOURN GROUNDS – DAWN

Mr Darcy appears through the mist and walks towards Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH:
I couldn’t sleep.

DARCY:
Nor I. My aunt…

ELIZABETH:
Yes, she was here.

DARCY:
How can I ever make amends for such behavior?

ELIZABETH:
After what you have done for Lydia, and I suspect for Jane also, it is I who should be making amends.

DARCY:
You must know. Surely you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night and this taught me to hope, as I’d scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April then tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed. But one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I would have to tell you, you have bewitched me, body and soul. And I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.

Elizabeth kisses his hand.

ELIZABETH:
Well, then. Your hands are cold.

They embrace, with their faces touching and the sun rising behind them.

Elizabeth is pacing impatiently outside her father’s library. She smiles to herself. Mr Darcy opens the door. Elizabeth rushes into the room.

MR BENNET (OFF-SCREEN):
Shut the door please, Elizabeth.

As the door closes, Elizabeth and Darcy watch each other intently.

MR BENNET:
Lizzy, are you out of your senses? I thought you hated the man!

ELIZABETH:
No, Papa.

MR BENNET:
He is rich, to be sure. You will have more fine carriages than Jane. But will that make you happy?

ELIZABETH:
Have you no other objection than your belief in my indifference?

MR BENNET:
None at all. We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of fellow, but this would be nothing if you really liked him.

ELIZABETH:
I do like him. I love him. He’s not proud. I was wrong. I was entirely wrong about him. You don’t know, Papa, if I told you what he was really like, what he’s done…

MR BENNET:
What has he done?

Mr Darcy is sitting outside Longbourn with the animals, as Mrs Bennet and Jane look on from behind a window. Darcy stands and begins pacing up and down.

MRS BENNET:
But she doesn’t like him. I thought she didn’t like him.

JANE:
So did I. So did we all. We must have been wrong.

MRS BENNET:
It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?

JANE:
No.

Elizabeth and Mr Bennet are still together. Mr Bennet has heard of Darcy’s involvement in the marriage of Lydia and Mr Wickham.

MR BENNET:
Good Lord! I must pay him back.

ELIZABETH:
No, you mustn’t tell anyone. He wouldn’t want it. We misjudged him, Papa, me more than anyone – in every way, not just in this matter. I’ve been nonsensical. He’s been a fool, about Jane, about so many other things, but then so have I. You see, he and I are… he and I are so similar. We’re both so stubborn. Papa…

Mr Bennet, along with Lizzy, is starting to cry.

MR BENNET:
(Laughs) You really do love him, don’t you.

ELIZABETH:
Very much.

MR BENNET:
I cannot believe that anyone can deserve you, but it seems I am overruled. So, I heartily give my consent.

They hug.

MR BENNET:
I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy.

Elizabeth leaves.

MR BENNET:
If any young men come for Mary or Kitty then for Heaven’s sake send them in. I am quite at my leisure.

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So ends the non-American version of Pride and Prejudice. This is the final scene of the US edition, also available as an alternate ending in international editions of the DVD.

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EXT. PEMBERLEY – NIGHT

We see Pemberley, reflected in the lake at night. Mr Darcy sits down next to Elizabeth.

MR DARCY:
How are you this evening, my dear?

ELIZABETH:
Very well. Only, I wish you would not call me ‘my dear.’

MR DARCY:
Why?

ELIZABETH:
‘Cause it’s what my father always calls my mother when he’s cross about something.

MR DARCY:
What endearments am I allowed?

ELIZABETH:
Well, let me think. ‘Lizzy’ for every day. ‘My pearl’ for Sundays, and ‘Goddess Divine,’ but only on very special occasions.

MR DARCY:
And what shall I call you when I’m cross? Mrs Darcy?

ELIZABETH:
No. No. You may only call me ‘Mrs Darcy’ when you are completely, perfectly and incandescently happy.

MR DARCY:
But how are you this evening, Mrs Darcy? Mrs Darcy. Mrs Darcy. Mrs Darcy.

He kisses her between each ‘Mrs Darcy.’ FADE OUT as their lips meet.

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So, what do you feel about these endings? I have to admit to being glad that my DVD stops before the final scene of the US edition. It’s just too overdone for my taste, and very different from the tone of the book. However, I do love the conversation between Elizabeth and Mr Bennet, as Lizzy expresses her love for Darcy and Mr Bennet feels such immense happiness and relief for his daughter.

Please let me know how you feel about both of these endings. Which is your favorite? Do you prefer these final scenes to those of the 1980 or 1995 adaptations? Which captures the ending of the book most faithfully?