On to day 06 – A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day. I am sure that I could think of one or two. There are the “obvious” answers – a millionaire, a beautiful actress, Lady Gaga, etc. But as I thought more and more about who I would choose, my mind kept coming back to one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite books (and films): the dawn scene from the film version (2005) of Pride and Prejudice. It gets me every time. While the scene from the book may be a bit different, the overall speech that Mr. Darcy gives Elizabeth Bennet is one that makes the hopeless romantic inside of me simply melt. Therefore, if I could choose one person to trade places with for one day, I would choose Elizabeth Bennet in that day, heck, I would even take just the scene.
Everything about this scene captivates me from the beginning. The piano accompaniment starts off quietly, tantalizing the ears as it has for the entire film and gradually, the sounds of the early-morning birds awaking mix so well together that it is just captivating right from the start. As the sun starts to rise, the sheer beauty of the natural surroundings come to light and my heart almost aches from the beauty of it all.
(This version does not do the scene justice, but it was the best I could find on youtube.) As Darcy emerges through the early morning fog and dew, as a viewer I thought that the morning – that that scene – could not get any better. And yet, it does. Darcy proclaims:
“If your feelings are still what they were last April, 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 will 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.”
Sweet lord, Mr. Darcy, you have got it all.
Elizabeth Bennet is one of my favorite characters in literature, and I love Keira Knightly’s portrayal of her in this version of the classic. The entire film is visually quite stunning and the music that accompanies it is just as breath-taking. I love this time period – the fashion, the simplicity of life, the connection to the natural world – I really think that I was born in the wrong century and on the wrong continent. This story is fantastic in my view, and I really would love just one day in the shoes of the heroine.
(Here is some of the music, just because I can’t get enough)
