Bits of Ivory on the Silver Screen: Austen in Multimodal Quotation and Translation

How can the “little bit (two inches wide) of ivory” on which Jane Austen worked with so fine a brush be presented on a cinema or TV screen? How can the delicate and ironic effects of Austen’s art be grafted onto a largely visual art that prizes dialogue over narrative, and action above all else? Arguably, most Austen adaptations have struggled to re-create Austen’s peculiar voice. In my article, I propose to study some of the adaptations proper ofAusten’s novels with the tools of descriptive translation studies and multimodal stylistics. In particular, I am going to concentrate on two relatively recent versions of Pride and Prejudice (the 1995 BBC version and the 2005 film) and one of Sense and Sensibility (done in 1995 by celebrated director Ang Lee).