Transnational adaptations: the nineteenth-century novel revisited through a transcultural lens

Abstract

This article aims to address issues of adaptation from the point of view of transcultural and transhistorical film adaptations of classic nineteenth-century realist novels. I propose to discuss a number of these adaptations, taking into account production aspects as well as stylistic elements that enhance the trans national/global angle of the films. There are many examples of these, including the popular Bride and Prejudice (2004), an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel by director Gurinder Chadha, or the film Trishna, directed by Michael Winterbottom (2012), which is based on Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. We can call them transcultural and transhistorical adaptations, since they relocate the narra tives that inspired them to different geographical and historical settings. We will frame our discussion of these adaptations using theories of adaptation, namely those of Linda Hutcheon and Robert Stam, as well as within a discussion of trans-national film studies.