Jane Austen in popular culture
Austen went out of favour in Japan during the militarist period in the early Showa era (1931-1945) when a xenophobic, ultra-nationalist mood prevailed, and the government discouraged people from reading foreign books. But during the period of the American occupation (1945–52), almost every Austen book was translated into Japanese except "Mansfield Park" (which was not translated until 1978), and Austen started to be widely taught in Japanese high schools. The translation of "Sense and Sensibility" in 1947, followed by a translation of "Pride and Prejudice" in 1950 were published by the prestigious publishing house Iwanami Shoten, and both books sold very well. The success of the Iwanami versions of "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice" was the moment that Austen became respectable in Japan. In 1963, the critic Yamamoto Kenkichi, in his essay “The Smile of "Pride and Prejudice"” that proved to be influential, criticized Japanese literature for being overtly solemn and praised Austen for her “natural ease”, which led him to conclude: “Collins, Wickham, Mrs. Bennet, Lady Catherine, how she turns her laughter on these minor characters. They are observed with some malice, certainly, but in a pleasant, mischievous, irreverent manner which ultimately accords salvation to even these fools”. Austen has been regarded as a major writer in Japan since the 1950s, and in 2007, the Jane Austen Society of Japan was founded to provide a space for Japanese Janeites. In 2015-2016, "manga" versions of "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma", and "Sense and Sensibility" were published in Japan.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Fielding has said that the first Bridget Jones story was based on the Jane Austen novel "Pride and Prejudice". There are parallels between "The Edge of Reason" and the Austen novel "Persuasion", in which the main character is persuaded by her friends to break off her relationship with her "true love". Again, Fielding borrows a name from Austen, this time a Giles Benwick, after Captain Benwick. She also reworks several scenes in "Persuasion": for example, Rebecca, Bridget's rival for Mark's affection, dives into a shallow river and hurts her foot, a mirror of the incident in "Persuasion" when Louisa, Anne's rival, falls on her head at Lyme. In both cases, the protagonist (Anne/Bridget) first overhears Darcy praising Rebecca/Louisa for being "resolute" - praise of the very trait that contributes to the accident. Then, when Bridget attends her goddaughter Constance's birthday party, Mark Darcy rescues her from a young male child who is determined to climb onto her back; in Persuasion, Captain Wentworth (Anne's lost love) does precisely the same thing, in the same manner, for Anne. At Bridget's mother's Book Club poetry reading, Mark overhears Bridget commenting that women remain fixated on men who have forgotten them, and is moved to write her a secret note expressing his continuing regard (which he then fails to give to her due to a mix-up). This, with a happier immediate outcome, also happens in Persuasion, when Wentworth overhears Anne making a similar observation about "women's constancy" to Captain Harville, and writes her a proposal which he gets to her by stealth. Later in the Fielding novel, when Giles and Rebecca become romantically involved, Fielding parodies Austen's description of Captain Benwick and Louisa having fallen in love over poetry, commenting that Giles and Rebecca "fell in love over self-help books".