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Unmarriageable By Soniah Kamal
48 Plays4 days ago
What if Pride & Prejudice was set in Pakistan? What if characters other than Elizabeth and Darcy get back stories and character arcs? What if the author explores the tension between loving Jane Austen, and the impact of English colonisation on her country? Melinda and Stefanie discuss the importance of all voices and stories, character development and how discussing books is the way to your heart, in Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan by Soniah Kamal.
Links & Mentions
You can listen to Soniah Kamal talk about Unmarriageable in this video on MM Talks and on the Brown Girls Read podcast.
If you need subtitles or a transcript, these are available through Apple Podcasts. Please note, they are auto generated so we apologise in advance for it not correctly understanding our accents on certain words.
As always you can find us (and our memes) on Instagram @janeaustenremixed and you can contact us via janeaustenremixed@gmail.com.
Join us every second Monday to hear all about a new adaptation of our favourite classic novel. Next episode, we will be reading Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer. If you're reading along, we encourage you to buy secondhand or support your local independent bookshop, where possible.
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Transcript
Content Warning & Introduction to 'Unmarriageable'
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey all, before we start this week's episode of Jane Austen Remixed, a content warning for this week's text, Sonia Kamal's Unmarriageable. This book contains a character being bullied about her weight and mentions the topics of colonization, infertility, teenage pregnancy, abortion, sexual exploitation, drug use, racism, and honor killings.
00:00:19
Speaker
We won't go into any of these topics in depth, but they will be referenced as they relate to the book's plot and themes. If any of these topics might be uncomfortable for you, please feel free to give this episode a skip. Otherwise, let's begin.
Premise of 'Unmarriageable'
00:00:33
Speaker
Hey, Stephanie.
00:00:34
Speaker
Hey, Melinda. What if Pride and Prejudice was set in Pakistan and instead of bonnets and s scones, there were dupattas and samosas and discussions about the patriarchy and post-colonialism?
00:00:45
Speaker
I think that sounds right up my alley and I am very excited to discuss samosas and smashing the patriarchy.
Plot and Main Characters
00:01:06
Speaker
Welcome to Jane Austen Remixed, the podcast where we examine the nerdy and diverse world of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. I'm Melinda. And I'm Stephanie. The book we're looking at today is Unmarriageable, Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan by Sonia Kamal.
00:01:22
Speaker
It was published in 2019 by Ballantyne Books. Here is the blurb in case you'd like to read Unmarriageable before listening to this episode. Stephanie. When Alice Binut's family is invited to their town's wedding of the century, Alice's mother, the indomitable Mrs Binut, excitedly coaches her five unmarried daughters on the art of husband hunting.
00:01:43
Speaker
On the first night of the festivities, Alice's elder sister, Jenna, quickly catches the eye of Fahad Bungles Bingler, a wealthy entrepreneur. But Bungles' friend, Valentine Darcy, does not conceal his unfavourable opinion of the Binut family.
00:02:00
Speaker
As the days of lavish festivities continue, the B'nuts wait breathlessly to see if Jenna will loundge land a proposal, and Alice realises that Darcy's brusqueness hides a very different man from the one she judged him to be at first sight.
00:02:15
Speaker
This sounds amazing. I'm very excited. I love the names. I love that his nickname is Bungles. That's so cute. Bingley's my favorite himbo. He's just adorable. And him being called Bungles, love it.
00:02:27
Speaker
Valentine Darcy, amazing. I'm very excited to see where this goes. Yes, and without giving too much away, if you're a fan of Pride and Prejudice adaptations, seek this one out.
00:02:38
Speaker
Buy a copy or support your local library and go borrow it.
Spoiler Discussion & Post-Colonial Lens
00:02:42
Speaker
Now it's time for some spoiler chat. Unmarriageable is a great and faithful adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
00:02:50
Speaker
All the story beats make the cut, which is unusual for a modern adaptation. But for Sonia Kamal, that was kind of the point. In an interview with the blog Jane Austen's World in February 2020, she said that she purposefully wrote a parallel retelling of Pride and Prejudice.
00:03:08
Speaker
And Steph, if you can read out the quote. Sure. She says, and I quote, my intent was to literally write Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan through a post-colonial lens.
00:03:19
Speaker
So the basic characteristics of each character are all the same. I didn't deviate from anything. In fact, the challenge was how not to deviate from Pride and Prejudice and still make it my own.
00:03:30
Speaker
I'll link this interview and a few others I listened to in the show notes. So let's dive into this parallel retelling. Now, my apologies in advance for any words we mispronounce.
Bennett Family's Financial Struggles
00:03:41
Speaker
A big thanks to my friend, Rebeah, and some podcast episodes for guidance on pronouncing names and places, but I'll likely still make mistakes.
00:03:48
Speaker
So please forgive me. The Bennett family live in the fictional town of Dilepabad in Pakistan. The Bennetts are an upper-class family with a renowned name and reputation.
00:03:59
Speaker
Bark Bennett is our Mr. Bennett. Long story short, his older brother Gogger did a hostile takeover and took all of the family wealth and businesses for himself, and Bark had a heart attack from the stress.
00:04:11
Speaker
Gogger and his wife Tinkle also spread rumors about the lineage of Bark's wife, Pinky, She's from a lower class, so they decided to say she was descended from prostitutes.
00:04:22
Speaker
Oh, that's awful. Just small caveat with my comment there as well. Sex work is work. We're not debating that. But starting a rumor like this in a Pakistani town is life-ruining. Exactly.
00:04:36
Speaker
So Bark, Pinky and their five daughters are left with nothing. Their means to support their lifestyle is gone and the rumors destroyed the family's reputation, which impacted their social standing.
00:04:47
Speaker
The Bennetts are forced to move into the only property left after the takeover, a rundown house in backwater, Dileppabad.
Life and Societal Pressures on Bennett Daughters
00:04:55
Speaker
All that info gets dropped in the first two chapters and happens a decade before the book actually begins.
00:05:01
Speaker
Oh wow. Yeah, and it's a great setup explaining why the Bennet family aren't financially secure, just like the end tale in Pride and Prejudice. It also explains Pinky's desire to get the girls married and settled.
00:05:13
Speaker
And just like Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Bennett, Bark Bennett is quite passive. He's content gardening and drinking chai rather than being proactive to provide for his family. Once his eldest two daughters get jobs, he continues pining for a past he no longer has.
00:05:28
Speaker
Hmm. Yeah, I mean, we have complex feelings about Mr. Bennett as a character. It's an interesting translation of him. I'm really excited to hear the rest of it.
00:05:39
Speaker
And on to the rest of the story. Bark and Pinky Bennett have five daughters, Jenna Zabar, Alisabar, Marizabar, Kittyara, and Lady. The girls all have nicknames, Jenna, Alice, Mari, Kitty, and Lady.
00:05:54
Speaker
Jenna and Alice are our Jane and Elizabeth. They teach English literature at the British School of Dillababad and have done so for 10 years. The book even starts with Alice introducing her Year 10 class to Pride and Prejudice.
00:06:07
Speaker
Cute. It's very cute. Mari is a lost 20-something who has turned to faith after failing at her dreams to become a doctor or a member of Pakistan's women's cricket team. Oh, Mary. She's more conservative than the rest of her family, but earnestly tries to make a difference through volunteering.
00:06:26
Speaker
Kitty is in year 11 at school and wants to be an artist. It's worth mentioning that Kitty is considered overweight. This book is set in the early 2000s where self-acceptance was not common.
00:06:40
Speaker
Pinky tells Kitty to diet constantly and her younger sister Lady just bullies her. In this adaptation, Lady, or Lydia, is quite cruel. She is 16 and is focused on getting money and designer clothes.
00:06:55
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, we don't love Lydia, Lady. We don't love that character, but maybe she could just be slightly less savage. The early 2000s, a time when we were teenagers, was a rough, rough time, particularly around the complete lack of body positivity.
00:07:14
Speaker
So, yeah, that's um rough. It is rough. We're going to get into a little bit of a character study about Lady a bit later, but just worth noting, she's really cruel in this adaptation.
00:07:24
Speaker
Interesting. Okay. The story starts with an invitation to a wedding in place of the Regency Balls.
Cultural Elements: Weddings vs. Balls
00:07:31
Speaker
This is a rich society wedding between Fyad Fekha and Nader Shah, Dilipapad's VIPs, which the author notes, if you squash the bride and groom's names together, you get Naderfeerd, which sort of sounds like Netherfield. Netherfield.
00:07:49
Speaker
I do love when the adaptations get funny with the names. Yeah, they're like little hidden Easter eggs, which is cool. Yeah, it's fun. For Pinkie, the three ceremonies involved in the wedding, the Mendy, Nika and Walima will be perfect opportunities for her daughters to fish for rich husbands.
00:08:07
Speaker
Jenna fortunately strikes up a conversation with two women who are the Bingley sisters, Hamaria and Samaria Bingla, known as Hammy and Sammy. And through them, Jenna meets their baby brother, Fahad Bingla, AKA Bungles.
00:08:24
Speaker
The Bingla siblings run a company called Modest, which produces more affordable feminine hygiene products. And they've made a fortune. So yeah, they've made their wealth with feminine hygiene products.
00:08:35
Speaker
I mean, I love that that's written into the story. That's fantastic. Hammy is our Caroline Bingley, and she calls everyone babes. Hey, babes.
00:08:46
Speaker
Hey, babes. Oh, babes. It's an ongoing thing. Sammy is married to an awful guy named Janz. I'm not really going to mention him. He's really rude and they're an example of a bad marriage in the story.
00:08:59
Speaker
I mean, the hearths aren't exactly a shining beacon of marital happiness in the original, so it tracks. Bungles is immediately smitten with Jenna. Alice's friend, Sherry Luklas, encourages Jenna to take Bungles and get some chai.
00:09:14
Speaker
Alice rolls her eyes at Sherry, cough, cough, Charlotte, and her blatant attempt to force Jenna to fish. We love Sherry already. Everyone needs a practical friend.
00:09:25
Speaker
Sherry must be protected at all costs. We're going to get into her later. I love her already. The other eligible bachelor noted as having fine eyes is Bungle's best friend, Valentine Darcy.
00:09:38
Speaker
Yes, gender flipping the fine eyes. We love to hear it He is the heir of the British school group, which runs the school where Jenna and Alice teach.
00:09:49
Speaker
The group was founded by his aunt, Bina DeBay, alongside her two sisters named Dina and Weena, who have both passed away. Everyone is excited by the attention Jenna received from Bungles, Pinky especially.
00:10:02
Speaker
She's convinced that Bungles is going to propose at the NICCA. Jenna is so nervous that she can barely talk to Bungles. The Nikar ends without a proposal, but Bungles invites Jenna to a polo match before the Walima.
00:10:15
Speaker
Ooh, polo. fancy.
Polo Match Incident
00:10:17
Speaker
The Wilma is taking place in Lahore, so the Binets and Sherry travel and stay with Pinky's brother and sister-in-law, the Gardena's.
00:10:26
Speaker
Nonna and Nissa Gardena live in a not-so-fashionable part of Lahore, but they are well off. Nissa is a doctor and Nonna has a baking business that's taken off. She even makes cakes for children's charities that they use to celebrate the kids' birthdays.
00:10:41
Speaker
That's adorable and I love this for Mrs Gardiner because she's a legend. Alongside Charlotte, Sherry, she is the MVP of Pride and Prejudice. Nonna is a sweetheart and you'll get to see why.
00:10:52
Speaker
Yay! The polo match with Bungles is the setup for the Jane Sick at Netherfield arc. Jenna is so nervous she asks Alice to come along and stay nearby. Alice goes for a run and when she finishes she finds that their driver has left.
00:11:07
Speaker
which forces her to walk inside the exclusive club to find out what's going on. This is a world before mobile phones were everywhere. She discovers that Jenna has rolled her ankle in the heels that Mrs. Bennet demanded she wear.
00:11:21
Speaker
Well, ah this is at the polo match, right? Yes. You have to wear heels to the polo because the women have to walk out onto the field and aerate it with their heels. You go out and you dig your high heels into the turf on the polo field.
00:11:33
Speaker
It's what you do. There you go I was today years old when I learned this. I've been to the polo in Mudgee. Oh, right. okay I got heat stroke. Oh. That story took a turn I was not expecting.
00:11:48
Speaker
That's a story for another time. So Bungles insists that Jenna go to the hospital to be assessed and is determined to stay by her bedside, which means Hammy, Sammy, Valentine and Alice are forced to stay too to stop the gossip train, which is already firing because Bungles swept Jenna up and carried her out of the polo club because she couldn't walk.
00:12:09
Speaker
Oh, so romantic. Romantic, but scandalous. Very scandalous. The time at the hospital is every awkward Netherfield conversation rolled into one.
00:12:21
Speaker
Bungles is attentive to Jenna. Hammy tries to flirt with Valentine and Valentine tries to bond with Alice while she prepares her teaching program. She's setting up comparative texts for her students to study English literature alongside authors from Pakistan.
Post-Colonial Themes & Language
00:12:37
Speaker
Valentine and Alice start talking about their mutual love of books and have this really interesting conversation about English and Pakistani literature. Just going to pause the adaptation discussion for a second to discuss one of the main themes in this book, which is post-colonialism.
00:12:53
Speaker
As the author mentioned earlier, unmarriageable is written with a post-colonial lens. The reality is the history of colonization still impacts Pakistan and indeed ah other nations that used to be colonies.
00:13:04
Speaker
In this culture, the English language is seen as the language of power, class, and opportunity. When Jenna and Alice become teachers, they are hired because of their accents and their education.
00:13:15
Speaker
They spoke with the proper English affect that would teach students to, and I'm using air quotes here, speak properly. If the girls sound like they belong to a higher class, they can make better marriage matches.
00:13:27
Speaker
This is something openly discussed in the world of the novel, noting it's the English-speaking accent and language that is desirable, not Urdu or one of the other over-77 languages indigenous to Pakistan.
00:13:40
Speaker
There is a quote that starts off the book from Englishman Thomas Bambington Macaulay's Minute on Education from 1835. which says that a single shelf in a good English library is better than all Indigenous literature from India and Arabia, that it's better for people to learn English than any other Indigenous language, which is just heartbreakingly untrue.
00:14:01
Speaker
The author mentions in the interviews that I've listened to that it was this quote that inspired her to write this novel, that she wrote her story back to empire to show Thomas how wrong he was,
00:14:13
Speaker
In an essay at the end of the book, Sonia explains how when she reads Pride and Prejudice, the characters stop being English to her and are just Pakistani. All you have to do is swap the dupattas for bonnets and samosas for scones.
00:14:25
Speaker
The Jane Austen is Jane Kala, the auntie that takes no prisoners and tells it to you straight. Stories cross cultures because the more closely we study human nature, the more universal stories become.
00:14:37
Speaker
We are all interested in the same types of questions about what it means to be a good person, to live well, to be kind, and stand up to evil. As you can probably tell from our accents, Steph and I are from Australia, and our country has a history of colonisation too.
00:14:50
Speaker
It's important to recognise the harm that colonisation caused for Indigenous peoples and their cultures. Having empathy and mourning both the mistakes and the intentional policies that harmed people is important.
00:15:02
Speaker
It's about kindness, and while as a Pride and Prejudice podcast, we can't discuss post-colonialism in depth, I hope kindness and empathy is something that we can promote. Exactly. I think it's really important for us to acknowledge that there's been so much harm done to Indigenous populations, Indigenous cultures, Indigenous languages all around the world on every continent. And it's only through talking about it and educating ourselves as we are two white women who live in a post-colonial society. All we can do is educate ourselves. And through reading stories like this that create those amazing cultural bonds, I think that's one way we can really do that.
00:15:41
Speaker
Agreed. Back to the story. It's here at the hospital when they finally start to talk that Alice and Valentine begin to bond over literature. They are book nerds and I love it.
00:15:52
Speaker
They talk about the tension between loving English literature, like Pride and Prejudice, and how to reconcile that with their Pakistani identity. That history made Englishness part of who they are, but how do they balance that with their other cultural identities?
00:16:07
Speaker
The book is worth reading for this section alone. Later, Valentine gives Alice a copy of his favorite book by an Indian author, which explores these themes in more detail. I'll link the title of that book in the show notes if you're interested in giving it a read.
00:16:22
Speaker
Jenna recovers quickly and they leave the hospital, but without a proposal. While they're in the hall, Mr. Bennett sends Alice to meet a new lawyer. He is an up-and-comer named Georgiola Wickham.
00:16:35
Speaker
Oh, he's a lawyer. ah Is he really a lawyer? I'm using air quotes here. He's a up and coming lawyer. and coming lawyer.
00:16:47
Speaker
Alice spends the afternoon with him where he shares his history with Valentine Darcy. Wickham is Valentine's first cousin. For a second there, I thought you were going to say first love and this was going to take a turn. I did not expect. I have no answer to that.
00:17:03
Speaker
so no. His mother is Weena DeBay.
Wickham's Deceitful Character
00:17:07
Speaker
His parents died in an explosion that also killed Valentine's father. Wickham lived with the Darcys until Dina met someone and moved Valentine and his younger sister, Judina, to Bangkok.
00:17:20
Speaker
Wickham stayed in Pakistan, but Dina cut him out of his part of the inheritance of the British school group, which we'll get on to how much of that is true later. While in Lahore, the Gardeners host a Christmas party and Alice invites Wigam.
00:17:33
Speaker
Someone else invited is Fahad Khaleen or our Mr. Collins. I love it. That's great. So Fahad Khalin is the gardener's cousin who recently returned from London.
00:17:46
Speaker
He is a widower and has three children. He's a physiatrist. So he's a doctor that looks after chronic illnesses and holistic health. He has three children?
00:17:57
Speaker
He has three children. He set up a private practice thanks to a wealthy patron and patient. He's quite conservative and is looking for a new wife. And of course, Pinky steers him towards Alice, suggesting he try and get to know her a little bit better before publicizing the proposal.
00:18:14
Speaker
Then Wickham arrives with a bunch of flowers and to Colleen's dismay, Wickham outshines him. i mean, it wouldn't be hard. Not hard at all. It's now time for the Walima, which takes place on New Year's Eve.
00:18:26
Speaker
Jenna and Bungles are spending all their time together. Jenna is starting to freak out because there's still no proposal and the Wilma is ending. Then Bungles invites Jenna and all her sisters as her chaperones to accompany them to an exclusive New Year's party.
00:18:41
Speaker
Pinky is convinced he's going to propose at midnight. The relentlessness with which Mrs. Bennett is just like proposal, proposal. It tracks. It's great.
00:18:51
Speaker
She even sends Jenna for a manicure at one point, convinced that the proposal is going to happen. and her hand needs to look good for the engagement photos. I love it.
00:19:03
Speaker
It's the most deranged thing to think of. It's so on brand. Perfect. Perfect characterization. no notes. Pinky is fabulous. So this party is wild.
00:19:14
Speaker
It's for the young and beautiful elite and the Bennett sisters are given side eye that they're even there. Jenna goes off with Bungles and Alice finds Valentine hiding in the house's library. They both have the same instinct.
00:19:26
Speaker
Alice decides to confront him about Wickham, good timing Alice, and he storms out. Jenna finds Alice and is distraught saying she wants to go home. Bungles was dragged away by Valentine and he has not proposed.
00:19:39
Speaker
Oh, geez. Yeah, reputations are on the line right now. Absolutely. The next section of the novel starts with the family back in Dileppabad. The family get visits from Wickham and Killeen.
00:19:52
Speaker
Wickham is charming, Killeen creepy. The family also start calling Valentine Darcy Dracula after they hear how he treated Wickham.
Family Dynamics & Humor
00:20:02
Speaker
Okay, go off, guys.
00:20:05
Speaker
They like their nicknames. They also call Fahat Fart because Lady said his name too quickly. Oh. It's such a cute family detail and I really love it because it really shows like the family dynamic and their personalities. It's it's really fun.
00:20:20
Speaker
And now it's time for Fahad to propose. And he does so poorly. Alice immediately goes to Mr. Bennett in distress and he shuts it down. Like straight away, there's no delay.
00:20:32
Speaker
Colleen speaks to Pinky to take back the proposal and it is awful. The wording is quite similar to Mr. Collins' retraction of the proposal, but when you modernize the language, the grossness of that rejection hits home a little stronger.
00:20:48
Speaker
Colleen says that he doesn't resent Alice or hold her disobedience against the family, but she is shown too much independence and they wouldn't be a good fit. And just to show he's a dirtbag, he reassures Mrs. Bennett that he won't resort to an acid attack despite the proposal being rejected.
00:21:06
Speaker
Holy moly. The casualness that that is thrown in with is just awful, but it tracks for his character, which is wild.
00:21:23
Speaker
It is perfectly awful. Oh, my God. That's just horrific. I have chills. Yeah, it's it is horrific.
00:21:34
Speaker
Please tell me Sherry doesn't end up with him. And just like in Pride and Prejudice, Sherry Luklas swoops in and takes the proposal. She successfully fishes for Fahakalim.
00:21:47
Speaker
Sherry, no. Baby girl. o See, this is the thing like with modern adaptations. I feel like Mr. Collins' character gets a lot more toxic because he fits so nicely into this awful incel culture that has developed in modern times and this like traditional male looking for a trad wife garbage.
00:22:13
Speaker
And so the character is a lot more toxic and Now, I feel like in the original, yes, he's a prat, but he's got a good job. He is fine. He's a bit pompous, but he's not cruel and he's not callous.
00:22:26
Speaker
He's just a bit pompous. And he offers, he has something to offer Charlotte, which is a steady home, becoming landed gentry, basically. And she sees that and it's, it's a prudent match for her.
00:22:41
Speaker
But something like this is just heartbreaking. Well... It's time for a quick character study of Sherry Luklas, and may end up changing your mind a little bit.
00:22:52
Speaker
Okay. She has a well-written arc in this novel. Why in the world, after seeing who Colleen is, does she encourage and accept his proposal?
00:23:04
Speaker
Women in the 2000s didn't need to marry for financial stability. She works as an Udu teacher at the British School of Dillapabad alongside Jenna and Alice, so she has an income.
00:23:15
Speaker
Sherry and Alice's friendship is one where opposites attract. Sherry speaks Udu at home, while Alice speaks English. Like Alice, Sherry works to support her family, but she also cooks and cleans because her family can't afford staff.
00:23:29
Speaker
ah Alice doesn't mind being single, while Sherry wants to be married. She's had two broken engagements and feels like a failure and a burden to her family.
00:23:40
Speaker
But on top of that, Sherry is infertile. In a culture built on families, it means eligible matches don't want her. Even the local matchmakers can't help her.
00:23:53
Speaker
She wants to experience everything marriage offers and sees Fahad Khaleen as a way out. Yeah, well, I suppose he already has three children. In the original story, Charlotte was practical. She needed marriage for personal and economic security.
00:24:07
Speaker
Sherry is just as practical. She knows her options are limited, thanks to her experiences with the matchmaking. Yes, Fahad says unhinged things, but he can offer her an incredibly comfortable life, where she will have staff, money, and won't need to work.
00:24:21
Speaker
He also doesn't mind that she can't have children as he already has three. That's a huge win for her. And when Sherry walks into the principal's office to give her two weeks notice, the principal doesn't complain about her leaving because she's marrying a someone.
00:24:36
Speaker
For the first time ever, Sherry feels what it's like to have status and she's overjoyed. And we kind of celebrate with her despite what Colleen did only a chapter before. Yeah, I don't know.
00:24:48
Speaker
I see all of that. My brain just goes to, what if he decides he's tired of you and he actually does want another child? What will he do to her? He's pretty clear in the book.
00:25:00
Speaker
It's tricky and we have to be sensitive. There's cultural forces at play here that we, as white women growing up in a westernized society in Australia, just cannot understand.
00:25:11
Speaker
And i get it, but also i feel uncomfortable and still scared for her. I think the tricky part is that Sherry really wants to be married and there's this whole beautiful story throughout the novel, which I just don't have time to get into, about how how much she wants to be married and have a family and raise children, but she can't.
00:25:36
Speaker
And then the fact that she is also significantly older than Alice, so at this point she's probably 40, I think she's in her Okay. Yeah. She's she's probably a decade older than Alice is. So Alice is in her thirties and I think Sherry is in her forties.
00:25:53
Speaker
So yeah she desperately wants to be married to not be a burden on her family, but also to have the things that her family can't afford her. And she sees Colleen as the way out. And, you know, then she gets she gets the Insta family. She gets the three children that she can't have. And I understand that desperation so, so deeply.
00:26:13
Speaker
um Yeah, I get it. I just, you know what I'm like, I'm very, very protective of Charlotte as a character. I just want the best for her. And in this story, this is probably the best for her, despite the fact Colleen is...
00:26:29
Speaker
Not great. He does throw out that line and he is conservative. There are a lot of other lines which I haven't gone into about what he says, but he's also very committed to his marriage.
00:26:41
Speaker
He definitely was to his first wife. So I think that it feels like she's safe, even though Colleen does say these awful things. Good. Back to the story.
00:26:52
Speaker
Jenna is still struggling with what happened with Bungles. She heads to Lahore with the Gardeners for a change of scenery. To make up for Jenna being in Lahore, Alice takes on her classes and marking for the remainder of the term.
00:27:04
Speaker
But once term is over, Alice joins the Luklases on their trip to Islamabad to visit Sherry.
Sherry's Life Transformation
00:27:10
Speaker
Sherry is living her dream. She brunches, goes to the gym, has an entire new wardrobe and takes her family on shopping sprees.
00:27:18
Speaker
And in her usual condescension, Bina Dibay invites the family to join her for dinner the evening they arrive. Instead of Rosings Park, Bina Dibay's home has another name.
00:27:29
Speaker
The Versailles of Pakistan. Love the drama of this name. It's gaudy and over the top and it's perfect. It's perfect.
00:27:39
Speaker
Bina Dibay is... Not a great person, despite founding this school. She is elitist and is also racist towards her household staff. Great. Love that for her.
00:27:51
Speaker
But in a wonderful change-up, Annie DeBay, Beena's daughter, is an absolute delight. Yay! Yes. She is Colleen's patient.
00:28:02
Speaker
She is kind and stands up to Bina and her behaviour and says she'll never be sickly and silent like Anne de Bourke. Love. Love this change. This is an excellent modernisation of the character.
00:28:15
Speaker
She's lovely. For the next dinner, Valentine Darcy turns up at Killeen's house with the invite. Valentine introduces the group to his friend, Raghav Kumar. Raghav is a friend from university who is in Pakistan to attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain.
00:28:32
Speaker
We love a mountaineer. I love a mountaineer. At dinner, Alice, Annie, Raghav and Sherry have a fantastic time. Valentine just stares at them from a distance. Alice insults him a few times, which Veena is disgusted by. This is a really fun reading on Fitz. I like it.
00:28:49
Speaker
Yeah, he's great. The following day, while out walking, she runs into Raghav. They have a great time. Raghav chats about his boyfriend and how he's just visited his mother's village and about how great a friend Valentine is.
00:29:01
Speaker
How he helped him getting his visa to travel to Pakistan to begin with. He then proudly explains how Valentine recently helped bungles escape a bad marriage. Oh.
00:29:13
Speaker
Side note, I love that the roadblock here for Fitz and Alice is ah him being gay as opposed to him needing to marry someone rich. That's a fun that's a fun modernisation.
00:29:24
Speaker
He's a lovely guy but he's just not interested. So this kicks off our first proposal. That evening Alice pleads a migraine and stays home from the debate dinner. She's curled up under a blanket on the lounge watching her favourite movie, The Terminator.
00:29:39
Speaker
Yes! Yes! Action movie girlies. When the staff say there's someone at the door, she thinks it's Regav coming to say goodbye because he's heading off on his trip. Of course, it's Darcy, and he proposes.
00:29:53
Speaker
Alice laughs, thinking it must be a prank. This is the early 2000s after all. She's thinking she got punked. Basically. Valentine says she has some great qualities. She isn't a gold digger.
00:30:04
Speaker
She tells the truth and she's smart. And while it's a bad match, he finds that he cares what she thinks and respects her opinions. Oh, thanks. Great. Alice calls him a pompous ass.
00:30:17
Speaker
The Jenna is heartbroken because Bungles left. Jenna had to be shy and reserved because her reputation would be ruined if she was too forward. A thing that Darcy should have known.
00:30:29
Speaker
Because also, if Jenna had thrown herself at Bungles, he would have like, gold digger, and gotten rid of her anyway. Darcy is insulted. If Alice knew what it was like to have people throwing themselves at you because you're rich, she would understand why he's careful, that mothers and their fishing daughters only care about his assets and are not who he is.
00:30:51
Speaker
And Alice counters that women are valued solely for their bodies and not for their brains. To his credit, Darcy says he he actually likes her brain, but it's still bad. Too little, too late, buddy. It's really interesting. This is like a throw forward to an episode that we'll be doing in Darcy's story, which tells it from Darcy's point of view. He does say a lot that he is just so tired of women and their mothers throwing themselves at him wherever he goes. And it's really hard to have a social life because of that.
00:31:18
Speaker
So that's a really interesting parallel. It's also really cool too because it actually, it explains Darcy's reserve, but we're also in a marriage market essentially. Like yes the fishing is throughout the novel. So to actually hear the guy's side and being like, well, hang on a second, I have to be careful here. It works really well.
00:31:37
Speaker
Alice brings up Wickham and calls Darcy disloyal. For Alice, loyalty is important. And she kicks Darcy out. The following day, we get the letter.
00:31:47
Speaker
Valentine shows he listened and acknowledges that there is an unfair double standard between men and women, but he still believed that Jenna was indifferent. He also said that Pinky's constant fishing talk and ladies' behavior, we're going to get to that, were inappropriate.
00:32:04
Speaker
And if a guy had behaved the way they had, he would have called them out too. Look, we love an equal opportunity king. Then we get to Wickham. It's true that Wickham and Darcy are related, but instead of a sob story of the Darcy's abandoning him when they moved to Bangkok,
00:32:22
Speaker
Valentine shares that Wickham requested to stay in Pakistan because he'd started an affair with an older woman. It sounds like he seduced her and took advantage of her wealth.
00:32:33
Speaker
What a surprise. When the Darcys returned to Pakistan, Wickham moved back in with them and, at 17, he decided to turn his eye to seducing the most vulnerable people he had access to, the young teenage maids.
00:32:50
Speaker
Oh. go He promised them riches, marriage, the world, but instead left them brokenhearted and many pregnant.
00:33:02
Speaker
Yeah, this wick arm is a dirt bag and probably something a lot stronger. Yeah, dirtbags being nice about it. That's horrendous.
00:33:13
Speaker
Darcy's mum helped the maids return to their villages to get away from Wickham, and those that were pregnant, Dina and Bina, supported, ensuring that every child was provided for, using Wickham's inheritance.
00:33:27
Speaker
Oh, nice. Yes. The ultimate punishment. I love this. This is perfect. They're legends. Yep. Wickham felt betrayed that Darcy had sided with the women instead of him.
00:33:39
Speaker
Boo hoo. Cry me a patriarchal river, buddy. And while Annie, Valentine and Wickham were all a similar age, Jujina was much younger and was spared the details of his behaviour, which became a problem when Darcy went away to university and Wickham swooped in to s seduce Jujina for her inheritance.
00:33:58
Speaker
Some people never change. Well, it's parallel retelling after all. It was done in secret until Juju phoned Valentine to announce that she was pregnant and Wickham was insisting they elope.
00:34:13
Speaker
She got knocked up. She got knocked up. Ooh. Valentine rushes home and told her all about Wickham's other children that he abandoned. She was distraught and Valentine convinces her to tell Wickham that she'd given up her inheritance to be with him to see what he does, at which point Wickham leaves her.
00:34:33
Speaker
oh Oh, that's brutal. i mean, necessary. She needed to see his true colours, but that's rough. Valentine said that he'd support Juju with whatever she decided to do, and she opts to have an abortion.
00:34:49
Speaker
Good call. Valentine didn't trust any of the local doctors with a secret that would devastate his sister's reputation, so they flew to Europe. We can't believe she miscarried, and only three people in the world know the truth.
00:35:02
Speaker
Valentine, Juju, and now... Alice. Big secret. That's an even bigger secret than the elopement in the original. That's... It's huge. lot of skin in that game.
00:35:14
Speaker
This story is despicable and awful and horrendous and every other awful adjective you can think of, but it works perfectly.
00:35:25
Speaker
It's perfect. It's such an incredible characterization, such incredible modernized translation of these characters. Like that's a masterclass in how to rewrite culture-flipped version of an English classic.
00:35:38
Speaker
Take that Thomas Babington, Macaulay. Yeah, screw that guy. Alice goes into a self-reflection spiral. She realises that Wickham only showed interest in her because of her Bennett name, until he realised they had no money.
00:35:53
Speaker
He's so gross. Alice gets in incredibly frustrated that things like this aren't talked about, that the scoundrels can't be exposed and punished for what they've done instead of protecting women's reputations.
00:36:08
Speaker
The rest of this section wraps up pretty quickly. Their visit to Islamabad finishes and they drive back to Lahore to pick up Jenna. Alice suggests to Jenna that they catch the bus home separately. Alice realizes this is the only way they can get some privacy to talk about the letter before they get home.
00:36:24
Speaker
Once they're on the bus, Alice tells Jenna about the proposal and then gives her the whole letter to read. So in this version, Jenna is told that Darcy, Hammy and Sammy pulled Bungles away from her because they thought she was indifferent.
00:36:40
Speaker
Oh, that's interesting. Because I know that is sort of like a point of tension in the original, that that's not information that Elizabeth shares with Jane.
00:36:51
Speaker
But even knowing this, Jenna lays the blame on Bungles. She says that while it's okay to ask friends for advice, it's on him that he didn't propose because he knew her better.
00:37:03
Speaker
I love this change. It gives Jenna a little bit more agency and lets Bungles be called out for doing the wrong thing. Yeah, that's great. We love Bingley. he is a himbo.
00:37:15
Speaker
We also love him being held accountable for his actions. Jenna, of course, reacts really badly to the Wickham stuff, and the sisters decide that they can't share the information with their family because of the massive risk to Juju's reputation.
00:37:29
Speaker
Because Pinky can't be trusted. Absolutely not. On returning to Dileppabad, family life continues until Lady gets a call from an old school friend inviting her to stay in Karachi.
00:37:40
Speaker
Alice warns Mr. Bennett against it, but Lady says that Alice and Jenna went away, so why can't I go away? Because you're a child. You're a child. This is like a Disney princess all over again.
00:37:53
Speaker
I'm an adult. You're a baby. You're a baby. And you'll soon see, she proves it. Alice is also invited to go on holiday with the gardeners to the northern areas of Pakistan.
00:38:03
Speaker
So Lady and Alice jump on a bus together and head back to Lahore for their trips. Alice tries to warn Lady to behave, but Lady just calls her an auntie and says she knows not to run away. Uh-huh.
00:38:15
Speaker
Uh-huh. Sure, lady. There's bad news for Alice on reaching Lahore. Nonna has been nominated for an important humanitarian award and the ceremony is scheduled for when they'd planned to be away.
00:38:27
Speaker
So instead of travelling up north, Alice spends her time in Lahore sightseeing and helping Nonna with the cake deliveries. Their last delivery one day, before heading out to dinner, is to a place called Buckingham Palace.
00:38:41
Speaker
So we've heard Versailles, now we've got Buckingham Palace. Yep. Alice laughs and comments, being at the base place is called the Versailles of Pakistan. What a coincidence.
00:38:52
Speaker
Of course, this is Pemberley. And Alice nearly drops the cake, realising that Jujina Darcy is
Alice's Realization at Darcy's Home
00:38:58
Speaker
her customer. um Juju heads upstairs to get the rest of the payment, and while Alice hopes Darcy isn't home, he returns just as she's leaving.
00:39:06
Speaker
She apologises for being there, but Valentine invites her, Nonna and Nissa in for chai.
00:39:13
Speaker
Alice ends up talking to Juju and discovers she's quiet and shy, just like Jenna. Darcy chats with the gardeners and she's thrilled to have some relatives that don't embarrass her. And she notes how changed Valentine seems to be.
00:39:26
Speaker
Nisar mentions he's trying to get tickets for a play and Darcy says he knows who to call. He's going to that play tomorrow night with the Binglas and Juju, so gets extra tickets added on. They're having such a great time that Nisar and Nonna invite Valentine and Juju to join them for dinner.
00:39:41
Speaker
Alice says it's one of the best evenings she's ever had. The next night, they go to the play. Juju and Bungles are delighted to see them, but Hammy and Sammy look horrified. When Alice introduces Nonna, Hammy and Sammy are thrilled to meet her because they love her work and will be presenting at the awards ceremony.
00:39:58
Speaker
But as soon as they learn she's Alice's aunt, their opinion sours somewhat. Gotta love the Bingley sisters. They are anything if consistent. Bungles asks about Jenna and Alice mentions she'd been in Lahore.
00:40:12
Speaker
Bungles realises that she should have been teaching then and asked why she wasn't and Alice says she was sick. After the play, Valentine suggests they all go to dinner, but unfortunately they can't because Hammy has a headache.
00:40:26
Speaker
oh Oh, grey. The following morning, Alice is reading the book that Valentine gave her at the wedding when he turns up. They discuss the story and the themes and why they both enjoy it. And it's in the middle of this book lover's dream conversation that Jenna calls with the news the lady has run away with Wickham.
Lady's Elopement and Crisis
00:40:44
Speaker
The gardeners and Alice head back to Dileperbad. Nonna has to miss her award ceremony, but even that huge honour can't undo the great dishonour that lady has brought on her family. Lydia, she never misses.
00:40:55
Speaker
And now it's time for a brief character study of one Lady Bennett. I find Lady's character in this fascinating. It works well, but it's really different from a lot of other adaptations.
00:41:07
Speaker
Most adaptations try and redeem Lydia or say she's misunderstood or something. Kind like soften her a bit. Which I think is a fundamental misunderstanding of the character.
00:41:18
Speaker
But anyway... Well, not here. Lady is 16, but she is a terrible person. She constantly berates Kitty about her weight. She bullies Mari for her faith. It's more than just sibling bickering.
00:41:30
Speaker
She is also selfish and shameless. She embarrasses the family during the Mendy. First, she joins in on the drumming before the festivities, which is only for the bride's family and close friends.
00:41:41
Speaker
Then she tries to jump up in and join a family-only dance because it's her favorite song! Oh my god. She also spits food all over Valentine Darcy when he's introduced to the family because his name is just like Valentine's Day.
00:41:56
Speaker
oh she sounds atrocious. On the way home, even Jenna says that she embarrassed the family. Yeah, wow. Lady is obsessed with magazines, designer clothes, and getting out of Dilepabad.
00:42:09
Speaker
She wants to be a model, but given the rumors about Pinky's family, Mr. Bennet has said no. She reads gossip magazines and often quotes a model saying she just needs to believe and you will receive. Lady is basically 20 years early for influencer culture.
00:42:24
Speaker
She is. Lady also wants to be married. When Jenna and Alice talk to her about looking for a man who's kind and respects her, Lady says that she wants someone rich and handsome.
00:42:35
Speaker
The criteria is criteria, and why is it a problem that her criteria are different to theirs? oh Ah, 16-year-olds are so annoying. I was annoying as 16-year-old.
00:42:47
Speaker
And when it comes to the Wickarm situation, he's handsome and from her perspective, going up in the world, we find out that Lady phones Kitty to tell her to the plan to run away and is kind to her.
00:42:59
Speaker
Kitty says that finally she felt loved, so kept the secret. Oh, Kitty. It's heartbreaking. That's so awful.
00:43:12
Speaker
Lady and Wickham reconnected and fell madly in love, which is incredibly creepy given what we know about Wickham and teenagers. But Lady tells Kitty that since their parents aren't rich enough to pay for a big wedding, she would make an unforgettable splash in her own way by eloping.
00:43:30
Speaker
Only teenagers can be this dumb. But also, good to see that Wickham's character is finally getting the character treatment that he deserves, which is he's a sex offender.
00:43:42
Speaker
He's a sex offender in the original one, and he's a sex offender in this one. Despite seeing what the tiny gossip about Jenna did to her, Lady does not care about her own reputation or how her actions impact the family.
00:43:55
Speaker
To her, notoriety is better than invisibility. Way too early for influencer culture, but she's nailed it. And back to the story. The gardeners go to Karachi to look for Lady and send Bark home.
00:44:07
Speaker
Bark now says he sees the full force of the patriarchy come to bear.
Resolution of Lady's Elopement
00:44:12
Speaker
The Wickham will come out of this properly being praised, but Lady and the rest of her sisters will be absolutely destroyed.
00:44:19
Speaker
The gardeners phone with news that they have located Wickham and Lady. Wickham is demanding $100,000 to marry her. Buying back the family's respectability will cost everything they have, including the house.
00:44:32
Speaker
Miraculously though, Nonna calls back later that night saying that Wickham will just marry Lady, which causes relief all round. I'm sure we all know where this is going. He's seen the light. he's just decided He's just decided to become a good person. i don't know what you're talking about.
00:44:47
Speaker
Bark is the only one who realises that the gardeners must have outlaid a great deal to get him to agree. The Wickhams visit and are still shameless. Lady then mentions that Dracula was at their wedding.
00:44:58
Speaker
Alice immediately calls Nonna and wants to know the details, which is when it's revealed, of course, that Valentine paid Wickham to marry Lady, and he was there to make sure he actually went through with it. Then, randomly, Bungles shows up and asks to take Jenna for a drive.
00:45:13
Speaker
Jenna agrees to go with him, but only to tell him off. He finally proposes and Jenna confronts him. Is he proposing now because he's been given permission? o Bungles apologises and says that he didn't know if he was in love, so believed his family rather than sorting out his own feelings.
00:45:32
Speaker
He says that he's serious because his parents have flown over from California and that if she accepts, they can deliver a formal proposal. Jenna, of course, says yes, and the meeting of the families goes swimmingly.
00:45:44
Speaker
The following day, Alice is summoned to the principal's office to find Bina DeBay there. She starts yelling at Alice, calling her a witch who has magicked an engagement to her nephew because there's no way she's good enough.
00:46:00
Speaker
First of all, side note, we love Jane's character getting more agency and I think that's a really cool modern update. But also, conflict of interest. Much?
00:46:10
Speaker
Calling an employee into the office? o Well, it's interesting because Bina doesn't have a lot to do with the everyday running of the school. yeah Kind of run by someone else.
00:46:22
Speaker
ah But yes, still a conflict of interest. Massive conflict of interest. Can you imagine the person who owned the company that I work for just like rocking up one day being like, you can't marry my nephew, you're too poor.
00:46:36
Speaker
ah work for a billionaire, by the way. Can you imagine he just turned up in the office one day? It is wild. And Alice counters that it's awful. The beaner must put other women down to make herself feel important.
00:46:49
Speaker
Yes. Get her. it's It's a great adaptation of that fight between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth. The modern adaptations of all the aspects of this are just fabulous. I'm really looking forward to reading this, by the way.
00:47:02
Speaker
Definitely put it on your list.
Valentine Darcy's Proposal
00:47:03
Speaker
Alice gets home to find her family in an uproar. Valentine is waiting for her in the garden and no one knows why because none of them know that she's seen him in Lahore.
00:47:15
Speaker
None of them know that they're cutesy little book nerds together. or that they talked over cake and plays. They talk, and we get the second proposal. He thanks Alice for forcing him to see himself, and that his flaws outweigh the other things he brings to the table.
00:47:31
Speaker
Alice apologises for questioning his loyalty, and says she admires how he treats others, especially the women around him. He gives her his mother's ring, and they announce to the family that they are engaged.
00:47:43
Speaker
Cute. As Alice shares what Darcy has done for them, he slowly turns from Dracula to Darcy Baha'i, Darcy brother. Aww. We then get a flash forward one year.
00:47:55
Speaker
Pinky designed her daughter's bridal attire and has launched her own clothing business, which is booming. We love a Mrs. Bennett with a hobby that is not marriage. Yes. Kitty has a successful newspaper column about self-acceptance and is drawing a graphic novel that retells the events of Unmarriageable from her point of view.
00:48:12
Speaker
Jenna has set up a scholarship charity for underprivileged girls to go to school and is expecting a baby girl herself soon. Aww. Lady has found out all about Wickham's children. Wait for it.
00:48:24
Speaker
And while she's shocked, she doesn't blame Wickham because women find him irresistible. Ew. Excuse me while I dry wrench into the microphone.
00:48:34
Speaker
Yeah. They're about to launch their own lingerie business, which is a wild choice, but they're convinced it's going to make them famous. And it's a great way for him to see a lot of women in their underwear. Yeah. Yeah, we're just skimming right past
Conclusion: Bookstore & Austen Tour
00:48:46
Speaker
that.
00:48:46
Speaker
Sherry and Alice have opened a bookstore in Lahore and we end the book with Alice and Valentine touring Chawton House in England where Jane Austen lived. The tour also includes stops at other Jane Austen locations like Steventon, Lime Regis, Winchester and Bath. And unlike Emily, the heroine from me and Mr. Darcy, Alice is delighted to be there. The end.
00:49:07
Speaker
Yes! Yes! I was just going to say, please tell me they go to Bath. They go to Bath. They go to a few different places. And they appreciate it Very much so. The main thing I love about this book is the character development.
00:49:20
Speaker
These characters feel real and their actions all make sense within a modernized Pride and Prejudice plot. Even the side characters, Sherry and Kitty and Lady, aren't just plot devices.
00:49:33
Speaker
They stand on their own outside their 1813 counterparts. Some adaptations rely heavily on your knowledge of and goodwill for the characters in the original, but you don't have to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy this book.
00:49:46
Speaker
And that is awesome. That's such a skill to have as a writer, to be able to translate such an iconic book in such a way that you don't need the crutch of already knowing and loving the characters.
00:49:59
Speaker
Yeah, this this book just seems like a real masterclass in how to write an adaptation that is also an incredible piece of literature in its own right. It's really great. And again, pick it up, guys.
00:50:10
Speaker
Go borrow it. Go buy it. Support the author. it it is really good. And now it's time for our rating. To see the full explanation of our rating system, check out the pinned highlight on our Instagram profile.
00:50:22
Speaker
We're at Jane Austen Remixed. Unmarriageable is fine ice. The spirit of Jane Austen's original text is alive and well here. The characters in the story we love are here, um but like all good adaptations, it stands on its own. The characters feel real,
00:50:37
Speaker
and we feel part of their world. They aren't just plopped in from 1813, but they are fully formed within their new cultural context. Sonia Kamal takes time to develop these characters so the plot actually makes sense.
00:50:53
Speaker
She fleshes out the minor characters who are just tropes in the original novel. Sherry, Lady, Kitty and Mary have more agency and motive, and we get to hear what they go on to do. There are also so many fun Easter eggs and references, so I do recommend reading this one.
00:51:09
Speaker
Unmarriageable also explores important issues, just like Pride and Prejudice did. It comments on the patriarchy and the double standard between men and women in Pakistani society in the early 2000s. It also powerfully explores the impact of colonization on culture, class, and status, and wonders how to balance that history and identity with the rich experience of being Pakistani.
00:51:29
Speaker
Awesome. And that's it. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Jane Austen Remixed. We love exploring this wonderful corner of the literary world with you. Please share the podcast with your friends, family, literary fans, and other Janeites.
00:51:43
Speaker
And we would love it if you would leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening. This helps us reach other fans of Pride and Prejudice and build our community. You can also follow us on Instagram at janeaustenremixed.
00:51:55
Speaker
And if you have a question or a suggestion for a book, movie, or something you'd like us to review, drop us a line. You can email us at janeaustenremixed at gmail.com. Join us in two weeks when we examine Darcy's story by Janet Aylmer.
00:52:10
Speaker
And now, Melinda, the most important question that we've all been hanging out to hear the answer to. Does this Darcy dive into a lake? No, yeah Valentine Darcy does not dive into a lake, but oh the lake diving does get referenced twice.
00:52:29
Speaker
What? Yeah. When Alice is introducing her class to Pride and Prejudice at the beginning, she mentions most of them haven't read the text, but have seen the BBC production and enjoyed the lake scene.
00:52:42
Speaker
This book is set in 2000, so there is no movie at this point. Ah, yes. And as we know from being teenagers in school around this time, that part of the videotape was definitely well-worn. Very true.
00:52:58
Speaker
And the second time, at the hospital, when Jenna's ankle is being treated... Pride and Prejudice comes up in Alison Valentine's comparative literature conversation. Hammy turns to them desperately trying to contribute and confidently says she loves reading the scene with Mr. Darcy in his wet shirt.
00:53:17
Speaker
Yes. Go off girl.
00:53:21
Speaker
ah We love the confidence. Alison Valentine, of course, share a knowing smile and continue on with the conversation.
00:53:29
Speaker
It was very nice of them to not laugh at her. See you next episode.
00:54:08
Speaker
you