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I have a lot of thoughts about retellings.
In general, I prefer retellings to engage with the major themes/messages of the original story (the exceptions of course being racism, homophobia, ableism, etc.), otherwise I feel like...what's the point of writing a retelling if you're going to change the fundamental themes of the story? After all, there are plenty of stories that are *inspired by X* rather than being a *retelling* of X.
Let's talk about retellings of Jane Austen's Persuasion specifically, since I happen to read a lot of those.
*spoiler alert for Persuasion, in case you haven't read it and want to*
I've seen a number of Persuasion retellings in which the Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth characters break up either due to a misunderstanding or for actually good reasons (i.e. the Anne Elliot character has to stay with her family/home due to reasons of obligation/duty instead of leaving with Wentworth).
However, in the original story, the whole point is that Anne Elliot is persuaded into breaking up with Wentworth for all the wrong reasons.
And I truly feel that changing that fundamental part of the story majorly changes the overall theme of the story.
I'm honestly curious as to why so many authors want to change this aspect of Persuasion. My strong suspicion is that many authors don't like the idea that their protagonist made a bad decision for bad reasons by listening to the wrong advice.
I don't understand wanting to avoid that, though, because that mistake is what gives Anne Elliot a character arc.
Here's another reason why I'm against changing that aspect of Persuasion: Because I feel like the regret and angst is not, or shouldn't be, nearly as strong if Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth break up either due to a misunderstanding or for good reason.
If a misunderstanding happens, therefore Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth feel (falsely) justified in the break up, why would they regret breaking up for eight years? That goes doubly if they actually had a good reason to break up.
To me, it kind of destroys the fundamental basis for their angst, which is the main point of Persuasion.
/end rant
In general, I prefer retellings to engage with the major themes/messages of the original story (the exceptions of course being racism, homophobia, ableism, etc.), otherwise I feel like...what's the point of writing a retelling if you're going to change the fundamental themes of the story? After all, there are plenty of stories that are *inspired by X* rather than being a *retelling* of X.
Let's talk about retellings of Jane Austen's Persuasion specifically, since I happen to read a lot of those.
*spoiler alert for Persuasion, in case you haven't read it and want to*
I've seen a number of Persuasion retellings in which the Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth characters break up either due to a misunderstanding or for actually good reasons (i.e. the Anne Elliot character has to stay with her family/home due to reasons of obligation/duty instead of leaving with Wentworth).
However, in the original story, the whole point is that Anne Elliot is persuaded into breaking up with Wentworth for all the wrong reasons.
And I truly feel that changing that fundamental part of the story majorly changes the overall theme of the story.
I'm honestly curious as to why so many authors want to change this aspect of Persuasion. My strong suspicion is that many authors don't like the idea that their protagonist made a bad decision for bad reasons by listening to the wrong advice.
I don't understand wanting to avoid that, though, because that mistake is what gives Anne Elliot a character arc.
Here's another reason why I'm against changing that aspect of Persuasion: Because I feel like the regret and angst is not, or shouldn't be, nearly as strong if Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth break up either due to a misunderstanding or for good reason.
If a misunderstanding happens, therefore Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth feel (falsely) justified in the break up, why would they regret breaking up for eight years? That goes doubly if they actually had a good reason to break up.
To me, it kind of destroys the fundamental basis for their angst, which is the main point of Persuasion.
/end rant
