What Is Transferred From Novel to Film? Some Criticism of Brian McFarlane's Adaptation Analysis Method

Brian McFarlane’s adaptation analysis method, first described in Novel to Film (1996), is one of the most elaborated ones, and is often used in some form by contemporary scholars and critics. McFarlane attempts to use Roland Barthes’ (1990) narrative theory for the comparison of novels and films. In any narrative, Barthes distinguishes two main groups of functions: functions proper and indices. McFarlane’s ultimate aim with this taxonomy is to determine what elements of a novel are subject to adaptation proper and which ones are transferred directly into film. He concludes that a certain type of functions proper is transferable, while indices are more broadly open to adaptation than to the directness of transfer. The author finds McFarlane’s theory problematic. With the help of a Henry James’ novella and its film adaptation, the author will try to demonstrate that functions proper are far too complex to enable a simple transfer. The author’s point is that what is actually transferred from novel to film is something rather similar to the narrative functions described by early 20th century formalist Vladimir Propp.