Death Comes to Pemberley (2013)

Jane Austen meets murder mystery?  What.  Even.

Yeah, that sounds like it came straight from the realm of stuff-I-just-don't-mess-with.  But when I've seen so many period dramas that there isn't much New left, well... anything coming out set in the Regency period that doesn't seem completely horrible... I might be tempted to watch.

This one got me.  I actually watched it way back when it first came out in Britain because someone put it on YouTube (but got taken down shortly after that).  It actually reminded me a little bit of a Dickens movie set in Regency time, which in itself is interesting.  When it finally aired on PBS, I watched it again.

It's really better than I expected.  Granted, I didn't expect much at all.  But none of it was really a complete travesty, and most of the character representations didn't make me too mad.  There were a couple I was particularly displeased with, but we'll get to that.  To prevent myself from rambling, I shall attempt to make a structured outline. ;)

Why I Don't Like the Darcy Fandom: A Rant

Some of you, I think, may raise your eyebrows at that post title.  "Wait a minute.  Melody IS a Darcy fan... isn't she?  Or has she changed drastically lately?"

No, my dears.  I don't believe in doing that.  Changing drastically, that is.  Yes, I am a fan of Mr. Darcy.  He ties for top spot in my list of favorite heroes.  So why do I dislike the Darcy fandom?  Wouldn't I enjoy fellow admirers of Mr. Darcy?

Indeed, I do love finding people who agree with me.  But so many who have similar opinions as I do on Jane Austen subjects hold Mr. Knightley to be their definite top-favorite Jane Austen Hero.  Now, I don't think there's anything wrong with that; I quite understand it.  Mr. Knightley is very admirable.  Yet, I honestly think that many people flock to Mr. Knightley while ignoring Mr. Darcy because he is... ha, too mainstream.  Mr. Knightley seems like a real character, the perfect gentleman, but Mr. Darcy is... a Janeite stereotype.

So, I generally try to stay away from controversial topics...

...but when somebody makes a request, what can I do? ;)

Ahem.  Well, see, it was suggested I write this week about Why I Don't Like P&P 2005.  Y'all know that's the case but I try not to be too detailed about that because I know I have readers who do like it and I have no wish to annoy anybody.

Also, a post is in the works for the P&P95Forever Club blog which will be an official P&P05 bashing.  Ha.  But I won't do that here... in fact, I'm not going to give you all the reasons I don't like this version because there are kind of a lot and I don't want to get carried away.  So I'll just go with the main reason-- I find it Inaccurate To Jane Austen's Novel.

Which I suppose requires further explanation.  In a nutshell, these are the particulars, not in any special order:

~The time period in general is inaccurate.  I could go into detail about what I mean, but I don't feel like bothering, so let's just say even the makers say they meant to set it in the late 1700s.  Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813-- they were about twenty years off, and you can definitely tell.  (Some may argue that this makes sense because Jane Austen started writing the novel in the 1790s, but I will argue back that that doesn't make much of a difference-- she started working on Pride and Prejudice in 1811.  She was writing a thing called First Impressions earlier, and this wasn't just editing, it was revision.  And updating.  Therefore, the book is supposed to take place when it came out.  The end. :D)
Besides for having the wrong time period, I think they give it a distinctly modern feel, and for me that Will Not Do.

The Perfect P&P

Today I'm supposed to talk about what my dream casting for a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice would be; not by finding certain actors, but just talking about what I think they should be like.  It's a very good idea but I must admit at this time I do not have much enthusiasm for writing about it.  Sooo I'm going to be kind of minimalist and just talk about five of the characters.

Also, I'm going to be boring and not include any pictures.  We're supposed to be picturing the characters for ourselves, after all.  ;)

Elizabeth Bennet
We must start with her, mustn't we?  Let's see now.  My perfect Lizzy Bennet would be between the ages of 19 and 24, not very tall in height (Mr. Bennet refers to her as "my little Lizzy", and Lydia is the tallest of the family; her figure is also not supposed to be perfect and in S&S JA mentions height as an 'advantage'-- those are some things that brought me to that conclusion), have dark brown hair and eyes, and be on the lighter side but not skin-and-bones like Keira Knightley.  Her eyes really should be striking, and very expressive.  Her face in general should be expressive when she's animated, so that it's interesting to watch her talk and display emotions.  She needs to have a very good smile.  She should be pretty but not perhaps in a very usual way.  (Jane should be more regularly pretty.)  Like, the more you get used to her looks the more you like them.  

Double Identities: Actresses in Pride and Prejudice

I got a request for a post about "anything to do with P&P95".  That should be easy enough, but the thing is, being co-authoress of The P&P95Forever Club, I usually write anything to do with that subject over there.

But today I'll just be a little different.  One thing I love about watching period dramas is recognizing the actors.  Pride and Prejudice (1995) was one of the first 'real' period drama mini-series I ever watched, so I didn't recognize any of the actors in it-- that came later on with other movies.  So just for fun, I'm going to ramble a bit about my favorite role in another period drama for each applicable actress in P&P95. (I'm leaving the men out, just because.  Well, mainly to make the post shorter, haha.)  Ones who are not applicable don't have any period drama role that sticks out to me, if I have seen it at all, and obviously I'm not going to talk about ones I haven't seen for myself.  However, be aware that I probably do know they were in such-and-such movie, because I've done all the research.  Speaking of that, if you want a full list of the period dramas the actors from P&P95 were in, see here.

On Rereading Pride and Prejudice

It's quite pathetic, really, that I've been a fan of Jane Austen for pretty much exactly four years now (well, my indoctrination was four years ago, haha), P&P has been my favorite story ever since I saw the 1995 adaptation (which was the second story I was introduced to), and I only just finished reading it all the way through for the second time.

Sometimes I think I am more of a bookworm in theory than in practice....

Anyways. I enjoyed it a great deal, of course; it did take me a while to get "into" it, but I suppose that is because I really am soooo familiar with the story. But there is always something fresh to learn or be reminded of, and that's always fun. Plus I found that when I actually read more at a time I could more easily get involved.

For a long time I've been holding out on deciding between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley--I'd read Emma twice, and P&P only once, I would say; well, I no longer have that excuse. Buuut... I still can't decide. It is true that my respect for Mr. Darcy was refreshed upon rereading P&P, and for the last half or so of the story I could 'feel' it all from his point of view actually better than Elizabeth's. (Well, I guess I might have donei t on purpose. :P) My admiration for Mr. Darcy, though, is just different from that of Mr. Knightley. The love stories are so different, too, and both so compelling in their own ways.

Also, it is hard to take into consideration that what one should be comparing is the heroes from the books, movies completely excluded. Because frankly, I think for a lot of people who adore Mr. Knightley, Jonny Lee Miller's portrayal has something to do with his popularity. Don't get me wrong--I don't think it's just because of the movie that he's such a great hero, because I happen to think the representation was perfect. JLM just got Mr. Knightley to a T.  The adaptation understood him... they took what was in the book and expanded on it without taking away from or adding to it.

And you know what? I can't say that for Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy. At all. (And don't even speak to me about Matthew MacFadyen's. He was a nice guy, and I have to say I kind of liked him... but NOT as Mr. Darcy. He is not Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy, and therefore not mine.) I have a high respect for Colin Firth's portrayal--it has been my old friend these three years and a half at least. (I mean, hello, I'm a co-founder of The P&P95Forever Club!) But I don't think the actor really understood the character; the portrayal only showed some aspects of his character and we can only see half as much as we can in the book (while some things, such as the un-smiling-ness, actually gives us the wrong impression). There is really so much more to Mr. Darcy, peoples. If you've forgotten, go read the book again. Live the story from his point of view. His character is a little hard to decipher, and we don't have exactly an abundance to go on... but that makes it so interesting!

In short, I do hope that someday, somebody like BBC will make another full-fledged adaptation of P&P in which Mr. Darcy's portrayal will do as much for his reputation, as JLM's did for Mr. Knightley's. Also, it would be fun to see actors who are actually the right ages. :D

Anyways. If I can actually make myself do it, I intend to write a post all about The Real Mr. Darcy (which may have a great deal of what-Colin-Firth-did-not-get thrown in). I will talk about such things as how he smiles more than in any of the movies, and that he actually has a sense of humor. How he is gentlemanly and considerate, and how we must remember that since most everything is from Elizabeth's point of view, besides the few hints Jane Austen chooses to give us, the unprejudiced eye might have understood him better and thought well of him towards the beginning, too.

And hey, if you would be interested in reading such a post... do let me know. It might encourage me to put my shoulder to the wheel. :P Also if you express an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Darcy, that might encourage me in a different way. Heh, heh, heh.

Something I noticed this time 'round that I failed to last time, is Jane Austen's amusing way of spelling (and capitalizing) things differently when she feels like it. In some editions you probably won't be able to see this, because they'll be 'correcting' things right and left. But it was Phillips the first couple times, Philips after that, until towards the end where it changed back to Phillips again. Sometimes it said "De Bourgh", other times it said "de Bourgh." At first I thought that it might just be a capital D when it said "Miss De Bourgh", but later on it had it the other way. And there were some other, commonplace words too... I used to think that when it said "choose" it had been corrected/updated, and when it said "chuse" it was Jane Austen's original; but this time I noticed that Jane did it both ways. There were a couple other words, too, that were spelled differently; sometimes even on the same page.

Just another one of Jane Austen's intricacies. ;)

However, I will have you know that Lizzy is always Lizzy, and is never, ever Lizzie. Also Bennet. One T. (Don't look at me like that. If I am a wild Beast who is always reminding people of the correct way to spell Austenian words, I cannot help it. It is not my own fault. :P)

And now, as I have run out of things to say and have rambled on for quite long enough anyways, I shall end with a list of quotes I scribbled down, which I did not scribble down the last time I read it.

~~~
"Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how."

"Mr. Darcy walked off; and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him. She told the story however with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in any thing ridiculous."

"From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it for some time, but now I am convinced." -Mr. Bennet

"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love."

"Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at! That is an uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will continue, for it would be a great loss to me to have many such acquaintance. I dearly love a laugh." -Elizabeth

"Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can." -Elizabeth

"It is a rule with me, that a person who can write a long letter, with ease, cannot write ill." -Miss Bingley

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book!" -Miss Bingley

"Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures. They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for me. I should infinitely prefer a book." -Mary

"A scheme of which every part promises delight, can never be successful; and general disappointment is only warded off by the defence of some little peculiar vexation."  -Elizabeth

Because I Must Add My Two Cents, You Know...

The blogging world is buzzing, and hardly needs me to join in, but I can't let this historical moment pass without any comment, can I? Especially when we're talking about my favorite book in the world!!

In short, Happy 200th Anniversary to Pride and Prejudice! I count myself privileged to have discovered Jane Austen in time to take part in all these bicentennials, for they really are delightful. And do not you think that the movie-makers should take advantage of this and make some movies? Mansfield Park, which needs a faithful adaptation, was published in 1814, people... HINT, HINT.

But of course today is the day to talk about P&P, not MP.
Though I may go through phases where I'm more "into" some of the other stories, I steadfastly hold P&P as my favorite. I have no wish to be obstinate and not have it as my favorite just because it is the favorite of so many... this is something where I feel that it has good reason to be a Universal Favorite. It just Makes Sense. Not that I don't think it makes sense for any of the others to be somebody's favorite... I mean, if it's by Jane Austen, it's worthy to be a favorite. :D

Presently I'm rereading P&P, so I'll be posting about that after a while... also possibly an explanation of why I like The Book's Mr Darcy (including why I like the book's Mr. Darcy better than Colin Firth's, heh heh, even though I do think his is the best representation to date). I'm also thinking of reviewing the 1940 and 1980 movies... I briefly considered doing 2005, but then discarded the idea because it wouldn't end up being a review, it would be... something else. *cough*

Anyways, instead of rambling on in this fashion, I'd just like to point you over to The P&P95Forever Club today, where you will find my main post in celebration of P&P. There is a Grand Game in honour of the day, half of which is based entirely on the book, so I encourage anybody who likes the book to take a look, even if they're not a devotee of P&P95.

And to close with, here is a bit of letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, when she was telling about getting "her own darling child" for the first time, reading it, &c.:
Miss Benn dined with us on the very day of the Books coming, & in the eveng we set fairly at it & read half the 1st vol. to her—prefacing that having intelligence from Henry that such a work wd soon appear we had desired him to send it whenever it came out—& I beleive it passed with her unsuspected.—She was amused, poor soul! that she cd not help you know, with two such people to lead the way; but she really does seem to admire Elizabeth. I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.—There are a few Typical errors—& a "said he" or a "said she" would sometimes make the Dialogue more immediately clear—but "I do not write for such dull Elves

      As have not a great deal of Ingenuity themselves."

I find it quite amusing that Mrs. Austen and Jane were reading P&P aloud to somebody who didn't even know Jane had written it! ;-) I wonder what Miss Benn, whoever she is, did when she found out...

How North and South is Not Like Pride and Prejudice

I have often heard it said that North and South is like Pride and Prejudice. I do not agree with this. I have also heard it said that North and South is like a darker version of Pride and Prejudice. I do not agree with this, either (although it is indeed darker). And I shall endeavor to explain why, as I have now just finished North and South (hereafter to be abbreviated to N&S, and Pride and Prejudice will be P&P) and therefore have sufficient knowledge of the story. I never trusted myself to try and write this post just based on the movie, you know.

(If you do not know these stories already, here is your spoiler warning.)

First of all, I shall list what I believe people base their comparison on, then I shall address the points, and then mention other differences.

Similarities (or what people might consider to be similarities):

1. The general storyline of both is something like this: a man and a woman meet, are not really impressed with each other in their own ways, but the man grows to love the woman and the woman to become more displeased with the man, then he proposes, is rejected, but continues to love her and eventually she finds out what a good guy he his and they finally come to an understanding intending marriage.

2. The heroine is prejudiced and the hero is proud.

3. There is also another man in the story from whom the heroine receives an offer of marriage, which she of course rejects.

4. The hero has a relation who disapproves of the match and at some point has a confrontation with the heroine.

5. The heroines both have an ailing mother who complains a lot.
6. There is a chapter in N&S called "First Impressions" which was P&P's original title.

7. The heroines are both named Elizabeth. (JOKING, I’m joking…although apparently that’s what whoever made this wallpaper/background thought!)

And now I shall address each one of those. Except 7, of course.

1 and 2—These are the ones that probably most everything is actually founded on; the others, I was just trying to think of any possibilities that people could consider. But you will notice that when I wrote the story themes in that description I had to use very general terms. This is because the stories are so unlike each other. This very general storyline is, I daresay, very popular, and these are not the only two authors who have used it. (Although the Janeite in me must point out that Jane Austen did it first. :D)

But anyways. First of all, if a comparison is to be made, I’d have to say that Margaret Hale’s sentiments were actually much more similar to Mr. Darcy’s than Elizabeth Bennet’s, which points out a dissimilarity to begin with. Margaret, we must understand, was brought up as a gentleman’s daughter even though her father is in reduced circumstances; although he was never a gentleman of leisure, his profession was one of the ones accepted by The Gentry, and she had been brought up as a little girl with her rich relatives during the school years in London. When she came to Milton she found what she perceived to be a deal of vulgarity, as Mr. Darcy probably thought about some of the people in Hertfordshire. Margaret found Mr. Thornton himself not to be as polished as she liked, although mostly she was prejudiced because he was a tradesman, or one could also say she was being prideful to look down upon them. Mr. Darcy did not actually find Elizabeth herself to be what he felt was beneath his notice—it was her family.

Also, the sentiments of Elizabeth and Margaret were quite different. What I said in the description there was not actually quite true on Margaret's account; she did not really grow to dislike Mr. Thornton more before he proposed. She had a little esteem that sort of went off and on, and if anything she might have thought a little better of him at that point than she did to begin with.

Speaking of which, the characters of the heroines and heroes are just so completely different from each other in the two stories. Especially Elizabeth and Margaret. Waaaaay different personalities going on. Since their temperaments and outlooks on life are so different, it's another thing that makes the stories differ.

And about the pride and prejudice thing. The fact is, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth both exhibit both traits themselves, and though some people attribute pride to Mr. Darcy and prejudice to Elizabeth, they both have a their share of both. Think about how Mr. Darcy was prejudiced coming to “an assembly such as this” in Meryton. (It’s obviously pointed out that he is proud, so I need not go into that.) He was also prejudiced as to Jane Bennet, believing that she did not really care for Mr. Bingley, rather because that is what he expected. Elizabeth was not really prejudiced about Mr. Darcy until he slighted her at the Meryton ball, which was a founded prejudice, if you ask me. Then she heard the untruth concerning Mr. Wickham and believed it. (You don’t see anything like this in N&S—if anybody is ever mistaken about the other, it is Mr. Thornton mistaken about Margaret and her brother, so there again we have the heroes and heroines not matching up between the two stories.) Then think of her reaction to his proposal. Remember that “had not your pride been hurt by my honest confession of the scruples that had long prevented my forming any serious design”? Or when Elizabeth herself said “I could more easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” There, Elizabeth herself just pointed out that they were both proud in their ways. Although she was half-joking there, and did not think pride was an admirable trait. That doesn't mean she didn't have it, though.

But back to what I was saying before. As for Mr. Thornton, I would have to say he didn’t demonstrate much prejudice, although he could be called proud in his way.

One could try to draw a similarity between Mr. Darcy saving Elizabeth’s honor by settling the affair with Lydia and Wickham and Mr. Thornton saving Margaret’s honor by making sure there was not an inquest in the affair with her and her brother (though he did not know it was her brother) at the station. Well, those were not at all the same when you get down to the technicalities. For one thing, in P&P Elizabeth became even more attached to Mr. Darcy after he did that for her family (for her, in point of fact); in N&S Margaret’s true feelings are rather unclear, but what she feels the most in the situation is mortification that Mr. Thornton should know that she lied. They’re just completely different situations. Mr. Darcy did it for Elizabeth with the full knowledge that it was because he loved her and wanted to save her from scandal; Mr. Thornton tried to convince himself first that he's doing it not for her sake really, but because of what he 'used to' feel for her (heh, heh, heh...) and finally he decides upon using his friendship with her father as an excuse. (Yeah, he's doing it for Mr. Hale. Uh-huh.) However, Mr. Darcy knew Elizabeth was blameless, whereas Mr. Thornton all along was tormented by the probability that Margaret was not at all blameless.

Then Mr. Thornton goes on to explain to Margaret that all his feelings are passed, of course, and that he didn’t really do it for her—pretty much the exact opposite of Mr. Darcy. (Although in the book we see that all along Mr. Thornton loved Margaret and this time, so HE who lied too… ahem. Oh Mr. Advocate for Truth, take a look at your own self.)

Furthermore, a big part of the story in P&P is that Mr. Darcy was struggling against his own better judgment to lower himself enough to actually acknowledge his feelings for Elizabeth. In N&S it wasn’t this way at all; Mr. Thornton knew that Margaret probably considered herself above him and if he hesitated in his affection it was because he felt she could never care for him.

They both deal with social class, yes. But it’s on a different plane entirely. P&P is all about The Gentry. N&S has a great deal to do with tradesmen manufacturers.

As for the rest of the story, it is all so different. Not only is it “darker,” it’s just… different. Margaret’s family situation, for starters. Mr. Thornton is a great friend of Mr. Hale and pays kind attentions to Mrs. Hale when she’s ill and all that. The main driving force in the story, I would say, is how Margaret adapts to living somewhere and being with people totally different than what she had experienced so far, and facing lots and lots of change in her life that forces her to lose the simplicity of her former existence. There isn’t anything like that in P&P at all; I would say the they-don’t-like-each-other-oh-wait-now-he-likes-her-but-she-doesn't-like-him-but-then-she-discovers-she’s-wrong-and-it-ends-happily is a bigger deal in P&P.

Now that almost makes it seem like I’m bashing P&P or something, but trust me when I say I’m not trying to do that AT ALL. P&P is my favorite book, my favorite story in the world. I much, much prefer it to N&S. I like the “Light & Bright & Sparkling”-ness of it. It’s so cleverly devised and wittily written, and not at all cheesy or silly, as somebody who gets the wrong impression from very little knowledge of it might think. I greatly admire N&S and think it’s a marvelous and clever story, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I couldn’t have a steady diet of it. It’s much too heavy and could be tiring if one has an overdose of it. I cannot imagine having an overdose of P&P. ;)

I wish I knew whether Elizabeth Gaskell liked Jane Austen… I haven’t been able to find out. Does anybody know? I know that Mrs. Gaskell was actually acquainted and friends with Charlotte Bronte, who is infamous for not liking Jane Austen, but I suppose it does not necessarily follow that Elizabeth Gaskell doesn’t like her. One CAN be friends despite one liking Jane Austen and the other disliking her…

…or can they?

Kidding. Sort of.

And now, since I have run out of rambles, I’ll move on to point number 3.

Mr. Collins and Henry Lennox are two very, very different matters. Mr. Collins is a wife-hunter and—well, we all know what he is. Icky. Henry Lennox, on the other hand, is a respectable young man whom Margaret actually likes—but not in that way. He would annoy her as a husband. Also, he is not a wife-hunter at all; it’s one of those cases where a man doesn't believe in thinking about marriage until he's 'made himself', but then meets with a woman who changes his mind. Unfortunately for him, he has to be disappointed.

Now, personally I don’t much like Henry. He rather annoys me. I think I would like the book’s Henry a great deal more than the movie’s, but… still can't say I exactly like him. But anyway, he is not at all repulsive. Like Mr. Collins.

4 - We all know how different this is. I just stuck that in there for fun. The reason Mrs. Thornton confronted Margaret was not at all similar to why Lady Catherine visited Elizabeth. I don’t even need to explain if you know the stories.

And as for 5… Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Bennet, two very different cases. Mrs. Hale did complain a lot about Helstone when they lived there, but of course regretted it later on when she had Milton to deal with. And Mrs. Hale really WAS ailing, whereas Mrs. Bennet was what they call a hypochondriac.

Number 6 is not anything to dispute, just a trivia fact.

If you were comparing the mini-series of N&S with P&P, you might say that something happened at the beginning of the heroine's acquaintances with the heroes to immediately promote a dislike, but as this is not the way it was in the book of N&S, I say it can't be counted. ;)

In short, the stories themselves are so very, very different and have traits all their own that though a few comparisons can be made, it is not sufficient to make them similar enough to be mentioned hand-in-hand as I have seen done.

There now. That, everybody, is my opinion. Do any of you agree with me? Of course, you may tell me if you disagree too, although that will provoke me to argue my case and I do so hate debating. :P

(I am only teasing. Do not mind me. I mean, I do dislike debating, but I'm not forbidding you to say you disagree. Haha.)

My Favorite Jane Austen Quotes

 I know my posts have been shockingly scarce lately (which would encompass the past five months, I suppose), and I've very little excuse besides lack of inspiration. Ever since I finished my Jane Austen novel series thing, I have been wanting momentum. I've been working on a hopefully-interesting post next in which my readers can be involved, but I knew I needed something new now, and I thought to do something I've never actually done--compile a list of my very favorite Jane Austen quotes to date. So, here they are.

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” ~Mr. Tilney, Northanger Abbey

"Mama, the more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!" ~Marianne Dashwood, Sense & Sensibility

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?" ~Mr. Bennet, Pride & Prejudice

{Those top three are probably my Very Most Favorites of All. And that sentence was not supposed to be grammatically correct.}

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment." ~Mr. Darcy, P&P

"Those who do not complain are never pitied." ~Mrs. Bennet, P&P

"Laugh as much as you chuse, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion." ~Jane Bennet, P&P

"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. --Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." ~Mr. Bennet, P&P

"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!" ~Caroline Bingley, P&P

"Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure." ~Elizabeth Bennet, P&P

"Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you!" ~Lady Catherine de Bourgh, P&P

“Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! … You shewed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.” ~Mr. Darcy

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." (If you do not automatically know what that's from, I pity you. Heehee.)

"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart." ~Emma Woodhouse, Emma

"Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort." ~Mrs. Elton, Emma

"Without music, life would be a blank to me." ~Mrs. Elton, Emma

"My dearest Emma, for dearest you will always be whatever the event of this hour's conversation, my dearest, most beloved Emma..." ~Mr. Knightley, Emma
{Hmm. Maybe I should just do an entire post with most of Chapter 49. Heeheeheehee.}

"I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other." ~Emma Woodhouse

“But when a young lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way.” ~NA

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” ~NA

"...and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk, and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! -- It does for everything. Originally perhaps it was applied only to express neatness, propriety, delicacy, or refinement; -- people were nice in their dress, in their sentiments, or their choice. But now every commendation on every subject is comprised in that one word." ~Henry Tilney, NA

"If there is anything disagreeable going on, men are always sure to get out of it." ~Mary Musgrove, Persuasion

“One man’s ways may be as good as another’s, but we all like our own best.” ~Admiral Croft, Persuasion

“My sore-throats, you know, are always worse than anybody’s.” ~Mary Musgrove, Persuasion

“What wild imaginations one forms, where dear self is concerned! How sure to be mistaken!” ~Anne Elliot, Persuasion

“But there certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world, as there are pretty women to deserve them.” ~Mansfield Park

"We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be." ~Fanny Price, MP

Quotes from Jane Austen's letters
"I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal."

“I must confess that I think her as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print, & how I shall be able to tolerate those who do not like her at least, I do not know.” (about Elizabeth Bennet)

"Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection."

“Here I am once more in this Scene of Dissipation & vice, and I begin already to find my Morals corrupted.” (letter written in London) 

"If I am a wild Beast I cannot help it. It is not my own fault."

"I am not at all in a humour for writing; I must write on till I am."

What are your favorite Jane Austen quotes?

Letters from Pemberley (and sequel) by Jane Dawkins

Some time ago I finished reading Letters from Pemberley and More Letters from Pemberley by Jane Dawkins, and am finally getting around to writing about it. The thought of writing a summary for the book like I usually do sounded tiresome, I must admit, and I don't think this book really requires that anyways--so I've decided I'm just going to act more like I'm telling a friend about what I've been reading. (That's just more fun than trying to be formal. This is blogging, after all, not writing for a magazine.)

Letters from Pemberley is a continuation of Pride and Prejudice written in epistolary form; that is, it's all letters from Elizabeth to Jane. It lasts for the whole of 1813 (assuming Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's wedding to have been in late 1812). Elizabeth tells about her experiences as the new mistress of Pemberley, recounting nerve-wracking parties where she meets Mr. Darcy's acquaintance, her occasional fear of inadequacy, her relationship with Georgiana... it's sort of less plot-ish and more just day-by-day real life, which I rather liked. It was lighthearted and remained faithful to Jane Austen's characters. Of course, nothing is as good as Pride and Prejudice itself, but let's just say I didn't get mad at this author and throw the book across the room. (I wouldn't have done that, anyways. I am very careful with library books.)

Overall, I found it quite delightful, and I would recommend it to someone who wants to read a P&P sequel. It's also rather short. Which, sad, slow reader than I am, pleases me. I like Mr. Darcy in it, but his portrayal isn't quite the thing--but nobody could write about him like Jane Austen could so wonderfully yet subtly do (quite subtle so that only some people will understand him, haha...) but it's better than, say, Mr. Darcy's Diary. Which didn't particularly impress me.

One of my favorite things about this book was the sort of secret references to other Jane Austen characters. You will find people just like Jane Austen characters (Anne Elliot, Lady Russel and Mrs. Elton are a few examples) but with different names, and it's fun to catch them. My favorites were Emma and Mr. Knightley. One night when I was reading the book, I suddenly figured out the meaning behind the last name, which is Daley. (Get it? Knightley, Daley? Night, day?) Also, the Daleys live at Weldon Abbey, which is Don-well switched around. I will say no more because I do not wish to give away any more secrets. *wink*

Anyways, I liked it so well that I decided to read the sequel, More Letters from Pemberley. This one, in short, I didn't like as well. It was rather darker (which, you must understand, is P&P sacrilege) and just didn't hold my interest as much. While the no-plot thing worked well for the first year, More Letters was from 1814-1819, and I found it a bit tiresome. I did finish it, but... eh. I didn't really dislike it, but I didn't like it, either. I rather expected more from it. However, if you really like Letters from Pemberley, you might like to give it a try.

A Valentine Post

The thought of doing a Valentine's Day post didn't even occur to me before, but I was planning on watching my favorite romantic scenes from Emma (2009) and Pride and Prejudice (1995) to mark the day and decided to e-mail them to a friend as well (who, if she is reading this, will probably go "heehee!"). Then I thought I might as well stick the scenes in a post for your enjoyment too! And after that you will find another Valentine's Day bit as well.

And now that I've said all that boring stuff, I shall proceed. 

Scenes from Emma. I love the proposal scene, but I'm limiting myself to two scenes from each movie.

This might be my favorite scene in any Jane Austen movie... (I'd start at 1:25)

{video has been removed}

Note: mentally add in the "Brother and sister? No, indeed." quote and it's perfect.

Now for the beautiful ending! I intend for you to start at 7:30.

{video has been removed}

Now for P&P. I love the second proposal scene, but the Pemberley scene is always so romantic (tehe), and the Wedding makes me feel happy. So those are the two I should include here.

But the videos are being troublesome and so I shall simply link to them.

The Pemberley Scene (4:30-7:31)

The Wedding (7:08-end; although the proposal scene is there too, if you want to watch it. hehe)

Am I the only one plagued by silly sighs and giggles after these scenes??

*clears throat loudly*

And now for something else. A dear friend of mine gave me a book called The Language of Flowers a few years ago for my birthday, which is absolutely gorgeous. For each flower there are beautiful old-fashioned pictures, poetry, and information. I thought it would be an interesting Valentine's Day activity to look and see which flowers mean or have something to do with love. 

Chrysanthemum: "I Love"

Specifically, that is what red chrysanthemums mean. Yellow means "slighted love" and white means "truth".

(When I think about the word 'chrysanthemum', I hear Anne Shirley in my head: "c-h-r-y-s-a-n-t-h-E *piercing and proud look at Gilbert*-m-u-m.")

Forget-me-not: "True Love"

I've always thought forget-me-nots are quite romantic. Just look at the name. (But I must keep writing this post instead of thinking up some romantic story involving forget-me-nots...)

Lilac: "First Emotions of Love"

I do love the scent and color of lilacs. 

Rose: "Love" 

And here are some specifics:

White Rose - Purity and Spiritual Love

Yellow Rose - Decrease of Love and Infidelity (what's up with the yellow flowers?)

Cabbage Rose - Ambassador of Love

Musk Rose - Capricious Beauty

Single Rose - Simplicity 

Tulip: "Declaration of Love"

Although it is a red tulip that specifically means that.

Other meanings are: 

Variegated Tulip - Beautiful Eyes

Yellow Tulip - Hopeless Love

Here are some others with lovely meanings:

Bluebell - constancy

Camellia - perfected loveliness

Daisy - innocence

Honeysuckle - sweetness of disposition

Jasmine - grace and elegance

Lily - purity

Violet - modesty

Water Lily - purity of heart

(Though Lavender may be lovely, I do not recommend you give it to your beloved as it means "distrust". ha)

And these are only the ones I found in my book, which must, of course, be limited. (No scarlet pimpernels: sorry, fans.)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Jane Austen the Heroine (with poll results)

Which of Jane Austen's heroines was the most like Jane Austen herself?

That was a poll I made, which just ended. I think it's an interesting discussion topic so I'm making this post a bit more than just the usual 'Poll Results'.

First of all I'll have the results; then I'll discuss them.

15 votes (65%) gives first place to Elizabeth Bennet.
4 votes (17%): Anne Elliot
3 votes (13%): Marianne Dashwood
1 vote (4%): Emma Woodhouse
(23 votes total)
Thanks to everyone who voted!

I often find, especially when I write stories, that I have feelings which compare to the ones I read about other authors having. If I am anything like other authors, I can say it is natural to use yourself, in some shape or form, as a base for your heroines; or at least give them a few tendencies that are similar to yourself. With myself, most of my characters have similarities to myself or at least my interests; so it made me wonder: which of her heroines, if any, did Jane Austen make the most like herself?

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice is an easy answer, and the most popular.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Miss Jane Austen seem to have quite similar personalities, especially when Jane was around 20, like Elizabeth. They both have sparkling wit, a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor; they love to tease, but know when to be serious. From reading Jane's letters, it seems like you could be reading one from Elizabeth Bennet.

Their family situations also resemble each other to some extent. Elizabeth's best friend and confidante was her older sister Jane, and Jane Austen's was her older sister Cassandra. From what fanfiction I've read, Mr. and Mrs. Austen are usually based somewhat upon Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Perhaps she did draw ideas from her parents, and the Bennets could be an exaggeration of the Austens. Mr. Austen did seem to favor Jane, from what I've read; Mrs. Austen did try to marry off Cassandra and Jane. Mrs. Austen, of course, was much more clever than Mrs. Bennet, and I doubt Mr. Austen was so antisocial and sarcastic.

Next on my list is Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility.

Some take Jane's relationship with Tom Lefroy seriously, and some consider it a 'brief flirtation'; but either way, there are quite a few things to compare with Marianne and Willoughby.

One thing we know for sure is that Jane was quite a flirt with Tom Lefroy, such as made people talk, and her older sister Cassandra scold. (Sound familiar?) Although in Marianne's case, it was less of flirtation and more of...devotion.

If Jane's letters are to be taken seriously (I personally believe she was teasing most of the time; but there is almost always an element of truth in joking) then Jane was actually expecting Tom to 'make her an offer'. Willoughby, as we know, came very close, and actually did intend to, propose to Marianne. Then, he suddenly leaves, in both stories. With Jane Austen, they say a relation of Tom's didn't approve of Jane as a wife for Tom, and wanted to pull him away before anything serious developed. With Willoughby...well, the Dashwoods suspected a similar case, but it wasn't actually that way.
Now, this quote from a letter of Jane's to Cassandra ties in with my next point:

“You scold me so much in the nice long letter which I have this moment received from you, that I am almost afraid to tell you how my Irish friend and I behaved. Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together. I can expose myself however, only once more, because he leaves the country soon after next Friday, on which day we are to have a dance at Ashe after all. He is a very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man, I assure you.”

Again, we have a similar sisterly relationship: Cassandra and Jane, Elinor and Marianne. (I plan on doing a whole post with sisterly comparisons, so I won't dwell on it now.) Cassandra trying to warn Jane, and Elinor tried to warn Marianne; also, in both cases, the elder sister can draw and the younger sister plays the pianoforte well.

One more occurrence in Jane's life may have given her an idea for one in S&S, that I learned from the documentary The Real Jane Austen (which is very good, by the way, and I recommend it; it can be found on YouTube), was when one of Jane's brothers and his wife were rather offensive in their hurry for the Austens to get out of their home so they could move in. In S&S, Henry Dashwood and his wife Fanny move into Norland when Mr. Dashwood dies; in Jane's life, clergyman James Austen is to take over Mr. Austen's church when he and his wife decide they should all move to Bath. Marianne and Jane were both devestated at having to leave their beloved homes.

Anne Elliot from Persuasion came in 2nd place on the poll.

For starters, here's what Miss Laurie of Old-fashioned Charm said:

"I voted for Anne Elliot because she's the heroine that gets a second chance on love as if the authoress was rewriting her own story a bit. I think she might have been a bit like Elizabeth Bennet when she was younger: clever, witty, loved to laugh at the follies of human nature, fond of dancing and even mild flirtations with nice gentlemen like Tom Lefroy. But she was clearly a better judge of character that Lizzy was. As she grew older and wiser she became more like Anne Elliot, she even had a rumored lost love who she met on the seaside at Lyme, and Jane Austen was also rumored to be quiet in her personal life."

That's true...it does seem like Jane was a little different when she was older; more mature, and all that. And that's a good point about Lyme... that rumor has always interested me (much more than the 'romance' with Tom Lefroy).

Another thing I thought of was that they both had a great dislike of Bath, and both had to leave their homes to live there.

 

And then there was one vote for Emma Woodhouse from Emma.

I had a little trouble thinking of similarities between the two, so I asked Miss Laurie again (and I am very grateful; she's so cheerfully helpful!). Here's what she came up with:

"We may say that Jane Austen was similar to Emma Woodhouse in that she as authoress makes matches with ease, choosing who will marry who and when. But, like Harriet Smith many of her heroines have at least one refused suitor before coming at last to their perfect match; but 'the course of true love never did run straight'."

I'm not sure on this one, but I think I remember someone who knew Jane Austen saying she had hazel eyes, and Emma's eyes were hazel (that was actually described in the book!).

I'm not completely sure on this one either, as I only read it in one place: but I've heard that Jane Austen's favorite hero of her inventions was Mr. Knightley. Maybe, when she wrote Emma (her last novel to be published before her death about 2 1/2 years later) she was making him her ideal gentleman. Just a little thought. =)

~That's it for heroines people voted on, but I'd like to include a couple others as well.

Fanny Price in Manfield Park.

I have a feeling, when Jane Austen created Fanny Price, she made her, to some extent, the way she herself would like to be. I've read in one book that Fanny was Jane Austen's favorite heroine. 

Although their dispositions do not seem to be at all the same, I can think of a few parallels. They both studied people and their characters. Elizabeth Bennet also did this, but erred several times in her judgement, whereas Fanny did not; and as far as I know, neither did Jane.

When Mr. Austen died, the Austen ladies (Mrs. Austen, Cassandra, and Jane) were left with very little to live on, and had to actually stay with richer relatives some of the time. Maybe Jane was looked at sometimes as the 'poor relation', just as Fanny was.

Some of Jane's family members gave some descriptions of Jane that did sound rather like Fanny Price. For example, Jane's brother Henry put this on Jane's gravestone:

The benevolence of her heart,

the sweetness of her temper, and

the extraordinary endowments of her mind

obtained the regard of all who knew her and

the warmest love of her intimate connections.

The next paragraph also describes her as charitable, devoted, and pure. 

Cassandra's touching letter to their niece Fanny Knight after Jane's death is also filled with loving, praiseful words about Jane. 

Now we know that often, after someone dies, everyone else tends to speak better of them than they actually would when they were living; but just the same, I think there is a good amount of truth in it.

Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey

What was Jane Austen like when she was seventeen? We can never know: her letters don't start until age 20, and people can change significantly in 3 years, especially when they are still quite young, I imagine. We know that Jane loved to read ever since she was a little girl; perhaps she was engrossed in Mrs. Radcliffe's works, even if she did rather make fun of them later. 

Here's an interesting bit I just read on the ever-useful website 'Pemberley':

"More than one reader has wondered whether the childhood of the character Catherine Morland in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey might not reflect her own childhood, at least in part -- Catherine enjoys "rolling down the green slope at the back of the house" and prefers cricket and baseball to girls' play."

Catherine and Jane both had quite a large number of siblings, and their fathers were clergymen (I think Catherine is the only heroine with a clergyman father).

And now my post comes to an abrupt end. ha

~~~

So, what do you think? Who did you vote for and why? =)