And now a little word on one of my heroines…the most mysterious Jane austen

Author of just a few romantic novels, and yet still the brain that produced “pride and prejudice “ “Emma” and “persuasion”. In just a few years, Austen created some of the most memorable characters in English literature. Mr Darcy. Elizabeth Bennet. Emma wood house. Anne Elliot from persuasion. These characters have captured the imagination of millions, but why? What inestimable qualities did Austin’s characters have to warrant immortality?

What a damn good question.

I mean who could resist this man? 😉

In times of extreme distress I always watch or read Austen as a way to feel better—to revisit an orderly world is sometimes therapeutic for me. It reminds me of a time where the fugue of the twenty first century passes away for a little while.

Well for me at least it’s a comfort and release, but I do not romanticize it. This was not a time for women in any sense to live freely or to find intellectual fulfillment.

And yet we do have extraordinary moments of female power even at this time—Mary Shelley, for example, and her monster. In any time, and in any place, I believe you can find moments of power and intelligence; moments of quiet rebellion and covert freedom. It’s a mistake to view people (women) of the past as victims. After all most didn’t think of themselves that way!

Jane Austen s work is filled with characters bursting with authority and strength—lady Catherine for one of “pride and prejudice”. But, just as it’s a mistake to view her female characters in a certain light, so is it a mistake to view her male characters as monuments to a patriarchal order. Each male lead if you will, is a complex mixture of authority and humility, and each is well familiar with the concept of hubris. In short they’re all too human, and this is a tribute to austen as a great writer.

What I find especially fascinating is that in the past thirty years there have been so many different adaptations of her work—from “clueless” to the most recent pride and prejudice with Keira knightly. You could even watch this rather gruesome rip off :

I mean, what the hell are some people thinking?

But my point is that Austen appears to still have some relevance today for modern audiences, zombies notwithstanding.

It was an honorable world to be sure, one where the complexities of human nature were present in literature and subtly in interpersonal interactions.

Comments

Some Justice at Nuremberg--what (probably) you never wanted to know about the post Nazi bastard WW2 trials, ONE.

NOTE: please accept my apology Dear Reader, for any who may have ventured forth on this blog of late. It has been a long time since I last posted...my mother died, and I decided to live briefly on Venus. But, I have returned, and hopefully you will still come along on some new adventures, even if they are bitter--as th is entry most certainly is.... I have written, in this blog, many warnings about absolute power. I have also dealt with the problems that come into focus, when individuals are seduced by that power, to the detriment of plebs. So, there probably isn't that much left to say, excepting the fact that this seems to be an inexhaustible subject, due to the endless samples that continually present themselves. What I'd like to do in this entry, is to look a little bit at beginnings, and endings. Hopefully, you might see a few parallels, and forgive me pointing them out along the way. This is only my POV, however, please r...

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury...trying the Nazi bastard hierarchy....(2)

Every time I think about WW2, and its' aftermath, I think of this song by Dylan: Dylan lends gravitas to just about anything. And the sixties, when the song was written, were hard times, during which the 'hard rain' fell in the aftermath of World War II. And now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast, the Nurenberg trials. Now, let us further imagine that we had a chance to hold accountable some of the Nazis for the horrors seen at the concentration camps as they were liberated by the Allies Additionally, the victors of World War II were hard pressed to understand in a cultural sense, both the German and JapanesePrisoners. Is difficult to ascertain how a society could have fallen under Hitler’s spell, but they did. It is Perhaps less difficult to understand the Japanese response to external industrialization. In their case, the code of Buchito made it possible for them to conquer so much of the Pacific Rim. As far as the German people are concerned, my experience wi...

Just a Fourth of July wish for us all

It's the time of corn on the cob, red white and blue flags, hot dogs, and beer. And fireworks. Of course fireworks. Overall, a time for Americans to celebrate the end of our eighteenth century revolt against the authority and overlord-ship of England. I hope that you will all enjoy your hamburgers and beer, as I know that you will all reflect for a second or two on the wonder of free speech and the right to assembly. Freedom (well, relative freedom) is a pretty nice thing. So, Dear Reader, enjoy your fourth. If you're curious, check out any of these entertainments: I watch them every single year and remember that without John Adams, we'd all be pretty screwed in this country: https://dai.ly/x2ngcau . 1776. A campy but marvellous musical based on the broadway play. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00687PWQG/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r A wonderful doc-series on the life and times of John and Abigail Adams. Try them out Dear Reader, and enjoy your day t...

Penelope’s Loom

Search This Blog