So back to Jane Austen... we had an assignment to read Sense and Sensibility (*darn) and then we talked about it in class. We talked about the paradigm that surround Jane Austen and her novels. Ever since 1995-ish when Hollywood picked up her works and turned them into movies, her popularity has grown. People often picture her as an Elinor type and as a very whimsical and romantic lady herself. In fact, she was more of a Marianne type (making jokes about still-born children and such). A woman who knew her well called her "the prettiest, silliest, most affected, husband hunting butterfly ever." She was quite popular during the time she wrote. The regent King, George IV, and his daughter both read her books.
In our day, as we talked about in class, many people have extreme opinions about Jane Austen. It seems housewives and young girls everywhere have an obsession with the Austen phenomenon and everyone else hates and avoids her. Dr. Mason told us a story about one of his students who was getting married and started moving her fiance's things to their new apartment. Among his things, she found the six hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice the movie. She asked him about it and his response was, "If you tell my friends about this the wedding is off." So why do people have these opinions and are they necessary? No one is ashamed of reading Milton or Dickens and Austen is a brilliant writer of her time and still today. She essentially invited free indirect discussion which almost all novelists after her continue to use. Every book she produced was a phenomenon.
She came from a very intelligent and scholarly family as the youngest of 6 girls and one boy. Something I really liked learning about her is that she was proposed to at the age of 28 by one of her friends brothers. Age 27 was usually the time a young woman was considered a "spinster" and so she accepted this proposal. That night she could not sleep and really did not feel good about it. The next morning she declined the proposal, knowing that if she did she would remain single for the rest of her life. She decided she'd rather be single than settle. There are lessons to be learned from that!
Are you sick of learning about Jane Austen now? I will tell you about my day now which is probably why you read this blog...
So we had an amazing class and then I went to the National Gallery. It is one of the four or five great art museums in London. The Gallery is located in Trafalgar Square, a major site that I just had to see! In it is the countdown to the London Olympics this summer. It is only 73 days away if you're counting.
(myself, Whitney, Alisa, Kaylie, and Lauren Fine)
I can FEEL what Monet must have felt when he looked over the Thames river early in the morning and saw Parliament in the background. I wanted to buy the large poster of this painting but I didn't know what I would do with it so I bought the postcard of it instead. The entire museum was great and possibly one of my favorites that I have been to. I also went to get a shake from Fenton's ice cream after. I need to remember that I mixed chocolate brownie and caramel and that I loved it.
Right now we are having a Jane Austen party! Many of us girls and a couple of the boys are watching Sense and Sensibility the movie and then we're going to watch the Kiera Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice. WOO HOO! I'm so happy right now. We're going to Bath, Jane Austen's home, and Stourhead Gardens tomorrow. I CAN'T WATI! I might try to do homework tonight... or just do it on the coach tomorrow... or not at all. Who knows? :) All I know is I love studying about Jane Austen and the themes she wrote about.
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