Laura
Puritan Board Junior
When I was in 9th grade, I forced myself through Sense & Sensibility on my own for extra credit. My attention span was lacking and my sense of humor was not well developed then, to say the least, so my appreciation for the book hovered around 0. When I was a senior in high school, for some reason I thought I'd give Jane Austen another try, so I rented the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice, thinking that I would read the book if I liked the movie.
Side story there: I watched the movie alone, not knowing anything really about the book or movie beforehand. DVDs were still fairly new then, to me at least. There were two discs in the case, and I assumed that the second was a special features disc, as it was with the only other DVD I had played for myself, The Lord of the Rings. So I put in Disc 1 and watched the whole thing. The "ending" greatly perplexed me as I didn't think Jane Austen was the sort of author who wrote unhappy and surprising endings. The last scene on the disc happened to be where (minor spoilers) the main male character comes to profess his love for the main female character and both end up highly insulted by the encounter. So I closed up the movie, rather unsatisfied, and returned it to the store. Not until I was talking with friends a couple weeks later did I realize what happened. Disc 2 was of course the second half of the movie. Greatest blonde moment of my life.
Anyway, I've been on a Jane Austen audiobook kick for the last several months, listening to Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and now Emma. I had read Persuasion before and enjoyed the second reading very much; it is probably my favorite novel. Now I wonder, contrary to my first impressions, what's not to like about Jane Austen? She had a brilliant wit and a fantastic understanding of human nature, especially of the faults particular to men and women that cause them and others the most misery. Her novels are hilarious and even edifying in a sense. They provoke thought and, in their own discreet way, warn against vice and folly and promote virtue and discretion. And of course they manage to satisfy the romantic streak common to most girls in a very classy way.
On that note, I have a hint for young men in search of a wife: If you should find yourself seriously interested in a young woman who likes Jane Austen novels (which I would say is a favorable sign of her sensibility), buy her the Jane Austen movie of her choice for no particular occasion (avoiding the latest Pride & Prejudice adaptation if at all possible, though you you'll have to defer to her preferences if that is what she wants). Even if it is 300 minutes long, watch the entire movie with her. You can take breaks to lift weights or go do yard work like the manly man that you are if you feel the need. But if you have a brain and a functional sense of humor, you *will* like at least some parts of the movie, and you will win serious, serious approval points with her. Why, I accepted my husband's proposal just a couple of days after he did just this, and who will ever know how much this turn of events had to do with his small sacrifice?
Side story there: I watched the movie alone, not knowing anything really about the book or movie beforehand. DVDs were still fairly new then, to me at least. There were two discs in the case, and I assumed that the second was a special features disc, as it was with the only other DVD I had played for myself, The Lord of the Rings. So I put in Disc 1 and watched the whole thing. The "ending" greatly perplexed me as I didn't think Jane Austen was the sort of author who wrote unhappy and surprising endings. The last scene on the disc happened to be where (minor spoilers) the main male character comes to profess his love for the main female character and both end up highly insulted by the encounter. So I closed up the movie, rather unsatisfied, and returned it to the store. Not until I was talking with friends a couple weeks later did I realize what happened. Disc 2 was of course the second half of the movie. Greatest blonde moment of my life.
Anyway, I've been on a Jane Austen audiobook kick for the last several months, listening to Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and now Emma. I had read Persuasion before and enjoyed the second reading very much; it is probably my favorite novel. Now I wonder, contrary to my first impressions, what's not to like about Jane Austen? She had a brilliant wit and a fantastic understanding of human nature, especially of the faults particular to men and women that cause them and others the most misery. Her novels are hilarious and even edifying in a sense. They provoke thought and, in their own discreet way, warn against vice and folly and promote virtue and discretion. And of course they manage to satisfy the romantic streak common to most girls in a very classy way.
On that note, I have a hint for young men in search of a wife: If you should find yourself seriously interested in a young woman who likes Jane Austen novels (which I would say is a favorable sign of her sensibility), buy her the Jane Austen movie of her choice for no particular occasion (avoiding the latest Pride & Prejudice adaptation if at all possible, though you you'll have to defer to her preferences if that is what she wants). Even if it is 300 minutes long, watch the entire movie with her. You can take breaks to lift weights or go do yard work like the manly man that you are if you feel the need. But if you have a brain and a functional sense of humor, you *will* like at least some parts of the movie, and you will win serious, serious approval points with her. Why, I accepted my husband's proposal just a couple of days after he did just this, and who will ever know how much this turn of events had to do with his small sacrifice?
(only teasing!)