A Distinction Among her Companions

“Mr Collins was to attend them, at the request of Mr Bennet, who was most anxious to get rid of him, and have his library to himself; for thither Mr Collins had followed him after breakfast, and there he would continue, nominally engaged with one of the largest folios in the collection, but really talking to Mr Bennet, with little cessation, of his house and garden at Huntsford. Such doings discomposed Mr Bennet exceedingly. In his library he had been always sure of leisure and tranquility; and though prepared, as he told Elizabeth, to meet with folly and conceit in every other room in the house, he was used to be free from them there." (Chapter 15)

I love this quotation, because, like most of the excellent quotations in Pride and Prejudice, it is about/from Mr Bennet. He ranks in my top three characters from the novel. The dialogue is always funny, and rarely serious.

I recently read an article on AustenBlog, about whether or not reading Austen makes us better people. Some said that we learn about other cultures/eras. Others said that we are exposed to a contrast between good morals and bad, and we find ourselves rooting for the moral in the novels. I think that the second is true. We women are constantly exposed in her novels to strong, upright, heroines. These ladies have overcome adversity, hardship, and heartache, and end up happy at the end. Even though everything turns out well for these women, I do not think that it is unrealistic. There is still disappointment, and not everything works out perfectly. The virtue of these women is that they are happy despite the imperfections. A character in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest says: "The good ended happily, and the bad unhappy. That is what fiction means." This is certainly true of Austen.

Jane herself voiced her belief in speaking truth and honour in a quotation from P&P. Elizabeth tells Mr Darcy, "I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can." (Chapter 11) I think that Austen left behind a little of herself in all of her heroines, and so I have to wonder whether this aspect, and indeed how many others, are actually Austen herself. Jane may have mocked many things, but she greatly valued good character and thought.

All this pondering on the character of Jane Austen lead me to wonder what she would think of my blog. Would she think my vocabulary small, my grammar horrid, and my tone crass? Would she scold me for my interpretations of her novels? Would she tell me to stop analyzing her work, and go write my own novel? I wonder....

While we are talking of wholesome values, I should take the time to discuss the book that Mr Collins chooses to read aloud to the Bennet sisters during his first visit. Fordyce's Sermons. I had heard this mentioned many times in Pride and Prejudice, and in Regency circles at large, that I decided to go take a look at them. I found them to be interesting, and still relevant to the struggles of women today. It talks about modesty, propriety, and being an upright, respectable, women in society. I have not read his addresses to young men, for obvious reasons, but I am sure that they are also excellent. Here is a link:http://books.google.ca/ebooks?id=XyBIAAAAMAAJ

Before end the post, I think that I should add in a few of the other wonderful quotations that I have found while reading; I promise only a few!

“Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. It is something to think of, and gives her a sort of distinction among her companions.” (Chapter 24) This is another of those great quotations from Mr Bennet.

“To Catherine and Lydia, neither the letter nor its writer were in any degree interesting. It was next to impossible that their cousin should come in a scarlet coat, and it was now some weeks since they has received pleasure from the society of a man in any other colour.” (Chapter 13)

This last one I really like. Kitty(Catherine) and Lydia are so fascinated with the militia quartered in Meryton, that they refuse to be interested in any other type of man. Kind of the equivalent of modern day puck-bunnies. As you can see from these quotations, the dialogue and the narration are equally wonderful!