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seven-dragons · 2 years

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The 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie (and to a lesser extent the 1995 miniseries) badly misrepresents Charlotte Lucas. In the book, she is not scared and desperate. If anything she is a cold and calculating opportunist.

First, her financial situation. It is true that the Lucas' are not well off thanks to Mr. Lucas, who is in competition with Mr. Bennet for the title of Worst Father throughout the book. Mrs. Bennet gloats about the Lucas' being poorer than the Bennets. However they are much more financially STABLE than the Bennets. Mr. Lucas owns his house outright and if he dies the property stays in the immediate family. No one is getting thrown out on their ear. In addition Charlotte has many siblings who might be able to hep support her when they are grown. She is not in a great situation, but she isn't in a desperate one either. When the books starts (before two sisters marry rich), any of the unmarried Bennets are in much worse shape in terms of future prospects.

We know several things about Charlotte before she married Mr. Collins:

She is pretty much the smartest person in the room (despite what Lizzie thinks)

She is not into men

She'd like more out of life than to be the Village Spinster™

She takes a dim view of Mr. Collins but doesn't hate him

But what both recent movies neglect to show is the lengths to which Charlotte goes to secure Mr. Collins' love. They make it look like an accident and rob Charlotte of her agency. She sees an opportunity for herself and she seizes it. The minute she hears about Lizzie's rejection she goes to work trying to get Mr. Collin's attention. It says right in the text that she actively tries to keep him away from Lizzie for fear that he might propose again and Lizzie might soften to the idea. Also for a professed ace/lesbian/whatever but def not het, she fakes romance well. There are declarations of love and late night assignations. For a spinster she knows what the heck she is doing.

Charlotte and Lizzie's friendship is strained by her marriage to Mr. Collins. They remain friends but not besties, but it is also implied that they reconcile somewhat when Lizzie and Mr. Darcy get engaged and they stand by the Bennets despite Lady Catherine's anger. But if Charlotte did ultimately lose a friend, she also gains more than just financial security and status. Parish wife comes with it an entire job and social life - she will be valued and needed beyond the walls of her home, and will not want for other friends.

Is Charlotte ultimately happy in her life choices? The text doesn't say. The Lucases and Collins are omitted from the final chapter where they talk about Lizzie's married life, though there is nothing to indicate they are estranged. When Lizzie visits after Charlotte gets married, Lizzie perceives that Charlotte is taking steps to avoid her new husband in encouraging exercise and choosing a sitting room on the other side of the house from her husband's study, but Lizzie at this point is an unreliable narrator. The text states clearly that she is looking for Charlotte to be unhappy.

But one way or the other, whatever Charlotte Lucas has, she took for herself. She made a deliberate choice. She did not act out of fear, shame, or desperation.

Anyway thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

#jane austen #pride and prejudice #charlotte lucas #period lit #in this house we stan cold calculating b*tch charlotte lucas

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raccooninthedaytime · 2 years

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alright bestie pls share more thoughts you have about a p&p miniseries/remake

Oh boy oh boy ok

Its filmed mockumentary style. Handheld shots and camera side eyes and all of that. I havent sold myself on confessionals yet t but im 90% there. This is the biggest and hopefully only anachronism in the show

its still regency. So costumes are historically accurate. The stylistic choice is that they are very Extreme in their own right (think emma). Its camp

Like lady cathrine debourgh is all lavish frills and bells and whistles, so much so you can barely figure out where She ends and her clothing starts. Mrs. bennet is similar but since she’s poor she does it to a lesser extent and with cheaper looking fabric. You get it

Mr collins is always inexplicably greasy. Maybe he grows subtly moreso during the corse of the series.

Speaking of collins: He is never in a shot purposely. The shots are framed around everyone and anyone else, and if he has some reason to be in the scene, he will make his way in there. This is because the cameraman is actively trying to cut him out of the shots.

This idea stemmed from me thinking how funny it would be if every time he interrupted a conversation with something about his sponsor, he’d pop his greasy head in the frame completely unannounced, saying “now this reminds me of the honorable lady catherine—“

Similarly, the framing of shots with darcy are like, hes always there. Lurking. And he is visibly uncomfortable. You get the sense he’s trying to hide from the camera, but it KEEPS finding him and he hates it.

Lizzie side eyes that camera SOOOOOO much. She is constantly doing it.

OH MAYBE THE CAMERA IS REPRESENTING HER VIEW OF PEOPLE. LIKE WE’RE IN HER MIND SHES BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL FOR US. oh thats splendid. Yes. Like fleabag

Bingley and Jane are sweet perfect angels. I have changed nothing about their characters from the book. Both of their actors play this extremely straight like its a plain romance and not a farce

of course, as mentioned before, Bingley gets to punch darcy after finding out darcy hid jane from him, then with that all out of his system he immediately asks for darcy’s blessing. This is because darcy deserves it and Bingley deserves to do it <3

At wickham and lydia’s wedding, wickham has a busted lip or broken nose or something. Darcy has busted knuckles. No one mentions this. This is also because wickham deserves it.

Lizzie gets to say “but she’s a CHILD” at least once after hearing rhe news of lydia, because holy shit why doesnt this worry more people she’s literally a child.

This:

Lizzie, on the grounds of pemberly, warily: and you’re sure the family is away?

Housekeeper: yes, for another week.

*smashcut to darcy just swimming around in pemberly’s fucking lake.*

(We here at raccooninthedaytime.tumblr.com do not think that this entire scene got the attention it deserves because it is hands down the funniest scene in p&p and will be a whole episode in itself.)

Lizzie talking to charlotte lucas immediately after collins’ proposal, smashcut to charlotte walking out of there with him on her arm.

Every interaction between darcy and lizzie pre-pemberly episode is the most excruciatingly awkward conversation. Lizzie is trying so hard to make it bearable and darcy.exe has stopped working

There’s probably more to come but these are my initial thoughts i just think it would be fun

#pride and prejudice gets too much credit as a slay romance and not enough credit as fucking dumpster fire farce that makes me ROLL #also we will be using jane austen’s dialogue if i can help it. she was a funny bitch ill tell ya #now all i need is a cast and a camera and a costume designer and a bunch of old ass houses and a horse or so #pride and prejudice #thoughts from the dumpster

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pfenniged · 5 years

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Can you explain why Anne Elliot is your favourite Austen heroine?

Surely! (This literally took like, two and half hours of writing and editing. What is my life).

Background:

So, essentially, to get into this analysis, I have to preface this with Persuasion being written in 1817, near the end of Austen’s life and published six months after her death. Really, if you compare the type of satirical protagonists she was writing at the beginning of her career (see Northanger Abbey, which convinced my entire English Literature 2 class in university that Austen was insipid despite being prefaced as a gothic parody), to later, Pride and Prejudice, to Persuasion, I think it really traces the development of Austen as a writer (Austen referred to her in one of her letters as “a heroine who is almost too good for me.”)

Not to say she didn’t have more ‘mature’ protagonists early on; Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility is really my second favourite protagonist from Austen’s works, and she is essentially the one person in the Dashwood household who keeps everything together; without her, the entire operation would fall apart. It’s the reason why she’s the ‘sense’ in the aforementioned title.

But where Anne Elliot differs I think, is that Elinor, despite being the ‘older’ sister, is never really seen as being devoid of prospects in regards to her future and marriage, despite the family falling on hard times. Anne, on the other hand, is actually a marked difference from Austen’s usual protagonists. Whereas her other protagonists are usually concerned with climbing the social ladder of society (or essentially, scorning the playing of this game in society, but still knowing it’s expected of her anyway (See Lizzie Bennet), Anne is from a noble family that due to her father Sir Walter Elliot’s vanity and selfishness, is on its descent down on the social ladder, a caricature of the old, outdated, titled class in a world of new British industry.

Sir Walter Scott, and the Changing Ideal of The Gentlemen in Society:

This is another place where Jane Austen differs in her characterisation and brings up an important contrast that is lacking in her other work to an extent in terms of her other main heroines: while the other heroines are more concerned with upward mobility through marriage because that is what society has expected of them, Anne Elliot’s father (who’s will dominates her own), is concerned with DOWNWARD mobility. The idea that he will be seen as ‘lesser than’ for allowing his daughter to marry someone she loves.

The difference is, is where you have CHOICE to an extent in a burgeoning middle class family, even if you were marrying for money, you have that upward mobility. You have opportunities. When your family is so focused on maintaining the facade of an untouchable deity, you are literally frozen into that mold, even if you want to be a part of that changing world and changing model of what should be considered an ‘ideal’ match, or a modern pairing.

While unadvantageous matches are dismissed in other Austen works, it is often due to the person having some fault of character (I.E: Philanderer, drunkard, etc.) that’s obviously not going to change anytime soon, and what someone is, to an extent, able to control. People are able to control whether they cheat on someone or not; people are able to control showing up and embarrassing themselves at social functions if they have an inkling of self-awareness. And these matches are usually rejected outright because of the family’s concern for the daughter’s feelings (See Lizzie and Mr. Collins, for example, even though it would be an advantageous match (-INSERT LADY CATHERINE DE BOURGH QUOTE HERE-)

But the sad thing in Anne’s case, I think, is that it shows the dying breed of noblewomen, who, once they get ‘older,’ have nowhere to go but down socially if they don’t become a ‘spinster’ or completely devoted to their family household and name. These older, more distinguished families during 1817, were slowly and surely becoming more and more obsolete, and I think it’s VERY astute of Austen to recognise that. Men could now make their fortune at sea- they COULD be “new money.” More and more, these noble people who didn’t work and didn’t have a profession besides being a member of the landed gentry, were becoming more and more dated in the movement of England towards mechanisation and the new Victorian age of industry.

‘Captain Wentworth is the prototype of the ‘new gentleman.’ Maintaining the good manners, consideration, and sensitivity of the older type, Wentworth adds the qualities of gallantry, independence, and bravery that come with being a well- respected Naval officer.

Like Admiral Croft, who allows his wife to drive the carriage alongside him and to help him steer, Captain Wentworth will defer to Anne throughout their marriage. Austen envisions this kind of equal partnership as the ideal marriage.’

Meanwhile Sir Walter does not present this same sort of guidance for the females in his life. He is so self-involved that he fails to make good decisions for the family as a whole; his other two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, share his vanity and self-importance. While Anne is seen as a direct parallel with her good-natured (dead) mother, she still has to deal with these outdated morals, before coming her true self. She still has to learn to support her own views, even if they are contrary to those in a position of power in her life, and essentially, dominate her day-to-day dealings and her actual character of how she defines herself.

Becoming One’s Self: Learning Self-Assurance and The Positives of ‘Negative’ Qualities:

The one thing I do love about Anne is that she doesn’t have a ‘weakness of character,’ contrary to Wentworth’s bitter words which are clearly directed at her when they first meet again after so long. That’s one thing I usually see (predominantly male) commentators say Anne’s fault is as a female protagonist is as simple as a reading of the title; namely, that she’s too easily persuaded.

However, that’s an overtly simplistic view. Often people directly correlate an individual being persuaded as simply being ‘weak-willed.’ Anne Elliot is anything but. She constantly rebels against the vanity of her father and the stupidity of her sisters, at the same time being aware of the social structure in which they must operate. She is the individual at the beginning of the novel who is dealing directly with money; and while this was at the time often seen as a ‘man’s’ role, it is Anne taking control of getting their family back into good stead and out of debt after her dippy father gets them into debt and remains completely useless throughout the entire procedure except to complain about who they might let the house out to, simply because they ARE ‘new money.’ She IS open to new roles in society, and new conventions.

This leads directly to the biggest criticism levelled against her at the beginning of the novel: that after being dismissed by Anne, Captain Wentworth basically publicly declares (because #bitteraf) that ‘any woman he marries will have a strong character and independent mind.’

The funny thing is, Anne already has these. She never lacked them. ‘What ‘persuasion’ truly refers to is whether it is better to be firm in one’s convictions or to be open to the suggestions of others.

‘The conclusion implies that what might be considered Anne’s flaw, her ability to be persuaded by others, is not really a flaw at all. It is left to the reader to agree or disagree with this. ‘

Anne is not stupid in that she is convinced or persuaded by any Joe Schmow who comes along; she considers the opinions of those she respects. She ultimately comes to the right decision in marrying Wentworth later in life, but it’s understandable how a nineteen year old would doubt this decision when advised by those adults around her. It is now that she is older, in considering other people’s opinions, that she is more likely able to come to her decision herself, rather than letting other people’s opinions overweigh her own.

‘Anne is feminine in this way while possessing none of what Austen clearly sees as the negative characteristics of her gender; Anne is neither catty, flighty, nor hysterical. On the contrary, she is level-headed in difficult situations and constant in her affections. Such qualities make her the desirable sister to marry; she is the first choice of Charles Musgrove, Captain Wentworth, and Mr. Elliot.’

Ageism: Austen’s Hinting at an Age-Old Philosophy against the Modern Woman:

At twenty-seven, Anne is literally considered a woman ‘far past her bloom of youth.’ She is constantly surrounded by younger women, both demonstrating interest in her father and in Wentworth. While ageism wasn’t clearly developed as a recognised societal practice in the 19th century, I think it demonstrates, when Jane wrote this so close to her death, and having never married herself, the pressures on women in society even later in life. This is seen more bluntly in the character of Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice, but I think the fact that people constantly remind Anne of something she cannot control could arguably draw parallels to social status and how birth status cannot be controlled, by a more modern reading of the piece. Women cannot control ageing, any more than a man can control being born into a lower class. But while men could continue to marry for upward mobility or money (up to ridiculous ages and with ridiculously younger wives), women don’t have that luxury once they are ‘past their prime,’ even if they also have the avenue of upward mobility through marriage (see Charlotte Lucas again).

Lost Love, aka THEY TOTALLY MIGHT HAVE BONED BUT PROBABLY NOT:

“There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.”

The best thing about Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot’s love story is that we already knew they WERE in love; as opposed to all her other stories, which involve individuals arguably falling INTO love rather than HAVING been in love (Looking’ at you, Mansfield Park), Wentworth x Anne Elliot was a THING. They were a hot and HEAVY thing.

I essentially have nothing to add here except that makes their entire story 10000000x more painful when they clearly still have feelings for one another and have to run in the same social circles.

That is all.

Separate Spheres: AKA LETS ALL HELP EACH OTHER MMKAY AND BE EQUAL PARTNERS IN LOVEEEE:

Lastly, Austen also considers the idea of ‘separate spheres.’

‘The idea of separate spheres was a nineteenth-century doctrine that there are two domains of life: the public and the domestic. Traditionally, the male would be in charge of the public domain (finances, legal matters, etc.) while the female would be in charge of the private domain (running the house, ordering the servants, etc.).

This novel questions the idea of separate spheres by introducing the Crofts. Presented as an example of a happy, ideal marriage, Admiral and Mrs. Croft share the spheres of their life. Mrs. Croft joins her husband on his ships at sea, and Admiral Croft is happy to help his wife in the chores around the home. They have such a partnership that they even share the task of driving a carriage. Austen, in this novel, challenges the prevailing notion of separate spheres.’

As mentioned before, from the beginning of the novel, as a noblewoman, Anne is already crossing the line of separate spheres by undertaking financial and legal matters since her father is essentially too much of a pussy to do so (this antiquated ideal of gentlemanly qualities). She has already made a discreet step into the public domain by her actions, without ever really truly making a bold statement.

By the insertion of the Crofts within the narrative, it really foreshadows how this sort of relationship can work as equals, and how such an amalgamation of the spheres should not be looked down upon. It’s a subtly progressive message that none of the other books really deal with (besides perhaps a tad in Sense and Sensibility with Elinor), and I love her all the more for it. ♥

#I love how this slowly degraded into meme language and then I gave up #help me #it's 2:30 in the morning #Jane Austen #theory #literature #literature theory #Anne elliot #writing #reading #regency period #future reference #personal #answers #Persuasion #captain fredrick wentworth

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janeaustentextposts · 7 years

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Unpopular opinion: Lydia Bennett got what she deserved when she married Wickham and I don't feel bad for her future life because she never felt remorse for running away, causing worry, wasting $$$, never listened to her sisters anyway (she never wouldve listened about him even if Lizzy told her family so idk why Lizzy put that on herself), and even though Wickham's affection for her cooled first, hers cooled too. Everyone was waaaay too generous with Lydia AND Wickham

Lydia is barely 16 years old. Whatever her era and society would make of her being thought a grown woman, she’s honestly still a child by many estimations. Elizabeth admits to Lady Catherine that, at then-fifteen, Lydia is too young to be out much, socially, but that with all the elder sisters out enjoying themselves, in quieter country society the kinder thing to do is relax the rules and let a younger girl have some fun. And, of course, as long as they’re in Meryton, and close to home, this really isn’t a problem. It’s when Lydia is allowed to go away with an incompetent chaperone that she gets in over her head and is easily led astray by a man who must be at least ten years older than her.

Also consider where she learned to waste money and be frivolous. Mr. Bennet hasn’t set any money aside to help out his daughters when he’s dead. He hasn’t bothered to correct Lydia’s behaviour. He openly acknowledges Lizzie to be his favourite, Jane to at least be good and sensible in her way, and his younger three daughters he calls silly to their faces and pretty much treats them as worthless. For all he’s a comical character in many respects, and because he loves Lizzie and Lizzie is the protagonist it’s far easier to take his side than Mrs. Bennet’s much of the time, he’s a terrible father and in many ways the worst parent these girls have. In a society where a man is the head of the family, Mr. Bennet at the head of a family full of women evidently has no clue how to properly Be a Dad, or if he does, he doesn’t give enough of a shit to try until it’s too late.

And then there’s Mrs. Bennet. She IS silly, but her concerns are valid. She wants her daughters married to men who will provide for them. Rich is good, but even just a gentleman works, too. Her own brothers have professions in trade and the law, so they’re less genteel, but even an officer is a step above that in terms of gentility, so Wickham, by rank, is not a BAD match for Lydia, even if he would be poor in terms of income.

So a high-spirited girl of fifteen, encouraged by her mother to be vivacious and good-humoured (which are both things Lizzie is, as well,) and only swatted away by her father as being silly...well, at this point it feels inevitable that Lydia WOULD run away to marry an officer. While Wickham later has to be persuaded to marry Lydia, she was honestly in love enough to run away with the fullest faith of their being married as soon as possible. With her mother’s general insistence on Marriage Above All Else and Mr. Bennet’s TOTAL UNINVOLVMENT IN ANYTHING, Lydia did Her Best. Which turned into a shitshow, but how was she to know? It’s all a joke to her because EVERYTHING has been a joke to her, and no-one has ever attempted to correct her before. Elizabeth certainly doesn’t get involved--and it’s not her place to. She briefly encourages her father to TRY PARENTING but to no avail--and that’s on Mr. Bennet, and not Lizzie. Lizzie CAN’T just expose Wickham’s behaviour to her family, seeing as Miss Darcy’s reputation would be ruined if it got out. Which it would--Mrs. Bennet and the younger girls WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP THAT SECRET. Darcy divulged that information only as necessary, and with faith in Elizabeth, that her discretion would not allow her to spread such a ruinous tale about a young girl who she’s never met, and who has been hurt enough already by Wickham.

I think, much as some may want Lizzie to step in and Fix Everything, there are good reasons why she can’t, and most of those reasons are to do with Mr. & Mrs. Bennet and their failures as parents. Why should Lydia listen to her sister? I sure as fuck don’t listen to MY big sister when she tries to boss me around. It’s not Elizabeth’s job to raise Lydia right, and she’s never really tried to. The problem is, it IS essentially Mr. Bennet’s job (and to a lesser extent, Mrs. Bennet’s,) and he’s never tried to, either.

So blame Lydia for whatever unhappiness she experiences, if you want, but bear in mind she’s a naive, impulsive teenager who has a mother with a one-track mind about marriage (which--Mission Accomplished!) and a father who either fails to notice her at all, or verbally abuses her when he does.

#Ask Me Anything Austen-Adjacent #AMAAA #Anonymous

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