Comments on: FTA: Dating, Jane Austen, and the Virtues of Chastity

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:14:35 +0000

I found Jane Austen in my early 20s and, frankly, my life has never been the same. I became an Anglophile because of Jane, and developed a preference for British period movies of the Merchant-Ivory variety. Iâ€™ve read most of her novels more than once, but itâ€™s Pride and Prejudice that has my heart. Elizabeth Bennett is a heroine for the ages with her lively intelligence, wit, and independent spirit. She didnâ€™t settle for marriage with any dolt who asked her, no matter how penniless a life of spinsterhood loomed in her future. It was Mr. Darcy who finally stirred her bloodâ€”and mineâ€”and kept me turning pages, time and time again. Nate, you canâ€™t imagine why Elizabeth chose Mr. Darcy? Ask your mother, your wifeâ€”any woman. It had little to do with the size of his mansion.
Nateâ€™s chastity thoughts point to one of the secrets to Janeâ€™s appeal: sexual tension. Jane is a master at it. Will they? Wonâ€™t they? This tension lies beneath all that polite, articulate verbal jousting between Darcy and Elizabeth. No matter how many times Iâ€™ve read that book, I feel unsettled until everything is finally decided. Will they? Won\’t they? What is hiddenâ€”and hinted atâ€”is always more intoxicating than what is dramatized in graphic detail.

By: Graham Stott

Graham Stott — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:28:55 +0000

1. Was teaching P&P to students here in Jenin (Palestine), most of them Muslim, a few Christian, and their greatest surprise was that none of the Bennet girls discussed their problems with their parents.
2. The 1985 BBC series was much much much better.
3. Yes, I am in love with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. As I am ISTJ, I of course hope we met in an alternate universe.

By: Matt Thurston

Matt Thurston — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:41:47 +0000

Well done, Nate. Count me in the JA fan club. I was an early adopter, before the craze of the past 20 years, and felt the same proprietary annoyance I used to feel when some indie band I liked suddenly got big. Now JA is the literary equivalent of “comfort food” for me. I can pick up any book in the canon, randomly read a couple of chapters, and a smile spreads across my face… the world is set right again.

I feel the same way about Patrick O’Brian. Aubrey and Maturin feel as real to me as my immediate family.

By: SusanS

SusanS — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:08:07 +0000

and then there was my “Persuasion” trip in England. The most moving around in a Jane Austen novel. Which is a good part of what makes this novel so interesting. Probably my favoriate. Late. A bit dark. Makes for a lovely trip. Bath. . . . The coast. . . .

By: John David Payne

John David Payne — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:40:29 +0000

“I’m just happy to be alive!”

By: Russell Arben Fox

Russell Arben Fox — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:59:34 +0000

But I have seen Big Trouble in Little China about a hundred times.

Dude, no one ever said you can’t do both. (“This is going to take cracker-jack timing!”)

By: John David Payne

John David Payne — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:35:55 +0000

Never read Jane Austen. Never read Patrick O’Brien. But I have seen Big Trouble in Little China about a hundred times.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:36:02 +0000

Thinking this morning about Jane Austen in relation to dating nowadays, I also was thinking about Cheryl’s comment (29) about no one mentioning Edmund Bertram.

I think that the hero of Mansfield Park has several major defects in our culture nowadays:

a) he’s Fanny’s first cousin. Ick factor.

b) he has a totally disfunctional family and particularly mother. While many people make this trade-off (marrying someone despite their family), many of us barely get by with a mother-in-law of normal character, let alone a family like the Bertrams.

c) Edmund’s planning to be a clergyman. No money in that career. And,

d) he ultimately decides to marry that wimpiest of Austen heroines, Fanny Price.

By: Richard O.

Richard O. — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:55:45 +0000

Nice post Nate. I love reading your prose and being expanded by your insights.

By: SusanS

SusanS — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:40:31 +0000

check out my online library of Austen! She’s made for reading out loud. All of that fine dialogue. That’s what makes her such a natural for movies et al.