Why Elizabeth?
Hi, Friends!
Just wanted to share a piece I wrote for the blog tour of Christina Boyd's new anthology Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl. Check out the review and giveaway that go along with this post at Rita Deodato's blog From Pemberley to Milton.
You'll also find the full blog tour schedule there. Hope you'll check out all the features by the OHG authors and enter the giveaway for a chance to win lots and lots of books!
Why Elizabeth?
Once, at a dinner party—perhaps I’d had more than my usual half-glass of wine—I told the man sitting next to me that I write Austenesque fiction. This I considered an act of some bravery, for I’m uncomfortable talking to anyone, much less strangers, about my writing. Just ask my husband, or my mom, or my cats; when they ask me how writing’s going, I usually make a face and say, “You know…”
(Okay, my cats have never asked me how writing’s going, and that is why I love them.)
Anyway, I tried, really tried, to explain to this man (whose name card must have ended up next to mine due to karmic retribution; that, or I’d annoyed the executive assistant who did the seating arrangements) what exactly Austenesque fiction was. I wish he had looked baffled or surprised or even a little disgusted, but he gave me a Mr. Collins smile and said, “Ah, escapism!”
If only I had been Elizabeth Bennet and made some witty, cutting remark! Or Jane, with her serene smile and endless empathy for the foibles of others. I would even have been glad to embrace my inner-Lydia by tipping my wine into his lap, laughing as he sopped up the mess. But no, I resorted to my usual self, some mixture of Mary and Kitty: pedantic and awkward, wishing to gain approval, yet sullen about having to do so. (Before those of you who love Mary and Kitty object, know that I, too, love them; we have so much in common!)
But mostly, I wish I had been Elizabeth. Then I would have stood up for myself, and for my writing.
Yes, I might have said to this man, there are escapist elements to Austenesque fiction. (It’s fiction!) But I don’t write about Elizabeth Bennet to escape into a world of regency fashion and idealized romance; I write about Elizabeth Bennet to celebrate obstinate, headstrong women.
I suspect this is why many of us are drawn to stories about Elizabeth. It doesn’t matter whether she is wearing a corset or cowboy boots; she might be a research scientist, a golden-age actress, or a young lady with little fortune and no connections. In any time or any place, Elizabeth speaks truth to power.
There are those who see Jane Austen’s works as little more than domestic drivel. Yet what Austen did—portraying a woman willing to say no—was, and remains, rather remarkable. No, Mr. Collins, you do not know what is best for me. No, Mr. Darcy, you do not know me better than I know myself. No, Lady Catherine, you do not get to insult me and then expect I will do what you wish. No, no, no. These refusals make Elizabeth’s eventual yes all the more powerful, for we know she is choosing Darcy on her own terms.
Still, I have always wondered: how easy was it for Elizabeth to say no to Darcy after that beautiful, fateful yes? It’s one thing for Elizabeth to be obstinate and headstrong when Darcy is being a jerk. Can she say no to him—can she speak her mind—when she knows how much he loves her, and how much she loves him? Just what might a post-yes quarrel look like between Elizabeth and Darcy? These are the questions that inspired my story, “Atmospheric Disturbances,” in Christina Boyd’s excellent new anthology, Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl.
Each author in this anthology has imagined Elizabeth in her own, unique way, yet I think we have all come back to this central truth: to be obstinate and headstrong is no insult. It is certainly not escapism. No. To be obstinate and headstrong when the situation calls for it is the only way to create our own happy endings.
Readers, I'm curious: what do you find fascinating about Elizabeth Bennet? What makes her the kind of character who can inspire so many different stories? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll visit Rita's blog to read her review and enter the giveaway. Thanks!
Just wanted to share a piece I wrote for the blog tour of Christina Boyd's new anthology Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl. Check out the review and giveaway that go along with this post at Rita Deodato's blog From Pemberley to Milton.
You'll also find the full blog tour schedule there. Hope you'll check out all the features by the OHG authors and enter the giveaway for a chance to win lots and lots of books!
Why Elizabeth?
Once, at a dinner party—perhaps I’d had more than my usual half-glass of wine—I told the man sitting next to me that I write Austenesque fiction. This I considered an act of some bravery, for I’m uncomfortable talking to anyone, much less strangers, about my writing. Just ask my husband, or my mom, or my cats; when they ask me how writing’s going, I usually make a face and say, “You know…”
(Okay, my cats have never asked me how writing’s going, and that is why I love them.)
Anyway, I tried, really tried, to explain to this man (whose name card must have ended up next to mine due to karmic retribution; that, or I’d annoyed the executive assistant who did the seating arrangements) what exactly Austenesque fiction was. I wish he had looked baffled or surprised or even a little disgusted, but he gave me a Mr. Collins smile and said, “Ah, escapism!”
If only I had been Elizabeth Bennet and made some witty, cutting remark! Or Jane, with her serene smile and endless empathy for the foibles of others. I would even have been glad to embrace my inner-Lydia by tipping my wine into his lap, laughing as he sopped up the mess. But no, I resorted to my usual self, some mixture of Mary and Kitty: pedantic and awkward, wishing to gain approval, yet sullen about having to do so. (Before those of you who love Mary and Kitty object, know that I, too, love them; we have so much in common!)
But mostly, I wish I had been Elizabeth. Then I would have stood up for myself, and for my writing.
Yes, I might have said to this man, there are escapist elements to Austenesque fiction. (It’s fiction!) But I don’t write about Elizabeth Bennet to escape into a world of regency fashion and idealized romance; I write about Elizabeth Bennet to celebrate obstinate, headstrong women.
I suspect this is why many of us are drawn to stories about Elizabeth. It doesn’t matter whether she is wearing a corset or cowboy boots; she might be a research scientist, a golden-age actress, or a young lady with little fortune and no connections. In any time or any place, Elizabeth speaks truth to power.
There are those who see Jane Austen’s works as little more than domestic drivel. Yet what Austen did—portraying a woman willing to say no—was, and remains, rather remarkable. No, Mr. Collins, you do not know what is best for me. No, Mr. Darcy, you do not know me better than I know myself. No, Lady Catherine, you do not get to insult me and then expect I will do what you wish. No, no, no. These refusals make Elizabeth’s eventual yes all the more powerful, for we know she is choosing Darcy on her own terms.
Still, I have always wondered: how easy was it for Elizabeth to say no to Darcy after that beautiful, fateful yes? It’s one thing for Elizabeth to be obstinate and headstrong when Darcy is being a jerk. Can she say no to him—can she speak her mind—when she knows how much he loves her, and how much she loves him? Just what might a post-yes quarrel look like between Elizabeth and Darcy? These are the questions that inspired my story, “Atmospheric Disturbances,” in Christina Boyd’s excellent new anthology, Elizabeth: Obstinate, Headstrong Girl.
Each author in this anthology has imagined Elizabeth in her own, unique way, yet I think we have all come back to this central truth: to be obstinate and headstrong is no insult. It is certainly not escapism. No. To be obstinate and headstrong when the situation calls for it is the only way to create our own happy endings.
Readers, I'm curious: what do you find fascinating about Elizabeth Bennet? What makes her the kind of character who can inspire so many different stories? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll visit Rita's blog to read her review and enter the giveaway. Thanks!
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