Jane Austen discussion
Is there anything to dislike in Jane Austen?
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I once read an article about Austen's naming of characters. There were a lot of common names. Betsy was very common amongst the servant classes. It think she is mentioned as a candidate for who Lucy and Edward can hire by Mrs. Jennings in S&S.Fitzwilliam Darcy was specifically selected for a couple of reasons. First of all, his first name was his mother's maiden name. That was commonly done then, so it ties in with Colonel Fitzwilliam. Also, Fitzwilliam as a first name is a mouthful and it implies that Darcy is a fancy man (a dandy of sorts with immaculate appearance). Also there was something about the ancient name of D'arcy which is where Austen got the inspiration to use 'Darcy' which shows how ancient and respectable Darcy's lineage was. It is a fascinating topic.
I've just finished my third book and am looking for a publisher. I don't want to self-publish again (a story for another day). But I can tell you that naming characters is an involved process. I keep a three page printout of common last names of the period, common lady's names, and common gentleman's names. Incidentally, people did not frequently have middle names back then.
Shana, pretty cool to be a published author. I bet it was amazing to have that first book in your hands with your name on it. I wanted to write books when I was little.
It was very exciting, especially since the Kindle publishing all took place first. Then I had to learn how to change the formatting in my .docx document to something a printer could work with.If you have a hankering to write, Jan, pick your topic and start! It doesn't have to be a 100,000 word novel, start with a fun short story. It is an enjoyable enterprise, I can tell you that. Even our dear Jane Austen started with short stories as a girl.
The problem of Lydia is that she isn't just ruining herself, she's ruining her ENTIRE family. NONE of her sisters are likely to marry at all, let alone 'well' if she is a 'ruined' woman (ie, Wyckam's mistress.)Mind you, had she died (even when ruined!) would that have helped her sisters at all?
Maria in Mansfield Park is ruined (adulteress), but is packed off up north (with her aunt Norris - well deserved!), and I would surmise that adultery was less bad than unmarried sex, in terms of social disgrace??
Maria's disgrace doesn't seem to have blighted her sister's marriage prospects. Of course, Sir Thomas was higher up the social scale than Mr Bennet, which also probably helped a bit.
Their social punishment of women was very harsh.
Oh, completely! And Austen herself points it out at the end of MP, where she says, in a very authorial voice for her, that it was tough that Maria got banished, but Henry, her partner in adultery, (though technically speaking I guess he wasn't committing adultery himself, not being married) was completely accepted back into society. The 'blame' was all on the woman.Ditto with the dastardly Wyckham.
Did you ever read the Scarlet Letter? Much of the same deal there.
I read the Scarlet Letter ages ago. The man doesn’t receive any punishment there because the fallen woman won’t name him. As the local minister, it’s possible bedding a married woman would have caused him some problems. Wasn’t her husband missing in the war or something and a person had to be missing for seven years to be declared dead?
I read it decades ago. I do not remember all the details but there definitely unequal treatment.
Can you imagine reading that garbage in the paper about someone running off with someone? Good things times have changed. Well, I guess tabloids are still around to stalk celebrities but I never read them.
I try to not follow celebrity news. I always say, "They aren't at home sitting around talking about me. Why should I be so interested in them?" LOL.
I feel much the same way. Why would I possibly care what products someone I do not know uses. I do not need most of them in any form and cannot afford their version. Hollywood is filled with high school drop outs. I can listen to experts in matters of science and medicine.
Shana wrote: "I try to not follow celebrity news. I always say, "They aren't at home sitting around talking about me. Why should I be so interested in them?" LOL."The answer comes from Mr. Bennet: "What for do we live than to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?" They make sport, we laugh!
Re: Naming characters. Convention was that the first son was named after the father and the first daughter named after the mother. Hence, it is reasonable to think that Mrs. Bennet had been Jane Gardiner. It is interesting. that Lady Anne Darcy chose to give her son her family surname and even more interesting that she chose to name her daughter Georgianna (George+Anne). Wickham's name was "George" and we can assume that his father's name was, likewise. Gives rise to some interesting speculation. Also interesting that while she did not name her daughter Catherine, after her sister, Lady Catherine does name her daughter "Anne."
Jane Austen
Books mentioned in this topic
Lovers' Vows (other topics)1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose: english (other topics)
The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation (other topics)
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (other topics)
The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation (other topics)
And Mr Collins is not a bad man for the most part. I think the whole wishing Lydia dead rather than immoral by the standard of the times is pretty awful. I will always take issue with people who place religion over family, children in particular. I cannot imagine disowned my daughters.