Jane Austen discussion
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Austen characters that "take delight in vexing" you?
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Well, I have read only three of her books (P&P, Persuasion, n Emma) And here is my list....Mr. Wickham
Mr. Collins
Lady Catherine
and also Frank Churchill to some extent
I have been meaning to read the other three, must do so soon :)
Here is my list,
-Mrs. Norris
-Mr. Collins
-Emma Woodhouse
-Mrs. Elton
-Mrs. Norris
-Mr. Collins
-Emma Woodhouse
-Mrs. Elton
Lady Catherine
Mrs. Bennett
Mr. Collins
Elizabeth Elliott
Mary Musgrove
Mrs. Clay
Lady Russell
The Steeles
Mrs. Elton
Mrs. Norris
Lady Bertram
Great idea, Amalie!
Mrs. Bennett
Mr. Collins
Elizabeth Elliott
Mary Musgrove
Mrs. Clay
Lady Russell
The Steeles
Mrs. Elton
Mrs. Norris
Lady Bertram
Great idea, Amalie!
Mr. ColinsLady Catherine
Caroline Bingley
Mr. Wickham
Sometimes Mrs. Bennet can be very irksome.
Mod
Lucy Steele
Elizabeth Elliott
Lydia Bennet
Fanny Dashwood!!!
John Thorpe
Isabella and John Thorpe(Gold diggers and false friends,plus John I don't care how fast your horse is)Mrs.Norris(what an evil witch)
Lucy Steele(Edward must have been crazy to like you)
Emma Woodhouse(big snob)
Henry Crawford(worthless,vain,heartless)
My top five most annoying characters:1. Mrs. Bennett (could she be any more of a tacky gold-digger?)
2. Fanny Price (what a prig! lighten up, girl!)
3. Isabella Thorpe (dishonest schemer)
4. Mrs. Elton (who cares about her sister's extensive property?)
5. Sir Walter Elliot (insanely vain)
I could go on and on but I limited myself to just five. I just wish Mrs. Bennett didn't get two well-married daughters; she deserved a whole bunch of unmarriageable Marys instead.
Got it! Walter Elliot! That's the one I forgot.I'm surprised! :) I never thought Fanny will be anywhere in these lists! I always felt she is sweet, polite, kind and selfless. Basically all good. I love her strength, she's the most struggling Heroine of Austen, she was bullied, misused, misunderstood and even forgotten (even in the novel) but continues to be kindhearted. Well,I wish I was more like her.
Amalie wrote: "Got it! Walter Elliot! That's the one I forgot.
I'm surprised! :) I never thought Fanny will be anywhere in these lists! I always felt she is sweet, polite, kind and selfless. Basically all good. ..."
I agree with you, she's one of my favourites, besides Anne Elliot- Maybe Fanny was too pasive to be more charismatic character.
I'm surprised! :) I never thought Fanny will be anywhere in these lists! I always felt she is sweet, polite, kind and selfless. Basically all good. ..."
I agree with you, she's one of my favourites, besides Anne Elliot- Maybe Fanny was too pasive to be more charismatic character.
- Mr Collins- Lady Catherine
- Mr Elton
Actually, everyone in Mansfield Park except the Crawfords.Mrs. Elton
Walter Elliot
Lady Russell
Fanny Price was way too passive for me. She never stood up for herself. When her uncle threatens to send her back home because she won't marry Henry Crawford, she just took his verbal abuse when all she had to say was that he behaves inappropriately with married women. She didn't have to sell out her cousin Maria and she didn't have to take undeserved abuse for using her good sense.
Sandy, Fanny Price is not a character for modern women, but as I understand it, she was admired in her day. Standing up to abuse was considered unseemly.Patg
Was being considered ungrateful any worse?
Great Question! I would have to say Mr. Collins is number one since he irritates me in every way, shape and form. Honorable mentions go to Lady Catherine, Mrs. Bennett, Lydia Bennett, Lucy Steele and Emma Woodhouse.
Well, i think for me...Lady Catherine - just annoying and SO rude to Lizzy!!!
Mr Collins - do i need to explain why!?!
Lucy Steele - just leave Elinor alone!!! and switching to Robert Ferrars...
Miss Bingley - back off Darcy please!!! and let Bingley do what he wants!!!
Wickham - because of his story telling... grr!
Isabella Thorpe - well just grr
and Mr Elton - similar to Collins and don't like his wife Augusta, with all her 'Oh Knightly' and 'Mr E' !!!!
So, quite a lot it seems! expect there's more but Austen includes these character on purpose to highlight the Hero's and Heroine's and make them seem even more perfect!!! and to creat variety :) again - well done Austen!
Apart from all the others that are already mentioned here, I can't stand General Tilney!
Amalie wrote: "Got it! Walter Elliot! That's the one I forgot.I'm surprised! :) I never thought Fanny will be anywhere in these lists! I always felt she is sweet, polite, kind and selfless. Basically all good. ..."
I think Fanny vexes a lot of readers (myself included) because she doesn't seem to grow, change, or mature as much as the other Austen heroines. If you examine the other novels, the heroines go through some measure of growth, change, and maturation, and the men they marry are reflections of that.
**SPOILER ALERTS**
In S&S, Elinor marries Edward, whom she loved, because she was patient and unwavering, but she did not have to change very much in order to attain that relationship. Edward had to change and deal with the decisions of his younger life (i.e. proposing to Lucy Steele). Elinor's social circumstances prevented her from coming out "on top"--as a spinster, she was considered past marriageable age. Marianne must mature past her romantic sensibilities, and does so forcibly when Willoughby leaves her, not by her own choice. The constancy of Col. Brandon's affection is something that she needs in order to grow and mature, but it is one-sided. Brandon doesn't have to mature in order to be worthy of her.
In P&P Elizabeth and Darcy both have to grow and overcome personal biases to attain each other---there is equal growth into the marriage (thus why Elizabeth, of all the Austen heroines, has the most "prince charming" of a situation).
Fanny and Edmund as characters need little personal growth, indeed need little character development at all, for their relationship to come about. This was personally one of the most disappointing aspects of Fanny for me, that simply by being patient she got what she wanted and felt that she deserved. While I will be among the first to say that "patience is a virtue" it is extremely frustrating to read about a character who stays the same throughout a novel, because WE do not follow suit.
Soph wrote: "Well, i think for me...Lady Catherine - just annoying and SO rude to Lizzy!!!
Mr Collins - do i need to explain why!?!
Lucy Steele - just leave Elinor alone!!! and switching to Robert Ferrars...
M..."
You forgot totally about Mr. Frank Churchill.
:O well I said there were many I was missing!! He is defo HIGH on the list!!
You put Lady Catherine at the top of the list.
I did. Not really ordered but she does vex me!!
It's interesting, but the "vexing" characters named here are also, at least for me, the ones I enjoy the most. I love hating them!Shelley
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Lady CatherineMr Collins
Caroline Bingley
Soph wrote: "Well, i think for me...Lady Catherine - just annoying and SO rude to Lizzy!!!
Mr Collins - do i need to explain why!?!
Lucy Steele - just leave Elinor alone!!! and switching to Robert Ferrars...
M..."
Haha, my thoughts exactly (for those characters I know). I couldn't have expressed it more perfectly :).
Becca wrote: "Soph wrote: "Well, i think for me...Lady Catherine - just annoying and SO rude to Lizzy!!!
Mr Collins - do i need to explain why!?!
Lucy Steele - just leave Elinor alone!!! and switching to Robert..."
Yes!!! My sentiments exactly!!!!! Bravo!
Thanks Leigha ;)How to express me feelings on them in just a few words ;)
Willoughby - he should have known Marianne was falling for him but he put money above everyone's happinessFrank Churchill - the way he behaved to Jane Fairfax even though he was engaged to her was really cruel
Henry Crawford - he annoyed me because he deliberately set out to make Fanny fall in love with him. Good thing she saw through him
Mrs Elton and her 'caro sposo'
Miss Bingley - scheming to get Darcy for herself and to stop her brother falling for Jane.
Agree agree agree!! 'With her Caro Sposo' and her 'mr E'
Argh that woman!!
Soph wrote: "Agree agree agree!! 'With her Caro Sposo' and her 'mr E'
Argh that woman!!"
The frightening thing is you can actually meet people very like her in real life!!!
In no particular order: Mr. William Elliot, Aunt Norris, Mr. and Mrs. Elton, John Knightley, Wickham, Lady Catherine, any with the last name Thorpe, and the two eldest Tilneys.
Mr. Collins, Mrs. Elton, Wickham, and I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting
- mrs Bennet : she just drives me out of my mind , and the way she keeps embarassing lizzy infront of mr darcy is annoying , especially when they returned to Netherfield and she kept talkibg to mr.Bingley- lucy Steel : the way she kept teasing elinor about edward makes me wanna kill heeer
- Mrs Norris : her only mission seems to be ' making Fanny's life hell '
- lady catherine : her daughter is born to be duchess , she and darcy are born for each other , bla bla bla
i cant remember them all but these are thosr i hated the most
Here are characters who has made me want to jump up and down upon a book- and I love my books dearly! :)
Lady Catherine
Mrs. Norris
Mary Musgrove
Lucy Steele
Mr Collins
...there's another I forgot the name!