BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture English Culture Favorite Jane Austen Book

Ahh Yes he can be a jerk, but he is SOO good looking! LOL!

Sense and Sensibility I think is my favorite but I love them all. Love all the movies too.

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I guess I don't think of Darcy as being a jerk - in the book, he's just really shy. He flares out sometimes when he's being prodded by people. Charles' sister is really nasty though

I'm going to go watch Mansfield Park now, I'm ripping all the PBS ones from my cable box onto DVD and need to give them a once-over to make sure it's worked properly before I delete the originals ...

I don't think of Darcy as being a jerk either. Maybe a bit of a shy snob with inadequate socialization skills. He's easily frustrated by people who should be more sensible than they are.

I'm also quite fond of Mr. Knightly.

OK I think Mansfield Park goes along with Cinderella. Meek, pliant woman who does the drudgery for many years eventually has her prince charming come along and rescue her I guess I prefer a much more active heroine!

I've read the book 3-4 times but only seen one film version, so I am basing my opinion primarily on the book. The way I see it, Darcy is very into class distinctions and sees his love for an "inferior" person to be an unfortunate reality which he must eventually give in to. Likewise, he barely deigns to lower himself to be civil to the "country" folk who greet him so warmly and offer their hospitality. Definitely a snob. A true gentleman would fulfill even tedious social obligations with better grace.

Lisa, I do agree with you about Fanny. Too meek for my taste.

The class system was very strong, and people truly did belive that their betters were just that! Though you are right a true Gentleman or woman Did know how to talk to All classes without making those who were not the same as theirs feel insignificant. Unfortuanatly I would say there still is a class system. It is not as obvious but it does exist.
There was a brilliant article I read in University called 'The victorian Chair' by Brian Pfaffenburger that describes quite how profoundly deep beliefs were, and are, even to the non understanding of the modern individual.

Right that was extremely proper behavior for the time period. It's like when I do research for my medieval novels. They were extremely class conscious back then, it was their standard society blueprint. He was taking a huge risk by going against his whole social group and risking all of them ostracizing him.

It's like on RomanceClass (a romance site I own) where we get questions even in modern times from Indians who say they literally cannot date a certain boy because he's from a "different caste". They are completely serious. If they did, their family would have a fit and disown them, their friends would never talk with them again, they'd have trouble finding a job. It is a very serious matter. It's very hard for me to help them because of this.

In fact I was just out with my dad and some of his "high-IQ" friends last night for dinner and two of them (a male and a female) were Indian, from different parts of India. We were talking about this very issue. They said this is a very serious, real issue even in modern times in India. I only mention the high IQ part because one of them is a sociologist going for her doctorate on related issues so the discussion was really cool and in depth about the background of how this happens. I should have brought a tape recorder to post it.

Sadly, I have never read a Jane Austen book. I am a Virginia Woolf girl.

I have not READ her books I watched the films though! LOL! I love historic novels, Nora Lufts 'The Concubine', about Anne Boylen is very good.

Films are entertaining, but they do economise with the facts.
The film Elizabeth has got some glaring indescrepancies, not least her actual age! I guess itis not glamorous for an 70 old woman to go to the battle front.....LOL!
Braveheart was awful for that too!