Jane Austen Quote – Week 31
Sorry for the late installment for this week; well - it would be last week for ANZ and Asia. Anyway, I was just rummaging through Jane Austen's letter when I realised that there was a gorgeous Austen gentleman who wrote such an excellent letter to a very fine lady, and that letter was worth quoting.
I am speaking, Ladies and Gents, of Captain Frederick Wentworth, whose calm and grounded demeanour paired with his charming appearance did nothing to appease the thirst of this Austen fan. Chapter 23 of Persuasion, as he wrote the letter to Anne Elliot:
"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant."
And the fact that I recall Rupert Penry-Jones' Wentworth letter to Anne Elliot did absolutely nothing to reduce my fondness of replaying Persuasion 2007 over and over again just to get a glimpse of that pair of blue eyes and blond hair.... Sigh...
Is it a wonder that Anne Elliot/Sally Hawkins sprinted across half Bath just to find that very fine young man? Heh, I would sprint the entire England to find that gorgeous gentleman in my embrace; to appease my foolish passion with his beautiful blue eyes!
Pic: Rupert Penry-Jones (aaahhh...) as Capt. Frederick Wentworth, Persuasion 2007, from Boots and Bonnets
Video source: TSOM90's YouTube channel
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12 comments:
Oh who wouldn't sprint across England for that man? I would, as pregnant as I am! ;) Well, perhaps not sprinting in my condition, I'm walking like a duck at the moment... ;) And after a letter like that... well, fainting would be the first task on my list.
hugs and kisses
It’s a strange coincidence again that you picked a quote from Persuasion for this week.
I was just reading the other night “Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature” by Linda Lear, trying to escape my Jane Austen obsession (although I have 4 books about her that I recently borrowed from my library) when for the second time in few months, I’ve almost fainted of such a surprise (McEwan’s ‘Atonement’ was the first one) to find dearest Jane mentioned in the book (p 204):
---‘I thought my story had come right with patience & waiting like Anne Eliott's did,' Beatrix wrote to Millie Warne months later from Bath, the setting of Jane Austen's novel Persuasion. 'It was always my favourite and I read the end part of it again last July, on the 26th the day after I got Norman's letter.' She had held fast to that ephemeral hope of happiness. But Anne Elliot's fulfilment was fictional, and Beatrix Potter's loss was terrible and real. Bereft of her own story's happy ending, with dreadful silence at home, and no one except Norman's immediate family with whom she could share her grief or be comforted, Beatrix fled London for Wales.
Spooky don’t you think? I am however delighted to find out that Beatrix, a woman I so much admire, was also a reader of dearest Jane and her favourite book was Persuasion.
I just found this on YT -don’t know if you’ve seen it before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy-f3CfMbAU
Oh! I can't wait to visit Chawton next summer... if only I’ll be so lucky to encounter Jane’s ghost, to tell her how much she’s Loved and Admired ...how we are all dying to know if she was indeed in love with Tom Lefroy and if she received an offer that last night at the Ashe ball...
Infinity of Love
This chapter is my favourite from the book!The words are so intense and profound!At least in "Persuasion" we have a chance to read one beautiful letter writen by a man...These gentlemen no longer exist now,I fear:/
Thanks for the quick comments, ladies. It seems that this letter is indeed one of our favourites!
Mariana, the Beatrix quote is so lovely. Yes, Michelle, I saw Ms. Potter, and I think it was such a great movie. Renee was so amazing, I often forget that she's actually an American instead of a British actress.
And Anima... yeah, these gentlemen are out of production anymore. Discontinued. Too bad they don't produce such gentlemen anymore... perhaps that's why we adore Regency/period drama and their gorgeous men... with cravats... or cravat-less a la Armitage in NS ep 3...
so, I've been snowed in today. The busses were cancelled and still are. Awesome... But that gave me the time to finish the video I've started. Watch "What I like about men in cravats" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGvFX2An5Cs
hugs and kisses from Maria and Peanut in a very snowy Sweden!
Oohhhhooo!!! Thank you! That's TOO COOL! I love the three of them so much! Yay to Lefroy, Thornton and Wentworth! I also mean yay to James, Richard and Rupert!
icha--> I'm glad you liked it! I quite satisfied myself actually. I'll have to make more... ;-)
hugs and kisses
That 'letter' is one of my favorites, and just in case you missed it, my friends and I of the Male Voices in Praise of Jane Austen site took it upon ourselves to collect the Passionate Passages in all 6 of Jane's novels. I will direct your attention to Persuasion since this quote is most definitely mentioned in the passages.
Passages in Persuasion
Jane was such a delicious writer. Thank you.
Linda the Librarian
Ah, pardon my ignorance my dearest librarian. Of course you have such treasures hidden in your amazing website. Thanks so much, and I will rummage through the myriad quotes!
Ah, and I saw Persuasion 2007 again last night. What a feast to see Capt Wentworth again...
Miss Potter is a wonderful film and I found Renee's acting simply brilliant. I will always like her after Bridget Jones (I know I know but I just cant help it!)
Thats an interesting prospect...naming my child (if I ever get round to doing the whole mother thing) after Jane or one of her beloved characters. Oooh that does take some pondering. I think that Jane would have to be at the top of the list but Anne, Emma, Marianne, Frederick, Charles. Oh what a decision.
Maria, any idea what Peanut's name is to be or are we sticking with Peanut for now??
I think intense and profound are two great words to sum up this quote Anima.
I think that the power of the words 'But never inconstant'are piercing. It opens all avenues of thought and the line is so perfectly placed.
Thanks so much Linda for your extensive information as always. I
have such admiration for you.
I have just now discovered this site by randomly clicking on the "next" button at the top of my own blogger website out of boredom (and very Serendipitously, the very next site was this fun Jane Austen site).
I began to rummage through, and purposely found, this entry referencing the letter from Captain Wentworth.
As poetic and fluid as I find most of Jane Austen's romantic "moments" nothing holds a candle to Wentworth's speech you quoted!
I usually envision the beauty of the original ending with the 1995 version, purely because I was a bit distracted by the mad rush/dash to find the dashing Captain in the streets of Bath. But I truly loved Ms. Hawkins' portrayal of Anne Elliot.
The bottom line is, there is nothing I have read that compares to the heart melting romantic nature of this speech.
Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, no speech by any of Jane Austen's (or any other author of her caliber) has written a speech that stirs the soul so completely!
Regency Times Herald, serendipity is a very strange and beautiful thing... Welcome to BJ Fansite then.
And yes, even after more than a year posting it, re-reading it again still makes me sigh. True, if a man sends me a letter like this, I shall melt there and then!
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