Jane Austen Quote Week 96
This week’s quote is from Persuasion, Volume I Chapter X where Anne Elliot was struggling to get her nephew Little Walter off her back, and suddenly Captain Wentworth came out of nowhere (well, not really, but you get what I mean) to help her.
In another moment, however, she found herself in the state of being released from him; some one was taking him from her, though he had bent down her head so much, that his little sturdy hands were unfastened from around her neck, and he was resolutely borne away, before she knew that Captain Wentworth had done it.
Her sensations on the discovery made her perfectly speechless. She could not even thank him. She could only hang over little Charles, with most disordered feelings. His kindness in stepping forward to her relief, the manner, the silence in which it had passed, the little particulars of the circumstance, with the conviction soon forced on her by the noise he was studiously making with the child, that he meant to avoid hearing her thanks, and rather sought to testify that her conversation was the last of his wants, produced such a confusion of varying, but very painful agitation, as she could not recover from…
I can feel Anne’s fluttering heart here. I don’t know… but I guess because I love children and I want to have at least one of my own, I think, feel that mature men who are child-friendly are very… charming. Appealing. I bet Anne also felt that way too, in addition to her being extra nervous to be in such a close proximity with the Captain...
What do you think?
Pic: Anne and Captain Wentworth kissing, from Donjuantriumph' Photobucket.
Posts
6 comments:
You are absolutely correct, Icha. The passage is very meaningful. Please allow me to quote my dear, late friend's comment from Male Voices:
"Anne had been grieving for eight years - eight years out of a very young life - because she regeted having broken her engagement to Wentworth. He came back into her life at exactly that time when her family's situation was crumbling. And he seemed not to want to have anything to do with her, he treated her in one of the worst possible ways - he was polite to her. At the moment related in this passage, Anne was being exploited by her sister who did not want the bother of tending to her own injured child. In that instant, with that act, Wentworth demonstrated that he noticed her, was concerned for her, and would put himself out for her. That physical contact, albeit through the intervening child, would have been electric. The shock was so great that both Anne and Wentworth went discombobulated. Wentworth lost his self-control, his cool; he could not treat Anne with the polite indifference he had invented; he sensed what had happened, he was exposed, but he could not bring himself to engage with her further."
Jane Austen, the old maid, never ceases to amaze me by the amount of human nature she is so aware of.
Linda the Librarian
Your late friend's comment was indeed true to my heart, Linda, thank you for posting it.
I guess one of the things that I wish my fave Persuasion 2007 had was this very scene; it wasn't there. The older 1995 Persuasion had it though, and was beautifully done.
And nothing more beautiful than to see a stoic man like Wentworth exposed like that... his vulnerable side makes him much more appealing for me!
I just love your blog. I linked here from my post on Jane Austen today.
Karen
Thank you very much Karen. I visited your blog as well just now; my what a great artist you are!
Jane Austen Today is a great website, very full of Regencial information. Glad that you arrived here, come visit us again sometimes.
Eh, perhaps I misunderstood it. So you didn't arrive here from JA Today... you basically found us... and you are a JA artist yourself? I do think that your style is adorable...and I love your pics of Regency dresses...
Post a Comment