Jane Austen Quote of the Week 230

I have recently started a new job and although the following quote does not match how I feel some of the time, it is definitely how I wish to be all of the time.

In chapter 31 of Pride and Prejudice Colonel Fitzwilliam reminds Elizabeth that she has promised to play the piano. She begins to play and after a short time Lady Catherine begins speaking to her nephew. Mr Darcy moves towards the piano and positions himself so he can view Elizabeth playing.  She says:

“You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me? But I will not be alarmed though your sister does play so well. There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”

I wonder whether Jane saw herself in Elizabeth - a courageos, independent woman - or infact she also was insecure at times and had a real desire to be strong with every hint of intimidation.

Pic: Elizabeth Bennet's courage

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 229

Since my Jane Austen quote of the Week No. 224, I have done some more research on the subject of the slave trade, mainly due to a friend mentioning Sir Thomas of Mansfield Park.

I found this in Chapter 3:

 

Fanny Price (Frances O'Connor) and Sir Thomas Bertram (Harold Pinter), MP 1999

 

 

These opinions had been hardly canvassed a year before another event arose of such importance in the family, as might fairly claim some place in the thoughts and conversation of the ladies. Sir Thomas found it expedient to go to Antigua himself, for the better arrangement of his affairs, and he took his eldest son with him, in the hope of detaching him from some bad connexions at home. They left England with the probability of being nearly a twelvemonth absent.

 

My friend told us about a new book titled "Sugar in the Blood" that got my interest. So thereafter I searched the Pemberley site for information and found a treasure trove that is so extensive that I will be studying for years to come. I shall have to complete my education. It amazes me how much I didn't know. So happy hunting everyone.

 

Yrs aff'ly,

Linda the Librarian

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 228

We haven't done Mansfield Park for a while, so I thought of pulling something from MP. I found this one below, and although I wasn't melancholic or particularly sad today (I'm a bit upbeat, actually), this quote actually can speak volume when the condition is right. Mansfield Park, chapter 46, quoted from Pemberley.com:

"There is nothing like employment, active indispensable employment, for relieving sorrow. Employment, even melancholy, may dispel melancholy."

Frances O'Connor as Fanny Price (MP 1999)

It can be true, but we must take it with a grain of salt. Too often, we modern people drown ourselves in employment, or our career, to ignore something that is not balance in our lives. It should not be like that, I think. I think Jane's quote below is good for temporary distraction. But when the sorrow is already too deep, I think one must go deep within to deal with the feeling, instead of ignoring it and turning to our career for a refuge.

Thoughts?