Monday 29 July 2013

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 241

Icha has unfortunately been unable to post her quote today so I am posting it for her after just returning from seeing Sense and Sensibility at Nyman's National Trust property in West Sussex. The production was performed by the team at Chapterhouse and really was excellent. It is rather coincidental, but apt, that Icha has chosen a quote this week from Sense and Sensibility. Her email sent below: 
 
This week’s quote is a shortie due to my bad internet connection (and I might have to ask Rachel to post it for me…thanks Rachel!). It also reflects my current journey to places I’ve never been before in Sumatra. I have been traveling for six days, and I won’t be home before this coming Friday. It’s the longest non-stop trip I’ve ever done in like, forever, that I found myself trepidating and stressful before the journey began. But now that I’m in Day Six, and I have ‘only’ four days to go, I find myself getting relaxed. All will be well. There will be challenges, of course, but I believe help is always on the way, as I have encountered so far.
 
So, here’s Sense & Sensibility Chapter 6, first paragraph. The Dashwood ladies were traveling to Devonshire for the first time, and dare I say their journey was definitely not embraced pleasantly in the beginning. But as we know later, it was for a good cause that they moved to Devonshire.
“The first part of their journey was performed in too melancholy a disposition to be otherwise than tedious and unpleasant. But as they drew towards the end of it, their interest in the appearance of a country which they were to inhabit overcame their dejection, and a view of Barton Valley as they entered it gave them cheerfulness.”
I dedicate this quote for myself, and for anyone who is embarking on a totally new journey for the first time in your life. May you find your journey surprisingly pleasant, enriching, and help is always around.

thanks and have a nice weekend,
Icha

Pic: John Dashwood being introduced to Mrs Jennings

Sunday 21 July 2013

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 240

In the UK this week we have had excellent weather and an abundance of strawberries. I was making an Eton Mess this afternoon and thought I would use a quote from Chapter 42 of Emma which is uplifting and really makes me smile:

"Mrs. Elton, in all her apparatus of happiness, her large bonnet and her basket, was very ready to lead the way in gathering, accepting, or talking—strawberries, and only strawberries, could now be thought or spoken of.—"The best fruit in England—every body's favourite—always wholesome.—These the finest beds and finest sorts.—Delightful to gather for one's self—the only way of really enjoying them.—Morning decidedly the best time—never tired—every sort good—hautboy infinitely superior—no comparison—the others hardly eatable—hautboys very scarce—Chili preferred—white wood finest flavour of all—price of strawberries in London—abundance about Bristol—Maple Grove—cultivation-beds when to be renewed—gardeners thinking exactly different—no general rule—gardeners never to be put out of their way—delicious fruit—only too rich to be eaten much of—inferior to cherries—currants more refreshing—only objection to gathering strawberries the stooping—glaring sun—tired to death—could bear it no longer—must go and sit in the shade."

 





Pic 1:  Mrs Elton from Emma (1996)
Pic 2: Strawberries

Sunday 14 July 2013

Tom Lefroy Quote of the Week 31

 
Thomas Langlois Lefroy by George Engleheart
I wish to quote the next sentence after the one posted about Tom concerning his 'fatherly' attributes made in my last "Tom" quote.  It is in the first paragraph of the "Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy" by his son Thomas Lefroy.  As I said before you can read the Memoir HERE.  The sentence gives us a wonderful picture of his enduring character:
 
To those who did know him, it will be interesting to retrace some of the steps of one who, through all the arduous duties of professional, political, and judicial life, seemed to live in constant communion with Him who was the source of that singularly unruffled peace of mind which characterized his whole career.
 
Yrs aff'ly,
Linda the Librarian

Monday 8 July 2013

Jane Austen Quote of the Week 239


Darcy & Elizabeth in argument (PP 2005)


My apologies of this week’s belated quote. I had some reflective moments on my own, and it took me some time to get the right quote for my reflections. I eventually ended up with the discourse between Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Chapter 11 of Pride and Prejudice. The following quote is taken from Pemberley.com, starting from Lizzy’s narrative:

``I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr. Darcy has no defect. He owns it himself without disguise.''

``No'' -- said Darcy, ``I have made no such pretension. I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. -- It is I believe too little yielding -- certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought, nor their offences against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. -- My good opinion once lost is lost for ever.''

``That is a failing indeed!'' -- cried Elizabeth. ``Implacable resentment is a shade in a character. But you have chosen your fault well. -- I really cannot laugh at it; you are safe from me.''

``There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.''

``And your defect is a propensity to hate every body.''

``And yours,'' he replied with a smile, ``is wilfully to misunderstand them.''


I used to write a quote focusing on the famous ‘My good opinion once lost is lost for ever’. But now, I want to focus on the whole narrative above. Both Lizzy and Darcy have defects; Lizzy being wilfully misunderstanding people, while Darcy has the inclination to lose his good opinion forever. Everyone has defects. We try to live with them, we try to overcome them.

But one thing made me realise last night. One of the reasons of the different opinions or take on life between Darcy and Lizzy is because of their different personal histories. Certainly, Darcy being rich and Lizzy being a middle class woman owned to their different personal histories. But personal histories are made of much more than the money one has, or wealth one has not. Many things composed a person’s personal history. 

Now I realise that when I interact with someone, I don’t only interact with that person. There’s a big chance that I will interact with his or her personal history, as she/he will interact with my personal history. My take on a topic can be different from this person’s take on a topic because we have different journeys that took us to this point in life.

Darcy and Lizzy had different journeys that took them to that point in life in Pemberley. All of us do. And that’s where the term ‘I understand where you’re coming from’ came from. Not that you came from a rich family or poor, from Europe, USA, Asia or Africa... not just that. The entire history of a person is encapsulated in that person. At times, we will interact not just with that person; but also with that person’s history. 

And that’s where clashes can emerge. Because we often don’t realise that our different takes on a topic can be the result of our different personal histories. 

It happened to me last night. I was having a conversation with a friend, and then things went south because she wondered why I reacted so strongly to a topic, while to her it’s not really a big deal. I then said something which actually referred to the possibility that we had different takes on this topic because of our different personal histories/backgrounds. That time, she was the one who misunderstood me. 

I am sorry that I had an argument with my friend. I will write to her expressing my regret; explaining that we indeed can see things differently because of different things that had happened in our lives prior to this moment. And it’s okay to agree to disagree, without diminishing one’s own feelings or opinions about a certain topic. 

I hope I can patch things up with her. 

And this is why I’m writing you this now. Because, at times, we forget that our arguments and differences are because of the different journeys that have taken us to this point in life. And it’s okay to own them, while at the same time striving to overcome them as well.

Thursday 4 July 2013

Jane Austen to be the new face on the £10 note!

In the United Kingdom, there has been many reports suggesting that Jane Austen is to become the new face on the £10 notes.

There has been recent concern as Elizabeth Fry (social reformer) will be removed from the current £5 note. This has caused much controversy, including protest from Caroline Criado-Perez, a women’s rights campaigner, who has launched an online petition to keep a woman on British banknotes.

Sir Mervyn King (Economist and Governor of the Bank of England) has stated “Whenever we launch a new note, we always have two notes running in parallel – the figure we are using and a reserve figure in case there are any technical issues ... The figure we have been working with for two years [on the £10 bank note], I have said before is a woman and I can tell you today it’s Jane Austen. The Jane Austen note has been up and running internally for the last two years.”

How fantastic! Great news for us Jane fans and for famous females!


Pic 1: Daily Mail Charles Darwin on £10 note

Pic 2: Huffington Post Jane Austen on note

Information taken from Telegraph article