I'll Say She Is!

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Sunday, 10 October 2004

What I'm up against

"Trying to write something fresh about Jane Austen is like tiptoeing through a ploughed field in the hope of finding virgin soil, only to discover that much of the earth has already been turned." Audrey Hawkridge, Jane and Her Gentlemen.

And all I need to do is squeeze out a tiny paper on Sense and Sensibility. Jane was pretty caustic, she snuck in a zinger every now and then, but the pace of her novels is a bit slow for us modern readers. And English society in her day was so boring! Geez, no wonder you could assume that if you talked with a gentleman in a drawing room after tea or waltzing that he might want to marry you, because your life was so damn dull!

Anyway, I'm making slight progress, I hope to have a draft of the thing finished by tonight. I'm making steak with blue cheese and baked potatoes for dinner, sounds yummy, huh?

Posted by ginevra (link)

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Comments

Yes, that does sound yummy. Too bad I no longer allow myself cheese or dressing with cheese of any sort. :(

Posted by Claire on 10 Oct 2004 15:34

I couldn't do without cheese every now and then, nosir.

Posted by Ginevra on 10 Oct 2004 15:36

Yeah I love it a lot too but it's loaded with fat and I am trying to cut down.

Posted by Claire on 10 Oct 2004 15:58

To quote Homer Simpson, "Couldn't you try a non-delicious fat? Oh, there's no such thing!"

Posted by Ginevra on 10 Oct 2004 17:11

Exactly. And it's a sad thing, knowing that I won't be enjoying those delicious fat particles... as often.

Posted by Claire on 11 Oct 2004 04:59

Just don't deny yourself too many things - you'll explode!

Posted by Ginevra on 11 Oct 2004 05:12

Guess I missed dinner, huh? Sounded good, too. Damn.

Regency England wasn't THAT boring, otherwise Austen wouldn't have been able to include items like Lydia and Wickham (P&P) or Willoughby's behaviour without causing scandal. Society just applied standards in a hypocritical manner. A case of "do as we say, not as we do."

Jane is one of my favorite authors, resulting in 2 of our cats' names - Darcey & Knightley. (Try explaining those to a vet!) I try to read her books (all six) at least once every couple of years.

Posted by Parnell Wynter on 11 Oct 2004 06:41

It's good stuff, don't get me wrong; maybe it's the pace of the class. It feels like we've been talking about Sense and Sensibility for two months now. A little drawn out, even for me.

Posted by Ginevra on 11 Oct 2004 06:54

I hate the fact that during that time period no one could actually say what they felt - as it wasn't polite. Hence the Shakespearian plotlines. Still, Sense & Sensibility is one of my favorites. I (heart) Col. Brandon!!!!!!

Posted by Lisa on 11 Oct 2004 10:06