Monthly Archives: January 2013

January 30, 2013

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1.30.13 Thought of the Day

“There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

“The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.”

“Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth”

“Today is a day that will live in infamy.”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on this day in Hyde Park, New York, USA in 1882. It is the 131st anniversary of his birth.

FDR was born into wealth and luxury. The only child of James Roosevelt and Sara Anne Delano Roosevelt, Franklin was fifth cousins with Teddy Roosevelt.

An athletic child, Franklin enjoyed horseback riding, shooting, rowing, tennis, polo, golf and sailing. He went to an Episcopal boarding school, the Groton School for boys with other privileged, connected students. At Groton, under the influence of headmaster Endicott Peabody, he learned the values of serving his fellow-man, of public service and helping the less fortunate. From Groton he went on to Harvard College where he served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Crimson.

He also began to date his fifth cousin Eleanor Roosevelt while he was at Harvard. They married “On St. Patrick’s Day, 1905” [whitehouse.gov] The couple had six children together, Anna Eleanore, James, Franklin Delano, Jr., (who died before he was a year old) Elliot, a second Franklin Delano, Jr. and John Aspinwall.

He attended Columbia Law School but dropped out when he passed the bar. He worked for the law firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn focusing in Corporate Law. In 1910 he ran for New York State Senate and won by a landslide. In 1913 he was appointed Assistant US Secretary of the Navy. And by 1920 had risen in the ranks of the Democratic party to such a degree that he was their nominee for Vice President.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing left as Asst. Sect. of the Navy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roosevelt was struck by Polio in the summer of 1921.

At first, he refused to accept that he was permanently paralyzed. He tried numerous therapies and even bought the Warm Springs resort in Georgia seeking a cure. Despite his efforts, he never regained the use of his legs. He later established a foundation at Warm Springs to help others, and instituted the March of Dimes program that eventually funded an effective polio vaccine. [Biography]

It took almost a decade but determination and Eleanor’s support he managed to take the stage at the 1924 Democratic National Convention “on crutches to nominate Alfred E. Smith” [whitehouse.gov] Smith in turn convinced Roosevelt to run for NY Governor in 1928.

English: Color photo of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Man of The Year” on the cover of TIME Magazine, January 2, 1933 edition: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601330102,00.html The file is a cropped, digitally-retouched version of the original large-resolution file at the Google Images/LIFE Magazine archives (see “Original source” link). According to the information posted here, the cover of this edition of the magazine is of public domain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 1932, as the country struggled in the throes of the Great Depression, Roosevelt was elected to the first of his four terms as President of the United States.

In his first 100 days, President Franklin Roosevelt proposed sweeping economic reform, calling it the “New Deal.” He ordered the temporary closure on all banks to halt the run on deposits. He formed a “Brain Trust” of economic advisors who designed the alphabet agencies such as the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration) to support farm prices, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) to employ young men, and the NRA (National Recovery Administration), which regulated wages and prices. Other agencies insured bank deposits, regulated the stock market, subsidized mortgages, and provided relief to the unemployed. [Biography]

By mid-decade the country was turning the corner on the depression, Roosevelt’s bold policies had worked. But some wondered if he had gone too far, especially his decision to take the nation off the gold standard.

Roosevelt responded with a new program of reform: Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed. [whitehouse.gov]

As the winds of war blew through Europe and the Pacific he pledged a “good neighbor” policy of mutual action against aggressors. “He also sought through neutrality legislation to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, yet at the same time to strengthen nations threatened or attacked.” [Ibid] After the German’s invaded France and the threat to England became omnipresent Roosevelt “send Great Britain all possible aid short of actual military involvement.” [Ibid]

But after December 7, 1941 there was no hedging America’s involvement in the War.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed organization of the Nation’s manpower and resources for global war. [Ibid]

By 1944 as World War II was beginning wind down, Roosevelt’s health was starting to deteriorate. “hospital tests indicated he had atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure.” [Biography] Regardless of the test results Roosevelt ran for a fourth term. this time he choose Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman as his running mate.

He attended the Yalta Conference to discuss post-war Europe with Churchill and Joseph Stalin.

He then returned to the United States and the sanctuary of Warm Springs, Georgia. On the afternoon of April 12, 1945, Roosevelt suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and died. [Ibid]

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s funeral procession with horse-drawn casket, Pennsylvania Ave. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 Comment | tags: 1924 Democratic National Convention, Carter Ledyard & Milburn, Franlin D. Roosevelt, Great Depression, Groton School, United States, Yalta Conference | posted in American History, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, postaday, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday, World War Two

January 30, 2013

Mark Antony 1.14.13 b Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

Awwwww, poor Mark Antony got hacked. Well, his original Thought of the Day bioBLOG profile did. I kept getting very odd comments on the post involving casinos and listdecamps (sic) and naked women (which he probably would have enjoyed) and I know not what else. I trashed the first blog and am re posting here. Sorry for the inconvenience and the fact that he is now out-of-order. But what else can I do?

Don’t mess with me hackers, and don’t mess with Mark Antony!

———————————————————————————————————————————

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar.”
— Marcus Antonius
[From Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Act 3, scene 2, 74–77]

: Mark Antony. Bust. Badly damaged. 1st century BC. [www.laits.utexas.edu]

Marcus Antonius was born on this day in Rome, Roman Republic (now Italy) in 83 BC. Today is the 2097th anniversary of his birth.

He was born into a prominent Roman family. Both his grandfather and father were distinguished citizens. His mother was related to Julius Caesar. When Antony was still a young child his father, died on a military campaign against pirates in the east. His mother, Julia Caesaris, remarried Publius Cornelius Lentulus, who was later executed by Cicero. (Antony and Cicero were lifelong enemies from that point on.)

Antony was given a proper education for a Roman boy. It focused on public speaking and logic. He was a rambunctious youth. He kept company with mobsters, gamblers and prostitutes.

At an early age he became known for the personality traits he showed later as an adult: he was brave, loyal to friends, athletic, and attractive, but he was also reckless, occasionally lazy, fond of drinking and carousing, and involved in love affairs. [Encyclopedia of World Biography: Notable Biographies]

He left Rome and went to Greece to study rhetoric and sharpen his oratory skills. There he joined the cavalry. He served with the Roman governor of Syria and fought in the east.

…He showed a fine aptitude for command, distinguishing himself with both courage and leadership. He eventually ended his tour in Alexandria Egypt, where he helped re-install the exiled King Ptolemy Auletes. [UNRV History]

Julius Caesar was fighting in Gaul at the time and he called Antony to join him. Antony became one of Caesar’s most trusted subordinates.

Caesar conquered Gaul for Rome, and Antony assisted him in suppressing local rebellion against the Romans. In 50 B.C.E. , after returning to Rome, Antony was elected a tribune, an office that represented the people’s interests. [Encyclopedia of World Biography: Notable Biographies]

: Marlin Brando as Marc Antony in the 1953 version of Julius Caesar

With Caesar’s time in Gaul coming to an end the Senate in Rome was growing nervous. After such a victorious campaign the general should have been welcomed back with open arms, perhaps even given a tribute (parade) –however, the Senate worried that he would be unwilling to give up his power, and might even occupy the city. They called for him to lay down his arms — Antony vetoed the decree. Next the Senate…

gave its officers special powers to “preserve the state,” Antony felt that the measure would be used against him and he fled to Caesar. By doing so, he gave Caesar the opportunity to assert his power, because he could claim he was defending the people’s representatives—the tribunes—against the power of the Senate. [Ibid]

Basically the Senate forced Caesar’s hand. Civil war ensued. Anthony again proved a loyal ally to Caesar and an effective leader on the field. Caesar rewarded Antony with the position of Consul “a one-year position that was one of the most powerful in Roman government.” [Ibid]

On march 15, 44 BCE a group of Roman Senators assassinated Caesar… Antony used Caesar’s funeral oration as the catalyst that would once more plunge Rome into civil war. At this point, he used brute force and Caesar’s massive public popularity to position himself at the top of the Roman political ladder. …By late in 44 BC, Antony pushed through several laws, scattering the assassins throughout the provinces, and used his command of Caesar’s former legions to maintain control. Antony procured the Gallic provinces for himself… Before Antony could begin his quest for ultimate power, however, there was a new man on the seen. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, Caesar’s heir, had begun to challenge the authority of both Antony and the assassins. [UNRV History]

At first Antony ignored both Caesar’s will and his heir. But as Octavian’s power grew, he persuaded two of Antony’s five legions to join him and garnered a lot of “friends” in the Senate. The Second Triumvirate was formed when Antony and Octavian joined forces with a third powerful Roman, Lepidus, in response to a threat against the capital from the armies of Brutus and Cassius (Caesar’s assassins).

the Second Triumvirate became a constitutionally established body for ruling the state. Octavian assumed control in the west, Antony in the east, and Lepidus (for a time) in Africa. [Encyclopedia of World Biography: Notable Biographies]

To firm up control of the eastern provinces Antony arranged to go to war with Parthia. To provision his army he turned to Egypt for supplies.

…he met with Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, in 41 B.C.E. An immediate romance followed. This was interrupted when the news arrived that Antony’s brother and wife were openly defying Octavian in Italy. Antony moved back west and peace was patched up in 40 B.C.E. with Antony’s wedding to Octavian’s sister, Octavia, after the death of Antony’s first wife…Antony soon went east again, beating back the Parthians. In 36 B.C.E. he again took up his affair with Cleopatra, becoming involved with her both romantically and politically. Cleopatra saw her alliance with Antony as a wonderful opportunity to revive the past glories of the Ptolemies, the royal family line from which she was descended. [Ibid]

Antony’s romance with a foreign queen — and abandonment of Roman lady Octavia did not sit well with Octavian or the Roman public.

Cleopatra was beginning to cast Antony as a sell-out against Roman culture, and Octavian would seize at the opportunity to publicly chastise him. While still married to Octavia, with whom Antony had 2 daughters; Cleopatra bore him another son in 36 BC. … the shaky peace was beginning to unravel. Antony had seemingly begun to take to eastern culture on a grand scale, adorning himself in Egyptian dress, practicing eastern customs while ignoring those of Rome, and doling out great gifts to Cleopatra. [UNRV History]

Cleopatra had one son by Caesar, Caesarion, as well as children by Antony. By recognizing Caesarion as Caesar’s legitimate son he was voiding Octavian’s claim as Caesar’s heir.

This was seemingly the final straw against Octavian, and the propaganda campaign in Rome against Antony’s outrages began in earnest. Antony was portrayed as a pawn of Cleopatra, the foreign Queen who, it was said, sought to become Queen of Rome. [Ibid]

The Second Triumvirate officially expired at the end of 33 BC. Rome was headed, once again to civil war. Octavian cracked down on the Senate and Antony friendly Senators, about 300 of them fled the city. Both sides built up massive armies. Antony moved his troops into Greece. A stalemate held fast over the summer with Octavian’s Marcus Agrippa disrupting Antony’s supply lines.

Octavian wisely refused to give battle with the army, and Antony did likewise at sea. As the summer waned, both armies seemed to settle in for a battle of attrition. [Ibid]

Stalemate did not favor Antony. Disease, and defections dwindled his numbers.

On September 2, 31 BC Antony desperately attempted a breakout with his fleet to escape the blockade and regroup in Egypt. With his large ships, he sailed out of the gulf of Actium and engaged Agrippa’s prepared navy. Though Antony’s under matched forces fought valiantly, they were simply unable to counter Agrippa’s vast superiority. Under the watchful eye of both armies on land, and as the tide turned against Antony, Cleopatra seized an opportunity to flee the battle with her own ships that were held in reserve. As a gap opened in Agrippa’s blockade, she funneled through, and was soon closely followed by Antony’s command ships. The commanders of Antony’s land forces, which were supposed to follow him to Asia, promptly surrendered without a fight. [Ibid]

Octavian was now the undisputed ruler of the Roman world. He took his time springing the final trap against Antony and Cleopatra. It was nearly a year before Octavian arrived in Alexandria.

Upon Octavian’s arrival in Egypt, Antony committed suicide. Octavian went on to become the first emperor of Rome, taking the name Augustus.[Encyclopedia of World Biography: Notable Biographies]

Leave a comment | posted in Thought of the Day

January 29, 2013

W.C. Fields 1.29.13 thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it too the food.” — W.C. Fields

William Claude Dukenfield was born on this day in Darby, Pennsylvania, USA in 1880. Today is the 133rd anniversary of his birth.

His father, James, was an imigrant from Sheffield, England. He fought in the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry in the American Civil War and was wounded in the war. His mother, Kate, who was of German ancestry, was 15 years younger than James. James was a clerk after the war. He sold vegetables and was a part time hotel-keeper when W.C. came along.

It is hard to tell the myth from reality in W.C. Fields’ youth. It depends on where you look. But he seems to have gone to school for about four years before joining his father in selling vegetables on a horse drawn cart. W.C. also worked in a department store and and oyster house. His relationship with his father, who was an alcholic, was not good.

At eleven, after many fights with his alcoholic father (who hit him on the head with a shovel), he ran away from home. [IMDB]

Fields told tales of living on the street, sleeping in a whole in the ground and stealing food and clothing to stay alive. In reality, though he did run away it was usually to his grandmothers and return home the next day.

His first regular job was delivering ice. By age thirteen he was a skilled pool player and juggler. …In 1893 he was employed as a juggler at Fortescue’s Pier, Atlantic City. When business was slow he pretended to drown in the ocean (management thought his fake rescue would draw customers). By nineteen he was billed as “The Distinguished Comedian” and began opening bank accounts in every city he played. [Ibid]

Fields at 15 (Image courtesy wcfields.com]

By 23 he was opening at the Palace in London and performing with Sarah Bernhardt at Buckingham Palace. Starting in 1915 he was in the Ziegfeld Follies for six years. 1915 was also his first movie, Pool Sharks. In 1923 he was in the musical Poppy. The play was made into a movie, Sally of the Sawdust in 1925 by legendary D.W. Griffith.

Here he is in the Diner Sketch from Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

Other film highlights include David Copperfield (1935), You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (1939) , My Little Chickadee (1940) and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941).

He made over 37 moves for Paramount before switching to Universal

W.C. Fields was an actor whose flawless timing and humorous cantankerousness made him one of America’s greatest comedians. [Biography]

He died in 1946 on Christmas Day from an alcohol-related stomach hemorrhage. He was 66 years old.

Leave a comment | tags: W. C. Fields | posted in Film, postaday, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday, United States, W. C. Fields

January 29, 2013

Its PRIDE and PREJUDICE DAY!!!

By ritalovestowrite

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a book by my favorite author, upon turning 200 years old, will be written about A LOT in this blog. Seriously I’m thinking about baking a birthday cake today. I’m just that excited. [YES, I get this excited about Jane Austen, I realize its not everyone’s cuppa, but bear with me. It will be over soon and tomorrow I’ll be back to proper Thought of the Day bioBLOGS. Promise.]

So, as you may have noticed, for the past week I’ve been giving you my take on the major players in Pride and Prejudice. Today I thought we’d take a look at the different adaptations over the years.

The Originals

First the source… the Austenian Holy Grail if you will, the first editions. I was lucky enough to attend a Jane Austen Society of North America meeting that started at the Goucher College Special Collection Library. Their Jane Austen collection is the largest in North America and it houses several first editions and first illustrated editions.

Opening page of a 200 year old first edition Pride and Prejudice.

These beautifully letter pressed editions came in three volumes and are handsomely bound and typeset. The type size, letter and line spacing, weight and size of the books were perfectly designed for long afternoons when reading was a prime source of entertainment. One look at these beauties and you will never want to read another trade paper back again.

Goucher also has first illustrated editions and the illustrated editions that followed. It is fascinating to see how the look of the characters changed through the times.

An early illustrated edition of Pride and Prejudice from the Goucher Library.

The Goucher Library is hosting a special 200th Anniversary exhibit from January 28, 2013 through July 26, 2013 Click Here for more information on Exhibit. For more information of the Jane Austen Collection at Goucher you can Click Here. And if you are patient you can read all about the Goucher Austen Collection in an article I’ve written for ARRIVE magazine in the March edition!

The Adaptions

Here’s my first Austen bookshelf.

From the original we move to adaptations. What happened BEFORE Mr. Bingley moved to Neitherfield? What happened AFTER Darcy and Lizzie got married? There are hundreds of these books out there and they vary in genre and quality. As an Austen fan I get one or two spin-off books every holiday and birthday. I recommend Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife and Darcy & Elizabeth and the trio of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman books for those of you yearning to know what MIGHT happen next.

Here’s my second Austen bookshelf.

I’m all for anything that brings new reader to Austen. So I enjoyed the Marvel Comics version of Pride and Prejudice.

Cover of Pride and Prejudice (Graphic Novel)

I like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies too — I found myself reading along, enjoying the original Austen prose and then BAM Zombies. It was fun.

Oh, here are some more books that didn’t fit on those other shelves.

I liked Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and its companion Rude Awakenings for their Alice through the looking glass approach to P&P. And I’ll give a thumbs up the more romance-y Definitely Not Mr. Darcy too.

Others are either on the “To Read” pile or have been read so long ago that I don’t remember them well enough that I can’t give you n review. That’s the problem with a lot of these book adaptations… they don’t stick with you like the original.

The Multimedia

On to film. If you were to gather a table full of Jane Austen fans and ask them which is their favorite film version of Pride and Prejudice you’d probably get a half-dozen answers.

In 1940 Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier starred in a “Hollywoodized” version of the novel. I liked the lead’s chemistry and think they did a good job portraying Elizabeth and Darcy. But the movie takes huge liberties with the novel — from the hoop skirts, to cutting out characters and scenes, to adding new scene (archery any one?), to rewriting the reason Lady Catherine’s visit to Longbourn.

Elizabeth Garvey and David Rintoul took on the famous Lizzie and Darcy in the BBC 1980 series. It is my friend and fellow JASNA:MD member Joyce Loney’s favorite of the movies. She’s a big fan of Garvey’s Elizabeth. And, she writes:

David Rintoul’s Darcy is stiff (okay, some people have called him a stick), but he cracks during the Pemberley visit and he finally relaxes during the proposal scene. Amy Patterson has a great article (Choose Your Darcy) in the current issue of Jane Austen’s Regency World, and she says that David Rintoul “gets closer than any other to capturing the essence of this wonderful, complicated, shy, angry and passionate hero.”

But Loney’s favorite Darcy, and mine, is Colin Firth. Firth played opposite the beautiful Jennifer Ehle in the A&E mini series in 1995. Ehle is my favorite Lizzie and Alison Steadman and Benjamin Whitrow are far and away my favorite Mr. and Mrs. Bennets.

Pride and Prejudice (Photo credit: elycefeliz)

At six hours the A&E version fits in almost all the book. And I believe it is the truest film adaptation out there. I could (and do) watch it again and again. It is a delight (with or with out the wet shirt.)

Gurinda Chadha brought a distinctly Bollywood approach to her Bride & Prejudice version in 2004. The movie, complete with colorful blockbuster musical numbers, spans three continents and stars Aishwarya Rai as Lalita (Lizzie), Martin Henderson as Darcy, Namrata Shirodkar as Jaya (Jane) and Naveen Andrews as Balraj (Bingley). Obviously there are a lot of changes from the original novel, but it is fun and bright and they did a great job conveying the heart of the story.

2005 brought us Kiera Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen in Joe Wright’s take on the Novel. Like the Greer Garson version this one leaves out characters and compresses the novel — I guess it has to in order to fit into the 129 minute running time. Personally I had a lot of hope for this version because I love a lot of the actors in it, but, sorry it just falls flat. Tons of style but not so much substance… and when you start with Pride and Prejudice there’s just not excuse for that. There are moments in the movie that are terrific — I thought Macfayden and Knightly were wonderful in the “taciturn” dance and the proposal scene (though why it was in a down pour I don’t understand.) And I give this version the best sound track award. I loved the music. I also really liked Simon Woods as Bingley.

The last adaptation I’m going to cover is also the most current. In fact it is still going on, the brilliant Lizzie Bennet Diaries. The LBD have completely reimagined the story as a video blog circa 2013 LA. Click HERE to go to the home page. From there you can follow the story from the top, explore twitter and tumblr accounts for both the characters and the actors (as well as the producers and director.)

The Wrap Up

I hope you’ve enjoyed my take on Pride and Prejudice. I thank those of you who played along and commented here and on Google and Facebook. As always, please drop me a line an let me know what you are thinking.

Austen Fans to Celebrate 200 Years of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – 200 years old (thenashvillereader.wordpress.com)
‘Pride and Prejudice’ celebrates 200 years: Its influence on modern pop culture (popwatch.ew.com)
Happy Anniversary, Pride and Prejudice! (keciaadamsauthor.wordpress.com)
Pride & Prejudice Paperdolls (wired.com)
‘Pride and Prejudice’: 5 things you may not know about the classic novel (csmonitor.com)
Happy Birthday Mr. Darcy: “Pride and Prejudice” turns 200 (omnivoracious.com)
It’s been 200 years of Pride and Prejudice! (thepenguinblog.typepad.com)
Famous Actors Behind William Darcy of ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (abcnews.go.com)
Pride and Prejudice Characters: Lizzie and Darcy (ritalovestowrite.com)

6 Comments | posted in 1812, Caroline Bingley, Colin Firth, Film, Jane Austen, JASNA, Lady Catherine, Lizzie Bennet, Lydia Bennet, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Darcy, Naveen Andrews, postaday, Pride and Prejudice, Thought of the Day, Writing

January 28, 2013

Pride and Prejudice Characters: Lizzie and Darcy

By ritalovestowrite

Is there anything more delightful than a well written story of personal growth and discovery? Pride and Prejudice, Austen‘s “own darling child,” is a story of first mis-impressions that eventually resolve into true understanding, appreciation and love. The journey to that self discovery is the juiciest part of the novel. And that means that both Darcy and Lizzie must be willing to change the way they look at the world and at each other.

Jennifer Ehle is beautiful as Elizabeth in the 1995 series [Image courtesy BBC Home.]

Elizabeth Bennet is a pretty, charming, intelligent, self-assured 20-year-old. She is the second eldest daughter of the Bennet family. She takes second place to sister Jane in beauty as well, but she bares it well. She has a lively, playful disposition and a good-natured impertinence that is the delight of her father and the bane of her mother.

Cropped screenshot of Greer Garson from the trailer for the film Pride and Prejudice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lizzie prides herself on being a good judge of character. But when it comes to Darcy and Wickham that is hardly the case.

Keira Knightly as Lizzie in the 2005 Movie

Lizzie’s first road block of prejudice is the snub she receives from Darcy at the Assembly Room Ball. At first everyone thinks Darcy is a major catch because he’s tall, handsome and rich. But then

… his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.

It was decided that he was “He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world.” The icing on the cake is when he refuses to dance Lizzie, saying“She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.”

Matthew MacFadyen in the 2005 movie.

Although outwardly she takes the comment in stride, and even jokes about it with her friends, from that moment on she is prejudiced against him.

Darcy was …haughty, reserved, and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting…Bingley was sure of being liked wherever he appeared; Darcy was continually giving offence.

(It is a prejudice that Wickham easily manipulates.)

Had Darcy’s opinion of Lizzie not changed it would have been a very different book indeed. But shortly after the snub he begins to appreciate her “fine eyes,” “light and pleasing figure,” and “easy playfulness.” He tries to shake it, but he falls completely in love with her.

Daniel Vincent Gordh and Ashley Clements tackle the proposal scene in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries

He swallows his pride and familial duty and offers Lizzie the second of her two horrible proposals. Basically he tells her that he likes her against his will, against his reason, and even against his character.

She refuses him, of course — He’s separated Jane and Bingley and ruined Wickham — how could he think for a moment that she’d accept him.. She calls him on his un-gentleman-like manner then tears into him…

“You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it…From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, … and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

It is a life changing moment for Darcy. He writes her a letter explaining his position on the Jane / Bingley situation and on his dealings in the Wickham narrative and then he leaves Kent. But he’s also forced to face the fact that he is a snob.

Upon reading the letter Lizzie recognizes that prejudice has colored her emotions to Mr. Darcy. She begins to question her assumption of Wickham’s innocence and his guilt.

Colin Firth, the ultimate Darcy, starred in the 1995 series [Image courtesy BBC Home.]

At Pemberly she’s presented by a completely different Darcy. Not only does the housekeeper, Reynolds, praise her master, but Darcy actually seems to have transformed. He is kind and welcoming even to her relatives the Gardiners, who he previously thought himself above.

He completely saves the day with the Lydia / Wickham elopement, and he does it all for Lizzie.

By the time Bingley and Jane reunite both Lizzie and Darcy have come 360 in their feelings toward one another. What was once intolerable is now precious. And all was happily ended.

Elizabeth Garvey and David Rintoulin in the 1980 BBC series [This one’s for Joyce]

Pride and Prejudice at 200: looking afresh at Austen’s classic (guardian.co.uk)
Pride and Prejudice Characters Lady Catherine and Caroline part 2 (ritalovestowrite.com)
Catching up on P&P Characters (ritalovestowrite.com)
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/readathon/

2 Comments | tags: Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Austen, Lizzie, Pride & Prejudice | posted in 1812, England, Jane Austen, JASNA, Literature, Lizzie Bennet, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Darcy, postaday, Pride and Prejudice, Thought of the Day, Writing

January 26, 2013

Pride and Prejudice characters: Jane and Mr. Bingley

By ritalovestowrite

Ahhh. Jane and Bingley. Of all the characters in Pride and Prejudice these two deserve to be together — and deserve a happy ending — the most. If Austen had been a lesser writer I think Jane and Bingley would have been the main characters in the novel. Pride and Prejudice would have been a more straightforward romance of two beautiful nice people meeting, falling in love, being separated by circumstance and malevolent people, but coming together at the end and, against all odds, getting that happy ending. Not a bad story. A charming story, no doubt, but not one, perhaps, that we’d still be re-reading 200 years later. (And one, no doubt, that would have had a different title.)

Suzannah Harker in the 1995 series.

I have absolutely nothing critical to say about Jane. And I am sure she would have absolutely nothing bad to say about me. She is beautiful, shy, kind, reserved, humble and believes the very best in everybody. She is a most loving sister and devoted daughter. We all deserve at least one Jane Bennet in our lives. (And maybe we should all strive to be a little more Jane like — how’s that for a New Year’s resolution?)

Rosamund Pike in the 2005 movie

Bingley is a pretty wonderful guy too. Charming, handsome, rich — everything a gentleman ought to be. He shoots, he rides and I know not what.

Crispin Bonham-Carter played Bingley in the 1995 series [Image courtesy BBC Home.]

Sure, Bingley could be a tad more decisive, and have a bit more backbone. But to misquote Jessica Rabbit– he’s not wimpy, he’s just drawn that way.

Simon Woods is funny and charming in the 2005 and in Cranford. If you want to see the other side of Simon check out his performance as Octavian Caesar in ROME.

Mr. Bennet sums up the couple towards the end of the book with…

“I have not a doubt of your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means unlike. You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income.”

Naveen Andrews and Namrata Shirod Karar as Balraj and Jaya (Bingley and Jane) in Bride and Prejudice

The adorable Cristopher Sean and Laura Spencer as Bing Lee and Jane in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries

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Blogger’s note: Hey how are your liking these P&P character studies? Drop me a line and let me know. Tomorrow is Darcy and Lizzie and Monday — on the big anniversary we’ll discuss various adaptions of the novel. So please weigh in!

And don’t forget to send in your entry to the Jane Austen “Essay” Contest for everybody. (Deadline is also on Monday.)

Cheers, Rita

Catching up on P&P Characters (ritalovestowrite.com)
Pride and Prejudice Characters Lady Catherine and Caroline part 2 (ritalovestowrite.com)
Men of Austen Week: Bingley Stylin’ (vmmvblog.wordpress.com)
Pride and Prejudice at 200: looking afresh at Austen’s classic (guardian.co.uk)
Pride and Prejudice characters: Charlotte and Mr. Collins (ritalovestowrite.com)
Pride and Prejudice characters: Mr. and Mrs. Bennet (ritalovestowrite.com)

1 Comment | tags: Bingley, Darcy, Jane, Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice | posted in 1812, England, Jane Austen, JASNA, postaday, Pride and Prejudice, Thought of the Day

January 25, 2013

Pride and Prejudice characters: Charlotte and Mr. Collins

By ritalovestowrite

For a woman who came from a family of clergymen — her father, two brothers and four cousins wore a collar — Jane Austen certainly enjoys poking fun at them in her novels. And Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Collins is her most ridiculous clerical caricature. How on earth does sensible Charlotte wind up with such a buffoon?

A clergyman was a professional, just like a lawyer or doctor. He made his living in the pulpit, not at the bar or in the examining room, but he still needed to be a well educated man. Add to that a vicar needed have a high moral standard, be a good speaker and have compassion for the poor and needy.

David Bamber is Mr. Collins in the 1995 series [Image courtesy BBC Home.]

Instead we get conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly, self important Mr. Collins. He is a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, a social climber with a very good opinion of himself and his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

He comes to Meryton to visit the Bennets. As closest male relative he is set to inherit the Longbourn estate on Mr. Bennet’s death. That is something, to his credit, that he feels some guilt over. So he decides to marry one of the five Bennet sisters. Jane is all but engaged to Mr. Bingley so he sets his sites on Lizzie.

Tom Hollander as Mr. Collin in the 2005 movie

Poor Lizzie receives two of the worst proposals of marriage in literature. The first is from Mr. Collins. He wants to get married because:

as a clergyman it would set a good example to the parish.
it will add to his happiness.
it is “the particular advice “ of Lady Catherine.
he has a violent affection for Elizabeth

Of course he doesn’t expect a rejected. For one thing he’s SUCH a catch, and for another he’s chosen well. The girls are desperate and he has them in a corner.

He literally can not believe that she declines his offer. Neither can her mother. And for a while Longbourn is long born with strife.

Queue Charlotte.

Charlotte Lucas is plain, pragmatic, good-tempered, funny, sensible, intelligent and unromantic. She is 27 years old and Lizzie’s intimate friend. She’s such a good friend, in fact, that she comes to the rescue when Lizzie refuses Mr. Collins. She keeps him in good humor by listening to him and, one assumes, diverts him, making sure he’s out of ear shot of the shouting Mrs. Bennet and the giggling Lydia and Kitty.

Lucy Scott in the 1995 series

Lizzie thanks her friend, but “Charlotte’s kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any conception of; — its object was nothing less than to secure her from any return of Mr. Collins’s addresses, by engaging them towards herself.” With a little encouragement on her part Mr. Collins transfers his ‘violent affections’ form one lady to the next and…

”In as short a time as Mr. Collins’s long speeches would allow, every thing was settled between them to the satisfaction of both… he earnestly entreated her to name the day that was to make him the happiest of men… and Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained.”

Lizzie is surprised that Mr. Collins could so quickly change his mind and settle on another life partner. But she is astonished that Charlotte could accept his proposal. Charlotte reminds her however that she is…

”not romantic, you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.”

In some ways Charlotte winds up in same situation as Mr. Bennet in the marriage department. Neither of them respect or love their partners. And both do what they can in daily life to avoid interacting with their spouses Mr. Bennet shuts the door to his library, while Charlotte sits in her parlor and encourages Mr. Collins to work with his bees or visit Lady Catherine.

Claudie Blakley in the 2005 movie

At the end of the novel Mr. Bennet writes to Mr. Collins informing him that — despite warning to the contrary by both Collins and Lady Catherine — Lizzie and Darcy are soon to marry. Mr. Bennet advises Mr. Collins to “Console Lady Catherine as well as you can. But, if I were you, I would stand by the nephew. He has more to give.” If Mr. Collins heeds this wise advice he’d shift his alliance to Darcy who would never put up with the vicar’s toady behavior. That, combined with Charlotte’s even handed temper–which (hopefully) would rub off on Collins–MIGHT make him a more tolerable fool.

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Here’s a clip of the wonderful Julia Cho and Maxwell Glick in a scene from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries…

6 Comments | posted in 1812, Alfred Hitchcock, books, Charlotte and Collins, Chihuly, England, Florida, Jane Austen, JASNA, John Lennon, Johnny Gruelle, Lady Catherine, M. Night Shyamalan, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Darcy, Non Fiction, Norma Shearer, postaday, Pride and Prejudice, Robert Redford, Romania, Thought of the Day, Writing

January 25, 2013

Pride and Prejudice characters: Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

By ritalovestowrite

It is unlikely that either Mr. or Mrs. Bennet would win any parenting awards. Nor are they they a role model of a happy marriage.

Mr. Bennet is the easier to take of the two. Perhaps because Austen herself liked a witty conversationalist, she gives Mr. Bennet plenty of ironic banter. Sure, he’s got a quip for every idiotic thing that comes out of Mrs. Bennet’s mouth, and he puts down his daughters with unsettling regularity, but he’s on our girl Lizzie side of things. And when he does come out with a snarky remark it isn’t said in a shrill scream. He’s calm — to the point of being detached. And if things get too hectic he just shuts the door to his man cave, er, I mean LIBRARY and lets the others put out the fire.

Benjamin Whitrow played Mr. Bennet in the 1995 series [Image courtesy BBC Home.]

Mrs. Bennet on the other hand is constantly in emergency mode. She’s over excited about everything… from the arrival of the militia in Meryton to Jane’s budding romance. Her mood swings are so intense that she’s either quite shallow or bipolar. If Mr. Bennet is disengaged from his daughter’s lives (specifically the part of his daughter’s lives that involves them getting a husband) she is hyper involved. And while Mr. Bennet hides in his library, Mrs. Bennet prefers to take center stage. In case of emergency she succumbs to her palpitations and flutterings and retires to her lounge to be waited on hand and foot.

Both of them play favorites while neglecting to educate their daughters and have chosen an economic course that requires the girls to marry well or face lives of genteel poverty which their upbringings have made them entirely unprepared for.” [ Story and History; A guide to Everything Jane Austen ]

Mr. Bennet favor’s Lizzie with her sharp tongue and sense of irony. He has a soft spot for Jane who is so sweet he has a hard time finding anything negative about her. But by the time we get to Mary his patience wears thin. He makes fun of her zealous nature and doesn’t support her earnest attempts to exhibit. He has all but given up on Kitty and Lydia and calls them the two silliest girls in the country.

Alison Steadman is Mrs. Bennet in the 1995 series [Image courtesy BBC Home.]

Mrs. Bennet admires Jane’s beauty and good nature, but she really dotes on Lydia (her twin in temperament and love of all things in a Red Coat.) Her second daughter is a source of anxiety for her– especially when she refuse a perfectly good offer of marriage from Mr. Collins.

Austen describes the couple at the end of the first chapter…

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develope. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.

They married young. Mr. Bennet…

captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had, very early in their marriage, put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence had vanished for ever; and all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown. … To his wife he was very little otherwise indebted, than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement.

The novel is almost as much about economics as it is about love. Longbourn, the Bennet’s family estate is entailed away to the nearest male heir upon the untimely demise of Mr. Bennet.

When first Mr. Bennet had married, economy was held to be perfectly useless; for, of course, they were to have a son. This son was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should be of age, and the widow and younger children would by that means be provided for.

But they didn’t have a son, so Mr. Collins is set to inherit the estate.

Donald Southerland in the 2005 Movie

Even if they HAD had a son there’s no guarantee that Junior would have agreed to end the entail. He could have wound up like John Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility and turned his back on his family financially. Given the hands off attitude the Bennets employed with their children’s education Junior could have been as feckless and week minded as Lydia. I doubt that the estate could have survived long in that case. A son would not have necessarily solved the problem. Better if the Bennets had economized through the years.

English: C. E. Brock illustration for the 1895 edition of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice (Chapter 13 ): “Why, Jane — you never dropt a word of this; you sly thing! ” Français : C. E. Brock illustration pour l’édition C. E. Brock illustration pour l’édition 1895 du roman de Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice (Chapitre 13) Mrs Bennet est sûre que Bingley vient diner (alors qu’il s’agit de Mr Collins) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Better yet if the girls were better educated. If the girls were really to be “marriage market” ready they should have had a governess or some one who insisted they learn to drawl (one of Caroline/Darcy’s requirements for a refined lady) read the classics, learn foreign languages, dance and play an instrument. Only two of them can play an instrument, and they don’t play all that well.

Brenda Blethyn in the 2005 movie

Given the economic uncertainty for the girls Mrs. Bennet should have at least prepared them with a more domestic education. At dinner when Mr. Collins wants to compliment which ever of his fair cousins has prepared the meal, Mrs. Bennet informs him that they keep a cook, “and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen.” But maybe the girls should learn a little about cooking. Not to go into service but to be able to run their own kitchen as Lydia certainly will have to. Lady Catherine brags at finding a governess position for some young ladies she knows. That’s another profession the girls could be readying for.
But neither parent seems at all interested in pushing them toward preparing for the future beyond winning the husband lottery.

Still, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet add a lot of humor to the novel (even if it is self/co inflicted.) And, given that I’ve been known to be sarcastic and I’m a lot closer to their age then Lizzie or Jane’s age I’ve got a soft spot for them. Perhaps they wont win Parent of the Year, 1813, but the novel just wouldn’t be the same with out them.

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, read by Emilia Fox (Naxos Audiobooks) – A Review & Giveaway (austenprose.com)
“PRIDE AND PREJUDICE” (2005) Review (rosiepowell2000.typepad.com)

13 Comments | tags: Bennet, Jane Austen, Lizzie, Pride & Prejudice | posted in 1812, England, Fiction, fictional character, Jane Austen, JASNA, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, postaday, Pride and Prejudice, Thought of the Day, Writing

January 24, 2013

Catching up on P&P Characters

By ritalovestowrite

I hope you’ve been enjoying this week’s look Pride and Prejudice characters.
Coming up we’ve got:

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett
Charlotte and Mr. Collins
Jane and Bingley
And, of course Darcy and Elizabeth

I’d love to hear from you about your favorite characters (or least favorites) and why? When did you discover Austen? What is your favorite adaptation? And how do the characters speak to you in your modern life?

Cheers, Rita

2 Comments | tags: Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice | posted in Thought of the Day

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