Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Janeite Tag


Hannah at Miss Daydreamer's Place has tagged me with the Janeite Tag :-)  Many thanks, Hannah!


The Rules:
  • Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
  • Tell us how you were introduced to Jane Austen and share one fun fact about your Janeite life (this fun fact can be anything from "I stayed up all night reading Emma" to "I visited Chawton and met Anna Chancellor.").
  • Answer the tagger's questions.
  • Write seven questions of your own.
  • Tag as few as one or as many as seven other Janeites and let them know you've tagged them.

How I became a Jane Austen Fan:  I started reading Jane Austen back in high school -- I got a box set of 4 of her novels for Christmas or my birthday when I was probably 16.  Between then and when I went to college, I read those 4 (S&SP&PEmma, and Persuasion) and didn't really like any of them except Persuasion.  I didn't read Austen again until I was 30, when I read Mansfield Park and disliked it greatly.  But then in 2012, I bought a Jane Austen journal and a completely different boxed set of all 6 of her major novels, kind of on a whim.  I decided to try reading them all in one year.  And I did, and became a firm Austenite in the process.  And discovered that I still don't like Mansfield Park, I still don't completely love Emma or Sense & Sensibility, but that PersuasionPride & Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey all delight me exceedingly.

My Fun Fact:  I didn't truly become an Austenite until I was twice as old as when I first read one of her books (32 to 16).

Hannah's Questions:

What is your favourite Jane Austen novel?  Persuasion.  I identify with Anne Elliot more than any of the other Austen heroines, I find Captain Wentworth the most interesting Austen hero, and the story line of mature people knowing themselves well and learning to know each other again fascinates me.

Who is your favourite Austen hero and heroine? (I guess that could be considered two questions!)  I think I just answered that.  Oops!  It's Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth.

Who is your favourite secondary character?  Miss Bates in Emma.  She's so unfailingly cheerful, even in the face of a very downtrodden existence.  She's one of the few Austen characters who makes me both laugh and cry.

Which relative of any of Austen's heroines/heroes do you find most annoying?  Mrs. Norris.  I want to push her into the coal scuttle.

Provide up to five of your favourite Austen quotes. (I know, hard! Just pick a few random quotes that you love. They don't have to be your absolute favourites)

“It is only a novel... or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language” -- Northanger Abbey

“Now I must give one smirk, and then we may be rational again." -- Northanger Abbey

“I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.” -- Pride and Prejudice

“Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.” -- Emma

“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W." -- Persuasion

(That last one brings me to tears even just reading it here.  Dear, dear Captain Wentworth!)

What is your favourite adaptation for each of Austen's books?  I haven't seen any versions of Mansfield Park, but I own the 1996 Emma, the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, the 2007 Northanger Abbey, the 1995 Persuasion, and the 1995 Sense & Sensibility.  Those are my favorites, though I would like to own the 1995 P&P too, because I like it a great deal.  And sometimes I almost want to buy the 2007 Persuasion, but first I want to get it from the library one more time and see if a second viewing smooths out the things I didn't like about it.

Are there any books that you would recommend to a fellow Janeite? For example: some books that I would recommend to a fellow Jane Austen fan are Much Ado About Nothing, North and South and Cold Comfort Farm.  Hmm.  I do wholeheartedly recommend Amanda Grange's series of "Diary" books (especially Henry Tilney's Diary and Captain Wentworth's Diary.)  They are diverting, amusing, and thoroughly enjoyable.  And they have zero questionable content.  

Okay, here are my seven questions:

1.  Would you rather board with the Bennets or the Tilneys for a fortnight?
2.  Would you rather have Edmund Bertram or Edward Ferrars as your pastor?
3.  If you could play any Austen character in a play or movie production, who would you want to portray?
4.  Which Austen book makes you laugh the most?  (Or do you not laugh over any of them?)
5.  How many times have you read your favorite Austen book?
6.  Which Austen parents do you think do the best job of parenting?
7.  If you could make a new movie version of any Austen book, which one would you adapt, and who would you cast?  (Feel free to get as detailed as you want, or just cast the principals -- your choice.)

And I hereby tag:

Emma Jane of A Lantern in Her Hand
Eva of Ramblings of a Janeite
Heidi of Along the Brandywine
Joanna of The Squirrel's Diary
Lizzie of His Redeemed Child
Monica of Spilled Ink
Ruth of A Great Book Study

Play only if you want to!

18 comments:

  1. I loved your answers! :)

    Because I feel like answering your questions...

    - The Tilneys but only if General Tilney was on his very best behaviour.

    - Edward because then I can meet the Dashwoods and Brandon through him. He's a means to an end! :D

    - Elizabeth Bennet or Marianne

    - Northanger Abbey. Because of Henry :)

    - I think I must have read Pride and Prejudice about 3 or 4 times.

    - The Morlands. Definitely.

    - An adaptation of Lady Susan would be really interesting! I think either Kate Winslet or Rachel Weisz would be great in the title role. Even though I'm very fond of Persuasion 1995 I wouldn't be against a new BBC adaptation with really great production values. Someone online suggested Claire Foy and Richard Armitage as Anne and Wentworth. I've not seen Foy in anything but seeing RA as Wentworth... *dies and goes to Heaven* I would also love a modern-day adaptation of Northanger Abbey but I'm not sure who I'd cast for that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Armitage as Wentworth would be amazing! I'm with you!

      Delete
    2. I would rather stay with the Tilneys too, just because the Bennet household would be too busy for me.

      I've only read Lady Susan once, and I don't remember it enough to figure out if I'd like Winslet or Weisz in the role. I do like both of them as actresses, though.

      Delete
  2. Oh, Hamlette, thank you for thinking of me. I thought about it today, and I think I am not qualified to answer these questions b/c I am so terribly lacking in Austen. : ( I have only two titles under my belt. So this next year, no more fooling around: I have to read at least two more Austens.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would recommend the 1983 version of Mansfield Park (although it's not high on my list of Austen novels either). I didn't think the actresses in either of the newer versions played Fanny faithfully at all. Of course, some of that may have been how they were directed; I don't know. The Crawfords are very well done in that version, as well. And there were two versions of Emma made in 1996--who's the lead actress in your version?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There were two 1996 Emmas?!?!?! I didn't know that! I meant the Gwyneth Paltrow version.

      Delete
    2. Oh, and thanks for the recommendation -- if I ever decide I want to watch a movie version of MP, I'll look for that one.

      Delete
  4. Ah, Wentworth's letter.... :D I wouldn't say you're missing much by not having seen an adaptation of Mansfield Park. They need to make another, and maybe try to get it right this time! Nice answers Hamlette! And you thought up some nice questions too -- I'd never considered that I could daydream about who I'd cast in my ideal Austen adaptation before... and now I won't be able to stop myself! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. None of the MP adaptations have made me want to see them, and I really don't care for any of that book's characters much, so haven't seen them. If they cast someone really awesome in it, I might sit through it for them, but barring that, just not caring.

      So who would you put in your ideal Austen adaptation?

      Delete
    2. I don't know! I would love to recast an Emma if I could, but I don't know who I would cast. Now I'm gonna be considering every British actor I come across. :P

      And I love what Hannah mentioned above about Claire Foy and Richard Armitage in Persuasion. I think that would be amazing!

      Delete
  5. Just poppin' in to say, thanks for the tag, and I'll get to that as soon as I get over my Wuthering Heights-induced mental cloud. :-) (it's actually okay; i may have figured a way to relate the durn thing to Thor/Loki, which makes it so much better. :-D )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, if you can get that to work relating to Thor & Loki... I might read it again myself.

      Delete
    2. Working on that...I've been incoherent for 2 days trying to reason it out. LOL

      Delete
  6. I love this! May have to join in sometime soon. :)

    I think that's a big reason why I love Persuasion myself. I identify with Anne so very much. And watching her and Wentworth find their way? It just gets me every time.

    Ah, that letter! It makes me swoon every single time.

    And yes! Amanda Grange's "Diary" books are so wonderful! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. By all means, join in! I'd get a kick out of seeing your answers :-)

      Delete
  7. I finally got around to completing this tag, thanks Hamlette! You came up with great questions, I particularly enjoyed recasting... with help from Sarah. ;)
    http://hopefulaspiringhomemaker.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-janeite-tag-im-finally-back.html

    ReplyDelete

What do you think?

Comments on old posts are always welcome! Posts older than 7 days are on moderation to dissuade spambots, so if your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry -- it will once I approve it.

(Rudeness and vulgar language will not be tolerated.)