The Janeite Tag x 2

Before the Emma party both Joanna (of The Squirrel’s Diary) and Hamlette (of The Edge of the Precipice) tagged me with the Janeite Tag, and (as one can never have too much Austen :)) here are my answers!

First, I’m to list a fact about myself and Austen. Here’s an interesting one: I saw the 1940, the ’87, and the ’05 P&P’s—all three—before seeing the ’95 in its entirety.

Joanna’s Questions:

1. Which elder sister would you rather have--Jane or Elinor? ~ Jane. She’s such a delightfully sweet and caring confidante and mentor—and she makes such a lovely friend and older sister. (But Elinor has many of the same qualities.)

2. Least favorite heroine? ~ Catherine Morland. I know, it's a bit shocking (and hopefully Certain Friends will still speak to me after this ;)), but she really does irritate me at times… I need to reread it again, though.

3. Which friendship best describes you and your best friend? (i.e., mine would be Jane and Lizzie) ~ I actually have several close friendships and all of them (except maybe my friendships with my sisters) could probably be similar to Emma and Miss Taylor/Mrs. Weston’s. 

4. Least favorite hero? ~ I don’t really have a least favorite, but maybe Edward Ferrars? I don’t dislike him, though—he’s just not as strongly developed.

(And note: this does not apply to film versions—in two of which I like him a great deal. :))

5. Would you rather visit Bath or Brighton? ~ “A campful of soldiers” or streets with “odd looking men walking about who are said to be sailors”? Bath. :)

6. Would you rather have dinner with Mrs. Elton or Lady Catherine? ~ Mrs. Elton. Such a dinner could be highly diverting.

7. Do you know any English country dances? (because I'm jealous if you do) ~ Yes! (And they’re very fun. ;)) 

Hamlette’s Questions:

1. Would you rather board with the Bennets or the Tilneys for a fortnight? ~ I think I would like the neighborhood of Longbourn…so the Bennets. 

2. Would you rather have Edmund Bertram or Edward Ferrars as your pastor? ~ Edmund Bertram. While I respect Edward (and think he probably has the following as well), Edmund has such a depth of character and clear-sighted concern for righteous living.

3. If you could play any Austen character in a play or movie production, who would you want to portray? ~ Lizzy, but I’d probably be best as Elinor.

4. Which Austen book makes you laugh the most? (Or do you not laugh over any of them?) ~ As a whole, I think P&P is the funniest, but Henry Tilney, Mr. Knightley, and Captain Wentworth are the three characters who’ve actually made me smile/laugh aloud while reading.

5. How many times have you read your favorite Austen book? ~ Generally, I refer to P&P as my favorite, but I’ve read Persuasion (my other top favorite) about three or four times.

6. Which Austen parents do you think do the best job of parenting? ~I’ve always been intrigued by the Wentworths (as in Captain Wentworth’s parents). We never meet them, but (minus CW’s conflict—out of which he comes very well :)) all their children (Mrs. Croft, Mr. Wentworth the vicar, and others you hear about at the end) are so warm and balanced. I think the Wentworths must have done an excellent job 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.) ~ The 80’s version of Mansfield Park is very good, but I think we could also use another long version as well. Two ideas for the leads are:

Roger from Wives and Daughters (I think he could make a perfect Edmund)

and Peggy from Return to Cranford. While she does have brown instead of china blue eyes, I think she could do an excellent job portraying Fanny’s balance of simplicity, uncertainty, quiet observation, deep love, and strength of character.

Thank you for the tag/s, Hamlette and Joanna! Great questions!! :)