1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a Jane Austen fan do you consider yourself? ~10. Most emphatically.
2. If "they" would make a new Jane Austen Movie, and you would be able to be cast in it, which Jane Austen character would you most like to play? ~ Anne Elliot (in part because I’d so much like to be her ;)), but of all the heroines I’d probably be quite the best at Elinor.
3. Is there any felicity in the world superior to a walk? ~ Writing!!! ;D (But this question is making me think pleasantly of enjoying the crisp fall air. :) Oh, and of course, unless we're talking about hiking out west or something. ;))
4. Who's your favourite Jane Austen 'villain'? (As in 'villain' meaning 'the bad guy.') ~ Frank Churchill, by quite a lot.
5. What/Who introduced you to Jane Austen? ~ My very first introduction was when I was around seven or eight and my mother was checking out all the available films from the library. Such fun! It was a vivid introduction.
6. Did you love/enjoy Jane Austen immediately, or has there been a time when you hated (um, prejudged) it? ~ Starting with the films, besides the ’95 S&S (which we owned on videotape) after that initial period we didn’t really rewatch any of them for a number of years, hence I don’t think I had a super clear idea of what they were, but after I read P&P and S&S for the first time myself when I was twelve… well, the rest was promptly history. Now, while certain other films top my absolute favorites list, quite a few of hers still land securely among my top 10. As for the books… see my answer to question #8.
7. Who, in your opinion, is the funniest Jane Austen character? ~ Mr. Collins. :)
8. Do you quote Jane Austen randomly in public? ~ No, but particularly as I’ve gotten older I’m floored by how many times different lines have popped into my head when I’mpeople watching observing a situation. Or when I’m going through the nitty gritty details of personally working through life. Her perception and commentary on the constants of life remain true as gold through changing fashions and periods. She’s amazing. And on the writing side I’ve learned so much from her!
8. Do you quote Jane Austen randomly in public? ~ No, but particularly as I’ve gotten older I’m floored by how many times different lines have popped into my head when I’m
9. Are children allowed to eat cake at weddings? ~ Yes, indeed, and ice cream, too, if it's served.
10. What is your reaction when you hear that an acquaintance (e.g. A lady at Church) of yours loves Jane Austen? ~ Pleased surprise.
11. Who writes better letters, Mr Darcy or Captain Wentworth? (If you forgot what the letters were, shame on you, instead tell me if you prefer Strawberries to Chocolate or not.) ~ CW! ;D (And no, I’m not biased... I’m NOT. P&P is one of my favorite stories. :))
12. Which Jane Austen heroine do you relate the least to? ~ I like her, but I find it hard to relate to Catherine Morland.
13. What's your favourite Jane Austen house (from one of the movies)? ~ I love some of the mansions, etc. but as a house to live in (and speaking absolutely, utterly, and entirely aside from anything to do with the different proprietors ;)), I think the Collins’ house in the ’95 P&P would be quite comfortable -- shelves, stairs, rooms, garden, and gravel sweep complete.
14. What's your favourite Jane Austen dress (from one of the movies)? ~ *Gasps in horror…* Oh NAOMI, how could you?!? What a question!!! :P Okay, I’ll go with the first favorite that springs to mind:
THIS ONE. (But mind you, it’s just a sample.)
15. Can you turn off lit candles with your fingers? ~ I just lit a candle and tried with… success! So yes, I can. :)
Thank you, Naomi! These were great questions and lots of fun. And everyone, be sure to check out Naomi’s blog here for more party festivities!
3. Writing! Yes! (Good answer!) Though, it's funny, this question gave me an itch for a fall walk, too! :) I do like walking, I just don't do it very much.
ReplyDelete4. IS Frank Churchill a villain? Everybody keeps mentioning him, but I never thought of him like that all. Funny.
7. Haha! Mr. Collins! He IS super funny. (I forgot to mention him in my post!)
12. Yeah, I probably don't relate to Catherine Mooreland a whole lot, either. I'm too practical-minded to allow my imagination to run on in such a manner...and I don't think I'm so easily taken in by people (I hope I'm not anyway).
13. Oh, yes. The Collins' house! So cozy and comfortable. It could be a very pleasant place to live, I think...provided a certain person was not a resident there. Heehee. ;)
14! Oooh! I like that dress of Emma's, too! Is there any dress of Emma's that I don't like?? Her wardrobe is impeccable!
Excellent answers, Heidi!
~Miss March
Miss March,
DeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you! ;)
4 - That is funny. :) Well, I definitely class FC as a villain (his position in the story, his underhand plots, etc.), but I think of him as an "everyday" sort of villain. I mean, ALL of Austen's bad guys are the sort you could completely meet in real life, but to me, Emma (the story) is Austen's most realistic, i.e. "these sorts of things could happen in everyday life, living in a small community together with a bunch of people who see each other ALL the time." :) You can imagine how genuinely awful it would be if some young man came into (for instance) a local church and behaved exactly like Frank -- singling out one young woman on purpose to hide his actual engagement to another. There would be damage and hurt all over the place and it could shake up quite a few things in the community, especially if multiple families were involved. Lots of charity and forgiveness would have to come into play. But Frank's also a favorite of mine because I don't think he's a deep-dyed villain. He's a friendly young man with high spirits who's messed up (big time) but there's quite a lot of hope for him. In fact, Austen even lets us see him setting off on the right path. :P
12 - Yes, that's it! Personally I think of myself as a thorough romantic in the general sense of the word, but not period/Marianne poetic sense. I don't think I've ever had quite the sweet naivete Catherine does and I've always felt much more akin to Anne Elliot or Fanny or Lizzy. (Maybe I end up thinking too hard? ;D)
Good point about Frank. When you put it in everyday terms like that, he really does sound like a rat. Haha! He actually is pretty unkind, now that I think about it more closely; but at the same time, you're right, there's a lot of hope for him. He's not totally dislikeable and you get the feeling that he turns out okay. Jane was probably the making of him! :)
DeleteI think Hiking and Walking are two different activities. I dearly love a good hike, but just walking for the sake of walking... I have other things I'd rather do.
ReplyDeleteSoooo... this is related to JA but not necessarily to this tag, but I just ordered the DVD set that has S&S08 and Persuasion 07 because I've decided I liked P07 quite well after all :-) Not as well as P95, but still quite well :-) And now I'll finally get to see S&S08 too! Weirdly enough, the set of both together was only a couple dollars more than P07 by itself.
Your shot of Mr. Darcy coupled with your "pleased surprise" remark made me laugh aloud :-D
Hamlette,
DeleteHee, excellent point! And absolutely true. I think of them separately, too -- except that sometimes I'll be walking up the driveway etc. and thinking about those mountain trails. ;)
And ohhhhhhhhhhhh, I'm so excited!!!!! ;D You are?? Actually, for a bit of trivia, I picked up your comment on the phone when we were going into town the other day and was then just grinning all over the place. I'm soooo happy you're enjoying it more! ;) And I'll look forward to your thoughts on the '08 S&S. I can never seem to decide which S&S I like most... so it generally just comes down to a given day. :) Sister #3 actually wants to see that one again in December, so we may be able to compare fresh notes.
And so happy to make you laugh! I'm tickled with how well it ended up tying together.
Fresh notes sounds good! I absolutely must watch Ever After sometime in the next week and a half because I'm writing about it for Femnista, but after that, I'm thinking it'll be S&S08's turn.
DeleteFrank doesn't bother me THAT much either. He can be rather lovable too, in a way. And he and Jane are cute together. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know, I love the Collins' house too! SHELVES IN THE CLOSET. I mean, how can you beat THAT?!!!!
Haha, sorry, dear. But you chose a beautiful dress. :-)
I love that you actually tried to snuff a candle for this tag. I feel honoured. :-D
~ Naomi
Naomi,
DeleteYes, he is... and they are so sweet together... :)
And the shelves!!! They SELL the house. (A clothes rod wouldn't be a bad idea either if I was moving into it, but seriously, those shelves are pretty unbeatable ;D).
And thank you, I understand. You do feel sorry about it. And I've survived. And all my kind readers probably wouldn't have survived if Naomi had let me put up my favorite thirty-seven selections. (Do I have thirty-seven??) *Okay, and you know I'm completely teasing. ;D*
And yes, indeed, I'm so happy to add another talent to my skills list! ;)
Perhaps it's just something about the day or all those delightful Emma and Captain Wentworth (I'm sorry he's my absolutely perfect Captain Wentworth, but he can never be my "CW" ;)) screenshots, but this post just makes me very cozily happy inside.
ReplyDeleteOK, now I'm going to go light a candle... but I'll wait until you get home. :)
Great work, sister!
Eowyn,
DeleteIt's sister dear! I love it when you comment. ;) Aren't they splendid?
Incidentally, you don't suppose CW might have had earlier adventures as a ship's captain, do you? Or he could have grown up where he lives and gone to sea for a while and come back? No and yes indeed, that's probably way too far-fetched... He could have worked for a summer on an Alaskan fishing boat, though... Or off the coast of Maine/north. ;)
Heidi,
DeleteVery, very funny. Honestly, I'm smiling right now. :)
And yes, I suppose the fishing boat is within the realms of possibility.
I also chose to play Ellinor, how funny:-) (though we do tend to think a lto alike when it comes to JA)
ReplyDeleteYes, JA really was brilliant at depicting those little quirks that a lot of people have, when I reread one of her books I always find new little details.
That Emma dres *sigh* that's my favourite too!
Good answers!
Rose,
DeleteHow fun! Yes, we do seem to think a lot alike. ;) And I agree! The layers to her stories are incredible and absolutely fascinating. :) I'm so happy you love the dress. Thank you!!
Favorite dress WAS such a cruel question! I wish I was like Anne Elliot too. She's so sweet and patient. :)
ReplyDeleteLois,
DeleteAnne is so beautiful -- one of my favorite heroines entirely. :)
I love that dress, too! In fact, I love basically all the yellow dresses in all the JA movies ever. (Yellow is one of my favorite colors.) And of course, my ABSOLUTE favorite is Emma's wedding gown (from 09). :)
ReplyDeletejessica,
DeleteI'm so glad you love it, too! And it's funny. Yellow isn't actually one of my favorite colors, but I do dearly love several gorgeous yellow period drama dresses. I know P&P '05 is your favorite, but I'm thinking you probably like Maria Lucas' party dress in the '95? It's another yellow favorite of mine. :) Soooo fresh and pretty and it fits her perfectly!
I do, actually--I had forgotten about Maria's yellow dress but then Naomi had a picture of it on her blog, and I was like, "Hey, that IS lovely!" :)
DeleteOh, I love your answer to #8! Isn't it just so wonderful when we can apply (or at least compare) our favorite fictional stories to real life? It helps brighten the monotony sometimes, I think. Or make a good situation even happier. :) Life would certainly be a bit dull without imagination and stories. I'm very glad God blessed us with them. :)
ReplyDeleteHeehee, biased, you? Of course not. You just happen to like CW's letter better, that's all. Nothing could be more natural. ;)
Natalie,
DeleteYes, indeed. It does help quite a lot. :)
And hee. Oh, good. I knew you'd believe me! ;D Actually, it was a bit of an agonizing decision as I truly think Darcy's letter has a well deserved place of high honor in classic literature -- and they're both thoroughly effective -- but CW's... Yes, the passion and the poetic power are overwhelming. ;)