As I've mentioned before, I love Jane Austen and her works and a visit to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath was a highlight of my trip to England in 2003. Here's a picture of the townhouse at 25 Gay Street where Jane lived for a time.Last Sunday I watched the second part of Sense and Sensibility on Masterpiece Theatre and loved it. I teared up more than once as Marianne and Elinor both suffered broken hearts and sighed when, at long last, they found love. LOL, it's not as if I'm not familiar with the story, but it's one I love and the production was good enough for me to get caught up in the emotions. I didn't remember Brandon fighting a duel with Willoughby but that was a fine scene. I loved it when Brandon drew blood.
The Masterpiece Theatre pages at pbs.org are wonderful. My favorite is the Men of Austen page which includes dating profiles of each man. I was surprised to realize how fabulously rich some of her men were. In today's currency, Colonel Brandon's 2,000 pound income would be equal to $1.2 million US, and Mr. Darcy's 10,000 pounds per year is the equivalent of $6 million! Even Edward Ferrars 100 pounds per year income translates to a respectable $60,000 income in today's money.
As much as I enjoyed the story, I can't help comparing social conditions then with now. I wonder how many of today's mothers would consider the thirty-five-year-old Brandon a suitable match for a seventeen-year-old daughter? Of course, there is that $1.2 million income to consider.
Who's your favorite Austen hero?
Linda / Lyndi
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5 comments:
You know, I've never read any Austen novels. *ducks rotten tomatoes* Nor have I seen any of the movie adaptations. I think it's my dislike for anything historical, but I should really try to get past my hang-up sometime soon and give one of them a try. Maybe I'll start with the movies and ease my way into the books. :-)
Lacey
http://www.laceysavage.com
Lacey,
Starting with the movies is a good idea, since they're so entertaining. Besides, the books weren't historical when Jane Austen wrote them, they were contemporary! ;-)
Linda
We couldn't wait to watch the second part of Sense and Sensibility last week. I, too, teared up when Marianne and Elinor's hearts were broken. Interestingly, we watched Fiddler on the Roof last night and saw the similarities in these very different cultures - the poor hoping for a good match for their daughters, young women being paired with much older men (with money), women hoping for a love match over a money match. We're all so different and yet, oddly, very much the same.
~Debbie
Debbie,
I love "Fiddler On The Roof", too. It's one of my favorite musicals.
Linda
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