aust3nland

[aust3nland]

Let's gossip with mama 🤭

[aust3nland]

The reason Mr Darcy is an iconic literary character whose appeal has endured for more than two centuries is not because he's somehow simultaneously both a brooding, Byronic romantic hero and a poor socially awkward shy boy who's too nervous to talk to his crush.

The reason Mr Darcy has enduring appeal is because he transforms from a rich, conceited and utterly unpleasant snob into the best version of himself after a thorough rebuke from the heroine. Instead of resenting Elizabeth when she tells him how much she dislikes him, he realises that she was correct, that he cannot stand the person he has become either. Darcy listens, learns and grows as a person following her reproach of him. For all this, he expects absolutely nothing in return for it from her. Not her love, or her approval, or her thanks. Nothing.

Mr Darcy's character arc is a beautiful example of redemption; of a man turning into the best version of himself he possibly can be out of love not just for the heroine but for his fellow human beings... because being a better person is the right thing to do.

[aust3nland]

I have a Jane Austen blog and an Asian drama blog and I always click on people who follow me to check for bots. A lot of the time it's Jane Austen, classic literature, Asian dramas, period dramas, etc. Sometimes it's random dumpsters of everything. All of this is expected. But sometimes I click through and it's a wall-to-wall Hannibal blog or sports or a complete obsession with a cartoon I can't even identify and I'm like, "This? Okay. Welcome aboard!"

People contain multitudes

[aust3nland]

Honestly, the thing that bothers me the VERY MOST in the Jane Austen or any classic lit fandom is when someone says, "I'm really struggling reading these novels, it seems like a different type of English, any tips?" And there are always a few comments like:

Austen is modern English

I read these books in high school

It's not that hard

Which I hate because

This is the internet. They may not be a native English speaker. They may be one of the dozens of people who don't live in the US!

Yes, Jane Austen uses modern English, but she has a massive vocabulary, some words she uses have meaning drift or are out of fashion, and having a knowledge of British history can really help in understanding her texts

This is not the time to brag about your reading level in high school, you pretentious, precocious, know-it-all, prick! If you actually want people to read the classics maybe try helping them instead of making them feel like idiots

Helpful things to say would be:

It is hard, though it tends to get better once you get used to her writing style

Try watching an adaptation first or using an audio book, which can help you follow the story

Feel free to ask for help if you have difficulty with a particular passage (and then don't be a dick about it)

Try Northanger Abbey first, the language there is a bit easier

Once I watched Reddit assist a reader all the way through Emma as they struggled with passages and it was beautiful! Please do not shame people for asking for help or struggling! The community will only get smaller. This is not the place to brag about your freaking reading level in your youth

[aust3nland]

Those "modern fairy tales where the princess saves herself" types of books not only misrepresent the gender roles in fairy tales (there are tons of stories where girls get to save the day), but they fundamentally misunderstand the entire genre.

Fairy tales aren't about saving yourself.

These aren't epic myths or heroic legends about the great warriors who slay every monster in their path because they're so awesome. Fairy tales are almost always about ordinary, even incompetent, people who get thrown into strange situations where they only succeed because of the help of others.

It's not a gendered thing. The boy who goes off to seek his fortune is usually the dim-witted third son whose older brothers are the strong, smart ones. The third son succeeds because he is kind to the magical helpers who then complete the tasks for him--and the exact same thing happens when a girl is the main character.

The characters in a fairy tale rarely succeed because they embrace their own strength and take their own path. Much more often, they are told step-by-step what to do, and they succeed because they obey--respecting the wisdom of others.

The core virtue of a fairy tale is not pride, but humility. It's not a story about the strong, but those who are weak, small, helpless. The people who can't do it all on their own, but can recognize the worth and wisdom of others.

Turning this story into a "girl power" (or even a "boy power") story warps it into something that is fundamentally the opposite of a fairy tale, and it has nothing to do with the gender of the main character.

[aust3nland]

Okay i know i myself have made jokes on Mr Darcy hating to spend time with Mr. Collins but. I feel like of the two of them Darcy is probably significantly less annoyed than Lizzie by Collins simply bc 1) he never received The most obnoxious proposal in the world from him 2) the combination of Darcy's superior rank and his not being an Elegant Female puts him in a position to just tell Collins to stop talking and probably be thanked for the privilege. Darcy probably just lets him talk for five minutes and then is all "hm. I'd like to meditate on that in silence for a while. Very intriguing." And gets like an hour of peace

[aust3nland]

look i'd write this myself but I just have too many wips, so hear me out

(if it doesn't already exist)--- an OHSHC fanfic regency au based on Jane Austen's Emma.

Obviously Tamaki is Emma, handsome, clever, and rich, misguided and a little full of himself, but obviously leveled out by Kyoya as Knightley, and intrigued and excited by Haruhi as Harriet (imo Emma has chemistry with them both so you get the opportunity explore both ships although in canon Emma ends up with Knightley) (Harriet is literally poor and naive and Emma takes her on like a project and is controlling over her love life if that’s familiar, though haruhi is a bit more grounded)

I guess the twins if not just Hikaru would be Robert Martin (Emma's disapproval of Robert Martin/Tamaki wanting to keep Haruhi away from the twins, and you can explore the Haruhi x Hikaru ship since Harriet marries Robert Martin)

the beginning of Emma starts with her match making Ms Taylor and Mr Weston and I’m instantly thinking about episode 2 with the host hopper girl and the teacup guy (names escape me)

and obviously the whole thing in Emma is that she matchmakes and meddles around in people's lives, (Tamaki af) and Knightley is the only one to call her out when Emma goes too far- keeping tamaki in check is obviously a whole thing

very bare bones here but you get it. the ships can go any way but it just makes sense this can’t be too niche right? feel free to add on/correct me i’ve only watched the anime bc i can’t read right to left for shit -.-

[aust3nland]

Ranking Jane Austen heroes/men on how good of a father they’d be?

I have faith that all of them would be good fathers. After all, Jane Austen clearly knows what bad fathers look like and she is pretty harsh about them (rightfully). I think all of them would be good in different ways, so instead of ranking, here is their dad type:

Fitzwilliam Darcy: Providing dad, his love language is buying his children expensive toys and praising their accomplishments to relations. He is definitely involved in education and discipline. Wee bit overprotective of his daughters, but you get it, he has valid reasons. Gives his sons handshakes instead of hugs.

Charles Bingley: Fun dad, he's not sure about this whole 'parenting' part... but Baby Charles, did you see this cool rock? Do you want to go up on Daddy's shoulders so you can see the elephant? Do you want to see Daddy's fencing swords? (Oh, good point Jane, we'll put those away for a few years...)

Frederick Wentworth: Teamwork dad, he knows that Anne could totally handle everything herself, but he's not afraid to help. He feels confident removing a toddler from someone's back after all. Occasionally cannot figure out what to do and stares helplessly at his wife.

George Knightley: Nurturing dad DOES BABY GEORGE NEED ANOTHER BLANKET? DOES HE NEED A SNACK? BABY GEORGE, IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO FOR YOUR PRESENT COMFORT??? (No, Mr. Knightley, he's fine.)

Colonel Brandon: Affectionate dad, he cries when any of his children hits a major milestone. He feels the need to constantly hug and kiss his children. They are miracles, all of them are miracles, and he is going to make them happy and what happened to him and Eliza will never happen again! They need another hug

Edward Ferrars: Thoughtful dad, constantly thinking about what will make his children feel happy and loved. Encourages them to follow their dreams. Has minor panic attacks if he says or does anything that remotely reminds him of his own mother. Elinor assures him regularly that he's doing an excellent job (because he is).

Edmund Bertram: Interactive dad, takes time to discuss their lessons and answer questions. Very anxious about his children's moral education. Will take the time to draw lines on their letter paper. Will never admit he's wrong even when he makes a mistake.

Henry Tilney: Perfect dad, like honestly, have you met him? He's a 10/10, all the best parenting traits rolled into one man. AND YET, his oldest son thinks he's totally lame.

Bonus: Frank Churchill left his child at Kensington Gardens once twice, but Jane never found out so it doesn't count.

Bonus bonus: Robert Martin totally has a mini-me son who rides beside him on a pony.

[aust3nland]

nah cause the fact that jane austen wrote a character like emma woodhouse is still insane to me. she threw all the standards out the window and was like hey, here’s this incredibly complex and nuanced character, she’s selfish, privileged, manipulative and arrogant, but she’s also really fucking kind, she would do anything for those she loves (including sacrificing a lot of her liberties), she is able to admit that she’s made a mistake and grow from it, because those things are not mutually exclusive. and i think the reason why everyone is trying to girlbossify their heroines to make them like lizzie bennet (which is an insult to her character but that’s another story) is because they’re scared to write characters like emma. which is understandable, because she’s unlikeable-ish, and they don’t want to take that risk.

honestly the way jane wrote emma is IMPECCABLE and not everyone can pull it off, but i wish female characters with actual flaws were more popular.

[aust3nland]

Pride & Prejudice

Some fun facts I learned while doing light research for the buccaneering story arc in Today at Pemberley:

1. While sodomy/buggery was a capital offense in England until 1861, France decriminalized it in 1791.

2. Effeminate and gay men were called mollies and meeting locations of the day were molly houses or molly markets. Pillories (stocks) were often built close to them for the convenience of law enforcement and conversely ended up being an indicator to help find molly houses.

3. Platonic female friendships of the day included a lot of physical intimacy and declarations of love. Additionally, it was common-ish for unmarried women to live together and share expenses.—So, lesbians could really fly under the radar.

4. Speaking. Of. Lesbians. There was a couple of women, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby of upper-class birth who were famous during the Georgian Era for living together in a gothic house in Wales. These women:

Hosted intellectual luminaries from all over Europe including Byron and Shelley.

Had a series of dogs named Sappho.

Were buried in a single grave with a single grave marker, along with Sarah’s servant, Mary Caryll.

Were given a civil list pension by Queen Charlotte herself.

5. Among Eleanor and Sarah’s visitors was Anne Lister who kept an explicit diary written in a code. Her descendant, John Lister later deciphered the code and when a friend advised him to burn the diary, he preserved it instead. Anne Lister shared Holy Communion with her wife Ann Walker on March 30, 1834 in a ceremony that the two women considered to be marriage.

[aust3nland]

Elizabeth Bennet when she gets to the part of Mr Darcy's letter where he mentions that her family don't always behave themselves in public:

[aust3nland]

The fact that we don't have a Clueless-style Northanger Abbey adaptation where Catherine Morland is the most heartbreakingly earnest and unselfaware teenage fangirl with one of the longest self-insert fics on Ao3 is actually a tragedy

[aust3nland]

one thing I love about pride and prejudice is that wickham marrying lydia is never portrayed as a "well they deserve each other" situation. even while lydia is loud-mouthed and arrogant and conceited the book still makes clear that she's young and naive about wickham's intent and her running off to marry him is consistently portrayed from elizabeth's point of view as an awful thing. the "joy" and relief surrounding the confirmation of their marriage comes from the fact that it was the only way the situation could have ended in a way perceived as "respectable" and not because it was actually a good thing. for all of her flaws and negative character traits lydia is still a teenage girl being manipulated and groomed by a horrible worthless man and the book doesn't shy away from that. thank you miss austen

[aust3nland]

Emma. (2020) dir. Autumn de Wilde

[aust3nland]

in talking about Jane Austen I think it's brilliant of her to flesh out the main roots of all the problems within the very opening lines or pages of her books

her iconic opening line of pride and prejudice "it is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" is clear on that because not only does it set the stage for the matchmaking errors made by Elizabeth's mother (her impropriety at talking about the advantageous marriage opportunity which is one of the major reasons Darcy separates Bingley from Jane) but also DARCY'S own error in judgment in assuming that because he was a wealthy, high-status man his proposal would be accepted no matter what he said because OBVIOUSLY HE'S SUCH A GREAT CATCH AMIRIGHT

In Emma we are immediately painted a picture of her character "she lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her" so that we know the kind of privilege she has been brought up with and the easy life she's always lived

persuasion the whole opening of that novel demonstrates Anne's father's vanity and how that has been detrimental to his family

like jane has this image of being a romance writer (which she is) and a comedic writer (shes that too) but i really don't think we give miss austen enough credit for what a smart writer she was she let us know instantly the conflicts of her stories nor does she receive enough credit for her work at satire or commentary bc these witty lines are very obvious observations and critics of the world around her

[aust3nland]

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940)

dir. robert z. leonard

[aust3nland]

Dearest, loveliest Elizabeth!