francesduncan

[francesduncan]

Cher is clueless about her feelings for Josh - just as her regency counterpart, Emma, is clueless about her feelings for Mr Knightley. Emma is unaware that her determination not to marry is because she's in love with Mr Knightley, her heart is reserved for him

Video from Clueless

Audio from The Alchemy by Taylor Swift

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We're awkwardly aware of the age gap between Mr Knightley and Emma - 16 years makes us uncomfortable. It gets worse when Harriet develops a crush, a full 20 years, making Mr Knightley more eligible to be her father than her husband. His companions are often younger; his brother and sister in law, both Mr and Mrs Elton, Robert Martin, and Mrs Weston may be younger than him also. Exceptions are Mr Woodhouse, Mr Weston and Miss Bates who have elements of childishness in their characters. Mr Knightley might be the only real adult in Highbury.

In chapter 41 it feels like Mr Knightley is sitting at the kids table "placed as to see them all", he witnesses Emma and Frank's games, morphing into a disappointed parent (a role he often slides into with Emma) observing their treatment of Jane. He suspects Frank of "double dealing", of an "inclination to trifle with Jane Fairfax." Emma is too caught up in Frank's attention to herself and her schemes of "making him over to Harriet" to observe clearly. Mr Knightley's senses have been sharpened by his jealousy of Frank.

The image is from Taylor Swift's music video I Bet You Think About Me, it looks as though she's telling the children to behave but, if you've seen the video, she's there to corrupt them, clearly indicated by her bright red dress in comparison to the pure white of the children's dresses (almost copies of each other).

You're welcome to book a time to discuss Austen with me

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Lady Susan Ruins Everyone's Lives

Lady Susan has an amazing ability to waltz into a situation and mess it up for everyone. Mrs Mainwaring loves her husband who loves Lady Susan, she is "insupportably jealous and so enraged against" Lady Susan that it is "time for (her) to be gone."

Audio from Fortnight by Taylor Swift

Video from Love and Friendship (Lady Susan adaptation) by jane Austen

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When Edwards engagement becomes public

Audio from Peter by Taylor Swift

Video from Sense & Sensibility 1995

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When Elinor discovers Edward is married

Audio from Peter by Taylor Swift

Video from Sense & Sensibility 1995

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Everything is About Marianne

Audio from Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? by Taylor Swift

Video from Sense & Sensibility 1995

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Everything is About Emma

Audio from Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? by Taylor Swift

Video from Emma 2020

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Money is thicker than blood

John Dashwood is an arse. It's his responsibility, as a male and head of the family, to support the females as they are unable to work. He shirks his responsibility partly because he's selfish, partly because his wife is selfish, and partly potentially due to jealously. This is his fathers second family, he remarried and had 3 children. John's mother died and left him plenty of money to live on. With his fathers death he also gets the estate of Norland and the estate income, due to the entail his sisters get nothing. However, you can never have enough money.

Audio from Cassandra by Taylor Swift

Video & Audio from Sense and Sensibility 1995

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It's so sad that she will not be remembered that way. It's so sad that she used her influence to oppress the already oppressed. Her legacy will not be her books.

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Anne hides her sadness most of Persuasion

Audio from Who's Afraid of Little Old Me by Taylor Swift

Video from Persuasion 2007

If you'd like to discuss Austen with me you can book via the link in my bio

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At all costs Lydia must keep her good name

Audio from Who's Afraid of Little Old Me by Taylor Swift

Video from Pride and Prejudice 1995

If you'd like to discuss Austen with me you can book via the link in my bio

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Harriet goes back to Mr Martin

Audio Cardigan by Taylor Swift

Video Emma 2020

If you'd like to discuss Austen you can book a time

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Catherine's only 17 and Mr Tilney proposes (though does he in this adaptation?)

When Catherine is thrown out of his father's house, Mr Tilney isn't there but he's pissed when he returns and discovers what happened. Against his fathers wishes he goes to Catherine.

He felt himself bound as much in honour as in affection to Miss Morland, and believing that heart to be his own ... no unworthy retraction of a tacit consent, no reversing decree of unjustifiable anger, could shake his fidelity, or influence the resolutions it prompted.

Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey C30

Catherine is "assured of his affection" which "originated in nothing better than gratitude, ... a persuasion of her partiality for him." It's a simple love story really; she meets a guy and falls in love, that sparks his affection. His father attempts to get in the way and fails.

HENRY: Will you have me? Will you love me?

CATHERINE (for most of the novel): I'm only 17. I don't know anything

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Audio Betty by Taylor Swift

Video Northanger Abbey 1987

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Lydia and Kitty, Charlotte and Lizzy: best of friends

Both relationships change dramatically by the end of the book/movie, the pairs are separated and only maintain contact through family relationships. It's marriage that will separate them; Lydia's marriage to Wickham and Charlotte's to Collins. The former everyone with the exception of Kitty and her mother disapprove, the latter everyone with the exception of Lizzy and her mother approve.

I was struck by the similarity of these scenes at the Netherfield Ball; two friends all dressed in white walking together and laughing. You can see the younger two acting at being grown up while probably drunk. Even the hair adornments are similar; Kitty and Lydia have feathers while Charlotte and Lizzy have flowers in their hair.

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Video from Pride and Prejudice 2005

Audio from You're On Your Own Kid by Taylor Swift

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Mr Wickham creates rumours

Lizzy learns rumours of Mr Wickham's behaviour in a letter from Darcy after his first disastrous proposal. She has a wee "struggle," partly she thinks because he'd flattered her as Darcy had not, but realises she doesn't know his "real character." It's only when Lizzy reads Mr Darcy's letter and recalls her first conversation with Mr Wickham where he laid out his rumour of how Darcy had treated him that she is

"...struck with the impropriety of such communications to a stranger... he had boasted of having no fear of seeing Mr. Darcy... yet he had avoided the Netherfield ball the very next week. ...till the Netherfield family had quitted the country, he had told his story to no one but herself; but that after their removal, it had been everywhere discussed; that he had then no reserves, no scruples in sinking Mr. Darcy’s character, though he had assured her that respect for the father would always prevent his exposing the son."

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, C36

So he only starts rumours when he feels relatively safe of their lack of truth being discovered. When Wickham elopes with Lydia Bennet rumours start to swirl about him.

"All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but three months before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared to be in debt to every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues, all honoured with the title of seduction, had been extended into every tradesman’s family."

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, C48

It's never clear whether the seductions were accurate, but the debts appear to be, as he provides Mr Gardiner with a list of debtors to satisfy. The things Darcy tells Elizabeth in the letter appear to also be true. As Lizzy notes Wickham did note in their first conversation that they had grown up together and Darcy is a good brother, they may be the only true things he conveyed.

The lyric following this selection could also apply to Wickham:

"I could build a castle Out of all the bricks they threw at me"

Taylor Swift, New Romantics

Not only are people talking about him or hurling bricks at his character, enough to build a castle, he manages to use the bad situation he's got himself into to his advantage - to build himself a castle. He may have to marry Lydia Bennet but he manages to get Darcy to pay off his debts and buy him a new commission plus now they're brothers so there's always the future potential. We learn in the last chapter that Wickham himself never asks for money, or at least that we know of, but Lydia has no qualms about asking both of her eldest sisters for money frequently.

Audio from New Romantics (TV) by Taylor Swift

Video from Pride and Prejudice 1995

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Kitty loses her place when Lydia gets married

Austen describes Kitty as "weak-spirited, irritable, and completely under Lydia’s guidance." Lizzy attempts to warn her father of the danger of Lydia's character out in the world and highlights how much Kitty, though two years older, is influenced by her.

"Our importance, our respectability in the world, must be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark Lydia’s character... Her character will be fixed; and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made herself and her family ridiculous... In this danger Kitty is also comprehended. She will follow wherever Lydia leads. Vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled!”

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, C41

Lizzy turns out to be more right than she could have imagined. Kitty is so heavily involved in Lydia's schemes that the elopement is "not wholly unexpected" by her. When Lydia is married Kitty is left drifting, she no longer has a stronger character to lead her.

At the end of the novel:

"Kitty, to her very material advantage, spent the chief of her time with her two elder sisters...her improvement was great...removed from the influence of Lydia’s example, she became, by proper attention and management, less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid. From the further disadvantage of Lydia’s society she was of course carefully kept..."

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, C61

a series of Jane Austen/Taylor Swift lyrics

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Video from 2005 Pride and Prejudice

Music from The Story of Us (TV) by Taylor Swift

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Searching For An Empty Seat

This scene in the 2022 Netflix adaptation of Persuasion is extremely awkward, intended to be funny, no doubt. It's likely that people would have allocated places at the dinner table, either according to rank or as directed by the hostess. No one would wander the table trying to find a place. Nor would a lady be forced to pull in her own chair, if there was no gentleman to help, then a servant certainly would.

The lyric speaks of feeling out of place which Anne certainly does, she's trying to find her footing with people she's usually comfortable around. In the novel she plays at the pianoforte so Captain Wentworth can dance with the Miss Musgroves', her eyes filling with tears as she, and any eligibility she may have, is ignored. Captain Wentworth is still aware of her, he asks whether she dances and in the above scene he watches her, only sitting once she's found her seat.

If you'd like to discuss an Austen novel with me privately you can book a "Read With Me" session.

Video from 2022 Persuasion

Music from The Story of Us (TV) by Taylor Swift