Pages

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

It doesn't seem fair but...

DH has finished Persuasion! Below are his thoughts (in two parts, as I got a little slow in posting):

JANE AUSTEN
MY DIARY
7/13/09
Here we go again Chapters 6-12. The Admiral is another interesting character and I truly see him as a Harry Mudd type from “Star Trek: The Original Series.” He is always looking to make things his way and help people have a better life and help in some way.
Today I did some internet work and found some stuff that made some of the things make a little bit of sense.
I am getting through the book slowly and finally figuring out some things. In reality they are on a different reality plane. The characters seem very materialistic and for that time period they seem not what I expected but add flare to the story line.
In chapter 12 I am reading about the trip in November to Lyme and how they were interacting with each other. I see how the captains interact with the women in story and sometimes it looks like a college party.
I am trying to look at this with a clear mind but every time I pick it up I can’t help but think about what would happen if it was present time. Boy would this story rock.
As in present time money is everything and status is so important and from what I see this is a common thread between the stories. There is the conflict between planned marriages and courtships for money versus love.
Still Lost in Austen
BR

JANE AUSTEN
MY DIARY
7/14/09
Day 4
It’s done - one down and five to go. After rereading chapters one and two and twelve to fifteen I finished Persuasion today around 1 pm.
I realized a lot of things about classics. If you don’t know the style you can get pretty lost. I think there should be a character profile before you start the book. I would even say there should be a guide for the DH so that sharing this with your significant other would be easier.
The final Persuasion log entry - hopefully I won’t destroy this great work of literature.
Why did Jane make so many different names and issues? I got lost in the Elliotts from the get go. After about 15 chapters and some research I figured out Mr. Elliott was a different person from Sir Elliott, his life’s goal was to get his title that was from what I get was his birthright. It would be easier if the daughters were all married. This would ensure the best chance for him to inherit some type of estate with a title down the road. The whole book is about status and future status and who has it from birth and who has it now. The captains became rich by taking ships but then you have the old money and the new money so that made it interesting.
My final thoughts - if the tide was turning and Jane had written this in this century, who would the characters be? Would they be on TV Shows like Dallas, Knott’s Landing , Falcon Crest, and Dynasty?
Haven’t decided what to read next but will be back soon.
Still lost but feeling better about it.
BR
I’m back, I have decided to read Mansfield Park basically because I haven’t seen any movie or BBC version so it will allow me to have an almost clear head to start it. It will be a little slower to read since I have a lot to read at work so I won’t be able to get that far for a few days.
Can’t wait to get started!
BR

2 comments:

  1. This is so cute that your hubby is doing the challenge along with you! I agree with him though, some of these books do need character lists. I've started keeping a piece of paper in my books (or writing on the back blank pages) the names of characters and just a word or two to remind me of who they are. I have to refer to it often and it truly does help. Can't wait to read more of his reviews!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the tip! I've passed it along to DH. He is taking the weekend off from the Austen Challenge, but last week he looked up some Austen websites that have helped,too.

    ReplyDelete