Announcing Period Drama Fashion Week

You are invited!

What: Period Drama Fashion Week

Where: Elegance of Fashion

When: July 8th to 14th

Why: To appreciate period drama costuming and fashions

That's right, everyone! Remember when I briefly mentioned that I was planning a big event. Well, this is it! Period Drama Fashion Week!

What can you expect from Period Drama Fashion Week? Plenty of posts about period drama fashions, of course! There will be highlights of your favorite period dramas and period drama characters. There will be posts about fashions! There will be a game to compete in! And, for the first time on Elegance of Fashion, guest posts from your favorite blogs!

This is an event where there will be multiple posts in one day all day long on different subjects. It's sure to be excessively diverting!

Make sure you grab one of these buttons to put on your blog!

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 God Bless,

Reader Question #2: Willoughby - Sympathetic or Scoundrel?

Question #2 comes from Miss Dashwood from Yet Another Period Drama Blog. Miss Dashwood asked:


Do you believe Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility is a sympathetic character or an out-and-out scoundrel?

Like Miss Dashwood said in her original comment, I have seen there are two sides to the argument. On the one hand, some people say that Willoughby is sympathetic since because of his abandonment of Eliza Williams and the fact that he was subsequently disinherited, he is now married to a woman he does not love, is away from the woman he loves, and finds out that he could have been married to the woman he loves and get his inheritance back. On the other, some say that his actions were so awful that he is a scoundrel, period.

So, for my opinion now. I believe that Willoughby is a out-and-out scoundrel and the author of his misery. I do not have any sympathy for him at all. Why? Well, besides the fact that his actions were awful: 

1. He made some very bad decisions and kept making them.

It seems to me that if Willoughby did not make his first initial mistakes, he would not have caused as much pain as he did (to himself and others) and wouldn't have been the scoundrel that he became. As we read/watch Sense and Sensibility, we find out eventually that Willoughby abandoned Eliza Williams (Colonel Brandon's ward) and left her to care for her child alone. After he made those mistakes, he continually kept making more and more bad decisions.  It became a very slippery slope for him. Let's look at the bad decisions and results after the initial bad decisions and how they lead into each other:

• Bad Decision: After leaving Eliza, Willoughby meets Marianne Dashwood and encouraged her to love him without any intention of returning her feelings. Result: Willoughby ends up falling in love with Marianne anyways.
• Bad Decision: When Mrs. Smith finds out about Willoughby's initial bad decisions, she tells Willoughby to do the honorable thing and marry Eliza Williams. Willoughby does not: he doesn't love Eliza and loves Marianne. Result: Willoughby is disinherited and has no way to pay of the debts he has.
• Bad Decision: Willoughby now has two choices: watch the money he currently has, economize, and marry Marianne or find a rich woman to marry and abandon Marianne completely. Guess which one he picks. (It's the latter for those who don't know). Result: Marianne is heart broken and Willoughby marries Miss Grey with fifty-thousand pounds a year and is in an unhappy marriage.
• Overall Effect: Because of the initial bad decision, he is now married to a woman that he does not love and is separated forever by the woman he loves.

What would have happened if Willoughby had done the right thing in the first place and not have done the harm he did to Eliza? Eliza wouldn't be disgraced and could find a respectable husband. Willoughby would be free to marry the woman he loved. None of the pain that he caused would have been inflicted in the first place.

Okay, so I suppose you can say, "Well, it's all nice and well to say that he shouldn't have done something. But it still happened and what was he to do?" Yes, it did happen, but he could have put a stop to all the pain by stopping himself from continuing to make all the bad decisions that he made. One bad decision lead to another when he could have stopped making bad/wrong decisions and ended the train of bad decisions. Similarly to how if someone lies and then they have to come up with more lies to cover up the first lie, and lies to cover up those lies... I could go on with that analogy, but it would take too long and we'd never see the end of it.

2. He shirks his responsibilities.

This kind of coincides with #1, but it's also on its own too. Willoughby doesn't take responsibilities for his bad decisions, which leads to even more bad decisions. He shirks his responsibilities when he abandoned Eliza Williams. He abandons Marianne very suddenly and doesn't make up for it. The way he shirks his responsibilities is not something a gentleman would do. Since he shirks his responsibilities, he winds up paying for it in the end by marrying Miss Grey and being in an unhappy marriage.

3. He's just an overall jerk!

Even ignoring how he continually makes bad decisions and shirks his responsibilities, Willoughby is simply a jerk and a bad influence on Marianne. If he doesn't particularly care for Colonel Brandon, fine, but don't talk about him behind his back and encourage the woman that Colonel Brandon loves to also talk behind his back too! He also encouraged Marianne to do things that would give the impression to everyone that they were engaged when he had no intention of marrying her at the time (remember the horse he tried to give her?).

So, that is my opinion on Willoughby: in short, I believe he is a scoundrel. What do you think? Is Willoughby sympathetic or is he a scoundrel? Leave a comment!


Thank you, Miss Dashwood, for sending in your question! If you have a question you would like to submit for me to do a post on, leave a comment. Just follow these guidelines. It can be about anything related to this blog: period dramas, blogging, reviews, etc.

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 God Bless,

Reader Question #1: Jane Austen and Proposals

And in what I hope will be a good long line of Reader Question Posts, here is the first question that I received. This question came to me from Melody from Regency Delight. Melody asked:

Why exactly do you think Jane Austen didn't write proposal scenes in Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Sense and Sensibility?

I can't really comment on Mansfield Park right now since I am very slowing (but surely!) reading through it (though I know a little about what happens at the end), but I can still comment on Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility. This question brings to mind the following quote from Sense and Sensibility:

Proposal Scene from Sense and Sensibility (2008)

How soon he had walked himself into the proper resolution, however, how soon an opportunity of exercising it occurred, in what manner he expressed himself, and how he was received, need not be particularly told. This only need be said;—that when they all sat down to table at four o'clock, about three hours after his arrival, he had secured his lady, engaged her mother's consent, and was not only in the rapturous profession of the lover, but, in the reality of reason and truth, one of the happiest of men. (Chapter 49)

Proposal Scene from Northanger Abbey (2007): not
necessarily the way I pictured the proposal
in Northanger Abbey.

So, to answer the question directly, I think that Jane Austen didn't write a proposal scene for either Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility because it simply wasn't necessary (it needed not to be particularly told). In Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility, we as the reader know that Henry Tilney loves Catherine Morland (though she was kicked out of Northanger Abbey by General Tilney) and we know that Edward Ferrars, despite his engagement and supposed marriage to Lucy Steele, loves Elinor Dashwood. So, I think that by the end, we the reader can assume that if Henry Tilney or Edward Ferrars arrived to speak to Catherine or Elinor, that there could only be one reason why: to propose. There isn't a doubt in the mind of the reader that the hero holds a very, very high regard for the heroine, so there is no need to get into a lengthy proposal scene.

Compare that idea with Emma or Pride and Prejudice or even Persuasion.

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

In Pride and Prejudice, we know that Mr. Darcy declared his love for Elizabeth and made a proposal to her that was rejected because Elizabeth greatly disliked him. But then the story goes on and we see that Elizabeth has come to love Mr. Darcy. When Lydia creates scandal by eloping with Wickham, Elizabeth is sure that Mr. Darcy wouldn't renew his love to her and would not propose again. After all, he knows all about Lydia's scandal and went through all that trouble to fix it. Why would he involve himself with the Bennets that had a scandal that people actually heard about? Sure, his sister almost had a scandal herself, but it was hushed up and no one heard of it. So, when Elizabeth went walking with Mr. Darcy, she didn't think that he would renew his proposal to her. But lo and behold! he still loves Elizabeth and proposes marriage to which Elizabeth accepts!

Emma (2009)

In Emma, the last time that Emma saw Mr. Knightley before he proposed, Mr. Knightley was very angry with her for humiliating Miss Bates. Harriet said that she loved Mr. Knightley and that they talked quite a bit. Emma then realizes that she loves Mr. Knightley, but as Emma assumed (and the reader could/might assume too), Mr. Knightley wouldn't think of marrying her and that he would just marry Harriet Smith. In fact, even as the proposal scene starts, we might believe along with Emma that Mr. Knightley is going to tell her about marrying Harriet Smith. But, when the scene takes a turn and it turns out that Mr. Knightley loves Emma, we readers are assured that Mr. Knightley does not love Harriet, but loves Emma.

Persuasion Letter Scenes; image used in Persuasion Comparison guest post that I contributed to

Persuasion is a little more complicated. Captain Wentworth gives off a bunch of mixed signals to Anne to the point that neither she nor the reader knows what he plans to do. One minute, he's concerned about her walking too far and helps her into the Crofts carriage. Another minute, he completely ignores her for Louisa Musgrove. One minute, they're talking about how "a man does not recover from such a devotion of the heart to such a woman," at the concert, and then he leaves the concert early angrily. So in this case, we get some glimpse of Captain Wentworth's love for Anne, but at the same time, we see signs that he would not propose to her. So, in order to do away with any doubt, Captain Wentworth leaves the love letter for Anne that removes any doubt in her mind and in the mind of the reader.

In each case in Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion, there is doubt in the mind of the heroine that the hero will not propose to her. And in each of the proposal scenes, the scene does not start out as a proposal scene, but rather a regular scene. In Emma, Mr. Knightley means to console Emma about Frank Churchill. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth thanks Mr. Darcy for fixing Lydia's scandal. And in Persuasion, Anne and Captain Wentworth were visiting the Musgroves. The proposal dialogue is in there not only to remove the doubt of the readers and the heroines, but to ease the scene into a proposal scene. It wouldn't make sense if Jane Austen said, "On a walk, Elizabeth thanked Mr. Darcy and Mr. Darcy renewed his declaration from a couple of months ago and they got engaged!" The reader would be left confused: "What? How did this happen? Weren't they just walking around? Wasn't Elizabeth just thanking him? How did a proposal come up?" So, by adding proposal dialogue into a scene, a scene can ease into a proposal scene instead of shocking the readers into a proposal that they didn't think was coming.

Now, on another idea, a special case for why Jane Austen didn't write a proposal scene for Sense and Sensibility could stem from the fact that Sense and Sensibility is a satire of the sentimental novel. You know the kind I'm talking about. Where a proposal could last pages and pages and be filled with flowery, overly mushy language to make anyone uncomfortable. So Jane Austen not having a proposal scene with dialogue could be her way of poking fun at the overly dramatic, romantic proposal scenes in other novels. Instead of a flowery proposal, Jane Austen gives a description of the outcome and keeps it short, sweet, and to the point: the actual details of the proposal aren't discussed.

So, that is my opinion on why Jane Austen left out proposal scenes out of some of her novels. What do you think? Do you agree with me? Do you think there was another reason why Jane Austen left out proposal scenes in some of her books? Leave a comment! I'm very interested in what you all think!

Thank you, Melody, for sending in this question! If you have a question you would like to submit for me to do a post on, leave a comment. Just follow these guidelines. It can be about anything related to this blog: period dramas, blogging, reviews, etc.

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 God Bless,

Suggestions for Post Topics! (Read & Comment, please)

So, I'm calling for reader suggestions! What I would like to write posts about would be something like analyzing a period drama (or period dramas). For example, how Melody at Regency Delight made a post about who the villain in Emma is. So the question that I am asking is:

What question(s) on a period drama (or period dramas) would you pose to me to answer in a decent length post?

I am putting up a few rules, though (just to avoid any confusion later):

1. I will of course try to answer as many questions as I get, but keep in mind that I might not be able to answer them all for a couple of reasons. First, I could get a lot of questions and would simply have to pick and choose. Second, there are just some subjects that I don't have much to say on (or in other words, I have a one word answer and that's it :-P).

2. If I feel uncomfortable answering a question or if I feel like a question will make my readers uncomfortable, then I will not answer it. This mostly applies to topics of a mature nature (so those questions better be G or PG rated).

3. If you have a question that might not be an analysis question but simply want my opinion on a period drama or what not, feel free to ask it. Just keep rules 1 and 2 in mind and keep it respectful and clean.

Can't wait to see what you all ask!

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 God Bless,

Sink Me If You Can't Guess This Jeopardy Question

On yesterday's Jeopardy show, there was a question that I'm sure many of my followers would get. It gave me a little smile as I guess correctly:

Seeing Shades of Red

An English aristocrat took this title swashbuckling alter ego in a 1905 novel

I'm not going to give away the answer in this post, but sink me if you don't get it and have seen this period drama!

Okay, if you really don't know, just highlight this text:

The Scarlet Pimpernel

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 God Bless,

Review: Persuasion (1995)

Finally! I got to watch this version of Persuasion again and review it! I had watched this version of Persuasion on Youtube a long time ago, but when I tried to watch it again recently, it was taken down. So, I went out and bought the DVD (which was a real bargain!) so I have another DVD to add to my collection of Jane Austen DVDs.

DVD Box Art

Synopsis
Synopsis taken from my review of Persuasion (2007)
Eight years ago, Anne Elliot was proposed to by Frederick Wentworth, a poor man who joined the navy, and accepted his proposal but was persuaded by her godmother, Lady Russell, to break off the engagement since Anne would be taking a big risk marrying him. Now twenty-seven and still unmarried, Anne assumes to be an old maid. When Captain Wentworth comes back into her life, having made his fortune in the navy and now looking for a wife, he is very cold to her and she thinks that he cannot forgive her for what she had done eight years ago.

Characters
There were some familiar faces that I noticed as I watched Persuasion. Amanda Root (Anne Elliot) can also be seen in Jane Eyre (1996) as Miss Temple. Ciaran Hinds (Captain Wentworth) can also be seen in Jane Eyre (1997) as Mr. Rochester and Amazing Grace as Lord Tarleton. Sophie Thompson (Mary Musgrove) can also be seen in Emma (1996) as Miss Bates and is also known as being the daughter of fellow Emma actress Phyllida Law and the sister of Sense and Sensibility actress Emma Thompson. Victoria Hamilton (Henrietta Musgrove) can also be seen in Pride and Prejudice (1995) as Mrs. Forster and Lark Rise to Candleford as Ruby Pratt. And Judy Cornwell (Mrs. Musgrove) can also be seen in (though it is not a period drama) series Keeping Up Appearances.

Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth

Amanda Root as Anne was okay. She is probably a little more outspoken than I imagined Anne (which is by no means very outspoken), but I still thought she did a good job as Anne. I loved how the filmmakers put in how all the Musgroves were confiding in Anne about each other, which is actually mentioned in the book that it was what they did.

Captain Wentworth... Well, first of all, let me say that I'm not a fan of Captain Wentworth; I didn't like how he was -- how do I describe it? -- so spiteful to Anne, purposely ignoring her and seeming to intentionally injure her (emotionally). I know, he was upset that she broke his heart, but still, I thought he acted cruelly. That being said, Ciaran Hinds, I thought, looked the part of Captain Wentworth (though maybe a little older than he should have been?). I liked the way he portrayed Captain Wentworth: he was kind of distant of Anne and had the right facial expressions when he was around Anne that showed that he still loved her, but was hurt.

I really did not like Elizabeth Elliot. Not that I was supposed to (how cruelly she treated Anne!), but I don't like this portrayal of her. When I read Persuasion, I got the impression that Elizabeth was a person who would "put on airs" and act superior to everyone: she would act refined all the time, like her nose was high in the air. I did not get this impression of her in this movie: she seemed like she didn't even try to appear genteel. I guess the word to describe her was vulgar. The way she talked was not refined; at the beginning where she was eating -- what was it exactly? chocolates? -- was way too relaxed and not the refined person that she is supposed to act like.

Anne Elliot (Left), Captain Wentworth, and Anne's sister,
Mary Musgrove (Right) on a walk.

Scenery
The scenery is colorful and pleasing to look at. Scenes take place in a multitude of settings. We get a brief glimpse of Kellynch, the home of the Elliots before they let it to the Crofts; the house itself is very nice and big (probably why Sir Walter had to let it). Most of the scenes in the rest of the movie take place at Uppercross (the home of Anne's sister, Mary, and her family), Lyme, and Bath. The scenes at Lyme were very pretty to look at (and I especially liked the beach scene). Bath was also nice to look at, though there was no country scenery to look at.

Music
A good deal of the music featured music that was played on a piano: it was light and bouncy and very pleasing to listen to. The rest of the music also had a lighter tone. There was also a dance number that Anne played on the piano that I recognized from Pride and Prejudice (1995). The music was the other area in which I preferred this version to the 2007 version.

Henrietta Musgrove confiding in Anne. Love
the dress details!

Costuming
Accurate. The costuming of Persuasion is what I would call accurate Regency wear. Women wore chemisettes (an undershirt that showed through the neckline) or fichus during the day for modesty and long gloves for evening wear. Mrs. Musgrove wore Georgian fashions: though after the Georgian era (at least the 1700s part of it), it would make sense for Mrs. Musgrove to wear Georgian fashions in this version of Persuasion because she is an old character. I also noticed a parallel between Henrietta and Louisa Musgrove's red cloaks to Kitty and Lydia Bennet's cloaks in Pride and Prejudice (1995). Both pairs of characters are flirtatious and in some ways similar, so it's kind of funny that they would have the same cloak.

Overall: 3.5/5
On the second viewing, I enjoyed this version of Persuasion a lot more. However, I still prefer the 2007 version. I did like that this version was closer to the book than the 2007 one in that the scenery and music isn't dark like the 2007 version. Though I have a preference to Persuasion 2007, this is still a worthy adaptation that is worth watching.

Persuasion is available on DVD. It is rated PG and runs for 107 minutes.

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing all fathers and all your fathers a Happy Father's Day!

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 God Bless,

Guest Posts at Other Blogs

I've been busy working on guest posts for other blogs (and also a big event that I am planning for sometime during the summer). Here is what I've been working on!

I've been working on guest posts over at Austenitis (some of which are scheduled throughout the summer). The major one that had been posted is a Persuasion comparison that I did with Miss Amy Dashwood from Yet Another Period Drama Blog, Miss Laurie from Old-Fashioned Charm, and Melody from Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, etc.~ Check out what we thought of the 1995 and 2007 versions of Persuasion!

Persuasion Comparison

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

And for Elinor, Elizabeth, and Emma's Emma Week, Melody, Miss Woodhouse, and I put together comparing the 1996 and the 2009 versions of Emma. Have a look!

Emma Comparison

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

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 God Bless,

Helpful Blogger Award

Melody from Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, etc.~ has awarded me the Helpful Blogger Award. Thank you so much, Melody!

Rules of The Helpful Blogger Award
~Link back to the person who awarded you in your 'acceptance' post
~Tell three helpful things you have done either on or off the blogosphere
~Nominate three other bloggers and tell them that you've nominated them

Okay, here it goes! :-)

~I've posted a link to Melody's blog, but here's another link to Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, etc.~. I recommend that you check out her blog! She posts a lot of fun things over there!

~ Three helpful things I have done:
1. Well, we got a puppy last week, so a lot of my time has been spent helping my parents watch the new puppy. Sugar likes to chew on a lot of things, so I have to keep her out of trouble.
2. I helped a fellow blogger with a background. I helped this blogger figure out what a good size for a background would be and resized a picture for this blogger. Who is this blogger? Well, you know who you are ;-)
3. Sometimes, I run out and get lunch for my family. I just did yesterday.

~ Nominations
Charity from Austenitis
Now, I know that Charity will be away for the whole summer, but I want to pass this award on to her. She was my first blogging friend. I'm sure there are a number of my followers that found me because of Austenitis. She comments a lot on my posts, has suggestions for banners, and allows me to guest post on Austenitis. Thank you, Charity!

Miss Laurie from Old-Fashioned Charm
Now, I know that Miss Laurie was awarded this award by Melody, but she has also been a great help to me! She is always willing to help out with any events that I hold. When I create images for guest posts or events and I'm not quite sure how they look, Miss Laurie provides a second set of eyes to see how they look. Thank you, Miss Laurie!

Melody from Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, etc.~
Okay, I know she gave me the award, but Melody has helped me out a lot. Melody has a lot of great ideas that I wouldn't have thought of. She's also a lot better at naming things than I am (I'm awful with names!) and has helped me with naming things. She also comments frequently on my posts, which always gives me a smile! Thank you, Melody!

And I also want to give a big thank you to all my followers for following me! I still can't believe that I have over 200 followers. When I started Elegance of Fashion, I didn't imagine that I would have 100 followers, let alone 200. Thank you so much! 

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 God Bless,

Jane Austen Game on Facebook

For all us Janeites on Facebook, coming out soon is a Jane Austen Facebook Game!

The game is called Jane Austen's Rogues & Romance. It's a hidden object game and will feature Jane Austen characters. You can play it now of Facebook, though it has not been officially released so there may be a couple of bugs in the game.

I'm not much of a fan of the new artwork they put up (the older artwork looked better to me). And what is Lizzy wearing? It doesn't look much like a Regency dress other than the empire waist!

Elinor Dashwood

Marianne Dashwood

Elizabeth Bennet

Emma Woodhouse

Gameplay is actually pretty fun! It's very similar to another Facebook game called Gardens of Time which was also a hidden object game. If you would like to learn more about Jane Austen's Rogues and Romance, visit their website at http://www.austengame.com/

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 God Bless,

Emma Week Tag

Sorry this is coming a bit late, but the past week at Elinor, Elizabeth, and Emma, Miss Woodhouse had been hosting a Emma Week. Here is the tag for Emma Week!

Did you read the book or watch an adaption first?

I actually watched an adaptation first before reading the book. The first adaptation I watched was the Kate Beckinsale version from 1997, but I felt like I didn't get the story when I first watched it, but after seeing the 1996 version, I understood it a little more. Then I read the book and as I was reading the book was watching the 2009 version on YouTube (before it aired on Masterpiece: Classic).

How many times have you read Emma?

Just once. When I have more time, I may read it again.

Your favorite adaption is?

Definitely the Romola Garai version from 2009. It fully told the story in a way that neither of the 90s version could.

Does Emma’s matchmaking ‘skills’ annoy you?  

Yes at first. That was one of the things that annoyed me about Emma at first was that she was so nosy. But then later, I recognized that she meant well and truly wanted to help her neighbors. Now her matchmaking doesn't really annoy me since she meant well.

List three minor characters you like in the story.

Mrs. Weston - She's such a nice character and was a good friend to Emma.

Mr. Weston - Ah, good Mr. Weston! How could anyone dislike him? He's a good husband to Miss Taylor ("Mrs. Weston, Father!"). It's too bad that his son isn't a great.

Jane Fairfax - I like Jane. I think that if Miss Bates hadn't talked so much about her to Emma that Emma and Jane could have been friends. But since Miss Bates constantly talked about Jane's accomplishments, Emma probably felt inadequate compared to Jane and started to dislike her.

Which character is the most annoying of the three? Mrs. Elton, Mr. Elton or Miss Bates? 

Well, I like Miss Bates (though she can be a little annoying).

Mr. Elton is fairly annoying, but neither of them are in the same universe as Mrs. Elton!

Mrs. Elton is her own category for annoying-ness! She's loud, manages to force the conversation towards herself, and she's mean!

Have you seen any Emma spinoffs? (meaning modern adaptions like the original story)

No, nor do I have any intention to. I'd much rather see the original than a spinoff.

The perfect sum-up of Mr. Knightley is? 

Perfect Gentleman, excellent brother(in-law), noble friend.

Described what you think of Emma herself in three words or less.

Annoying, but Well-intentioned. (Okay, that last word was hyphenated, but you get what I mean)

Harriet Smith receives a proposal from ____?

Robert Martin. ("A farmer? A good match for my intimate friend? It would be a degradation!")

Your most enjoyed scene is?

The scene where Mr. Elton snubs Harriet and Mr. Knightley saves her!

The villain is?

Oooh! A subject of much debate! We have mainly two choices: Mr. Elton and Frank Churchill. We could also say that Emma is her own worst enemy too, but let's not get into that. Frank Churchill does lie and makes Emma believe that he is in love with her, but it seemed like he was between a rock and a hard place and didn't know what to do but lie. And with Mr. Elton, he was after Emma for her money (essentially), marries Miss Augusta Hawkins, and then along with his new wife tries to put down Emma and Harriet. Well, there are stories that have two villains in them; maybe this is one of them.

Jane Fairfax is engaged to be married to ____? 

Frank Churchill.

Miss Taylor was Emma’s ____?

Governess, companion, and friend.

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 God Bless,