Jane Austen and Clergymen (Or When Assumptions Are Made in High School English)

Mr. Collins in the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice.

It's been a long time since doing a post like this. I've been in a bit of a state of writer's block (and suggestions for posts are welcome!), but then this popped into my head and I thought it would make a great post!

So, one day, I recalled my junior year British Literature class in high school. We were reading Pride and Prejudice (something which I had already done, so I needn't worry -- I aced all my pop quizzes with little trouble) and we came upon the subject of Mr. Collins and how, interestingly enough, Jane Austen's own father was a clergyman. One of the students remarked that because of the representation of clergymen in Mr. Collins, Jane Austen must not have had a very good opinion of the profession.

I didn't say anything.

I probably could have. Should I have? Maybe. But nevertheless, I didn't. How could someone make an assumption on Jane Austen's opinion of clergymen based upon one character in one of her books? That would be like throwing out a notebook because of of the pages is ripped, right?

Clerical Observations
While we can't ask Jane herself what her opinion of clergymen was exactly, we can speculate what it could be. If you delve into Jane Austen's life a little bit, you will find that she was close to her father (a clergyman), attended Church regularly, and even wrote prayers. From this information, we can deduce that she was religious and followed the teachings of the Anglican Church, something that probably wouldn't happen if she didn't respect her father or his occupation. And through her father, she probably would have seen plenty of his colleagues (other clergymen) and, as she did with everyone, observed their behaviors, both good and bad. It's possible these good and bad observations made it into her books as various characters who are apart of the clergy.

Clergymen in Austen's Novels

Mr Elton in the 2009 miniseries of Emma.

Now, if we go beyond Pride and Prejudice, Jane had other clergymen characters in her other books. Aside from Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, there is Mr. Elton from Emma, Dr. Grant and Edmund Bertram from Mansfield Park, Henry Tilney from Northanger Abbey, and aspiring clergyman Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility. If you are familiar with Jane's other works, you will see that Mr. Collins isn't the only "bad" clergyman in the list:

• Mr. Elton is a fortune hunter and spiteful. He certainly isn't friendly with Emma after she rejected his marriage proposal, and let's not forget at the Highbury ball when purposely and obviously snubbed Harriet Smith for a dance as a way to humiliate both Harriet and Emma; not the actions of a gentleman to be sure.
• Dr. Grant is glutton (ironically, one of the seven deadly sins) who argues with his wife a lot (leaving his half-sister-in-law, Mary Crawford, to gain a bad opinion of clergymen altogether). 

So, certainly, any fan of Jane Austen cannot claim that Mr. Collins was a fluke and that he was the only "bad" clergyman in all of Jane Austen's novels because he certainly was not. But never fear: there are also "good" clergymen in Jane Austen's novels who are often ignored.

Henry Tilney in the 2007 TV Movie Northanger Abbey

• Edmund Bertram, despite his faults and the fact that he tends to be an unpopular hero, is a decent, moral, and honorable man. He was kind to his cousin, Fanny, when she first came to Mansfield Park when no one else was. 
• Henry Tilney has a good sense of humor, was witty and a good brother, and is kind to Catherine. 
• And Edward Ferrars, despite his faults as well, was still an honorable man. Even though he fell in love with Elinor and was no longer in love with Lucy Steele, he still kept his promise to Lucy. Even though he wasn't a clergyman until the epilogue, I'm going to include him in this list.

So, while there are some "bad" clergymen in Jane Austen's books, she does include a fair amount of "good clergymen" as well. What Jane Austen gave us was a wide range of clergymen: some to show what a clergyman should be and others to show what a clergyman should not be.

How Did We Get Here?

The Mr. Collins Wave

So how did this perception of Jane Austen and clergymen come about? My opinion is that it's due to the Austen books that are popular. Look at Jane's most popular books: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion (although Sense and Sensibility might also tie with Persuasion). Persuasion doesn't really have prominent characters that are clergymen (I almost want to say Captain Wentworth's brother and Charles Hayter were clergymen, but I'm not entirely sure -- but either way, they weren't big enough characters to form a decent opinion on). So, focusing on the top two popular Austen books -- Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Both Pride and Prejudice and Emma feature prominent characters who are clergymen that fall short of what a clergyman should be. The average reader/watcher of Jane Austen doesn't usually know about Henry Tilney or Edmund Bertram because the average reader/watcher has either not read or not heard of Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park. And although there's Edward Ferrars is in Sense and Sensibility, another popular Austen novel, he isn't a clergyman for most of the book and his aspirations to the clergy are a small detail that, at the very least, movie watchers don't usually pick up on.

What do you think? Do you think the popularity of Pride and Prejudice and Emma are what leads casual Jane Austen fans to think Jane had a low opinion of clergymen? Or is there another issue? Have you noticed similar sentiments about Jane Austen's view of clergymen? Leave comments!

---

 God Bless,

Defining the Austen Heroine - My Guest Post from Between the Covers

I was just thinking about this guest post I did for the blog Between the Covers (now inactive) about defining the Austen Heroine. I thought I would repost this article as a bit of a throw-back and because it really defines the qualities that all Austen characters share. I can't remember when I wrote this, but I think it was more than a year ago.

Defining the Austen Heroine

After reading one of her books, we really get a sense of who Jane Austen's heroines are. We learn their habits, their virtues, their vices, we understand what they are thinking and how they are feeling, we could read a quote and say "Yep, that sounds like a Lizzy Bennet." But what is it that defines an Austen heroine? What characteristics do they all share that define them as Austen heroines? After all, not all Austen Heroines are the same. Jane Austen's heroines reflect people that we may see in our lives (or maybe even ourselves), and though they are not identical, they share similarities that make them heroines. Some could even be considered opposites. For example, Emma Woodhouse from Emma and Fanny Price from Mansfield Park are pretty different when it comes to personality: Fanny is shy, and Emma is outgoing; Fanny has been described as dull, while Emma has been described as vivacious. But despite those differences, they have those qualities that make them heroines (for example, both attend and are involved in their church). As you read this post, keep in mind that some of the characteristics that I mention may apply to some heroines more than others.

Guest Post by Melody -- English Country Dancing

Hello, all! I'm Melody from Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, &c.~, and I am quite honored to be posting for Miss Elizabeth today during this busy time in her life.

I'm here to talk about a subject I find quite delightful: English Country Dancing.  Do you know what that is? Hopefully you do to some extent. If you've ever watched a Jane Austen movie (which I most certainly hope you have!) you should have at least a vague idea, because you've seen it. Anything in Pride and Prejudice (1995) represents it very well... Sense and Sensibility (1995) can work too, although I've never done dances quite like in that one. The first dance at the ball in Emma (2009) is a good example, although the following two (though I love them) are a little bit different from the ECD stereotype. (ECD is English Country Dancing abbreviated, and that's how I intend to refer to it the rest of the time.) And yes, even the Miramax Emma and the 2005 Pride and Prejudice have ECD in them (although everything in those ones seem rather modernized, the dancing probably not excluded). Even some other period dramas set in the first half of the 19th century will have it; Wives & Daughters, for instance.

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

New Sink Me! Submission

I submitted a new caption to Miss Amy Dashwood's blog Sink Me!

 Sink Me! Post

---

 God Bless,

404 Error and Period Dramas

We've all seen it: Error 404: Page Not Found!

As you may or may not know, I'm studying computer science in school. My particularly favorite class is Web Development. A little while ago, the 404 Error (Page Not Found) came up in class. One of the things you can do is customize the 404 Error in your website. Today, I had a brilliant idea: what if I combined the 404 Error and Period Dramas? So, with a little help from Photoshop and the internet, here's what I came up with.

 The Scarlet Pimpernel Poem

Caption Contest (With Poll Coming Soon!)

I'd thought I would host a little caption contest this week! I've downloaded a new program that allows me to take decent screenshots at a fast rate, so I can take more screenshots that I could before.

Rules:

1. You may submit up to three different captions. Simply comment your caption(s) in this post. You can put them all in one comment or in separate comments if you're coming up with captions separately.
2. Keep the captions clean. I also reserve the right to refuse any captions I deem inappropriate.
3. I will be accepting captions until Saturday (9/15/12) at 11:55 PM CST. I will then post a poll for the best caption (but don't neglect the regular poll either!). The poll will last for one week. I will announce the winner when the poll is over.
4. Have fun!

Here is the picture. It's a little blurry in spots (thanks, Mr. Elton!), but you get the idea.

And don't forget Mr. Knightley in the window (but it's not required to include him in the caption, but he might be useful in the caption(s)!)

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

---

 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.

---

 God Bless,

Which Jane Austen Secondary Heroine Are You?

I found this quiz at Old-Fashioned Charm about which Jane Austen Secondary Heroine am I. I have taken numerous quizzes about which heroine (and I always end up as Elizabeth Bennet... Hmmm...), but I never took a quiz on the secondary heroines. I took the quiz (and my name got cut off!), and I ended up as...

Miss Elizabeth Bennet (Elegance of Fashi's Result: Jane Fairfax on quiz: Which Jane Austen Secondary Heroine Are You? You are Jane Fairfax from Emma!  A shy, pleasant and intelligent young woman, you are easily embarrassed and may or may not be saddled with an aunt who likes to brag on you.  Your taste in men is debatable, but you are a reliable and honorable girl with little nonsense about you.  Life has not treated you as well as it might have, but you deal with problems with good grace and are sure to do well in the end.  You are likable and demurely sweet, and will be a good friend to anyone.

Except I couldn't like Frank Churchill! "How could Jane bear it?!" (Emma, 2009) I don't believe I could! lol! Other than that, Jane Fairfax isn't a bad person. I didn't always like Emma (when I first read it, I found her a little vexing), but by the end I liked her; similarly, Jane and Emma didn't always get along, but by the end they became friends.

Edit: This quiz was created by Miss Dashwood from Yet Another Period Drama Blog 

Have you taken this quiz? What result did you get?


 God Bless,
 

LolPeriodDramas: Sense and Sensibility, Emma

Added these to the Tumblr page a little while ago. Some more humor.

Oh, I also fixed my background at my Tumblr page. It is ready for viewing!


 God Bless,
 

Some Emma Animations

 Melody from Regency Delight ~Jane Austen, etc.~ has suggested some animation ideas. They came out pretty good.

God Bless,
 

More Icons!

There are 15 more icons made! Enjoy!









 God Bless,
 

Lists: Top 10 Favorite Heroes

Due to the great response to my "Top 10 Favorite Heroines" post, I put together my Top 10 Favorite Heroes! Enjoy!

1. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) 
Probably a very obvious answer from me! I didn't always like Mr. Darcy (c'mon, he was a bit of a jerk at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice), but after a while he grew on me once his character improved, and now he's my favorite hero! Yes, he was a bit arrogant at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice, but his arrogance decreases as the plot progresses; he's also a good brother and takes it upon himself to bring about the marriage of Lydia and Wickham after their scandal.

To me, Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy, period. He has the look of arrogance in the beginning, but then as Pride and Prejudice goes on, he has that more of a caring look. He also did all of Mr. Darcy subtle looks really well.

2. Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility)

While reading/watching Sense and Sensibility, how can you not feel sorry for Colonel Brandon? All the stuff that he had to go through and yet he doesn't complain about it. As much as I like Marianne Dashwood, I still thought she was really mean about Colonel Brandon (Willoughby made fun of him and she went along with it). He was able to act like a gentleman while Willoughby was apart of the party.

I did like David Morrissey's Colonel Brandon, but it seemed like something was missing for him in the 2008 Sense and Sensibility. To me, Alan Rickman did a better job in the 1995 movie.

3. George Knightley (Emma)
Oh, Mr. Knightley. He tries to help Emma by telling her that she is wrong, but she doesn't listen (well, most of the time). Mr. Knightley is very caring, a great brother-in-law to Emma, a great uncle to John and Isabella's children, and (we can be sure) a great husband for Emma. He helps out his neighbors whenever he can (sending Mrs. and Miss Bates food, saving Harriet during the dance when Mr. Elton snubbed her, etc.). Overall, Mr. Knightley is a great guy and a gentleman!

Johnny Lee Miller is my favorite Mr. Knightley. I did also like Jeremy Northam's Mr. Knightley, but I think Johnny Lee Miller's was closer to the Mr. Knightley in the book... at least to my memory.

4. Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey)

When you first see Mr. Tilney in Northanger Abbey, you might find him a little odd (I know I did), but in a good way. When you get to know him more, you can see that he likes to tease his sister Eleanor and Catherine a little bit in a friendly way. Once you know more about him, you can see that he's a caring brother and a great husband for Catherine.

I've only seen the 2007 version of Northanger Abbey (unless the Wishbone episode counts), and despite the problems it had with the screenplay, the actors were well cast. J.J. Field's Mr. Tilney was very well done.

5. Arthur Clennam (Little Dorrit)
I like how Mr. Clennam tries to help out the Dorrits: he's trying to right a wrong that he thinks his family business may have done, and how many people would go through the trouble of finding out who they wronged? Plus, when he loses all his money and is in debt, he doesn't run away from his obligations, but faces them and is accountable for them. He messed up and took the consequences of it. In this world where people tend to run away from their responsibilities and obligations, Arthur Clennam is a good example of what people should do: accept responsibility and face the consequences of your actions.

I've seen both the new and older version of Little Dorrit, and I think Matthew McFayden's Arthur Clennam is the better one. His was much better acted than Derek Jacobi's Arthur Clennam, plus Derek Jacobi was just too old.

6. Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility)

I don't like that Edward had Elinor like him when he wasn't supposed to, but I will say that he does do the honorable thing by staying engaged to Lucy even though he doesn't love Lucy anymore, but instead loves Elinor. He sticks to his duty even when it becomes very hard.

I prefer Dan Stevens's Edward to Hugh Grant's. Hugh Grant just looked too sickly for the role.

7. Septimas Harding (The Barchester Chronicles)
Mr. Harding was such a sweet old man! I felt sorry that in the first part of The Barchester Chronicles that Mr. Bold was going to sue him because of his salary. He was almost instantly likable, which is what you need in a series/miniseries/movie/etc. in order for people to like it. And, considering The Barchester Chronicles is an 80s miniseries, the acting has to be very good since there aren't the effects that newer period dramas have. Donald Pleasance played Mr. Harding very well. I'll definitely have to watch The Barchester Chronicles again to see what I've missed.

8/9/10 (Tied). Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham (Downton Abbey)

I've got three heroes from Downton Abbey that I like, but couldn't choose in what order. Robert is a great master of Downton. He cares for all of his employees and the surrounding area. He doesn't mope around about the entail, but instead teaches the way to run Downton to his third cousin and heir of Downton, Matthew Crawley. He also tries to be a good father to his three children and a good husband to Cora.

Hugh Bonneville played Robert in Downton Abbey. Hugh Bonneville does a very good job acting here. I can't wait to see what's in store for Robert in Series 2

8/9/10 (Tied). John Bates (Downton Abbey)
Poor Mr. Bates... He arrives at Downton with a limp and most of the staff thinks he can't do his job... But he persists at his job and he gains everyone's respect (well except for a few). He's almost in an Edward Ferrars position except he's actually married instead of engaged: he loves Anna, one of the maids, but he remembers his duty to his wife. He tries to do the honorable thing while at Downton. I wonder what will happen with him in Season 2 (I'm hoping they don't ruin his character like what sometimes happens when series go on).

John Bates is played by Brenden Coyle. I first saw Brenden Coyle in Lark Rise to Candleford as Laura Timmins's father, Robert. I must say that I like John Bates better than Robert Timmins: Robert became too much of a jerk after awhile.

8/9/10 (Tied). Matthew Crawley (Downton Abbey)

At first, you have to warm up to Matthew a little bit since he tries so hard not to change (and since the Crawleys at Downton Abbey are one of the first characters we've seen, it might be a little easier to side with them). But then when Matthew gets settled in near Downton, he really tries hard to learn how to run the estate. He takes an interest in fixing up the cottages in the surrounding area and as Robert's family likes him more and more, we start to like him more and more.

Dan Stevens, who also played Edward Ferrars in the 2008 Sense and Sensibility, plays Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey.

I will say that I started to read Mansfield Park a little while ago and Edmund Bertram looks promising. Maybe he might bump someone off the list in the future? But as for now, this is the list of my top favorite heroes!


What do you think of my list? Are there some heroes in my list that you would include in your top favorite heroes? Who would you include in your list? Leave a comment!

 God Bless,