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!

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 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.

Reader Question #14: Willoughby vs Wickham

It's that time of week again! This is another Reader Question from Charity from Austenitis. Charity asked:

What are the similarities and differences between Willoughby and Wickham?

Reader Question #13: Introducing Someone to Jane Austen

Continuing with the questions that Charity from Austenitis sent me, it's time for another Reader Question! Charity asked:

If you had a friend who had never watched a period drama, but was ready to start with a Jane Austen film...which one would you recommend?

Guest Post by Charity: Spotlight -- Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Hey, everyone! I was delighted when Miss Elizabeth kindly asked me to post on her blog and am delighted to be here today with a Movie Spotlight! I'll add a little bit more about me at the end, but for now, let's just say I post on my blog, Austenitis, with all manner of Austen related things, but major in book and movie reviews. I also do Spotlights -- on my blog, they're on specific movie characters, but when I'm guest-posting? Then I prefer to do it on complete movies. It's just a collection of a bunch of my favorite pictures from a movie I like. Here we go!

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

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)

How I Met Jane Austen

A Very Happy Birthday to Jane Austen today! It was 237 years ago today in 1775 that she was born!

Hope you all are enjoying the Jane Austen Birthday Assembly! I don't believe I've ever told the story about how I "met" Jane Austen and became a fan of hers.

Review: Sense and Sensibility (1971)

Certainly took me long enough to review this! Why, it's been listed as Coming Soon in my Review Index for how long? This was the last thing I bought at my local Borders before it closed. But even though it took me a long time to watch this, I'm glad I waited this long because I recognized three actors from Poldark! But we originally got this because Patricia Routledge is in it. My mom is a fan of the show Keeping Up Appearances which stars Patricia Routledge, so she wanted to see how "Hyacinth" was going to act in there.

Synopsis

Box Art

Taken from the review for Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Sense and Sensibility follows the story of two sisters: sensible Elinor Dashwood and passionate Marianne Dashwood. When their father Mr. Henry Dashwood dies, his property, Norland, is passed to his son from his first marriage, John Dashwood. Before he died, Henry Dashwood made John promise to take care of his current wife and two daughters. John promises to take care of them and wants to give them some money, but he is persuaded by his wife, Fanny, not to. Meanwhile, the Dashwood women prepare to receive John and Fanny, and when they arrive, Fanny announces that her brother Edward Ferrars will be joining them. Edward arrives and him and Elinor form an attachment, which is broken off by Fanny.

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

Banner Breakthrough!

I finally had a breakthrough as far as creating banners goes! I came up with these styles through experimenting with textures and another blending technique. Let me know what you think. I'm actually pretty proud of these banners. Make sure you view the full size of these banners to get the full effect of the textures.

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 God Bless,

Reader Question #6: Favorite Character and What I Would Change

This question came to by from an anonymous reader. This anonymous reader asked:


Who is your favourite period drama character? Why?
If you could change something in a period drama movie, what would it be?

Monday: Movie Costume Highlight - Sense and Sensibility (1995 & 2008) - Period Drama Fashion Week

Today's Movie Costume Highlight is Sense and Sensibility. Which one? The two newest ones (1995 and 2008)!

I like both sets of costumes, but I found that the 1995 version had more accurate costumes to the Regency Era (though there are still some good, accurate costumes in the 2008 version).

What I found was interesting for the costumes in both versions was that Elinor has the same style robe/jacket in both versions.

 Both robes/jackets were used differently. In the 1995 version, Elinor only used her robe/jacket to go outside while in the 2008 version, Elinor wore it inside as a part of her dress. In both cases, the robe/jacket is worn very well indeed.

What also sets the 1995 version apart from the 2008 version is that Marianne has a similar robe/jacket as Elinor (though not the same one). And with 1995 Elinor and Marianne, they wear their robe/jacket with a fichu (or a triangular piece of fabric used to fill in the neckline). The 2008 version (in most of their dresses) doesn't really use a fichu all that much: we see fichus used a couple of times on Elinor, but most of the time, Mrs. Dashwood sports a black fichu.

This is one of the few time that Elinor wears a fichu.

Mrs. Dashwood is often seen with her usual black fichu.

Before I mentioned historical accuracy in the costuming of the Sense and Sensibility(s). Comparing the last picture (with 2008 Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters) with this one:

We can see that the two dresses are different styles. 1995 Mrs. Dashwood has a Regency dress on while 2008 Mrs. Dashwood has what looks like a Georgian dress on. That was one of the issues that people had with 2008 Sense and Sensibility was that there were a lot of Georgian fashions used when it would have made more sense to have Regency fashions.

Mrs. Dashwood, in my opinion, would be able to get Regency era clothes while Mr. Henry Dashwood was alive. They did have the money to get current fashions. If the Dashwoods were poor while Henry Dashwood was alive, then I could see Mrs. Dashwood wearing Georgian fashions. But since they had money, she would have most likely bought Regency fashions.

Another example of this is Mrs. Jennings's outfits:

Mrs. Jennings (Left) with Sir John Middleton and Lady Middleton

 1995 Mrs. Jennings has Regency fashions, which in my opinion works better than having her in Georgian fashions like 2008 Mrs. Jennings is. Mrs. Jennings is a character who is rich and goes out into society: I wouldn't see her in older fashions because she is in society frequently. She would have more of the latest things, but maybe more toned down than dresses meant for younger women.

Overall, both versions of Sense and Sensibility have very nice costuming, but my preference leans more towards the 1995 version's costuming.

So that is my movie highlight for the day. Have you seen either version of Sense and Sensibility? What were some of your favorite costumes?

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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,

Grouping Some Animations

So, I noticed on Tumblr, people like to group animations together so it presents a full scene. I attempted this, but unfortunately they way Tumblr set it up did not allow the animations to work, so I'll post them here!

LolPeriodDramas at Sink Me!: What do we want?

If you are following Miss Dashwood's Sink Me! blog, you may have seen that I have submitted a caption:

Sink Me! Post

The quote is from the Disney movie, Mulan.

If you like Period Drama Humor, I recommend you check out Sink Me! It is excessively diverting!

 God Bless,
  

Letter #2: Period Drama Advice Event

The second letter has now come in! This week's letter is from a Mr. Edward Ferrars (Sense and Sensibility).

Dear Period Drama Advice Column,

Mr. Ferrars is perplexed.

I find myself in a predicament. Four years ago, I became secretly engaged to a woman named Lucy Steele, the niece of my tutor in Exeter. I thought myself in love, but it was a foolish, idle inclination on my side. I have recently met my sister's sister-in-law, Elinor, and I like her a great deal. I find myself in love with her, but I cannot break my commitment to Lucy. If I were free, I would tell her that my heart is and always will be hers. Her friendship has been the most important of my life. My mother also wants me to marry the rich Miss Morton with 50,000 pounds: all I want, all I've ever wanted is the quiet of a private life, but my mother wants me distinguished. Do you think I am doing the right thing in keeping my promise to Lucy despite all of this?

Sincerely,

Edward Ferrars

How would your character(s) respond to this letter? When you post your final letter to your blog, make sure you post the link to this post! 


There are still three buttons/banners up for grabs! Good Luck!


 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,
 

LolPeriodDramas

Years ago, my sister introduced me to Lolcats. I didn't understand it at first, but now I've grown an appreciation for it.

In case you have never heard of Lolcats, let me tell you what they are. Basically, they are pictures of cats with captions. Usually these captions have very horrible grammar that looks like internet lingo (or lolspeak). The captions purposely have misspellings and bad grammar (which could be one of the reasons that I didn't get it at first: I'm very grammar conscious).

People have done Lolcats pictures with non-cat pictures. It really could be anything: dogs, TV shows... maybe even Period Dramas?

I've been experimenting with making Lol captions with period dramas. Let me know what you all think.

Who knows, if these are a success, I may start up a blog about them... but that might not be for a while.


 God Bless,