Crawley House

TV Series - Costume Drama - Literary Nerd Stuff. Ask away :) 

[reiding-and-writing]

Reblog if you're a fanfic writer and you wanna know what your followers' favorite story of yours is ❤

[orangeshipper]

I know I haven’t written anything in years…. but am planning to again! I have scrawled a couple of paragraphs of things, and am plotting things, and just hope I can get it back…!

[crawleyhouse]

The kindness of an “enemy” and the cruelty of “friends” - How a ten second scene made me *ship* two characters I don’t even care about. 

So I watched the S2 finale of Victoria last night and for some reason this scene had me in tears - strangely even more so than a certain horrible death happening (that had me angry despite my rationally knowing that it ‘had’ to happen bc of a historical fact). 

But back to the often hated, much dreaded Baroness Lehzen and this unexpected, somewhat whimsical gesture my Mr Penge. I knew she had to leave, we all saw it coming, and even if I was with Albert on the whole Get-Vicky-a-doctor thing (and actually imagine it must be dreadful for a parent not to have the ‘authority’ to call a doctor when your child is ill because your spouse has it and dismisses your worries) I still feel that Lehzen is often falsely ‘demonized’ because she is inconvenient now and overestimates her importance in Victoria’s life. And this is not entirely her fault as Victoria admitted herself that Lehzen was the most important person in her life before Albert came. She needed her care, love and attention more than anything during the horrible years of the Kensington System when no one respected her wishes, gave her much affection or agency. Lehzen was the only safety or protections he had when she was severely bullied by Conroy and forsaken by her mother who sided with the man who abused her. Lehzen loved and protected her better than her own  mother, and being childless surely came to care for Victoria like actual family, which was her mistake as it made her overstep her boundaries - so in short I think it’s as wrong to call Lehzen a bad person as calling Albert a bad person for requesting her removal. Both meant well in the own way and both want to be the most important person to Victoria because they both love her - but only one can prevail. 

Now...I did expect Victoria to be the one standing by Lehzen’s carriage to wave her off - at least after her heartfelt speech about Lehzen’s importance in her life. 

Instead we got to see something I felt was incredibly touching and also said a lot about who your true friends are in life. Since S1 Lehzen and Penge have had their rivalries, snarky quarrels and enmities, so he was the last person you’d think would care to see her off, offer her a kind word or indeed a gift as a farewell. 

Lehzen had been haughty and let’s be honest, quite horrible at times, she put herself above others in the palace and made life difficult for the likes of Penge - and yet, the relationship she had with Penge was still one based on mutual respect, more on an eye-level and not without understanding... whereas Lehzen became more and more ostracized, disrespected and ignored by the Queen, the Prince and all others “upstairs.” We see this dilemma of governesses being “not quite a servant” but also “not equal” in famous examples like Jane Eyre, and in Lehzen we see what happens when - unlike Jane - there is not a romantic happy ending and you get to marry the master and adopt the child as your own - and a governess becomes obsolete, inconvenient and “replacable”: she is sent packing. 

Of course Lehzen was granted a pension by the queen so she was taken care of economically, but on the emotional side of things, this was a woman who had dedicated her entire life to a single child and may now be too old to marry and have any children of her own. Part of me would have liked to see that aspect explored in the character of Lehzen (as almost everyone - including Penge - gets some sort of contrived romance arc...just not the “old maid”). 

So in the end...the only person who showed her any kindness, consideration or care in the end is ironically enough the man she had been quarrelling with since the very beginning. But unlike Albert, who turned out to be her true nemesis, Penge does not demonize her or even gloat at her misfortune (as one might have expected). He warned her before of coming between wife and husband, but at the moment when he could have smirked and said “I told you so.” or “Good riddance” he is not petty or small - he is only kind and human. 

And that got to me on a level few storylines do these days. And it does actually make me question the characterization in Victoria a little bit when I feel there is more genuine love, affection and true human feeling between minor characters than major characters of late...

I’m not sure what it is, but at this point, I care a lot more about Ernest and Harriet and their fate than about Victoria and Albert’s relationship (though they were always one of my favourite couples in all films and books about them), I also cared more about Lord Alfred and Drummond than about Skerrett and Francotelli but that’s another issue more related to ‘story telling’ and ‘chemistry’ I think. And in the end you don’t choose what grabs you, it chooses you. 

But I will say this: At the end of this episode, I was far more invested in the Lehzen/Penge dynamic (crying over it tbh) and whatever will happen to Lehzen now in Germany than to see ‘Uncle’ Leopold gift the kids with a pony. 

Sorry, this just kind of wanted out. I’m sure lots of people might disagree, but I couldn’t help myself and felt sorry and touched by this scene...

[st-pam]

[forestlion]

Germans on October 3rd be like…

[princessofpoldark]

[anne-of-our-hearts]

This is some of my favourite scenes in the series, he is so cute and she just completely destroys him! God I really want to rewatch te series but uni is eating me alive haha that’s not really happening at the moment…

[crawleyhouse]

What I love about this scene is Gilbert calling her out on her petty behaviour because he simply doesn’t understand the ‘logic’ behind it: he’s being nice and she punishes him for it. It clearly hurts him and in the books we know that Gilbert loses his patience with her at some point and decides to ignore Anne. We never got the Lady of Shalott incident in this series (not sure if it’s still to come, but they also left out other ‘iconic’ moments like the green hair) but I’m also excited to see where they are going with these two and their dynamic - because unlike in the books Anne is aware that she ‘likes’ Gilbert and it’s very clear that he is in love with her, so this could get very interesting in future seasons...

[blindbee]

[avodaco]

me when i get my student loan

[g8dtier]

this is the money cat. reblog in 30 seconds and you will find yourself with more wealth

[strikercorbie]

#this is the only money cat i will reblog because it’s actually doing the manekineko pose151,646 notes (via lolwhutninja)

OMG YOU’RE RIGHT

[nonespark-blog]

and it has its right paw up! the correct paw for this. and from the markings on its ears, it looks like it might be a calico cat. which is the luckiest kind!

[carrionbeast]

extremely lucky cat

[ladynorbert]

I don’t even care if it actually works, I’m mostly reblogging because it’s freaking adorable.

[sweet-cherry-fairy-deactivated2]

cute cat and need money, good post, 10/10

[allthenamesilikearetaken]

in case anyones interested in the other versions

http://www.namaii.com/manekineko/maneki-neko-types.html

[mmusclechan]

Y’know I reblogged this a bit ago and was saved from financial probation and getting kicked out of school because of it, just mere months from graduation. Got a call from the financial aid advisor telling me that they made a mistake with filing my account (or some other sort of clerical error) and said that, basically, they owe me money. Welp.

[winjennster]

Last time I reblogged the money cat, I won two $100 gift cards at work.

[crawleyhouse]

Anne with an E!!! Season 2!!! Confirmed!!!!!!!

Sorry, I’m late to the party but...

[movrena]

Hey, um, I, uh, thought you might like to try one. They’re from our orchard. They’re real sweet.

[crawleyhouse]

I just remembered this part of Anne of the Island when Gilbert shows her the apple tree: 

"Here's a fallen tree with a cushion of moss. Sit down, Anne -- it will serve for a woodland throne. I'll climb for some apples. They all grow high -- the tree had to reach up to the sunlight."

The apples proved to be delicious. Under the tawny skin was a white, white flesh, faintly veined with red; and, besides their own proper apple taste, they had a certain wild, delightful tang no orchard-grown apple ever possessed.

"The fatal apple of Eden couldn't have had a rarer flavor," commented Anne. "But it's time we were going home. See, it was twilight three minutes ago and now it's moonlight. What a pity we couldn't have caught the moment of transformation. But such moments never are caught, I suppose."

- Anne of the Island, Chapter II

[jillimawnstah]

*quietly collects otps like an old lady collects cats*

[crawleyhouse]

Ok. I need to talk about this. It just occured to me that this is the only time they actually behaved truly “immature” towards each other. See, it took me a while to think about, and I could never quite put my finger on what exactly it was that I thought fascinated me about the particular way in which the Anne/Gilbert relationship was adapted in this version. Casting is great of course, as is their chemistry, no need to argue about that. But what the writers did here, with all their changes and alterations, additions and partly really flying off the canon big time and into AU-land...they made both Anne and Gilbert seem more ‘adult’ than they actually are, also in relation to one another. The books and all other adaptations hint at the romantic potential of the Anne/Gilbert conflict from the beginning...only it is usually a childish, boys-annoying-girls-girls-pretending-to-be-peeved kind of elementary school dynamic. Anne 2017 is of course altogether more “mature” and realist, with the realities of life back in the days shown more starkly and the timeless realities of adolecence and teenage life struggles also being shown in a pleasantly frank way (period talk, the mouse in the pants, etc.)

Gilbert’s introduction also struck me big time here. In the books and other versions Gilbert first comes to Anne’s attention as the boy who winks at her, which is a boyish, flirty, rather carefree gesture. And he is known to be quite boyish and teasing with all the girls. Anne’s instant dislike of him is founded on that impression. In Anne 2017 we see those kind of boys, the ones who tease and annoy the girls in Billy Andrews and his cronies, even before Gilbert arrives to literally save Anne from whatever sinister “game” Billy was playing with her in the forest. And it’s precisely the way Gilbert manages to appease the monster that made me think: wow, he’s much older than I thought. He confronts Billy, but in such a clever, level-headed way that tells you at once ten different things about Gilbert: he’s extremely intelligent, perceptive, brave, protective, gentle, reasonable, popular, respected and respectful, and has communication skills level A+ 

So the fact that THIS^^^ happens --- Gilbert losing his freaking head over Anne’s supposed disinterest is even more interesting, showing how she brings out the hormonal teenage boy in a guy who is usually more mature and sensible than all others his age. 

Anne’s whole reaction to Gilbert in this episode complements this. It’s made clear that after the “rescue” she likes him. And there is no silly girlish “pride” involved yet, she even apologizes for being “rude” before she is being ambushed by the 19th century “Mean Girls” squad who lay down the rules that Ruby “has dibs” and Anne is for all sense and purposes forced to pretend to dislike Gilbert. And I’m telling you one thing - this is such a realistic situation, it hurts. Everyone who’s ever had a crush on someone but had to keep their mouth shut because someone else more popular liked them too will know the pain and struggle of keeping *that* secret. Anne is factually more mature than all the other Avonlea girls who live by the rules all 90s High School films and shows dictated. This is also made clear by the “things” she knows (read: mouse in pants) and the hard life she had before she came to Avonlea. But wanting to be accepted, Anne tries to assimilate. And this includes thwarting all of Gilbert’s kind and quite romantic (rather than immature) advances. 

The scene where he slowly moves closer to her across the aisle, then kneels down by her side, puts the apple on her table (and yes, he is stubborn af, he just wants her to take his goddamn apple!) and looks up at her, never mind Mr. Philips, never mind all the others seeing this -- it’s stupid, but it is also romantic. 

Whereas in the original, Gilbert is busy pinning Ruby’s hair to her seat, winking at Anne, or in the 80s version pelts her with paper pellets, Gilbert is quietly, gently trying to make Anne like him...not understanding “why” exactly she is being like this or what he’s done wrong. When “carrots” happens, that’s where Gilbert is fully “adolescent” and impulsive and stupid, not actually thinking of what he’s doing there (for once). 

And at last - even the “slate smash” was made more “adult” or at least more of a trope from romantic fiction, as Anne slaps his face with it, rather than breaking it over his head. Somehow, to me, this entire scene just seemed extremely passionate, filled with tension (the good kind) and they were so strangely intense about each other, and with each other I don’t even know. I just loved it and uuuughhhh I just need to know that there will be a Season 2! 

[like-what-deactivated20171227]

how morally corrupt is your 19th century love interest on a scale of “aloof rich guy who doesn’t know how to express his feelings” to “has a secret wife in the attic” and “tries to dig up your grave so he can embrace your dead body”

[tonal-gleeson]

You and I And no one else

[untame]

me when i try to make a joke

[crawleyhouse]

I like to imagine that this is the exact moment that Mary fell in love with him but didn’t know it yet. 

[violentfille]

These two babies being speechless around each other.

[anne-of-our-hearts]

I didn’t notice until you pointed it out, but Anne, a person who talks A LOT and is hardly ever speechless, sometimes looses her words when she talks to Gilbert. All together now: “awwww”

[crawleyhouse]

Always a good marker of chemistry between actors/actresses when they can do “loaded silence” --- God, I want Season 2 so bad it hurts! 

[rbertsdowneyjr]

[crawleyhouse]

Literally the only reason left to watch that Downton film is to see Papa!Barrow and little lord Fauntleroy together...

[eleanorcaldit]

You want to spell out a few words for old times sake? How about ‘truce’?

[violentfille]

[anne-of-our-hearts]

look at them pining for each other…