Straight Out Of Longbourn

Welcome! This blog is dedicated to everything that is Jane Austen with a modern appropriation. 

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The Sherlock Holmes deduction game. 

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When you travel back in time to see if the dress looks good on you. 

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The female gaze and male objectification. Just another day in the life of a Janeite.    ^-^

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*muffled ABBA music playing in the distance*

So, I was in the car one day, rocking out to Swedish pop music, as one does, when I suddenly got this mental image of a bunch of Jane Austen’s mercenary ladies blasting “Money Money Money” out the roof of their open-top barouche.

So without further ado, I bring you: Izzy and The Gold Diggers.

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His profession was all that could ever make her friends wish that tenderness less; the dread of a future war all that could dim her sunshine. She gloried in being a sailor's wife, but she must pay the tax of quick alarm for belonging to that profession which is, if possible, more distinguished in its domestic virtues than in its national importance.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol. II Ch. 12, pg. 203

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After a moment's pause he said, 'Though I came only yesterday, I have equipped myself properly for Bath already, you see,' (pointing to a new umbrella) 'I wish you would make use of it, if you are determined to walk; though, I think, it would be more prudent to let me get you a chair.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol. II Ch. 7, pg. 143

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Mr. Elliot was rational, discreet, polished,--but he was not open. There was never any burst of feelings, any warmth of indignation or delight, at the evil or good of others. This, to Anne, was a decided imperfection.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol. II Ch. 6, pg. 131

Even though Mr. Elliot might possess all the gentlman-like qualities that society holds in such high esteem, Anne finally discovers what it is about him that she does not like. His lack of feeling  is what she believes to be a fault in his character, emotions that Captain Wentworth harbors yet expresses towards Anne. 

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[Mrs. Smith] was a widow, and poor. her husband had been extravagant, and at his death, about two years before, had left his affairs dreadfully involved.

jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol II, Ch. 5, pg. 125

It is interesting to see how in this novel Mrs. Smith is positioned as an independent woman who lives by herself and works, yet her situation is seen as lowly, especially for a woman. Ann, however, sees her as a friend and defies her families wishes to see her. nevertheless, Mrs. Smith’s  is depicted as a marginalized character, the “other” that society wishes to ignore and considers to be uneducated. 

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He had strong feelings of family-attachment and family honour, without pride or weakness; he lived with the liberality of a man of fortune, without display; he judged for himself in every thing essential, without defying public opinion in any point of worldly decorum.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol. II Ch. 4, pg. 119

This passage describes the character of Mr. Elliot who in many ways possess all the gentleman-like qualities that is supposed to define a man of high class. But Anne is not so certain whether his “display” of “feelings” and “worldly decorum” are just a facade. Later in the novel, it is discovered that Mr. Elliot is not such a great person as people imagine him to be.  

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In such moments Anne had no power of saying to herself, 'These rooms ought to belong only to us. Oh, how fallen in their destination! How unworthily occupied! An ancient family to be so driven away! Strangers filling their place!

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol. 11 Ch. 1, pg. 103

There is an underlying fear that Anne’s character expresses in regards to her family having to move away from the estate in which they have lived for generations. Throughout Jane Austen’s novels, their is a sense of pride in family and lineage, especially those who are considered to be from an “ancient family” that is typically associated to power and wealth. But in the beginning of Persuasion, Sir Walter Scott is having some financial problems so the family is forced to move to a smaller home, one that, for Anne, is somewhat shameful. 

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Hahahahaha! I’ll eat my hat if you do, Mr. Collins! XD

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We should all have liked her a great deal better; and papa and mamma always think it was her great friend Lady Russell's doing, that she did not.--They think Charles might not be learned and bookish enough to please Lady Russell, and that, therefore, she persuaded Anne to refuse.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol. 1 Ch. 10, pg. 75

In this scene, Louisa tells Captain Wentworth that Charles Musgrave, before marrying Mary, had proposed to Anne, who refused him, seeing as his character was not “enough to please Lady Russell.” Once again, the novel presents the reader the question of whether persuasion is a positive or negative force in the story. Should Anne continue to “consult” Lady Russell and let herself be easily “persuaded” by her judgment instead of her own, especially when dealing with matters of love? It could be assumed that Anne might have discerned that Charles neither possessed a “learned or bookish” nature, but is she to let Lady Russell rule over her personal affairs for the rest of her life? 

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I have crossed the Atlantic four times, and have been once to the East Indies, and back again; and only once, besides being in different places about home--Cork, and Lisbon, and Gibralter...When you come to a frigate, of course, you are more confined--though any reasonable woman may be perfectly happy in one of them; and I can safely say, that the happiest part of my life has been spent on board a ship.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Vol. 1, Ch. 8, pg. 61

I just really liked this scene where Mrs. Croft expresses how much she enjoyed “traveling across the Atlantic four times” and relates to the other women that she has been to the East Indies, an accomplishment that is very admirable, especially for a woman of her time. 

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He had not forgiven Anne Elliot. She had used him ill; deserted and disappointment him; and worse, she had shewn a feebleness of character in doing so, which his own decided, confident temper could not endure. She had given him up to oblige others. It had been the effect of over-persuasion. It had been weakness and timidity.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion, V. 1. Ch. 8, pg. 55

The novel in many ways questions whether it is best to be firm in one’s conviction or be open to the opinions of others. In Anne Eliot’s case, she feels an obligation to uphold certain duties that, to a certain extent, have been imposed on her by her culture and society. But her vulnerability to be persuaded so easily, especially by Lady Russell, is in many respects giving her a sense of authority over Anne’s life, which is itself depicting her as a “feeble character.” Nonetheless, Anne remains somewhat miserable for being “persuaded” by Lady Russell to not marry the  naval officer, Captain Wentworth,a decision that she seems to regret, especially seeing as he is now economical well off due to his business ventures abroad in the West Indies.