A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Today, we did our weekly shopping. Normally, we do the shopping on Saturday so we can hit the the recycle center along the way (you can’t recycle on Sunday around here — big chained gates forbid it). Anyway, shopping means the warehouse grocery store, the regular grocery store, Home Depot or Lowe’s (depending on what the house needs now), and any other errands. But we usually end the day with a stop at Border’s for coffee (me) and hot chocolate (hubby). Sometimes we get a book or two. You’d think since I review books and have huge stacks waiting to be read that I wouldn’t pick up any more. What can I say? Hi, my name is Gayle and I’m a bookaholic (but I have no intention of kicking my habit).

I’ve been on a big Jane Austen kick lately. Partly, because PBS is running The Complete Jane Austen series on Masterpiece Theater. However, they are taking a break so my Sunday nights from 9pm to 11pm are now open until March 23 when Emma will be showing. What to do…what to do? Naturally, I need my Jane Austen fix. It’s been Jane Austen on Sunday nights for weeks now.

I’ve been eyeing Jane Austen: The Complete Novels (Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler) for a while now. So…today…I bought it. It contains: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. The Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler is 7 pages long and I’ve only read the first 3 so far. As expected from Fowler, it’s witty, thoughtful, erudite, funny, and thought provoking and I’ve still got 4 pages to go. I expect that I’ll be posting reviews of the books as I read them or reread them as the case may be.

Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride takes place in the autumn of 1813 just after Elizabeth and Darcy get engaged and slightly before the wedding. Placing the beginning at this point helps to bridge the reader from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to Halstead’s continuation of the story of literature’s best known and loved lovers.

It is not uncommon for a reader who has enjoyed a well told tale with fascinating characters to wonder as they finish the final page, “What happens next?” Perhaps, that is also the reason that series books do so well–because readers want to revisit and catch up with characters that they enjoy. The problem is that every reader has their own set of ideas about how the characters go on with their lives once the story ends. So a writer who opts to continue the tale of two characters that are so widely read about must keep the characters not only true to the ideals, morals, wit, and character that they were imbued by Jane Austen as well as tell a new story that is in concert with the original.

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books and I’ve read it many times. I also often re-view the DVDs of the various movies made from the book. However, when I read a continuation of the story, I try to remember that I’m reading the authors interpretation of these characters. Still, when reading the story, I need to be able to identify those characteristics and traits that made the original characters so wonderful to read about. In this, Halstead admirably succeeds. She manages to continue the tale in a way that is consistent with the original story as it progressed while moving forward with her vision of what would happen in their lives.

We know from Pride and Prejudice that Lady Catherine de Bourgh was not happy with the match and that she’d do all in her power to see that Darcy’s wife was cut from society and the family. We also know that in a time when there was little for women except marriage, that the other Bennet sisters must find husbands, that Georgiana Darcy should probably have a coming out and season in London, that there would be children born to the couples, and that eventually the Bingleys would not be able to tolerate being so near to Mrs. Bennet. We also know that Austen left notes that indicated that Kitty would marry a clergyman–almost unbelievable in the face of Kitty’s dislike of the breed. So, Halstead had these threads upon which to embroider her tale of the married life of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

While everything comes together in a delightful tale of married life and its ups and down as well as the tribulations and joys of family–it’s not quite the tale that I would have told. But setting aside my own prejudices regarding the Darcys, Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride is a wonderful addition to those brave authors who lay before us their version of happily ever after for this famous literary pair. Whether Halstead manages to also touch your vision of their future, her rendition is well executed, the story springs from those themes that were generated in Pride and Prejudice, and the characters stay true to their roots. Elizabeth remains witty, charming, feisty and yet maintaining a wonderful awareness of society and her place in it. Darcy is proud but tempered with the love of Elizabeth and now making an effort to put others at ease but, when rattled, reverting to his old manners. All the other characters are as they always were but with new insights or manners that give the reader the same character but with more depth and emotion.

A must for all lovers of the original who wonder, “What happens next?”

Besides really, really liking my coffee — I drink a lot of tea. A friend suggested an outing to Teavana at Tyson’s Corner, VA. So this evening we went. Since it’s slightly more than an hours drive to Tyson’s Corner from home, we met our friends for dinner, conversation, lots of catching up and then the trip just down the street to Teavana.

It’s in a mall and set up with sample teas near the door. Tonights samples were Maté Vana and Jasmine Dragon Pheonix Pearls. Both had been sweetened with a cane sugar but were very pleasant and spicy which was nice after the walk from the parking lot to the store (it’s mid-30’s out tonight).

The store has some lovely tea pots, tea cups, saucers, and of course lots and lots of wonderful teas. After spending a bit of time looking at lovely tea pots and cup sets (a bit out of my price range), I settled for a small pot (with a tea strainer insert) that looks like cracked celedon on the outside — a beautiful light green.

Then I bought tea. After lots of indecision and discussion with my husband, I got Azteca Fire (nice spicy strawberry and chocolate smell), Haute Chocolate (chicory, cinnamon, ginger, and cocoa) and Ginger Peach Apricot. I’m hoping to enjoy all of them and there are so many great sounding teas I will definitely have to go back for some of the others or order online. The staff was extremely helpful (but not intrusive) — even some of the customers piped up with suggestions and a list of their favorite teas and why. It was a very nice experience shopping there. A bit pricey but worth it for the quality of the tea and the knowledge shared.

I’ve got Aztec Fire steeping now and it should be ready to pour.

Last night Masterpiece Theater showed the second part of Pride and Prejudice based on the novel by Jane Austen. The version being shown is the A&E version staring Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, David Bamber, and Crispin Bonham-Carter among others. It’s my favorite version of the ones I’ve seen so far.

Part 2 (the episodes shown last night) dealt with: Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins; Elizabeth’s visit to Charlotte and meeting Lady Catherine, Col. Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Darcy; Darcy’s proposal; Elizabeth’s rejection; finding out that Wickham is not a nice person; traveling with the Gardners; visiting Pemberly; meeting Darcy again (can you say embarrassed to the max).

Again it follows the book quite well. I’m re-reading the book as this series continues mainly because I want the book to be the version that sticks in my mind, not the movies. I’m slowly moving through, not because it isn’t interesting — I could linger over some of the phrases for minutes they are so well stated — but because my reading slate is full for this month and I’m slipping P&P into what little free time I have.

That covers the events in the movie, but even while watching it, what you can miss is that there is a reason that sensible Charlotte Lucas would accept the idiotic Mr. Collins. Charlotte is in her late twenties. She’s not a beauty. She’s one of several children and luckily for her– she has brothers. Her choices are limited, she can marry or she can live with one of her brothers after her parents are gone. Limited choices that were not, unfortunately, unusual for a woman of Austen’s time. The Bennet sisters’ choices are even more restricted — the estate is entailed away and there are no brothers. When Mr. Bennet dies they might be able to live with one of their uncles but if not, they have no choices except to become lady’s maids or governesses. The two oldest might manage governess, but the younger could never pull that off and don’t have the temperament to become maids or companions. They must marry at the very least.

So, Charlotte wants her own home. She knows Mr. Collins is not vicious, has a steady income and a home, and since he’s dumber than a post, she can easily manipulate him. As we find out when Elizabeth visits, Charlotte has all she wants: a home of her own, and a husband who thinks they are of one mind. Charlotte has Mr. Collins situated so that they spend as little time together in a day as possible — and he’s happy about it. There’s no love, but there is comfort and ease. Charlotte has found a way to have what she wants within the limited choices available to her.

Elizabeth is determined to marry for love and turns down proposals. She’s also very aware of the circumstances in which the Bennet women exist. She knows that if she can’t find love and marriage — she’ll have to forge her own way in life as a governess or if one of her sister’s marry well, as a hanger on at their home–if she slips from society her life could be verey dark indeed.  Hence, her very great concern for Lydia’s wild behavior.

Women did not have an easy life in those times. Things have changed a lot since then and reading or watching women in that time, we might wonder what’s wrong with them and why don’t they just strike out on their own. There are choices we can see from so far in the future, with the gender roles having changed so much. But at ground zero in Austen’s time, women had so few choices available to them, and in many cases no choices at all — the choices might have existed but were so far out of their reach they might just as well not have existed.

While the films placed in this era may appear oh so romantic, the reality of the time that Austen wrote about was not as romantic and kind as we might think — especially for women.

I review books. I, therefore, read a lot of books. That means taking time to hold a book in my hands, turning pages, and reading. I prefer reading paper to reading on screen because, well, I don’t care to sit at my desk with my laptop for hours and hours — I do enough of that with writing, email, blogs, etc. And, no one has seen fit yet to let me have a Kindle or other handheld book reader to review … yet … I live for hope.

Anyway, some of the publishers have been asking about sending pdf files rather than the book for review. I certainly understand that need — it saves a trees. Since I live on five wooded acres and garden in my few spots of sunshine, I’m concerned with the environment. But most of the other reviewers on the pubs aren’t keen on reading full books on screen anymore than I am. But, it’s these little challenges that spur Google searches — and Tor is giving away pdfs of books — so a couple of items came together and I found TextAloud.

I downloaded the demo version and got it installed. Downloaded the first Tor book Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. The installation of TextAloud went very smoothly. Then because, after all, why would I read directions, I found that it can’t read a pdf directly, you have to open it with the TextAloud program — minor inconvenience. Then the demo has a voice called Sam. Sam is like being read to by the computer in the film War Games or Stephen Hawkings. So then I downloaded a demo voice from Cepstral called Lawrence. Lawrence is British and reads with a bit more inflection than Sam but he nags you to buy him every few sentences.

However, while I haven’t really run the program through to many paces yet — I’m seriously considering shelling out for the full version of TextAloud. I mean if the book is a file and TextAloud can read it to me — I can knit or spin while listening to a book — multi-tasking is a good thing. Besides, I love being read to and if I can choose accents well that just adds to the pleasure. Check it out yourself, it seems a really decent program.

The other day, I decided I’d rewatch Matrix — hadn’t seen it in a while and it was on TV, but that was in the colder part of the house, so I dug out the DVD and put it in the PC to watch. Ended up also watching Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions.

The first thing I noticed is the movies haven’t become dated. I found that really surprising even though there’s a acoustic coupler used in the first movie — it’s not intrusive and it is easy to give a pass to where tech and movie have diverged. But the thing is, that they did a great job of creating the matrix-artificial environment so that it holds up today so many years after it was first made.

I think part of that is that the central core of the movies isn’t about the virtual reality of the matrix. It’s really about choice, control, and power. Doubting Thomas (Neo) Anderson is removed from the matrix older than when most people are removed and he has some difficulty in coming to see the reality of the outside vs the control of his life he thought he had inside the matrix. He also has to deal with others looking to him for answers when he doesn’t even know the questions.

A friend hated the films because she felt that once they learned that it was an artificial environment that everyone would just be able to do the things “The One” could do. But to me, it’s not that simple. Even today people can believe so strongly in something that no matter what proof you give them, they will continue to believe as they did. First impressions do count. For an example, we had a rabbit that was a dwarf.  When our second rabbit came into the house as a youngling, the dwarf attacked the young one. The young one wasn’t a dwarf and grew up to be about 5 times bigger, but was forever cowed by the tiny one because of that first impression. When you grow up “knowing” something to be true it’s very hard to unlearn that something — no matter what that something is.

What is reality when it can be changed? Were the citizens of Zion really out of the matrix since in movie 2 Neo stopped the machines with his mind. There’s a lot of ambiguity but also a lot of fodder for long discussions over the nature of reality, choices and their ramifications, the nature of power and its uses, and the man/machine interfaces becoming so prevalent in our society.

It’s nice to occasionally revisit a movie and find it’s still fresh and thought provoking.

Sunday, February 10th, is the first night of the showing of Pride and Prejudice as part of PBS’s The Complete Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theater. This particular version of Pride and Prejudice is the A&E version and will be shown over three Sundays (Feb. 10, 17, and 24.). Luckily, this is one of my favorite versions and I own a copy that I watch at least once a month and sometimes more. I’ve also seen then version starring Keira Knightley, the BBC version, the 1940 version with Greer Garson, and the Bollywood version Bride and Prejudice (who could resist Pride and Prejudice with elephants — I couldn’t).

The only version I own is the A&E one so that may account for why I like it best but it could also be Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy. Somehow of all the Mr. Darcy’s I’ve see in the movies — it’s Colin Firth’s portrayal that plays in my head when I reread the book. He has that haughty, stern, aloof shyness with a hint of passion that appeals to me in a Mr. Darcy.

Tonight’s movie ended after Elizabeth Bennet refuses the proposal of Mr. Collins. So, if you miss tonight’s episode and can’t find it on a repeat, if you read the book up to this point, you’ll be all set for next Sunday’s showing.

Every version of P&P is the director’s and writer’s vision of Austen’s story. Luckily for us, each finds the romance to be a key feature and while the characteristics of the characters may change and in the case of Bride and Prejudice the setting and time period — they each have the core story intact.

So, whether you rent, buy or just watch your own copy of the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, you’ll find because it has five and a bit hours to devote to the novel, it maintains a consistency with the novel that many of the other movies cannot because they are limited coming as close as possible to the standard 90 minute movie length.

Meanwhile, I started to reread the novel because I’ve realized that I often think of this version BEING Pride and Prejudice and as much as I enjoy this film, I’d rather the book represent the true version for me.

Sunday, Feb 3rd saw the airing of Miss Austen Regrets as part of the Masterpiece Theater’s Complete Jane Austen series. This is one that I’ve never seen before in any media so I have nothing to compare or contrast it to. It’s based on the correspondence of Jane Austen and while I’ve had “read her letters” on my list of things to do before I die — I haven’t gotten to it. The closest I’ve come is the page of famous quotes from Jane Austen (or quotes that should be famous) that I read at the Republic of Pemberly (a site every Jane Austen fan should visit — at least once so you know what you’re missing).

Miss Austen Regrets gives us a glimpse into the life and times of Jane Austen. The movie is framed with Fanny Austen coming to her Aunt Jane and wanting her to help her make a decision about a potential suitor. Using this frame, the viewers are shown a Jane Austen, nearly forty, single, living with her sister and mother in a cottage owned by one of her brothers. In asides, we see Jane concerned with her writing, her lack of funds, her worry about her sister and mother, their possible loss of their home if their brother loses a law suit, and the decisions she’s made in her life.

The acting is fabulously nuanced. We see Jane hurt but, with a deep breath and turning a smile, she carries on as a witty conversationalist and flirt. The small gestures that show that the surface may not be a true reading of the inner soul. But then that is the heart of Jane Austen’s novels, the public social faces against the private feelings that are held in check and controlled — always the smooth facade presented to others.

Maybe it’s because it’s the first time I’ve seen this movie — but the tears flowed freely for some parts. Partly at the loss of such a writer and partly at the knowledge that today she could be treated and live so much longer. What would she have written with more years? Other parts made me so angry at the place of women in her time — unable to speak with her publisher on her own behalf, unable to ask for more money for her works. Today, since most of us have read her books and all are still in print, it’s hard to believe that we might never have had them at all if not for her brother representing her.

We’ve come a long way as women and it is sometimes difficult to remember what life was life then. She died in 1817 and yet her characters and her works live on. Perhaps there were some regrets but since most of her correspondence was destroyed, much of what we know of the inner Jane is conjecture and hopeful guessing. Miss Austen Regrets is definitely worth viewing and reviewing. I hope to be able to add it to my rainy day collection of movies — you know the ones that you watch with a box of tissues, a cup of tea, and a lonely heart yearning for more…