Deserving or Disguised: Pride and Prejudice, part 1

I have decided to start a mini series on the wonderful Jane Austen book, Pride and Prejudice.  There are so many themes in Pride and Prejudice, that I will spend several days and blogs on different themes.  Today, however, I wanted to spend some time on two of, on first meeting, the most affable characters in the book.  Later, the distinction becomes quite evident, as their deeper nature becomes known.  These are the characters of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Wickham.

The descriptions as the Bennet sisters meet these characters are strikingly similar.  "Mr. Bingley was good looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners...Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance..."  Not so different from "...the young man wanted only regimentals to make him completely charming.  His appearance was greatly in his favor; he had the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and a very pleasing address.  The introduction was followed up on his side by a happy readiness of conversation––a readiness at the same time perfectly correctly correct and unassuming..."  It is clear that both Bingley and Wickham are more than friendly; one might go as far as to call them charismatic.  In addition to their affable natures, they have the bonus of excellent looks on their side.  The two combined is a dangerous combination.  

As Elizabeth demonstrates, once the acquaintance is formed, the trust is absolute.  One is certain that she knows the inert qualities of the person, rather than the surface ones he demonstrated at the meeting.  Of course, Elizabeth is forced to eat her words when first she hears of how Mr. Wickham squandered the money left him by Mr. Darcy's father and then tried to elope with Mr. Darcy's little sister, and, even worse, when Wickham elopes with Elizabeth's little sister Lydia.  

However, it is not all face value. All the qualities Bingley shows upon meeting only deepen and grow. He is loyal and true, very much in love with Jane Bennet and marries her.  

The question, then, is how does one tell the difference?  This is a running theme in Pride and Prejudice-in fact, it is stated in the name.  Generally when one thinks of this theme, one thinks of the unapproachable Mr. Darcy, however it is very true here as well.  

So how does one tell the difference?  Perhaps the answer is best said by Elizabeth Bennet's aunt, in reference her meeting Mr. Wickham and viewing Elizabeth's preference for him, "–you must not let your fancy run away with you.  You have sense, and we all expect you to use it..."  

  

A Little Advice

I'm going to stay with my theme of music.  Tonight our song is from the popular teen star, Taylor Swift.  Everyone must have guilty pleasure in music, and she is mine.  Her music is not complicated but it has something special about it.
Her song "Never Grow Up" I really identify with.  It is a message, to a younger friend or sibling.  It always makes me think of a friend I have.  She is the little sister I never had.  The four years between us a perfect balance of being able to be peers and still having a mentor relationship.  This is a song that I would give to her, because if I have any advice for younger friends, it is enjoy childhood.
I really love these  lines, "I won't let nobody hurt you, Won't let no one break your heart No, no one will desert you, Just try to never grow up, never grow up."  It demonstrates how much the singer cares and wants to protect her loved one from the cares of the world.  There is a strong protective quality that runs through the entire song. 
Take these lines: "Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up, Just stay this little, Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up, It could stay this simple".  The singer knows her friend or sibling, whichever, has to grow up.  Has to face the challenges of growing up.  But the singer knows it is hard: "I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone"  She does not want to lose her sister as well. 
When I spend time with my own little friend, and watch her grow up into a confidant, beautiful girl, I feel proud.  But I feel her pain as she goes through trials, wanting to go fix them for her.  Maybe I'm a little selfish, wanting her to never grow up..."Won't let nobody hurt you, Won't let no one break your heart, And even through to you want to, Please try to never grow up"...But its because I wish I'd never grown up...some of the time.

Late Night Music

I was sitting doing homework, late at night.  It is a wonder, how lonely sitting and doing homework can be.  I solve this problem by listening to music.  The song that really jumped out at me tonight was Regina's Spektor's The Man of a Thousand Faces.
What is so interesting about this song is the story.  It is not the story of a growth in a person, but a falling away.  One gets the feeling that the man of a thousand faces was not always so acquainted with the moon.  Lines such as 'he used to go to his favorite bookstores..." lend themselves to a very different view of the man.  This first man is eccentric, but still human.  Note the phrase, 'and the moon to him was a stranger'.  This, of course, leads us to the question who is the moon?  
This phrase jumped out at me, "his words are quiet like stains are".  Well, stains are not quiet.  Usually.  Usually they scream, "Look at me!  I'm not supposed to be here!  I'm messing up a perfectly loving blouse!"  So, if the man of a thousand faces' words are quiet like stains, what is he saying?  Looking further, we learn more about what kind of stain.  "Stains that are trying to cover, for each other, or at least blend in with the pattern." These are more the dark stains on a dark skirt, where they can blend in, but when one looks closely, something is not quite right.  Its as though at first glance, the man has not changed until one takes a second and sees the dark stain trying to hide--the pattern is the pattern of his former personality.
This man of a thousand faces seems to have not only have fallen away from friends, but God.  Listen to this "to a place of a place of no religion, has found a path to our alikeness".  What does this mean?  Is there an anti-religious meaning hidden in these words?  I suppose one could put one in the lyrics, but I do not think that this is the point of the song.  Listen to the phrase "And I'm crying for things I tell others to do without crying."  Something is disturbing the singer, as she watches the man (a former friend, lover?) fall away, fall way from her, from society, from God.  
There is also an element that the man think he knows more than other people.  From the view of the singer, this is an unfounded belief and an empty philosophy, making the man simply look weaker.  He detaches himself from humanity, not needing them, and believing to know more than them.  The fact of the matter is, we need each other.  Humans need each other.  Here we can answer the question, 'who is the moon?'  The moon represents all that is not human.  It orbits far above us in the sky, having nothing to do with us. Essentially, the man of a thousand faces is say he is apart from humanity, floating high above with the moon.This will only create his ruin, because there is an element of superficiality to his philosophy.  It is clear that the singer knows this and weeps for the man of a thousand faces.  And so do I.


Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80U5YdGrt9g
Lyrics:http://www.lyricstime.com/regina-spektor-man-of-a-thousand-faces-lyrics.html

Digging around...

I was digging around my bookshelf, looking for a novel this evening and rather than finding a novel, I found one of my favorite picture books of all time--Eloise in Paris, by Kay Thompson.  I have to say, I love Eloise.  I love her energy, her imagination, her personality.   Ooooooh, I absolutely love Eloise.  

I like to think of Eloise as the female counterpart to Calvin, of the Calvin and Hobbs comics.  Either can think up every bad idea and not understand why adults are screaming their heads off.  Everyday situations turn into great games of imagination.  All they need is themselves and their respective companion, Hobbs for Calvin, and Weenie the dog and Skipperdee the turtle for Eloise, and they are off in a world of their own.
Amid pouring champagne down mail chutes and what not, Eloise is quite affectionate.  She adores her Nanny, and almost every other person she meets. The freshness of Eloise is not that she is so unlike a child, but that she is the ultimate child;, she knows no fear, she knows no strangers, and her imagination knows no bounds.

Across the pond...

You know who I feel like?  Cassandra Mortiman, of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle.  I feel like Cassandra as she begins her journaling, in an English March.  Not so far off from my own mid-February, except that I have the addition of a foot and a half of sluggishly melting snow.  That is rather a different story.  Cassandra Mortiman is possibly my favorite female protagonist, though Wendy Darling and Hermione Granger are close competition.  She (Cassandra) is not only gifted with an avid imagination, and  far too kind and practical for her own good, she lives in a castle!  And, of course, she is penniless.
Cassandra's journals take her over the adventure of meeting the two young handsome american men in the manor nearby (did I mention the oldest is also the heir of a substantial fortune?), the resultant engagement of her older sister, Rose, to the heir, Simon, her own adventure falling in love with Simon, while a life long friend is smitten with her.  The entire story is a, in the words of the author, "...follow-my-leader game of second best we have all been playing..." (Smith, 342)  Reading Cassandra's journals and how they take on a life of their own, I wonder, where will my blog take me?