For me, S&S is like a less polished, less interesting, less complex, more unpleasant predecessor to MP.
I went to a lecture once wherein the thesis was that S&S was a less polished, less complex predecessor to Emma. The idea was that Elinor and Marianne had been combined into one character. Emma has a lot of the selfishness and foolish romantic ideas that Marianne has, but the voice of reason (Elinor) is internal. She has some rather foolish romantic ideas about Frank Churchill, and yet it is Emma herself who tells herself that she is being foolish, that the attraction she feels is skin-deep and she won't be so very heartbroken if it doesn't work out, etc. Knightley does tell her at one point that she is selfish, but Emma internalizes it and thinks about it and decides to self-monitor
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Interesting! I was thinking more of the atmosphere, and I'm definitely in the opposite boat (I love Emma, and dislike Marianne), but I can actually see Emma with a sort of Marianne-side and Elinor-side. I think I see more of it with Fanny Price, though; she's deeply romantic and the narrator pokes fun at her melodrama, but also dutiful, perceptive, rigidly self-contained, and deeply values the, hm, social codes
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Forgive the intrusion: I came here by way of your lovely work in AO3, and I find I can't help butting in, just a little, even if you don't know me from Adam. Sorry
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Another random person -- I'm actually with you regarding most other women on Austen, re:marriage. In the case of Mrs Bennet, though, I really feel there's a strong undercurrent of self preservation under it all, which makes it more 'you're selling your daughters for your own benefit' and less 'well, she's a product of her times' (though she undoubtedly also is that).
Undoubtedly E will have appropriate quotes -- I can try to see if I can find what formed my own impression at the time. (Tomorrow though *has to go to sleep*)
Totally random! :P But yes, I think the comparison between Mrs Bennet and other women does ... not show Mrs Bennet in a very good light. Especially when she goes off on the cost of maintaining Elizabeth after Mr Bennet dies during the Mr Collins fallout (and Elizabeth likely costs less than ninety pounds a year). :\
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I went to a lecture once wherein the thesis was that S&S was a less polished, less complex predecessor to Emma. The idea was that Elinor and Marianne had been combined into one character. Emma has a lot of the selfishness and foolish romantic ideas that Marianne has, but the voice of reason (Elinor) is internal. She has some rather foolish romantic ideas about Frank Churchill, and yet it is Emma herself who tells herself that she is being foolish, that the attraction she feels is skin-deep and she won't be so very heartbroken if it doesn't work out, etc. Knightley does tell her at one point that she is selfish, but Emma internalizes it and thinks about it and decides to self-monitor ( ... )
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Undoubtedly E will have appropriate quotes -- I can try to see if I can find what formed my own impression at the time. (Tomorrow though *has to go to sleep*)
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