Sunday, February 3, 2008

Jane Just Plain Rules

Now I feel sad -- Miss Austen Regrets' portrayal of my dear Jane made me lament her short life once again. This Jane seemed more like the Jane of my imaginings than, well certainly more than Becoming Jane. I liked her snippy and funny comments -- many of the lines came straight out of her letters to Cassandra ("shocking acts of dancing") -- and her hunger to write and find solitude. This Jane wanted to have fun and dance and have too much to drink; she even had a hangover. When Cassandra burned Jane's letters after her death, I wanted to grab the letters out of the fire and save all the rich wonderfulness of her words. Ah me -- and then her problems with money and the position that she is put in to try to help her sister and her mother. "I'm to be my own husband, it seems" she complains about her situation. I think I will reread Persuasion now and try to hear the voice of Jane reflecting on her life.

As You Like It
I also saw the HBO movie version of this Shakespeare play -- one of my favorites. I'm pretty sure it is only a movie that English teachers and their students will watch.

3 comments:

Chica said...

what actors are in this? Is that "Being Earnest" movie (I know that's not the full title, can't remember) with Reese Witherspoon good speaking of Shakespere movies?

Mary's List said...

No one really famous except Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard and Kevin Kline. I'm not sure which movie you are referring to?

Chica said...

oh now I remember, it's "The Importance of Being Earnest" and I think it came out a couple years ago, but I know Reese Witherspoon was in it and was thinking about seeing it but I've never heard it it was well liked or not.