“Of course, there isPride and Prejudice...with the famous and lovable Mr.Darcy. Personally, I don’t understand the appeal, but who am I to say.”
I smiled, surprised by his knowledge of Jane’s characters, but I tried desperately to hide it.
“And what to say aboutEmma,” he went on. “Sweet, meddlesome Emma. Charming story, to be sure. Exceptionally witty.”
“I agree.”
“Persuasionis a heartbreaking story about the misguided Anne Elliot.”
I let out a laugh. “Are you telling me that you’ve read them all.”
“Indeed, I have.”
“Even the less popularNorthanger Abbey?”
“A great and clever story set in Bath. Excellent writing, a touch gothic, but she does focus a lot on the ways novels were written at the time, and not in a positive manner.”
“So, what is your favorite Austen-ism?”
He looked at me funny.
“Yes...I just made that word up.”
It was his turn to laugh. “All right. I guess that’s allowed.” He thought for a moment, then cleared his throat. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
“Pride and Prejudice,” I said, eyeing him with skepticism. “Yes. That is a very popular one. Everyone cites that particular line.
“Okay. Then what about...” He leaned closer to me. “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously.A person may be proud without being vain.Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity...
“To what we would have others think of us,” I said along with him. “I do appreciate that one quite a bit.”
“Of course,” he went on, “I laughed when I first read;Men of sense, whatever you may choose to say, do not want silly wives.”
“FromEmma,” I said as I nodded. “Are you in agreement with that statement?”
“I cannot imagine living my life with a woman that I would consider silly,” he said. “That said, there is always room in one’s life for moments of silliness.”
“Understood,” I said. I sat back and looked up at the sky. “Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.”
He nodded. “Mansfield Park. I do hope the line makes it into the movie.”
Having worked on the script, I smiled. “I made sure that it did.”
“Good.”
“There are also notable statements that never made it into any of her published books. I’ve managed to work one of them into the script ofMansfield Park.”
“And what would that be?”
“A man who has nothing to do with his own time has no conscience in his intrusion on that of others.”
He dropped his head back and laughed loudly. “Oh. I’ve never heard that one before. So true. So very true.”
“I also tried to squeeze in;A person who is knowingly bent on bad behavior, gets upset when better behavior is expected of them. I just couldn’t find an appropriate spot to insert it.”
“I’m quite partial to,I would always rather be happy than dignified.”
I playfully leaned into him and laughed. “That’s not Jane Austen. That’s Brontë.”
