Jane Austen Week Questions - Part 3

This is Part 3 (the final part) of my answers to the questions posted by Miss Elizabeth Bennet at Elegance of Fashion for her Jane Austen Week! Check it out!
You can read Part 1 and Part 2 of my questions. I tried to answer these mostly in order.

6. Top three Jane Austen Adaptations and why?


Persuasion (1995) - If you checked out my posts about Anne Elliot's Birthday you'll know that I prefer this version of Persuasion other the other two, but you may not have known that this is not only my favorite Jane Austen adaptation but also one of my all time favorite movies! I adore this movie because it's so much like reading the book. It is so true to the Regency time period with the costumes, settings, manners, music and dialog! The warmth and chemistry between the actors (especially Anne & Frederick and Admiral & Mrs. Croft) is extraordinarily amazing! I adore the world they created and no matter how many times I watch it I never tire of it! This movie picks my up on a gloomy day and my parents also love this film. Everything is so spot on that I can't read Persuasion without thinking of this adaptation and realizing how brilliant the actors and everything is!


Emma (2009) - I must admit I was a little skeptical of this adaptation when I first heard that it was being made so I was not prepared to fall in love with this film, but that's really what I did! It revitalized the well-known story of Emma for me and brought fresh life to each character! I love that many of the actors are so young and so well cast! Ramola Garai as Emma is adorable and Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley is spot on fantastic! I love the music, costumes, settings, dances, and the fact that they tell a bit of the back story. And I loved watching the interviews with the cast and crew on my DVD copy because it was clear that they just "got" Jane Austen and loved being in her world! This is a film I watch again and again with my family, actually my sister and I love watching "the proposal scene" over and over! I also love that this film made my sister excited about Jane Austen, and helped her understand the story better than she ever had before!


Sense & Sensibility (1995) - It was kind of a toss-up for me between this film and
Pride and Prejudice (1995) as my third favorite. But as I was thinking about it I realized that this is just another one of those films that I can watch over and over and never get tired of it! This film was my introduction of Jane Austen and my parents love it. As a family we not only watch this film often but quote from it frequently! Even though it's not the closest adaptation it captures the true spirit of Jane Austen through the actors, music, costumes and settings! I just adore this film and it is a must see for anyone who loved Jane Austen!

7. Top Three Jane Austen characters that "take delight in vexing" you?
This was a bit of a tough decision. I love most of Jane Austen's characters, even the "vexing" ones for their interesting personalities. 

 Mrs. Augusta Elton of Emma - In Jane Austen's novels I really don't find the characters who are merely foolish (like Mrs. Bennet) but I really can't stand the characters who should know better and yet act so badly. Mrs. Elton is one of those characters. She is intelligent and yet she lowers herself by being so genteel and condescending that her behavior becomes officious. She is sure she is right to the exclusion of everyone else's opinions and steamrolls over Jane Fairfax and Harriet Smith. It is a bit funny that she stands up to Emma and makes her bristle a bit. But her words about being surprised that "Knightley" is a gentleman and her comments on Mrs. Weston just make me mad. I really don't like her!

Mr. George Wickham of Pride and Prejudice - I know many people seem to like Mr. Wickham and say he's one of their favorite villains but I really don't see the character's charm at all. From the beginning he's secretive and weasels his way into many of the ladies' affections. His actions toward Mr. Darcy, Georgiana and Lydia are so monumentally villainous! He seems to have no soul and and to act only out of greed and revenge. I really can't stand him at all and wouldn't trust him if my life (or Elizabeth Bennet's) depended on!

Mr. Henry Crawford of Mansfield Park - What a scoundrel! As I'm reading Mansfield Park I'm really getting more a sense of how dangerous he is! He doesn't deserve the name Henry (which I think of as belonging to Henry Tilney). From the moment he enters Mansfield Park Crawford sets about playing with the affections of all Maria and Julia. I so wish he had chosen one and married them because they are both equal to him in intelligence and desire for society. He is such a selfish, prideful creature! I'm so glad Fanny saw through him, her life would have been so tragic had she accepted his proposal!  

Other Characters that almost made this "vexing" list are: Mrs. Norris, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Fanny Dashwood. 

    
8. Jane Austen Sequels... Do you like them or not?
I haven't read many sequels (or retellings) because I don't usually like them. I find that often they totally mess up the wonderful original characters that Jane Austen created, making them do things that are out of character. Also they often introduce new characters or historical figures that Jane Austen purposely steered away from. As an etymology fan the unhistorical use of language and names they use bugs me too. I do enjoy most things by author and blogger Margaret C. Sullivan (of AustenBlog.com) and I really enjoyed Letters from Pemberley: The First Year recently and want to read more from author Jane Dawkins.

9. Do you have a favorite spot to keep all your Jane Austen "stuff"?

Yes, I do! My Jane Austen collection currently contains every film adaptation on DVD, an audio book of almost every novel, most of the available film soundtracks, multiple copies of her novels, a few spin-off novels and a bunch of books about her life and work. I have one bookshelf in my room that's dedicated to most of these items so if you look at my bookshelves you'll definitely know who Jane Austen is my favorite author! 

10. Which Jane Austen character do you think you're most like?

I think I'm most like Elinor Dashwood but more acurately I'm a combination of her and Catherine Morland (although I've had my Anne Elliot moments too!). I would like to be like Eleanor Tilney and Fanny Price, and maybe a little more out going like Emma Woodhouse or Elizabeth Bennet. 

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of my answers!


Thanks so much to Miss Elizabeth Bennet from Elegance of Fashion for posting these questions for use to answer and for hosting the Jane Austen Week! I've had so much fun participating!