Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Emma by Jane Austin

Hooray for Austin! This was a very LONG book. I liked the beginning and the ending but the middle was so full of tediously long paragraphs. Despite that, I made it through and can give her another thumbs up for old fashioned miscommunication and falling in love.

I was browsing the VHS section in a thrift store last week and despite my resolve to downsize our VHS collection and replace it with family classics on DVD...I found EMMA with Gwyneth Paltrow. Excellent! It was only .69 cents! I couldn't pass it up or a few other interesting finds...

I think the movie was very well done despite the two kissing scenes in the end that Jane would have blushed and then got angry and "her manner would be too decided to invite supplication; and in this state of swelling resentment and mutually deep mortification" she would have snubbed the the director of the movie if ever they met at a ball or in town. She would have looked down on the whole thing and said something about the shocking lack of discipline. Then some higher society would immediately start circulating the news among its circles of friends at Highbury or at Bath. I did find the movie to bring out some of the finest achievements of men and women finding self awareness and identity in the mist of society they are sometimes powerless in and dependent on.

Hmm, I really wanted to use the word quintessential bore, I guess I will say Mrs. Bates was a quintessential bore but very well cast in the movie. I almost cried when Emma hurt her feelings. But in the book I just wanted to skip all of her ramblings and get to the kissing...which wasn't in the book but I'm sure there was some...Jane left it to the imagination but never implied that it actually happened - ever! Isn't that funny?

Next I will read Alas Babylon and Northanger Abbey, at the same time of course. This will be fun!

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