Austen Character Encounters by Marilyn Brant
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book of ALL TIME and that Austen is my favorite author. Being that I’m here, in the warm comfort of the AuAu blog, surrounded by fellow Janeites who love her work as much as I do, I don’t have struggle to explain all the clever dialogue, masterful characterization and beautifully narrated passages that first blissfully overwhelmed me at age fourteen, convincing me immediately of Austen’s genius.
No. I’m among friends.
Nobody here would roll their eyes at the mention of the Netherfield Ball or refuse to discuss with me for a few moments how tricky it must have been to learn those dancing reel maneuvers in long skirts and delicate shoes.
Nobody here would YAWN (!!) and say the scenes at Pemberely were “boring.” BORING?! Are you kidding? The one when Darcy and Lizzy meet accidentally on the grounds? The one when Darcy, the Bingleys, Lizzy and Georgiana were all together and Lizzy was helping turn Georgiana’s pages while she played piano and the tension in the room was palpable? WHAT?!
Nobody in our happy online circle would wrinkle their noses at the story’s pacing or dare to insinuate that there was “no action”…
No, and no again!
However, I have in my lifetime actually encountered such people. After I stopped blinking at them in mystification and recovered my voice, I tried to explain what is — to most of us — obvious about Austen’s appeal beyond the cool Regency clothes and drawing-room subtext: the brilliant understanding of human nature, the perfectly pointed character studies, the deep irony and unparalleled humor, the universality and the timelessness… The latter, in particular, is something so significant to me about Austen’s writing that I feel compelled to point it out to anyone who brushes off its importance.
“But…you see it, right?” I’d implore them. “You get the fact that people haven’t really changed — not in essentials — in the past two centuries, don’t you?”
They’d squint at me or nod vaguely in my direction.
I’d be insistent. I’d tell them, “I’ve met people — modern people — who act JUST LIKE Mr. Collins or Mr. Wickham or Caroline Bingley. It happened when I was in high school. When I was teaching. Sometimes even when I was with certain family members…”
They didn’t always understand (sigh), but I know you all do. And I’d bet I’m not the only one who can recount with clarity (and more than a few giggles) an occasion or two when someone in my real contemporary life acted just like an Austen character — for good or for bad, at least as far as manners go.
Here’s one example: Some years ago, my husband and I were invited to a private family dinner at the home of one of my students, hosted by the child’s parents. The family’s clergyman and his wife were also in attendance. Now, I generally like clergymen (and women) — one of my very best female friends is a youth minister — but this particular man of the cloth had a highly honed sense of materialism and didn’t hesitate to share his thoughts. He’d made a number of tacky statements about our hosts’ expensive furnishings during the evening that had me tilting my head in surprise, but his crowning moment happened just before our meal began when we were all seated at the table. Unprompted by anything in the conversation prior to this, he actually lifted up one of the crystal glasses our hosts had set for us and pinged it with his fingernail so it would ring. Then he commented on its tone and remarked on the quality of the crystal while his wife, who agreed with his assessment, looked on approvingly. It was all very surrealistic – in a cinematic way. My husband sent me a sideways glance and we later debated whether it was Mr. Collins or Mr. Elton that’d we’d just met in the flesh. 
On the other hand, there’s a woman I was introduced to at a PTA meeting once who was the spitting image of Jane Bennet herself, and I don’t mean just in appearance. She was lovely with soft blond curls, but it was her manner that made me see her as the future Mrs. Bingley. So calm, kind, gentle. All sweetness, not only that day but every time after that, whenever I’d run into her. Sure, she was wearing jeans and an old university sweatshirt when we met, but I could see her in a long ball gown, doing a reel at Netherfield, no problem.
What about you? Have you had an Austen character encounter in real life? If so, I’d love for you to share!
Marilyn Brant’s romantic comedy, On Any Given Sundae, is available now on ebook. Her next one, Double Dipping, will be out on August 30th. And her third women’s fiction book, A Summer in Europe, which is a modern “A Room with a View”-like story, will be released by Kensington on November 29th.
44 Responses to Austen Character Encounters by Marilyn Brant
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Yes, Marilyn. We are all friends of JA here so you don’t have to explain to us cos we get it.
Come to think of it, I did not meet anyone who best represent one specific characteristic but a combination of different types. For example my friend, she’s a chatterbox like Miss Bates but she does not rattle on and on only but also act a little like Mrs Jennings with her teasing ways.
Thanks, Luthien84! I also like what you said about finding a combination of traits in people. That is what I encounter most frequently, too, and what I notice about myself sometimes as well. I hope I’m not much like Mary Bennet overall, but my piano playing is (unfortunately) closer to her ability level than to Georgiana Darcy’s
. I do think I’m like Georgiana in my respect and affection for my brother, though. I am not, however, remotely afraid of teasing him…LOL.
Love this post and understand completely! I will be thinking all day about the Austen characters I’ve met.
Thanks, Cindy!!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Marilyn, your posts are always so interesting, so thought-provoking. On the love of P&P, I must tell you, I own about twenty copies of it. Every time I see one with a different cover, I buy it. I was with a friend one day a few years ago and saw the one with Matthew McFadden on the cover and snatched it up. My friend turns to me and says, “How many copies of that book do you own?” Me, “A few.” My friend, “I’ve never even read it.” Talk about testing the bounds of friendship. After relentless hounding, she finally finished it last year. I’m sorry to report she didn’t share our enthusiasm.
On people we’ve met who remind us of our beloved characters; one of my college professors had a striking resemblance in both manner and appearance to Lady Catherine. I, unfortunately, dated way too many George Wickhams and I’m sure we all knew a Lydia or two in high school. Alas, I’ve never met a man who remotely resembled Mr. Darcy…either McFadden or Firth. Which reminds me, how could one ever decide which was better?
Jill, I *knew* there was a reason we bonded instantly!!! I have at least a dozen copies of P&P, and I always marvel at those not acquainted with it. “Just read it,” I tell them. “Or at least watch one of the films…” Sometimes people listen to me. Sometimes they most certainly do not!! And LOL about the spelling! I get around that by calling them “Matthew” and “Colin” — I’ve misspelled the former’s too many times to count
.
Hugs to you for visiting me here! xo
Can’t believe I just misspelled Matthew’s name…twice!!
Mcfadyen!
Actually it is “Macfadyen” – but who cares, right? LOL!!
Jill and Sharon, LOL! I’d love to just call him “Darling” — that would clear up all spelling worries as far as I’m concerned!
I love your posts because you seem to appreciate the true genius of Austen. I get frustrated (I know I shouldn’t judge) at all the Austen “fans” who jumped on the P&P bandwagon after the 2005 film. That movie, while fine in and of itself, does not represent Austen’s vision. And, yes, it sounds pretentious to say so, but I do believe I understand her vision. I have four bookcases filled with nothing but Austen and Austen-related works, and I’ve read P&P well over 100 times since I teach it at least six times a year and reread it every time.
However, anti-Joe Wright rant aside, as a high school English teacher, I find myself relatively surrounded by Kitty’s and Lydias. If there weren’t a few Janes and Elizabeths thrown in, I don’t think I could go on. But I am always surprised at the number of male students who absolutely fall in love with P&P.
Thanks again for another great post.
Bonnie, While I can appreciate the reasons for disliking the 2005 version of P&P, try not to be “frustrated” with those who came to Austen that way. I am one of them. Sure many viewers did not then turn around and become raging Janeites and join JASNA, but you would be very surprised how many people have come to know Austen through that movie, as well as every other adaptation of an Austen story. A vast number of those new converts have become devoted fans of Jane Austen, just as thousands of viewers did after seeing the 1995 version.
While none of the adaptations are perfect, no not even the 1995 version, all of them have their points and all of them give people a glimpse into a world that they may not have ever known otherwise. Personally I think that is amazing. Taking on classic literature for the screen is tricky at best. A person like Joe Wright (who is a phenomenal director and visionary worthy of respect) is very brave to attempt it. So was Andrew Davies, and he got a fair amount of backlash for wet-shirt Darcy.
Sorry for my own mini-rant. Yet I cannot help but feel the urge to point out that how one comes to Austen is not as important as that one comes to Austen! We are all “fans” even if the degrees vary, and we all have our personal reactions to her words and world. Not all fans will see her stories the same way or feel her stories to the highest degree, but we are all fans and collectively keep her alive.
With respect, Sharon
Bonnie, thanks so much for your thoughts. I dearly love both books and films, but they are such different forms of media that I’m forever reminding myself not to have the same expectations for each. (With any of them, actually, not only with Austen-related works.) That can be hard sometimes when I love a novel so much and know that the cinematic version can’t capture the nuances I adored or the characters’ subtle thought processes. A film is, literally, someone else’s “vision” of the story, which is usually difficult for me to accept since what I want most is to see MY vision of it onscreen!! (It’s that old saying again: “Everyone wants to direct.”
)
There have been a couple of books-into-films (Joanne Harris’s “Chocolat” was one) where I appreciated the more humorous, more uplifting take of the Hollywood version of the story, but it was also fascinating to read the book after watching the movie and realize how many of the darker themes had been muted onscreen…I was surprised! The film left me feeling giddy and delighted (well, Johnny Depp was in it…LOL), and the book left me feeling less happy but more reflective. I always hope with Austen’s work that readers will watch the films and filmgoers will read the novels because it’s so interesting to compare interpretations, and it leads to such great discussions afterward!
As for high school students, I don’t doubt you see your share of Kittys and Lydias! I’m surrounded by teachers (my husband teaches h.s. world history/English lit and several of my friends teach at that level, too) and I’ve heard oh-so-many stories… Here’s hoping you have a fabulous school year ahead with lots of Janes and Lizzys!!
Marilyn, I truly wish I had some attention grabbing story about an Austen character I met in real life like your clergyman that came to dinner. Unfortunately, I don’t. All I can say is, like Jill, I dated my fair share of Wickhams. One had even mentioned me skipping classes in college to fly out to Vegas with him. Not real sure what his intentions were, but I doubt they were honourable!
(Now that I am thinking about it, I think one might consider Vegas to be a modern day Grenta Green).
Ha! Jakki, I love your idea of Vegas as a modern-day G.Green! What a perfect comparison… Like you and Jill, I dated a Wickham or two. Back when I was teaching, I also had a Wickham-like administrator. I remember labeling him as that in my head after our very first conversation because, though he was quite good looking and very smooth socially, or so it seemed, he said some really inappropriate things about other administrators within 10 minutes of meeting me. (I kept looking around for someone else to walk in so I could check what I’d heard, “Did he actually SAY that?!”
) He also proved to be so manipulative and devious that he was fired by the board after only 8 months!! But it’s interesting what a Wickham can get away with for awhile…
What fun. I have a niece who’s a Lydia. I’ve met Wickhams in my life, too. I think I’ve met ALL of the characters. As you said, that’s what made her books so much fun.
Edie, you’re so right! It’s such fun to read Jane’s novels and then see the characters appear in front of you at the grocery store or at the dentist’s office. The good ones you just want to hug. The not-so-good ones…well…that’s an advantage of being a writer: getting fictional revenge on real-world antagonists.
Hmmm…. I just like it for the clothes. Tight breeches, jackets that display broad shoulders so well, classical styled gowns. Yep, just the clothes.
NOT! Well, yes, I do love the clothes, especially when worn by the actors like Matthew Macfadyen and Colin Firth, but all you say is SO true, Marilyn!!
I jest but to a degree it was the atmospheric and visual elements that drew me initially to Austen because I was seeing the movies first. Yet even with that aspect front and center, the fabulous dialogue and clever storyline captured. I have seen many period dramas that while stunning visually do not captivate in the same way that an Austen movie does.
Then I read the books! Oh my!! Sheer brilliance. Nope, not boring to me. I get what people mean in a technical sense when they say it is boring. Certainly compared to Transformers or Harry Potter an Austen flick is boring. But just because one is not gripping the seat arm in terror or shocked into gasping by an explosion does not mean one isn’t feeling heavy emotion. Nope, not boring to me.
As a total 100% aside, we forced my new soon-to-be son-in-law to watch Fellowship of the Ring a while back. He is not a fantasy fan so we all knew he would not love it. But his first response when it ended was to say, “It was okay but kinda boring.” We collectively gasped and exclaimed in timed unison, “Boring!! Did you fall asleep during the Mines of Moria sequence!?”
Needless to say, if the wonderful Neil (who we love to pieces despite his fantasy deficiency) thinks LOTR is boring we will never force him to watch P&P. At least not until after they are married so that he can’t change his mind! LOL!!
Sharon, you had me laughing aloud at the description of Neil and his “fantasy deficiency”!! Wish there were vitamin supplements one could find for such an imbalance
.
I think whatever leads someone to Austen is a good thing, especially when the desire to dig deeper is stirred and a passion for her books and all of her amazing insights are created. I remember being in a Films & Lit class in college and watching one film (“Blow-Up” — a 1966 picture with a young Vanessa Redgrave) and curiosity about the actors and the themes in the film led me on a wonderful journey to other works by Antonioni, several new books and lots of magazine articles/reviews. I’ll always love the gifts that come with any piece of art that touches me — whether literature, film, painting, music, etc. — because of the understanding and enrichment it’s brought to my life. I’m indebted to Austen for that!!
And then there are the tight breeches…which are an added bonus whether we see them onscreen or merely imagine the Darcy in our mind wearing them…
Oh. This is SO true! And here’s an amazing true story as testimony:
Friend, Lesley, had come over and was watching S&S with my family. When it ended, we were chattering about our Austen love, and I made the comment that “What makes Austen meaningful is she wrote about *real* people – like, you’ll meet her characters in real life.”
Lesley looks at me and answers “Oh yeah – I’ve totally met Mr Collins”
Me: “Oh, so have I – Collins was the first I ever met, actually”
Lesley: “He’s got [color]-hair and goes to church sometimes…”
At this point, I crack up. I mean, laughing uncontrollably. Lesley just looks at me kinda funny until I can breathe again, at which point I manage to squeak out “That’s MY Mr Collins toooooooooo!” and fell over on the floor laughing again.
So. Proof is in the pudding: These people are REAL. REAL I tell you!
RivkaBelle, oh, that’s FANTASTIC!!! Hilarious that you and Lesley were both thinking of the same man at the same time! Thank you so much for sharing this great story
. I’ll never stop being floored by Jane’s brilliance in understanding human character…or the way she was able to show how these individuals behaved so clearly on the page that they feel as real as the flesh-and-blood people inhabiting our lives. Truly, I love and appreciate her wisdom more every year!
You mean a real life Mr. Collins. How lucky for you???? One of my five sisters is definitely Jane Bennet. She doesn’t talk about people. Usually sees only the best in a person. I wish I could say that I was more like her.
LOL, Mary! I think it could only be considered “luck” from a writing perspective. Meeting Mr. Collins in person gave me MUCH to ponder (!!), but I do wish our fellow dinner guest had been a Knightley or a Wentworth or even an Edward Ferras…though, perhaps, none of them would have made such a lasting impression or provided nearly as many laughs, even all these years later…
I seem to have the luck of running into John Thorpes and far too many Henry Tilneys. (Yeah, I know, he’s got his own team. He gives me the willies.) I’d like to run into a Wickham or even a Frank Churchill just for fun.
when I wrote Edward Wentworth, I modeled him after my own husband. I figured that way I would get a hero I really liked!
Interesting post, Marilyn.
Susan, I love that you modeled your Wentworth after your husband — how wonderfully romantic that is! (I’m sure your husband was honored by it, too.
)And I agree with you — I think it would be very interesting to meet a real-life Frank Churchill… Wickhams I have met. I’ve had enough of them!
My brother is a little like Bingley. He will strike up a conversation and chat with anyone as if he’s known them forever. I’ve had to drag him out of the grocery store a million times saying “let’s GO” under my breath, because he’s talking to some stranger in the aisle about fishing, or hunting, or cars, or the weather… He has lots of gatherings at his house and is a great host. He wants everyone to be happy and have a good time.
I have several single friends who might say their babies’ fathers are Willoughbys.
I think every high school has their Caroline Bingley, who’s soooo accomplished! Bleh.
Also there are several Mary Musgroves where I work.
Monica, you had me laughing about the soooo accomplished Caroline Bingleys
. Ugh. High school wasn’t my personal favorite time period, LOL. And you’ve got me imagining the conversations with all those Mary M.’s at work! Oh, dear…
Your brother sounds like a sweetheart, btw. My mom is similarly extraverted, and I’ve had to drag her out of stores MANY times, too!
I have met a few Caroline Bingleys in my time! Great post, Marilyn.
The Carolines are always so interesting to see in person, aren’t they?! Thanks, Karen!!
Enjoyed your post, Marilyn! I think the people I can think of right off the top of my head are combinations of people. Unfortunately, my husband can do a Collins imitation (from ’95 P&P) too well (and he knows it drives me nuts!). He just did it today, as a matter of fact.
On another note, my husband was talking to a guy who teaches in a high school in a middle eastern country, and he mentioned how he had the class read “Pride and Prejudice” this past year. He loves it, and we got to tell him about my books, and gave him a copy of “Darcy’s Voyage.” I think it’s great when a guy appreciates Austen!
Kara, thank you! That your husband appreciates Austen well enough to do a crazy-making Collins impression is fantastic (well…you know what I mean
). My hubby has been known to mock a typical Collins phrase or two (i.e., “the staircases in the house, of which there are many…”), which always makes me laugh.
Wouldn’t it be great if the teacher you and your husband met added your novel to the curriculum?!
Hi Marilyn –
I also have many copies of P and P. I am always on the look for the ” perfect” copy. If Mr. Rieder did nothing else in Freshman English he introduced me to my favorite book of all time !
I livied in the dorms with a Caroline Bingley. Always just being a little to nice and a little to helpful so you wonder what her actual motive was. Also the double speak that came out of her mouth, though annoying, was very impressive.
Also in high school on of my friends fathers was the male version of Lady Catherine. The man drove me nuts. He asked me once when I was in college if I was going to school for a MRS degree. But I have determined we all must deal with these people so we truely appreicate the future Mrs. Bingley.
Loved your post !
Erika
Erika!!
.
There is an older male in our acquaintance who is an endless fount of such life advice. It can be tough to listen to it — I usually don’t last long.
So nice to see you here
Ahhh, yes, high school and college…one of these days you’re going to have to give me further details about the Caroline you knew and that male Lady Catherine! I don’t think I heard the MRS story. Perhaps, like Lady C., he also told you how best to arrange your closets and was extra attentive when it came to your music practice, hmm?! “Have you played your saxophone lately, Miss Erika? You know you’ll never be truly accomplished unless…”
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
I’ve often had that thought about the Austen characters (mostly comic) all around us. How clever and engaging of you to make it into a post for us all to enjoy! There are some Austenian characters on the Austen listservs that I frequent; but if there are Mrs. Bennets and Mrs. Norrises and Miss Bateses here on Austen Authors, I have yet to discover them!
Diana, thank you! I’m thrilled you enjoyed the post
. And I haven’t met a Mrs. Bennet or Mrs. Norris or Miss Bates here on AuAu either. (Whew!) I really love our wonderful Austen-loving group — both the contributors and all the commenters — and I’ve so enjoyed the discussions that have come up throughout the past year. It’s really been inspiring…
Happy Weekend!
haha what a spectacular post! hilarious.
Me and my friend Laura swear we are living lives of an Austen character. I always tell Laura that she is quite like Emma. She loves to be the match-maker and she will always take credit for everything and is quite proud of her accomplishments (and she lets everyone know it too
)
And she always tells me I am definitely Elizabeth Bennet. I tend to think I may not ever find a husband and Laura thinks I will probably hate some guy and of all people, fall madly in love with him in the end! I also can be very open with my opinions and don’t care what people will say or think about my different opinions
Joanne, I love that you and your friend Laura share such an affection for Austen’s characters and identify so well with them! You’ll have to let us know if you come across some *really annoying* (though, perhaps, rather handsome) single guy who just irritates you to no end because he’s *so opinionated* (and pretty smart, too, not that you’d tell him that), and the two of you find yourselves debating things all the time… I’d take that as a good sign that your Darcy may have appeared
.
A wonderful post and a great conversation! I’ve met Wickhams and Mrs. Bennets, but sadly, NEVER a Mr. Darcy!
In fact, has any one of us met a Mr. Darcy? Where is he???
Vera, thank you!!! I’m so glad you’re here, too!
Okay, I have one story about a guy I knew in high school that was a *half* Darcy. I thought he was intolerably conceited and we bickered about everything for the better part of a school year. Then one day he was being nicer than usual, and he made a comment that threw me. It was something like: “Remember how we didn’t like each other at the beginning of the year?” I was so embarrassed and surprised that I didn’t know what to say, so I just shot back some snotty childish retort along the lines of: “Well, I still don’t like you now.” Only, I kind of did. Over the course of the year he’d managed to worm his way into my awareness just because he’d irritated me so much, LOL. I thought about him all the time.
It took me several months more to finally admit to myself that I liked him back and, by then, he had a crush on someone else. Had my teen years been an Austen novel, he would have turned out to be a loyal, good-hearted guy who only acted abrasively in public and was just waiting for me to see the light. In real life, he was actually a pretty insecure jerk, who became more so as high school went on, and by the time we graduated I felt fully justified in having disliked him in the first place!
My husband’s a half-Darcy, too, though that story had a much happier ending! But maybe someone here has met a *whole* Darcy??!
Yes, we are among friends here! We all have the same fun obsession that so many do not understand. I have definately met people who have reminded me of Austen characters. One that instantly comes to mind is a Caroline Bingley. Oh…and that Willoughby!
Very entertaining post!
Becky, thank you so much! I think there must be far too many Caroline Bingleys out in the world — it seems that most of us have encountered at least one
. And, ohhh, I’ll bet there’s an interesting story that goes along with your Willoughby meeting!! Such a charming, passionate character, isn’t he? But, unfortunately, not good for us in the end…sigh. So glad you stopped by!
A ‘whole’ Darcy? Now that’s a thought to conjure with this early in the morning!
Great post, Marilyn. I must admit, one of the main reasons I love writing Austen modernisations is that I can so easily picture her characters in the modern world. Yes, Jane Austen was a genius!
LOL, Juliet!! Yeah, yeah, I know… I’m sure there’s a much less comical phrase to explain it out there, but I was having a hard time finding it last night
.
And that’s exactly what I love about reading/writing modernized versions of Austen, too. She gave us so much human insight to work with!
mmm Great post! I am surrounded by people for the most part that think I am part loon when I get into the whole Austen really got people discussion. I come here to appreciate being among like-minded souls
I think I know Mary Musgrove, Willoughby, Caroline Bingley and a real close impersonation of Mr. Collins. Your clergyman sounds like Mr. Elton! LOL I think I would have had a hard time not giggling in my soup. It is not uncommon for me to have a running commentary in my head sometimes when I am in a situation/conversation and a person is (my term) going Austen on me. I really want to respond in kind. “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”
Stephanie, I think we are kindred spirits!!
Thank you so much for sharing your encounters and for helping me to feel normal in having had so many myself…LOL. And, by the way, I love your phrase “going Austen on me” — I know I’ll be using it.