JASNA Newsletter Tampa Bay Regional Chapter
July 31, 2004
by: Jill Henaghen
Volume 1 Number 2
"My idea of good company - is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company."(Persuasion)
If, at our last meeting we were a merry party of six, we were indeed merrier on Saturday, July 31st, for our party had grown to thirteen. Certainly reason to declare that: "One cannot have too large a party. A large party secures its own amusement." (Emma)
We met at Jill's house in Tarpon Springs (North Pinellas County), home of the Sponge Docks. Indeed, some of our group took this opportunity to drive up early, take a quick tour of the Sponge Docks and have lunch (the Sponge Docks is reputed to have the best Greek food in the USA). We quickly introduced ourselves and were soon chatting about Lizzie, Darcy, and Jane's wit and wisdom as if we were old friends. While we were getting settled DeeDee delighted us by playing "The Dreame," the selection played by Marianne at the end of Sense and Sensibility. Since she had definitely not "delighted us quite long enough" we begged for and were rewarded with an encore.
We had differing opinions as to just when Lizzie and Darcy were really first attracted to each other. This led to a long and interesting discussion of the class differences that existed in Jane's day, and the problem this presented especially for Darcy despite the fact that Lizzie was "a gentlemen's daughter." We agreed that class differences are still more pronounced in England than in the USA.
We all wondered at the fact that there seemed to be no communication between the men in P&P about their feelings for Lizzie and Jane. This led us to the lack of communication between Elinor and Marianne (basically on Elinor's part) in S&S on that same subject. We found it hard to believe that Elinor would keep the confidence of Lucy Steele (a character we agreed we found particularly unattractive and undeserving). We thought that Marianne could perhaps not be trusted with such a confidence, given her penchant for letting her feelings bubble over verbally. A constant recounting of Edward's unwise engagement to Lucy Steele might have been too much for Elinor to bear. However, regarding both the gentlemen in P&P and the ladies in S&S, we felt that a lot had to do with the manners of the day. This, as might be expected, led to a discussion of what some would call the disintegration of manners in our day, especially as evidenced by the disintegration of language. Those of us who have inhabited our planet for more than fifty years declared that they had seen an almost incredible breakdown in the way people address one another.
Somehow or other we were led to speak of the smaller stature and lighter weight of the people of two hundred years ago. This was evidenced by the exhibits of rooms and furniture of the time as well as costume exhibits. While discussing the smaller beds it was brought to our attention by Shirley and Carol that back in Jane's day people did not lie flat to sleep, but slept in a semi-reclining position.Heather then commented that she had always thought it rather strange in P&P that whenever Mrs. Bennet was shown in her bed chamber she was in that semi-reclining position.
We did take a minute to find the first names of some of the P&P characters. We had almost given up on Mr. Collins when Allison (definitely the afternoon's expert on P&P) declared that it was in fact William. We agreed of course that Charlotte never referred to him other than "Mr. Collins" and were again reminded of that wonderful passage when Charlotte tells Lizzie that she encourages him to spend as much time as possible in the garden.
As usual, Jane had guided us to so much conversation, and to make so many comparisons as well as contrasts with our world, that the time slipped away under our noses. We finished with some business as follows:
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Joyce has found dance lessons for those of us who are interested. We agreed that we need not worry about securing male partners as the dancers' parts seemed to be interchangeable. We will discuss details at the next meeting. |
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Joyce has also found a vendor at the Countryside Mall who will give us a group rate on putting Jane Austen Society, Tampa Bay emblems on tee shirts. Bring your tee shirts to the next meeting if you would like this. Even if there are not enough for his reduced rate, the regular rate is reasonable. |
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Terry has obtained the piano music from the classic Jane Austen feature films and will have them at the next meeting. |
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Joyce has obtained patterns locally for under $1 for the dresses. The material is reasonable. The usual price for having one of the dresses made if one does not want to sew it herself seems to be about $125. |
More about all of the above at the next meeting:
Aug. 28th, 2 p.m., Terry's House
A WORD ABOUT JASNA
Everyone who loves Jane is welcome to our meetings. Although there is no requirement to join JASNA, please consider doing so. JASNA is a completely non-profit organization consisting of about 4,000 members. As a member of JASNA you will not only have the satisfaction of knowing you are helping with the preservation of historic Jane Austen sites but promoting the works and wisdom of Jane Austen to adult and student readers alike. Members receive the newsletters and "Persuasion", a wonderful journal of essays about Jane Austen published each June. The newsletter and the website are wonderful sources for merchandise, books and other "Janeobelia." Learn more by going to the JASNA website.