Monday, November 29, 2010

Saying Farewell to Northanger Abbey

Conversations with Jane once again met at our house. I didn't go all out for authentic snacks this time...we had store bought cookies LOL. Well, I did make some chocolate chip cookie bars and some rice pudding. The rice pudding was an authentic snack, but though it tasted fine, I thought the texture was a little too mushy. We still had tea! There is just something special about tea in a small china teacup. Earl Grey with French Vanilla creamer and sugar. Delish! Hadley and Sarah missed out on today's meeting. Both were loaded down with work. College finals come before Jane Austen.

We met today to bid farewell to Northanger Abbey. Our discussion included excerpts from our Miniatures and Morals book as well as our What Jane Austen Taught Me About Love and Romance book. We took a look at The Art of Adaptation from the PBS Masterpiece Theater's The Complete Guide to Teaching Jane Austen. The pdf had comments from Andrew Davies, the Screenwriter for the newest PBS Northanger Abbey film. Our task was to read the comments from Andrew Davies on adapting Jane Austen's novel for film, then to read an excerpt from the novel, the same excerpt from the Andrew Davies screenplay, and finally watch that scene in the movie. It was fun to see his adaptation and discuss whether or not it enhanced the story or detracted from it.

Before beginning our activity, the girls shared their blog projects. Once again I was impressed by what they came up with. Victoria and Elizabeth have already posted their projects, Calleigh and Skyeler will be posting theirs soon. It was then time to begin our project. Our Regency activity was to make a personalized fashion plate. I chose this activity for Northanger Abbey because of Mrs. Allen's preoccupation with the current fashions in Bath. Once again we used this site. Each of the girls picked a favorite fashion plate and I printed it on cardstock. They used an exacto knife to cut out the portions of the plates that they wanted to fill in with fabric. Then they taped the fabric to the back of the cardstock. It turned out to be a nice little picture.

We will take a break from Miss Jane's main novels over the holidays. The girls will be reading Lady Susan and we will just meet for tea and discussion during December. We will begin again in January with Mansfield Park.

Skyeler sharing an excerpt from Miniatures and Morals. Doesn't Calleigh look thrilled :)

All of the girls working on their fashion plates.


Calleigh's finished plate. She only cut out one of her dresses, but she matched the fabric very well with the hat :)

Angel

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A Few of Mr. Tilney's Many Memorable Quotes

(To Catherine)"Your brother is certianly very much to be pitied at present; but we must not, in our concern for his sufferings undervalue yours."



(To Catherine)"You feel, as you always do, what is most to the credit of the human nature." (think this is one of my favorites)



(To Catherine)"This is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk, and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed."
~Elizabeth~

A Poem for Two Voices, Catherine and Isabella






Elizabeth~

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Victoria's Favorite Northanger Abbey Quotes

My (many) favorite quotes!

"Her father was a clergyman, without being neglected, or poor, and a very respectable man, though his name was Richard...and he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters." (Chapter 1)

"'I have hitherto been very remiss, madam, in the proper attentions of a partner here; I have not yet asked how long you have been in Bath; whether you were ever here before; whether you have been at the Upper Rooms, the theatre, and the concert; and how you like the place altogether. I have ben very negligent--but are you now at leisure to satisfy me in these particulars? If you are I will begin directly.'
'You need not give yourself that trouble, sir.'
'No trouble, I assure you madam.' Then forming his features into a set smile, and affectedly softening his voice, he added, with a simpering air, 'Have you been long in Bath, madam?'
'About a week, sir,' replied Catherine, trying not to laugh.
'Really! with affected astonishment.
'Why should you be surprised, sir?'
'Why, indeed!' said he, in his natural tone. 'But some emotion must appear to be raised by your reply, and surprise is more easily assumed, and not less reasonable than any other.'" (Chapter 3)

"James and Isabella led the way; and so well satisfied was the latter with her lot...that, though they overtook and passed the two offending young men in Milsom Street, she was so far from seeking to attract their notice, that she looked back at them only three times." (Chapter 7)

"She applied to Mrs. Allen, and Mrs. Allen's opinion was more positive [concerning the day's weather]. 'She had no doubt in the world of its being a very fine day, if the clouds would only go off, and the sun keep out.'" (Chapter 11)

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." (Chapter 14)

"'I do not understand you.'
'Then we are on very unequal terms, for I understand you perfectly well.'
'Me? Yes; I cannot speak well enough to be unintelligible.'" (Chapter 16)

"If Wednesday should ever come! It did come, and exactly when it mght be reasonably looked for." (Chapter 26)

"Her [Eleanor Tilney's] husband was really deserving of her...I have only to add - aware that the rules of composition forbid the introduction of a character not connected with my fable - that this was the very gentleman whose negligent servant left behind him that collection of washing-bills...by which my heroine was involved in one of her most alarming adventures." (Chapter 31)


-Tori

Monday, November 15, 2010

Victoria's Northanger Abbey Project

When deciding what project I wanted to do for Northanger Abbey, I was especially taken in by the three sets of siblings in the novel. I couldn't come up with anything incredibly creative to do with these sibling pairs, so I decided to simply write an essay discussing and comparing them. (I apologize for the length of the post):)
Three Sets of Reflectors
Siblings, and especially a brother and sister, have a unique relationship in knowing very much about each other. If people are ever truly themselves, it is to their siblings. Brothers and sisters get to see the best and worst of one another. In Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, there are three sets of siblings introduced to the readers. By dissecting the interactions of these three relationships, we can see more fully and truly the natures of the members of these pairs.
First, we have Catherine and James Morland. Although we do not actually see them interact with one another until later, the very beginning of the novel tells of the Morland family. They are a practical, kind, and somewhat sheltered and naïve family, and their children mostly follow that trend. Catherine and Henry Morland were two out of ten children, Henry older than Catherine. The siblings meet for the first time in the novel on the streets of Bath. As Catherine and her friend Isabella Thorpe are walking to a shop, they are nearly run down by a gig, which surprisingly produces both their brothers. As we observe the reception with which Catherine and James meet each other, we see joyful, warm surprise on Catherine’s part and tender affection on James’s. “Catherine…received her brother with the liveliest pleasure; and he, being…sincerely attached to her, gave every proof on his side of equal satisfaction…” (Chapter 7). Another critical time shared between the siblings is when they are far apart. As Catherine is at Northanger Abbey, eagerly awaiting a letter from Isabella, she is surprised by a letter from James. The news that it brings breaks her heart, both for the loss of her friend and for the broken heart of her brother. After sharing his sorrow, he writes, “dear Catherine; you are my only friend; your love I do build upon” (Chapter 25). As Catherine is pondering this letter and the contents of it, Henry Tilney notices her distress. She tells him it is from James, and that he is very unhappy. Tilney notes, “‘To have so kind-hearted, so affectionate a sister…must be a comfort to him under any distress’” (Chapter 25).
The next brother and sister pair we can analyze is Isabella and John Thorpe. We know that Isabella is the oldest daughter, but we do not know her age in comparison with John’s. These two meet for the first time during the book the same time as the Morland’s meet. Their greeting was not so warm and affectionate, for while Isabella is busy attempting to attract the attention of James Morland, John only “slightly and carelessly touched the hand of Isabella” (Chapter 7). In the same passage, after John tells Catherine he will take her for a drive the next day, Isabella says—obviously hinting to James, “‘My dearest Catherine, I quite envy you; but I am afraid, brother, you will not have room for a third.’” John scoffs, “‘A third indeed! No, no; I did not come to Bath to drive my sisters about’” (Chapter 7). Although Isabella and John do not have any other specific face-to-face interactions, we can observe John Thorpe’s salutations to the rest of his family to guess exactly how close the Thorpe siblings are. He greets his mother by saying her hat makes her look like a witch, and “on his two younger sisters he then bestowed an equal portion of his fraternal tenderness, for he…observed that they both looked very ugly” (Chapter 7). Although John may have had somewhat more respect for Isabella than his younger sisters, in general, John is not a very pleasant or kind brother.
The final set of siblings for us to look at is Eleanor and Henry Tilney. The first time that we see the two together is through Catherine’s eyes. She sees them during a ball, within three yards of where she was sitting. “He looked as handsome and as lively as ever, and was talking with interest to a fashionable and pleasing-looking young woman, who leant on his arm” (Chapter 8). The most revealing scene is their country walk with Catherine. Not only do we get to see them converse with one another with ease and familiarity, but Eleanor also relates a narrative concerning The Mysteries of Udolpho. “I remember that you undertook to read it aloud to me, and that when I was called away for only five minutes to answer a note, instead of waiting for me, you took the volume into the Hermitage Walk, and I was obliged to stay till you had finished it’” (Chapter 14). Their playful teasing and witty banter, although completely lost on Catherine, is very revealing to us to show us their mutual intelligence and affection. Eleanor says, “Miss Morland, he is treating you exactly as he does his sister. He is forever finding fault with me, for some incorrectness of language, and now he is taking the same liberty with you” (Chapter 14).
These three sets of siblings are comprised of complex and incredibly alive characters. Although Catherine and James Morland are undoubtedly much closer than Isabella and John Thorpe, they do not appear as close as Eleanor and Henry Tilney. Jane Austen seems to be using this sister/brother dichotomy to explain each individual character more. Each member of the set is a foil to the other; reflecting their counterpart’s characteristics for readers to see. By looking a little closer at each sister/brother relationship, we can see each individual sibling more clearly.
-Tori

Welcome to Northanger Abbey

With Sense and Sensibility behind us, Northanger Abbey became our next Austen destination. The girls were less familiar with Northanger Abbey. Many hours had been spent watching Sense and Sensibility movies. Not as many watching Northanger Abbey. Calleigh found it more enjoyable than Sense and Sensibility, Skyeler not so much. She found that she didn't really come to "know" the characters. Tori enjoyed Jane Austen's wit. LizzyBeth, well, she found that she is completely and totally in love with Henry Tilney :) (I have a feeling that her favorite quotes might just show this).

We met for tea at Robin's house this time. Quiche, sausage balls, homemade apple cider, and chocolate dipped strawberries were just some of the goodies there to tempt us. This was the first meeting where we actually had all six girls. Sarah and Hadley are college girls now, so those studies come first. Grandma Gloria was in town and we were glad to have her join us.

All six Austen Sisters...(l to r) Skyeler, Tori, Calleigh, Hadley, Sarah, and Elizabeth

Some of the Austen mom's (and one grandma) ... (l to r) me, Sharon, Grandma Gloria, and Robin

The girls, as always, were not lacking for things to say. We discussed how John Thorpe repulsed us all and oh, how we hated Isabella. It was pointed out that Henry Tilney helps Catherine to grow, how he seems to know her mind better than she does herself. (This with a few sighs from Elizabeth). We all found the humor in Jane's little "rant" about novels at the end of chapter 5. Northanger Abbey parodies the Gothic novels of Austen's day, specifically mentioning The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe numerous times. Jane shows us the effect of too many Gothic novels on a young mind, a mind that is "about as ignorant and uninformed as the female mind at seventeen usually is." (Love that quote!) We took some time to discuss what kind of "pop culture" has an influence on today's teenagers and whether that influence is good or bad.

It was good discussion. The girls never fail to come with many differing viewpoints and ideas! I found myself taking more notes than I did for Sense and Sensibility, so maybe I'll have to have my own Favorite Quotes post :) Keep an eye out for the upcoming blog project posts and favorite quotes.

Angel

Thursday, November 11, 2010

A Poem for Two Voices


One of the activities for Sense and Sensibility was to read Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman and then to create a poem for two voices for the Dashwood sisters. A poem for two voices shows two different points of view and is read aloud by two people. Sometimes the readers speak together sometimes separately. The girls worked on this as a group effort and it turned out amazing.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Sense & Sensibility Activity Day

We plan to meet twice for each Jane Austen book. The first meeting is to discuss the book and their reaction to it. The second meeting will hopefully be something "hands on" with the Regency period. Our second Conversations with Jane meeting was held at Sharon's house. She had all her beautiful fall decorations out and made finger sandwiches with scones and shortbread. It was all delish! We all had not quite finished reading Sense & Sensibility when we had our last meeting, so there was still much to discuss. There was deep discussion on whether or not anyone would really want to marry Edward (not Hugh Grant or Dan Stevens LOL, but Edward the character) and whether or not Marianne really does love Colonel Brandon with her whole heart at the end of the book (Can Marianne ever really do anything by halves? This author says no!). The girls also shared their blog projects for Sense & Sensibility. I was so impressed with the work they put into their projects and how they each captured the topic they chose to do! If you haven't had a chance to look over them, please check them out in the older posts.

Finally, we were able to go on to the activity I had planned. Actually, there were two since we didn't get the opportunity for the girls to write the Poem for Two Voices at our last meeting. The activity I had planned for this meeting was silhouettes. We followed the instructions found here. We did have a bit of trouble getting it down to the right size. We tried a couple different positions with the light and the person, but we never got it quite right. Our silhouettes were huge! It was much tougher to trace the person, too! Robin, Sharon, and the girls left me to the tracing. The girls had as tough a time staying still as I had with tracing the outline just right. We were all over the place and Sharon still wasn't satisfied with Elizabeth's nose and Skyeler looked like she had no neck :) I'm afraid we would have been a terrible failure at it in the Regency period. We persevered anyway and had some nice silhouettes, albeit the wrong size to frame. I ended up having to take a picture of the silhouette with the digital camera and then resizing it and printing it for them to cut out! Whew! Not the simple activity I thought. The girls took turns getting their silhouettes traced and working on the Poem for Two Voices activity. That turned out amazing and I'll post it separate from this one. Here are a few pictures of our day...

Starting on the left...Elizabeth, Calleigh, Tori, Hadley, and Skyeler

Yum!

Sharon poured for the girls! Those strawberries are disappearing fast!

Me tracing Calleigh's silhouette. I can't tell you how many times we got the giggles while doing this. Maybe that's why we couldn't hold still :)

That just about wraps up Sense & Sensibility! If you haven't checked out their favorite quotes from the novel, please do, they are great! Up next - Northanger Abbey!

Angel

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Victoria's Favorite Sense and Sensibility Quotes

I shall attempt to only put a few, for, as we all know, I wrote down enough notes for everyone. ;)

"'Dear, dear Norland!' said Marianne, as she wandered alone before the house, on the last evening of their being there; 'when shall I cease to regret you!—when learn to feel a home elsewhere!—Oh! happy house, could you know what I suffer in now viewing you from this spot, from whence perhaps I may view you no more! And you, ye well-known trees!—but you will continue the same. No leaf will decay because we are removed, nor any branch become motionless although we can observe you no longer! No; you will continue the same; unconscious of the pleasure or the regret you occasion, and insensible of any change in those who walk under your shade! But who will remain to enjoy you?'"

"Conversation however was not wanted, for Sir John was very chatty, and Lady Middleton had taken the wise precaution of bringing with her their eldest child, a fine little boy about six years old, by which means there was one subject always to be recurred to by the ladies in case of extremity, for they had to enquire his name and age, admire his beauty, and ask him questions which his mother answered for him..."

"Marianne would have thought herself very inexcusable had she been able to sleep at all the first night after parting from Willoughby. She would have been ashamed to look her family in the face the next morning, had she not risen from her bed in more need of repose than when she lay down in it."

"'You and I, Sir John,' said Mrs. Jennings, 'should not stand upon such ceremony.'
'Then you would be very ill-bred,' cried Mr. Palmer.
'My love you contradict every body,' said his wife with her usual laugh. 'Do you know that you are quite rude?'
'I did not know I contradicted any body in calling your mother ill-bred.'"

"...Elinor was the only one of the three, who seemed to consider the separation as anything short
of eternal."

-Tori

Friday, November 5, 2010

Elizabeth's Favorite S&S Quotes.

Edward: “I have been guessing. Shall I tell you my guess?”
Marianne: “What do you mean?”
Edward: “Shall I tell you?”
Marianne: “Certainly”
Edward: “Well then; I guess that Mr. Willoughby hunts.” :)

“Mr. Palmer will be so happy to see you,” said she; “What do you think he said when he heard of your coming with Mamma? I forget what it was now, but it was something so droll!” Mrs. Palmer
Insight Edition note "We can only imagine"

I love quotes :)
Elizabeth*~