The 2009 Resolution I Actually Kept

Lillian Beauregarde on 01 1, 2010

Not Your Usual New Years Resolution

At the start of 2009, I was thinking of what my resolution for the New Year would be and other than the usual “Exercise more, eat less junk food” that usually comes from these kinds of deals I really had no idea. I finally decided that I wanted to promise to do something I could actually finish. I wanted it to be something concrete and specific. My choice? I wanted to read all six Jane Austen novels. I’d never read any of them, though I’d seen a few of the movies. It was partially influenced by my love of the movie The Jane Austen Book Club. I went in the order that she wrote them… so here we go.

We start with her novelNorthanger Abbey. It was written first and published last and you can very much tell that it was an early work. This book is seriously one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had and not because the book was weird but because at the start of every chapter I literally had already forgotten what had happened in the one previous. It was like a strange kind of mind wipe or something. I’m not sure if it’s because the book really isn’t that good, but jeezy, that was weird.

If there’s a bigger difference between two novels by an author, I don’t know of it. Whereas Northanger Abbey was just so difficult to read, Sense & Sensibility was a treat. I loved the interaction between the characters. There was intrigue and action and even a little bit of adventure. It’s a wonderful story about two sisters both trying to find love in two very different ways. So many interesting characters, people you love and hate and love to hate. As far as film, there really is no other version than the 1995 Version with Emma Thompson.

Oh Mr. Darcy… you’re so dreamy

People’s most common answer for their favorite Jane Austen novel is Pride and Prejudice. I’m not a super human large fan, but Elizabeth Bennett is awesome! I love her as a character. It’s not shocking or surprising considering how outspoken and sarcastic she is. It’s impossible NOT to like her. Mr. Darcy is rude and callous and everything deplorable and we can’t help but love him for it. I’ve seen the 2006 Version with Keira Knightley and it was actually pretty damn good. I’m told that the definitive version of this film is the 1996 BBC miniseries with Colin Firth… netflix will be delivering it directly.

Jane Austen’s heroines can’t be more different than Elizabeth and Fanny. Fanny Price, the main character in Mansfield Park is someone almost too good to be true. She cares so deeply for her family that she lets them walk all over her all through this book. While I found her annoying, I also loved her. There’s something so foreign and wonderful about a person willing to do anything it takes to keep her family safe and happy, even if it means having to leave them or be unpopular. I would truly avoid the version made in 1999 with Frances O’Connor and Jonny Lee Miller as it really doesn’t follow the book and it adds extra plot points where they don’t need to be. Miller actually makes a decent Edmund but I found the additions to the plot really off-putting. I actually liked the Masterpiece Theatre version with Billie Piper. She’s delightfully sweet as Fanny with slightly more gumption than the original character.

If there one book that was an absolute disappointment, it was Emma. I think it was because my hopes were so high for that book. I really loved the 1996 film with Gwyneth Paltrow and I expected that the book would just be more of something I already loved. My biggest problem with the book is that you have to deal with Emma’s insipid inner monologue. The girl is a snob and a half and I seriously wanted to smack the shit out of her more than once in most chapters, let alone the entire book. It didn’t stop me from enjoying Mr. Knightley, a character I’ve enjoyed in every single version of Emma, including the more recent adaptation, Clueless.

Our collection is rounded off by my favorite of the Austen novels, Persuasion. The story of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, this novel and I got on like gangbusters. It was one of those things where I enjoyed it from the start. Anne and Wentworth are separated because her family doesn’t approve of him and then he comes back years later. He’s made his fortune and comes back into her life but they aren’t in love any more. The story is wonderful, absolutely wonderful. It’s simple and sweet and his note to her in the end makes my whole body glow with girly glee. Netflix and I also have a date to watch the 1995 film.

Happy New Year Everyone! What’s your New Year’s Resolution?