The Gardiners: Too Soon Forgotten? {A Guest Post by Rae}

There are things we all love about Pride and Prejudice--Mr. Darcy, of course, and we all love Lizzy as well. We often talk about them, the rest of the Bennets, Mr. Collins, and the Bingleys. We talk about the Gardiners, too, but not as often, it seems to me. 

Have we all forgotten how important the Gardiners are? When we read Pride and Prejudice, do we skim over the ending couple of pages, squealing instead over Darcy and Elizabeth? (Of course, this is not to say that I haven't done this two out of the three--maybe four--times that I've read it, and it's completely understandable. After all, Darcy and Lizzy!) Do we really take the time to read the last paragraph? 

Here's the thing: the Gardiners are quite possibly the most important characters in the book. Jane Austen said so! Let me quote the last paragraph of the book, in case you cannot recall:

"With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them."

See what I mean? The Gardiners "had been the means of uniting them"! To be sure, Darcy and Elizabeth saw each other at Netherfield and Longbourn and Rosings, but if you take only their interactions in those places, then it is very doubtful that their acquaintance would have improved, or that "Elizabeth's opinion of him would have improved upon closer acquaintance." (Note: that is not the direct quote. :)) Jane Austen herself said that the Gardiners were "the means of uniting them" and so who are we to argue?

Besides their very key role in Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship, the Gardiners are such lovely people. I don't think anyone could help loving them. As is my favourite way to do this sort of thing, let me just list some of the random things I love about the Gardiners.


-They are a wonderful example of a married couple. As was pointed out in THIS POST, Lizzy didn't really have a good example in her own parents, but the Gardiners showed her an ideal couple who loved and respected each other.

-Mrs. Gardiner was just the sort of companion/mother figure Elizabeth needed. Elizabeth was...rather unfortunate...in her mother. We love to watch Mrs. Bennet (at least I do), but I think we can agree that she was a rather un-ideal mother. Mrs. Gardiner was, from what we know, a good mother, and we see how she acts towards Lizzy. She was exactly what an aunt should be--a good friend, with some motherliness mixed in. She was able to sympathise with Lizzy, as well as offer advice.

-They really love Elizabeth. It seems to me like the treat her almost like a child, and almost like a peer or something. I suppose they treat her just like a niece. :) I love their relationship, though, and it does Lizzy so much good.

Now, of course, this post would be very sadly lacking if I did not give "that one scene" a major highlight. The scene to which I am referring is, of course, the one at Pemberley when Mr. Darcy shows such exceeding civility to the Gardiners.

Of course, then the Gardiners sadly misunderstand Mr. Darcy's character, but still. This scene seems to me to be one of the most important ones of the book. Mr. Darcy is able to show Elizabeth that he is a gentleman. To whom may we owe this scene? The Gardiners, and Mrs. Gardiner in particular. If it weren't for her, they would never have gone to Pemberley, and if they hadn't gone to Pemberley, then the rest of that business that happened between Darcy and Lizzy in Derbyshire would never have happened, I think. I really don't think they would have had an acquaintance in Derbyshire if it were not for that one scene. 

Do you begin to see what I mean? The Gardiners are quite possibly the most important characters in the entire novel! Let me quote the last paragraph again:

"With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them; and they were both ever sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Derbyshire, had been the means of uniting them."

Let me point out another thing in this paragraph: "Darcy...really loved them." What does that say?! Do you see what a big deal that is? Mr. Darcy loved them. We all know how selective he is about his acquaintance, and even more selective about people he loves. Of course, who could help loving the Gardiners? I'm quite sure he found them a far more pleasing aunt and uncle than Lady Catherine. 

Rae of Rae: A Drop of Golden Sun

September, 2016

Seven Unimportant P&P95 observations – A guest post by Naomi

First of all, thank you to the P&P95club (more specifically, the two charming hostesses) for giving me the honour of a guest post. (For those of you who’ve never met me… enchanted to make your acquaintance. My name is Naomi, and I grabbed Elizabeth’s last name for the internet, so you can call me Naomi Bennet if you feel like something formal.) I have been reading this blog for years and years now – and if you would have told a 12-year-old me who hardly dared consider anonymous commenting that I would one day be featured on here, I would have practically died in awe and longing. So thank you. :-)

Having, like many of you, watched and re-watched our Pride and Prejudice, I have come to the point in which I’ve observed much more about it than just the basic things… being the plot, Elizabeth, Mr Darcy, and the galloping theme song. I’ve come to a point in which I over-think about everything in it (Is the bonnet Lydia bought really that ugly?) and I observe all the little things, from, ‘Hey, Maria Lucas is wearing her red shoes again’ to ‘The guy Mr Darcy is fencing with looks like Chauvelin in The Scarlet Pimpernel.’

Us devoted fans are very concerned about these little extra things, in fact. Here are a few of my “not important but yet important P&P95 observations.”

1. The sewing hand.

I’d like to talk about ‘the sewing hand.’ Whose hand do you think it is? In my earlier P&P95 years, I assumed it was Mrs Bennet’s – seeing as the hand looks ‘old,’ and it’s likely to be someone of the Bennet household. But then Mrs Bennet does not equals tranquil-sewing. So then I liked to think it’s perhaps Hill, the never-present housemaid. But then Hill wouldn’t likely be doing embroidery work.

Of course, in practicality, I know it was a random behind-the-scenes-person; someone of the crew of P&P95, but it should represent a character and I know not who. (Maybe Aunt Gardiner? She seems a likely suspect.)

Tell me what you’ve always thought about the mysterious hand; I’d like to know.

2. The sleeping man with the puppy.

I hate to criticize my favourite movie of All Time, but seriously – is it even humanly possible to fall asleep 1) in a noisy ball room while 2) sitting up straight 3) without any cushions or anything 4) with a wide-awake pupping in your hands and 5) with two girls at your left?

You decide sir, you decide.

3. It’s the same dog.

I’m not even close to being a dog lover, but I have observed that Lizzy’s playmate came to bid her goodbye while Mr Bingley bade Jane goodbye. He’s in two scenes, the dog is. (I make terribly random observations, especially in the P&P95 area.) I’m naming the dog Caroline the second… because of reasons. (Well, firstly I do not enjoy the company of dogs, and neither do I enjoy the company of the dogs’ name-mate. And secondly, both are unpleasant to the eyes.)

4. Mary tidies up her hair when Mr Collins arrives.

Me and my family frequently mourn over the face that Jane Austen didn’t make Mary Bennet end up with Mr Collins, for it is perfectly clear (to us observers, that is) that Mary in the movie has sooome kind of a crush on our dear cousin Mr Collins. The letter that her father read aloud at the dinner table obviously impressed her, and she even goes as far as to neaten her hair upon his arrival.

(This is quite a spectacle, for Mary Bennet is not often seen doing her hair.)

5. What’s so funny about this game?

I always ask the same question whenever I see our dear foolish sisters Kitty and Lydia play the hoops-and-stick-game. WHAT’S THE JOKE. :-P

6. Back to Mary and Mr Collins…

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s observed that Mary’s who face lights up in an ‘oh-is-he-going-to-ask-me-to-dance-with-him?????’-light, when Mr Collins says he’d light to dance the first dance with… oh, oh, it’s Elizabeth.

I actually feel pretty sorry for Mary right there. Her facial expressions are pretty real. (You should observe them carefully the next time you see this movie. Like, maybe tomorrow.)

7. Mrs Bennet’s unamused face after the Lizzy-Darcy dance.

The picture speaks for its own, I suppose. I always enjoy Mrs Bennet’s ‘Lizzy-you-actually-danced-with-that-odious-man-Mr-Darcy-as-he-calls-himsef’-face.

I have many more little-inside-my-brain observations and questions – including the fact that Lady Catherine de Bough looks a bit like the child-catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sometimes and that Lydia Bennet points at people too much – but I hope you enjoyed my silly P&P95 ramblings anyway.

(If you’d like more of silly ramblings such as these, do please pop over to my blog, Wonderland Creek! http://naomiblog15.blogspot.be/)

(Lydia Bennet has her faults, but no-one can wave like her.)

P&P95 Location Tour: Guest Post

Miss Dashwood and Miss Marianne are very pleased to present to you today Mr. Hannu Heino, a "middle-aged gent from Northern Europe" and new member of the P&P95 Forever Club.  Mr. Heino was kind enough to share with us some of his experiences in traveling England and seeing the locations at which P&P was filmed, and we asked if he'd be willing to write up a guest post for the Club, as we thought our other readers might enjoy his writing as well.  Without further ado...

I was simply thrilled when Miss Dashwood suggested that I wrote a guest post about my recent adventures into the world of Jane Austen. Thank you for this opportunity.

If you are reading this you must be fond of the book and the excellent 1995 adaptation. You are probably also deeper into Austen than I am. As a Janeite I'm really a noob, but a passionate one, and that is something I wish to share.

You might be surprised to hear that the books of Jane Austen were not read at school at the time I was there. I don't think they do even now. We had to read some American literature like Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and J.D. Salinger, but not any English and definitely not Austen. I've read quite a lot of science fiction and fantasy in my youth, but been more into memoirs than fiction later on. Up to this spring I never had any interest in Austen's books as I considered them "ladies only". I did have quite a prejudice, didn't I?

I know better now.

Learning about Jane Austen's masterpieces as a mature adult has given me an opportunity to really enjoy them; to understand the multiple layers of the stories and to find out how delightful they are. As a teenage boy I surely wouldn't have appreciated them.

I'm actually pleased that I hadn't read Pride and Prejudice as a youngster. This newly-founded enthusiasm of mine prompted me to visit the filming locations in England. It was a pilgrimage for 20th anniversary of the filming and 200th anniversary of the book (yes, yes, that anniversary was in 2013 already).

We (my dear wife and me) managed to visit quite a few of the important locations in June.

The Hunsford Parsonage (Teigh Old Rectory) was our starting point. We stayed three nights where the staircase is "neither too steep nor too shallow" and where there are "shelves in the closet". Lizzy's bedroom is located upstairs on the second floor exactly where you see it in the film; still the same colour of paint, but no shelves in that closet (too inconvenient for the guests). The first floor parlour has still got the same wallpaper and it felt like Mr. Darcy had just proposed to Lizzy Bennet there. The proprietor, Mrs Owen was kind enough to light up the fireplace in the parlour for us. Her two cats prefer sitting there, just like Charlotte did; we had some wine and cheese.

Rosings Park (Belton House) is further away from Hunsford than mere a lane, about 20 min drive. While admiring the grandeur of the park you can "mark the windows, there are sixty-four in all. Sixty-four!". The green dining room of Lady Catherine is actually quite unique, there is nothing like that in the rest of the house. You recall Mr. Darcy running up the stairs to the second floor to write that important letter, but his room really is on the first floor (which you can also observe in the film). Darcy's bedroom is truly decorated like that; there is the writing desk and that magnificent canopy bed.

On the way to the Peak District we revisited Chatsworth (we had been there before), because "there was no awkwardness there."  Make sure you won't miss it if you ever go to Derbyshire. While exploring the narrow pathways of the Peaks (thanks to gps sat nav) we reached the Roaches and climbed onto the Ramshaw Rocks, famous for the "victory sign" shape of the rock formation. P&P is the only film I've seen them in, however: "Elizabeth, be careful. How could I face your father if you trip and fall?"

Right between Chatsworth and the Ramshaw Rocks there is the charming village of Lambton (Longnor) where "there is two gentlemen and a lady waiting upon you in the parlour."
There is actually no inn on Chapel Street, but you'll find one on High Street. We had supper there.

Pemberley (Lyme Park) is no more than 20 miles from Lambton. We did enjoy the beautiful grounds and I agree that "I don't think I've ever seen a place so happily situated. I like it very well, indeed." Seems like nothing has changed there. I was expecting to see Lizzy and the Gardiners strolling on the lawn and Mr. Darcy appearing behind the bushes at any moment. You can dress up in 1910's clothes during your visit there, but there didn't seem to be any Regency (1810's) apparel available. I don't think Mr. Darcy would have swam in any of the murky ponds, particularly not the one on the northern edge of the grounds.

Naturally we also applied to the housekeeper to see the inside of the place and sighed "of all this I might have been mistress!" The interior of Sudbury Hall fits very well to the book and is much more appropriate a location than Lyme Park would have been (Lyme and Belton are quite pompous). The grand staircase is really grand, as well as the gallery upstairs which displays portraits of wives and mistresses (which you can spot by the depth of their décolleté). The portrait of Mr. Darcy is missing. The furniture of the music room is also missing; a couple of chairs do not a music room make!

You'll find some more pictures of the Pride & Prejudice sights we just visited in my site: https://plus.google.com/photos/103708968441393416987/albums/6030700986465054161?authkey=CLugj676yPSs2wE
There are short captions and location coordinates in each of those pictures, just click on the first one to start the show.

I'd like to recommend buying "The Making of Pride and Prejudice" by Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin. It is an absolute must for all P&P95 fans (and it is very cheap).

You might also like to learn that Victoria Owen, the proprietor of Teigh Old Rectory, has got an album of the pictures she took during the filming in their house in June 1994. There are nice off-stage pics of Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth, David Bamber, Lucy Davis, Lucy Scott and Nadia Chambers. That album alone makes it worth your while to stay overnight in there. Not to mention the warm hospitality of Mrs. Owen.

So, what got me finally interested in the Pride and Prejudice?

Well, there are few movies or TV series which I consider worth watching. The original Brideshead Revisited and the Band of Brothers were such. The wonderful BBC miniseries had of course been aired on our TV several times during the past 18 years and I had seen some episodes occasionally, but not all of the series. Ever. Until I watched it on DVD one Saturday night in January and got absolutely hooked. I had to watch the 5 hours of the miniseries in one straight run; I just couldn't stop. Talk about excitement!

You could say I got infatuated with Pride and Prejudice. I fell in love with the book and with the BBC adaptation, the faithful script and the marvellous acting. I also fell in love with Lizzy, her fine eyes and pert opinions.

Having watched the remastered miniseries on blu-ray almost incessantly this spring and having also read the book a few times I just had to make this tour to fulfil the desires of the romantic heart of mine. Believe me, it was worth it. We didn't manage to visit Netherfield (Brocket Hall), Longbourn (Luckington Court) nor Weston-Super-Mare this summer. We must make another trip...

Thanks for sharing the details of your wonderful trip with us, Hannu!  To all our other readers-- if you've ever visited the P&P filming locations and would like to tell us about them, please send an email to shelvesinthecloset95[at]gmail[dot]com.  We'd love to have you write a guest post, too!

Guest Post by Miss Jane Bennet: Why I Love Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Miss Jane Bennet of Classic Ramblings to the podium!  She is here today to talk about Mr Darcy-- or Colin Firth.  Well, both.  So sit up and pay attention because we're going to quiz you afterwards. (Well... not really.)

Colin Firth as Mr Darcy is really cute.  I have a thing for Dark Curly Hair (case in point: Sherlock), and he’s quite good-looking and reminds me of a teddy bear.

But he is NOT a Bear without a Brain, and it is because of the common misconception that he is that I’m here today with a Rant.

I like Colin Firth’s performance as Mr Darcy; in fact, I’m a huge fan of it and him, and I always picture him in my head when I read the book.  

…That previous statement probably got one out of two reactions: “AHHHH THE WET SHIRT!!” or “Ehhhh..he’s okay.”

Obviously, there are exceptions, but those seem to be the two main opinions, and sometimes that really frustrates me, because he’s a lot more than either “okay” or simply eye candy.  

I think a lot of Janeites are apathetic to his performance because he seems to have cheapened Mr Darcy.  And to an extent, that’s true; there are a lot of people who like Mr Darcy simply because of him and don’t really understand the character at all, and one doesn’t want to be lumped in with all the other Mr Darcy fans. :P

However, that is not the beginning and end of him.  He really does give an amazing performance, especially when you consider that he’s playing a character that’s been known and loved for centuries. That has to be pretty daunting.

One of my favorite things about his Mr Darcy are the smiles.  I think the little smiles at the beginning are characteristic of his pride and reserve, and then later as he unbends a little with Elizabeth, he smiles more openly, and then at the end, when he does The Grin, it makes a big impression because he’s so happy.  (The wedding always makes me choke up just a tiny bit.)

Another thing I really, really enjoy about Colin Firth’s acting is his interaction with Elizabeth.  He and Jennifer Ehle were in a relationship during filming, and that probably influenced it a bit, but I love all the scenes with Darcy and Elizabeth.  The awkward silences (with suppressed laughter on Lizzy’s part and pure misery on Darcy’s :D), the little hesitations Darcy has before speaking with her, his look during the scenes at Pemberley…and of course, The Proposals.

 

The aforementioned proposals are quite possibly my favorite things about his Darcy.  </ span>The first one is just such a huge mixture of emotions, and I think he got it down perfectly, from confident to embarrassed to angry to heartbroken.  And then during the second one, sadly brief though it is, he’s so nervous and tender and overjoyed, all at once.  I usually Squeal and Bounce during this scene. ;)

Those are some of the main things I love about his performance.  Of course, this is all partly a matter of taste, but I believe that he’s the best Darcy we’ll get for a long time, possibly ever, and for me he really IS Mr Darcy.  

With all these examples, my main point has been—Colin Firth is so much more than just a guy with a nice face or a weird penchant for jumping into lakes.  I’ll admit, sometimes I downplay his performance because it’s automatically assumed that if I like it, I like it because he’s handsome.  But he really did do an amazing job and I wish more people would respect that.

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Thank you very much, Miss Bennet!  Miss Dashwood and I were quite pleased and amused by your Rant.  I appreciate you taking the time to write a post for us. :)

Everyone, do pop in and visit Miss Bennet over at her blog!