What a powerful read! Wow. Tia, you named something I couldn't quite put my finger on—the way the primness of Austen's world served as a reminder of what "real chastity" and "real love" ought to be/feel like. It should be family friendly, not passionate or messy. It should be socially approved of, not scandalous. It should stay within the bounds of what the society expects. Lizzie's rejection of Mr. Collins was daring to be sure! But she did want to be married and she did feel the pressure to have a good match. She didn't simply assert that she was leaving the system to be an independent woman. Her family's future revenue depended on good matches.
The irony, of course, is that Darcy and Elizabeth really don't know each other when they do get married. They only know about each other. And that is how it was for my short courtship and marriage. Shared goals and beliefs substituted for actually knowing each other well. I believed all would be well because we were following the cultural imperatives for our community.
I had to see the movie twice to get a deeper understanding of how Gerwig’s production hit the key notes of fundamentalism. Yes, we were left playing mommy to our toys. As a child I I didn’t understand how Barbie stood for being a woman unidentified with motherhood. I remember praying for Jesus to not return to earth before I was a mommy. That is how ingrained I was to motherhood and THE LADT DAYS. Which were expected any day. I didn’t like Barbie because she was a symbol of the harlot church of Babylon. Pretty heavy stuff for a 5 year old! Thank you for your newsletter and Insta posts.
Ah thank you! Seeing your comment made my day. And you're so right--they didn't know each other! What a risk, to marry an attractive stranger, on the basis of shared beliefs. And this-- "Her family's future revenue depended on good matches" reminds of so many modern-day strategic courtship matches in fundamentalism.
Pride & Prejudice & Mothers, Oh My!
What a powerful read! Wow. Tia, you named something I couldn't quite put my finger on—the way the primness of Austen's world served as a reminder of what "real chastity" and "real love" ought to be/feel like. It should be family friendly, not passionate or messy. It should be socially approved of, not scandalous. It should stay within the bounds of what the society expects. Lizzie's rejection of Mr. Collins was daring to be sure! But she did want to be married and she did feel the pressure to have a good match. She didn't simply assert that she was leaving the system to be an independent woman. Her family's future revenue depended on good matches.
The irony, of course, is that Darcy and Elizabeth really don't know each other when they do get married. They only know about each other. And that is how it was for my short courtship and marriage. Shared goals and beliefs substituted for actually knowing each other well. I believed all would be well because we were following the cultural imperatives for our community.
Great message and so well written.
I had to see the movie twice to get a deeper understanding of how Gerwig’s production hit the key notes of fundamentalism. Yes, we were left playing mommy to our toys. As a child I I didn’t understand how Barbie stood for being a woman unidentified with motherhood. I remember praying for Jesus to not return to earth before I was a mommy. That is how ingrained I was to motherhood and THE LADT DAYS. Which were expected any day. I didn’t like Barbie because she was a symbol of the harlot church of Babylon. Pretty heavy stuff for a 5 year old! Thank you for your newsletter and Insta posts.
Oh wow, I did that too! Prayed for Jesus not to return until I could be a mommy. Very very heavy for a child.
Ah thank you! Seeing your comment made my day. And you're so right--they didn't know each other! What a risk, to marry an attractive stranger, on the basis of shared beliefs. And this-- "Her family's future revenue depended on good matches" reminds of so many modern-day strategic courtship matches in fundamentalism.