I read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice when I was 12 or 13,while I was still in the "boys are scum" phase (which I still am to an extent and which belief gets stronger and stronger everyday). Lizzy Bennett was my heroine,feminist to the core,independent,strong...but then she went ,and got married to the insufferable Mr. Darcy. At that time I felt like I had been wronged,like a dear sister betrayed me..because men were the enemy and she vowed to live forever with one of them..Oh the Shame!!! lol ...
Lizzy was perfect in my eyes. Barring the constraints of those times (that Austen lived in and therefore Lizzy too), she was "the woman". She was smart,literary,intelligent,pretty,fearless... She is said to be portrayed by the author on herself. I recently saw the movie "Becoming Jane" based on Austen's early life and her alleged romance with Thomas Lefroy (politician and Judge who was the stereotype for the character of Mr. Darcy). Then I decided that more than Lizzy,it was probably Austen herself who is my heroine...
While I agree that I am not so much of a feminist all the time (I am,though in small doses),I loved Austen's feminist heroines. I wish I could say the same for her heroes. All her heroes are such arrogant toerags,Edmund (Mansfield Park) probably being the only sweet one (a little spineless though). This probably holds true for all the great love stories of the world. From Will Darcy to Rhett Butler to Mr Big,all the heroes are arrogant,self-centred and brutally sarcastic. And women do swoon over such men to an extent that makes me wonder... Do women actually 'dig' these abominable "qualities"? And why is it that the smart,beautiful,intelligent and independent women of today (including myself...lol) feel that life is worthless without these absolute jerks??? Complete and total mystery...sigh :-s
In movies we see that the sweet, thoughtful guy always triumphs over the jerks...or the jerks change colour to form sweet little lambs... How many such men do we find in real life? And the ones that we think to be lambs turn out to be wolves in disguise. Are there no nice,kind guys in the real world...in which case,what exactly is it that all the women in the world are looking for? We may as well turn all gay...lol ;)
Note:-Kabhi kabhi poori duniya ka pyaar kum pad jaata hai...pyaar to bus ek hi se miljaaye na...kaafi hai.......
u r so not feminist from wt i've seen of u.....
ReplyDeleten jane austen or lizzy bennet cannot be ur hero coz u r so not like them
yep that is what i sed...am not much of a feminist(i use not much because i am in some cases and with most people,just not with a certain person p'haps...lol). It is possible to admire someone without being like that person. Often it is the qualities that you don't have that you admire in another. So yes,they are my heroes :)
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