“You will be an old maid! and that’s so dreadful!” [Harriet]
“Never mind, Harriet, I shall not be a poor old maid; and it is poverty only which makes celibacy contemptible to a generous public! A single woman, with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous, disagreeable old maid! the proper sport of boys and girls, but a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as any body else.” [Emma]
Emma, volume 1, chapter 10
Filed under Emma, Emma Woodhouse, Harriet Smith, Money, Poverty, Singleness, Wealth
“’Colonel Brandon is certainly younger than Mrs. Jennings, but he is old enough to be my father; and if he were ever animated enough to be in love, must have long outlived every sensation of the kind. It is too ridiculous! When is a man to be safe from such wit if age and infirmity will not protect him?’”
Marianne again on Colonel Brandon’s advanced age of thirty-five, reflecting o n his “advanced years and on his forlorn condition of an old bachelor”
Sense & Sensibility, volume 1, chapter 8
I think I could put up with Colonel Brandon’s age and infirmity.
I didn’t get to see S&S last night. Between puppy-sitting this weekend, and a deadline this morning (which I missed - ack!), my weekend went by too fast. Hoping to watch it tonight. Did you love it — hate it? I did catch the very beginning today over lunch, and thought the opening scene would be a bit confusing if you didn’t know the story and already know who that was.
Filed under Aging, Col. Brandon, Love, Marianne, Sense and Sensibility, Singleness
“Poor Mrs Stent! It has been her lot to be always in the way; but we must be merciful, for perhaps in time we may come to be Mrs Stents ourselves, unequal to anything & unwelcome to everybody.”
letter to Cassandra
April 21, 1805 [44]
Cassandra was staying with the Lloyds at Ibthrop, and Mrs. Stent was an old friend who lived with them. Evidently she was up in years and had little to live on.
Comments Off on We must be merciful
Filed under Letters, Neighbors, Singleness
The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman (May, 2012)
A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith