The Great Big Answer Post... Part Two

Annnnnnd we're back with Part Two of the Great Big Answer Post (or should I say saga...)

Naomi Bennet asked...

What would you have done in Margaret Hale's (North and South) situation when she got asked if it was her that was seen at the station with her brother?

That's a very interesting question and one I'm not sure I have an answer for.  (Yes, that's a dangling preposition. Deal with it.)  On the one hand, *prim voice* it's wrong to lie.  On the other hand, if your brother's life might be at stake... yeeeeeeesh.  I might have said that I was there, but refuse to say why or with whom.  Of course this might in its turn lead to trouble... yep, that's a hard question.  I think I'm gonna have to say that I just don't know.

Had you been Miss Lizzy Bennet, would you have been able to find an excuse NOT to dance with Mr. Darcy?

One can always find an excuse if one looks hard enough-- I could always get Charlotte to accidentally step on my foot and render me unfit for the next dance, heehee.  But that wouldn't be the smartest move, really, because then I might not end up with Mr. Darcy in the end, and that would be little short of tragic.

What are your top ten period drama dresses?

I answered this question to some extent in this post-- but if you want the quick version of the answer, basically anything from the wardrobes of Marianne Dashwood, Emma Woodhouse, Esther Summerson, Anne Shirley and Olivia King.  :D

What was the funniest book you've ever read?

Again, hard call!  Maybe Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank and Ernestine Gilbreth... I picked it up when I was fourteen or so, thinking it would be an amusing memoir of a large family's adventures, and it turned out to be so funny, my socks flew off.

...um, sorry, that's a family joke.

Belles on Their Toes, its sequel, is just as good if not better.  Highly recommended!

so this gif doesn't really fit either... but
it's Aaron Tveit.  Shush.

What is your favourite dance?

I'm really, really bad at remembering dance names... but I do love the Virginia Reel and the Laendler (from Sound of Music).  There are a couple of other waltz variations that would rank high on my favorites list but I don't remember what they're called.  :(

What would you have done in Kitty/Lizzy/Mary's case when you saw your mother winking at you?

Wink back, perhaps.  :D  Or else tried to silently figure out what she wanted.

Do you prefer dancing to reading?

Nope, I prefer reading to pretty much anything.  :D

*please note that while I find this gif humorous, it doesn't mean I
necessarily endorsethe movie it comes from.  :P More on this later.*

Molly asked...

What was the title of the oldest story you remember writing?

The Bobbsey Twins and the Blueberry Contest, a brilliant 800-word piece of fanfiction penned (and illustrated!) by my almost-six-year-old self.  And yes, I still have it.  :D


Miss Elliot asked...

What character (for ANY period drama) do you think you most resemble? (Fun fact: I have been imagining you, Miss Dashwood, as Fantine (Anne Hathaway) of course before she cut her hair & so on. Then when I saw a picture of you & Petie, I almost flipped out! One of you actually looks like her! It's probably Petie, so I shouldn't get my hopes up, but whichever one of you has dark hair LOOKS LIKE ANNE HATHAWAY!!!)

I've included Miss Elliot's fun fact in the question as well just so that I can say that Petie (on the left in this shot) is indeed the one with dark hair, and I'm sure she'd be quite delighted to hear she resembles Anne Hathaway!  (Personally I think she looks like Katie Holmes.)

Anyways, if we're talking physical appearance here, then I have no idea whom I might resemble in any period drama... Daniela Denby-Ashe as Margaret Hale is the closest approximation, and even then it's only because of similar hair color and face shape.  (Our eyebrows, for instance, are nothing alike.  Haha.)

Her nose is also smaller than mine.

...Did I say that just so I could include this Benedict Cumberbatch gif?  Yes.  Yes, I did.  Don't you dare judge me.

At any rate, if Miss Elliot is referring to personality and defining characteristics and all that jazz, read on for the answer to that question a few paragraphs after this.  :D


Arwen Undomiel asked...

I know you don't watch/read LotR or Narnia because of the magic content, and I respect your reservations. But I've seen quite a few references to the musical "Wicked" on your blog, and since, from what I know of the musical, that has more magicky content than Lotr or Narnia, I was Slightly Puzzled.  ;) Any thoughts?

Another toughie!  First and foremost I'd like to emphasize that though I do have my own personal standards and boundaries regarding magic/fantasy in books and movies, I am NOT saying that my opinion is the only right one or that magic/fantasy is inherently sinful.  I don't think there are any specific commands in Scripture regarding this topic, so for me to tell you that my own personal convictions are the same thing as God's law would be very, very wrong.  (Pet peeve there, haha.  Opinion is one thing-- telling others what to do is another.)

That said, I shall now proceed to give my opinion.  :D  Briefly and concisely, haha.  In a nutshell, I don't fully endorse the musical Wicked, and though I do quote the songs (and sing some of them!) rather frequently, I don't care for some of the content in the musical... as my sister and I like to say to each other, if it weren't for all the witch business, it'd be an amazing story.  However, I do think that witchcraft/magic is not something that should be presented favorably in fiction, and that's why I prefer to stay away from books and movies that dabble in that sort of thing (LOTR, Narnia, etc.).  Please do understand that I've heard many of the arguments in favor of allegorical fantasy novels, had rousing (and friendly) discussions with friends on this topic, but I remain pretty firmly fixed in my views.

In short, yes, I do enjoy many of the songs and a lot of the hilarious dialogue from Wicked, but overall I really can't endorse the show.  (There are many other shows that I enjoy a few songs from but can't fully endorse, too, haha.)  Does that answer your question?  Hope I wasn't too confusing.  :D

Who is your favorite character in Frozen?

Um.  Let me think.

This guy.  :D

Yep, Kristoff.  Also Anna.  Because they're just so cute together.

Elsa Hosch asked...

What heroine, besides the ambiguous Miss Dashwood, do you identify with the most?

Well, I've always had an Understanding Thing for Anne Shirley... but then, don't we all?  Then there's Elinor Dashwood, for obvious reasons, and also Cynthia Kirkpatrick... I, like, her, am often "not very constant."  Heh.  She doesn't really classify as a heroine though... oh, and there's also Emma Woodhouse, who like me tends to meddle in other people's affairs and speak without thinking.  Sigh.

...But then, she does end up with Mr. Knightley.  :D

What period dramas have you watched without reading the book before hand?

Lorna Doone (still haven't read it, though I keep meaning to), Little Women (1939), and Ivanhoe (1982).  I almost always prefer to read the book first, and have been known to delay watching a movie for long periods of time just so I can finish the book.  Heh.

Do you have a tendency to be more critical of a movie if you have read the book in the past few weeks/months?

I do indeed!  Astute question there, m'dear.  Absence makes the critic in my heart go wander, or something like that... at any rate, if the details of the book are less sharp in my mind, I'm much less likely to go nitpicking throughout the movie.  Doesn't mean I won't find something to complain about, though.  Pointing out things that aren't done right in movies is my one weakness.

Ginger asked...

Who are some literary couples that you wish didn't end up together?

Laurie and Amy in Little Women have never quiiiiiiite seemed right, in my mind.  I don't know if I can honestly say I wish they weren't together though.  (And please note I'm NOT a Jo/Laurie shipper.  Nope, Professor Bhaer and Jo belong together, world without end, amen.)  It just seems to me that they both lost some of their personalities when they got married, which is a sad thing... they're not half as interesting in Little Men or Jo's Boys as they were in the first book(s).

I honestly can't think of anyone else, though if you'd like to jog my memory in the comments you're more than welcome to do so.  I tend to be inclined toward a "the author is always right" mindset, so a couple that ends up happily-ever-after in a book I've enjoyed will usually get a thumbs-up from me.  :D

Film adaptations: Dickens' Little Dorrit or E. Gaskell's Wives and Daughters?

Little Dorrit all the way!

Film adaptations: Wives and Daughters or North & South?

Wives and Daughters all the way again!  I do love N&S, don't get me wrong, but W&D speaks to me on a Personal Level that N&S can't achieve.

Which bothers you more: Gilbert Blythe's greasy hair or Mr. Thornton's spectacularly long nose?

Ummm... I'm getting the impression that someone isn't too thrilled with either Gilbert's or Mr. Thornton's physical appearance.  :P  Personally I think they're both quite good-looking (Gilbert more so, of course) so I'd probably have to complain more about Gilbert's slicked-back hair in that last scene of Anne of Avonlea... his hair is so nice and pleasing to look upon for the most part, it makes that greasy scene even more mortifying.

Here's a gif of Gilbert's hair being nice to make up for it.  :D  With a flat cap because flat caps are cool.

Emma Jane asked...

Did you love P&P from the first time you watched/read it, or did it take a while to grow on you?

It was love at first sight.  Head-over-heels love.  I wanted to watch the whole five hours in one sitting but my mother said I couldn't marry a movie I just met we had to wait and finish the rest of it on a different evening.  And then after that it grew on me even more, just for the record.  :D

What's the oldest movie you've ever watched?

The Rink (1916), starring Charlie Chaplin.  My dad downloaded it on our school computer when I was about nine and my sisters and I watched it faithfully at least once a week, howling with laughter every time... then when my brother was born (and became old enough to appreciate slapstick humor) it became his favorite until he got introduced to an educational film about road construction.  Gotta say, I preferred watching Charlie Chaplin.

Who in your opinion is the most hilarious Dickens character? (Or who do you think are some of the funniest?)

Hard call there!  Probably Flora Finching, Edmund Sparkler, Aunt Betsey Trotwood and Mr. Pancks.  I also realllllllly love Herbert Pocket.

Do you have a particular favorite phrase that you say often? (Like a figure of speech, or movie quote, or just a word.)

Tons and tons and tons.  Some of my favorite oft-repeated quotes (points for you if you can identify 'em)...

"Hold my fin, HOLD MY FIN."
"Yes, thank you, Mary."
"That IS the general idea."
"Come, we must return.  Those two FOOLS who run MY theatre will be missing you..."
"I'm gonna tell him."  "Don't you dare."
"And I'm Javert!"
"Sparkler, be quiet."
"These things do 'appen..."
"NO IT'S NOT OKAY!"
"It's like America... BUT SOUTH."
"How do you spell FBI?"
"You don't like this shirt? ... I like the shirt."
"Let's go KISS HANS? ...Who is this Hans?"
"You are not so cute."
"Ever get any free time?"  "Oh yeah, lots.  ....Bye."
"Robert, you may wait in the hall... I shan't say it again, Robert."
"I'm not happy, Bob.  Not happy."

[It's worth noting that my nine-year-old brother's name is Robert.  It's also worth noting that I love him to pieces and we enjoy saying sarcastic movie quotes to each other with no unkindness intended.]

Oh, and then there's this, which isn't a quote, but... yeah.

Do you ever get tired of reading classics?

'Nuff said.

What's your favorite movie that's not a period drama, or do you even have one?

Up (2009) is one of my favoritest favorites, and the Night at the Museum movies are pretty hilarious.  I also love Roman Holiday... can you tell I have a hard time giving just one answer to these questions?

Are there any authors that you've read, any genre, that you really pointedly dislike?

Contemporarily-written Western romance bugs the Hartford, Hereford and Hampshire out of me... most Amish romances do too.  Yick.  Also vampire novels, duh.

Danaya Huber asked...

If you could ask Jane Austen one question, what would it be?

"Who was the guy you met at the seaside, what was up with the two of you, do you think you might have gotten married, and why on earth did he have to die???"

(Yes, that counts as one question.)

If you had to give up either chocolate or tea, which would you choose?

Umm.... neither.  Nope.

...And since 28 questions still remain, I must ask you all to stay tuned for Part Three.