Great Lines

As I continue to read Northanger Abbey I am amazed at how many great Jane Austen witticisms that I have always enjoyed belong to this book. It gives me a new appreciation for me. NA really does have this tongue in cheek charm about it that shows that Austen could poke fun at herself and society together.

Earlier this year I met a wonderful future librarian who loves Henry Tilney best out of all of my heroes and suddenly I am understanding why. He is a great person and doesn't have the dark brooding of Mr. Darcy...the hurt of Wentworth with Louisa...the stupidness of Edmund (let's face it, he doesn't appreciate Fanny at first so he is totally stupid)...the scolding of Mr. Knightly. He seems to be perfect from the get-go. And he is, it's his family that needs help. A little like Mr. F. Scott's Fitzgerald's family from Under the Biltmore Clock. The guy is great, but the family is a little nutty. I believe the family in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz was the same way. But enough of F. Scott.

The great thing is how perfectly NA can be rewritten to be reintroduced to today's society. Parts of it fit perfectly with today's society. Granted we can introduce ourselves to people now and don't need to wait for proper introductions, but still the lines could be easily transported to modern times.

Perhaps that's what's so great about me. I can transcend eras. Ha! I guess that makes me a transcendentalist ala Thoreau....although he might be a little tame for me!