珍奧斯汀的男人Jane Austen's men

Jane Austen is my favorite author. When I read her as a teenager, many of the nuances of adult relationships kind of went through me without registering much empathy. The focus was always the romance part of her stories. But now that I am in my 40s, Jane Austen's brilliance--in her ability to observe human relationships (not just the male-female ones) and to write them down with such an insight never cease to amaze me.

So I was delighted to see PBS' Masterpiece Theater broadcasting TV adaptation of Jane Austen's novels--Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion for the last 4 weeks. It was a nice diversion from the hustle and bustle of watching the Winter Olympic games.
I actually found the TV adaptation of Emma slightly off. The book was better than the TV production, mostly because they focused too much TV time on the first half of the book and not enough with the second half.

The major theme in any of Jane Austen's novel is for her heroines to marry well. Back in those days, women had no means of supporting themselves. Their financial well-being relied much on the inheritance that they will receive and who they marry. Life for women today is not so different from their counterparts 300 years ago. For a woman to have a successful work/career life, if she chooses to have children and family life, she cannot do it alone. The choice of a husband can make or break a woman's life--who needs to go through divorces?!

The photo above is the famous Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), portrayed by Colin Firth.
For years, Mr. Darcy was by far my favorite male character in Jane Austen's novels, but after watching the portrayal of Captain Wentworth by Rupert Penry-Jones in Persuasion, Captain Wentworth (photo below) is now my new favorite Jane Austen man. Men who inherit wealth and men who made their own wealth are different breeds of men. I prefer the latter. Also the fact that Captain Wentworth kept his feeling for Anne Elliot for 7 years even after she rejected him is worth the price of admission. I love a man who is reserved, disciplined, and controlled, but underneath it all, he is as passionate as they come. What woman wouldn't want that in a romantic fiction?!

If you are a Jane Austen fan, go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html, you can vote for your favorite Jane Austen men. There is a little write up on each man. It's a lot of fun!

最近這四個星期天的晚上, 美國的公共電視台 (PBS) 連接著播出了由珍奧斯汀的小說所改編的電視劇--Emma, Northanger Abbey 及 Persuasion。 這三部小說雖然沒有比傲慢與偏見 有名, 可是劇情提材出自於珍奧斯汀, 因此可看度很高。 尤其是對從小就很崇拜珍奧斯汀的我來講, 能看到珍奧斯汀的人物顯現在電視的螢光幕上,這真是一件很開心的事。 當然每個珍奧斯汀的男主人翁都酷和帥到不行! 大家有機會可以上網去投票給妳最心儀的珍奧斯汀男主角! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html 。