There are a great many things that my mother introduced to me for which I am daily thankful. Many are more life changing that others. One thing my mother introduced to me was the wonderful world of Jane Austen. Austen had the ability to create both lovable characters and the utterly ridiculous. She was able to paint an accurate description of the society of the day while mocking it at the same time.
Today I was watching an adaptation of her classic book Pride and Prejudice (which my father refers to as "a bonnet movie"). While I watched it I grew more and more thankful for the time period in which I was born. I watched as poor Elizabeth and Jane wondered around their estate for days on end simply living to make a "good match"...meaning a husband who could support them. I cannot imagine myself wondering around my house embroidering (which I tried to do once and HATED it immensely), playing the piano, trying to maintain good skin complexion, and all the while wait for a husband to come and ask for my hand. How thankful I am to be a 21st century woman who can work, go out into society "unescorted", and be able to choose a husband not based on his yearly income, but on his love for me.
I love escaping into the world of books, but in this case, I am always thankful to be living in the here and now.
Amy I love reading your blog. Weird but I just finished watching the movie Pride and Prejudice as well. I couldn't agree with you more about their society... parts of it are quite lovely but so much of it would have been crazy to be apart of.
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