The After Party

Every young girl knows that a dance is split up into three parts. 1) Prep: Getting ready with hair + makeup. 2) The Dance itself. And 3) The After Party. Now I’m not talking about an “after party, after party”, but when its over you hang with your girlfriends and hash over the whole events.

It was just as true 203 years ago as it is today. Yep in Pride and Prejudice after the ball, the girls do what every young girl after a dance does, DISCUSS IT!

So everyone finds the ball a complete success.

Finally something GOOD!

Jane danced with Mr. Bingley twice! Not once but TWICE!!!

If you remember from my earlier post, First Impressions, I discussed how dancing showed you were open to getting married. The women you danced with, showed your interest in them. By dancing with Jane, Mr. Bingley declared to the world that he was most def interested in pursuing Jane. Kind of the equivalent of:

Mary was called one of the most accomplished ladies from the neighborhood.

Now if you remember from my post Parental Favoritism and Just Can’t Get a Break Mary always gets the short end of the stick.

So finally, she is able to get a good word and be appreciated for talents. This is steering her away from having a breakdown and trying to destroy her village. Not everyone is that lucky to be complimented on their talents.

Exhibit A: The Phantom of the Opera

Exhibit B: Queen of Outer Space

Now Kitty never was without a partner. And what 15-year old isn’t pleased with that. Heck, who doesn’t love knowing that they are hot and in demand.

The same goes for Lydia. No wallflower here. Although with Lydia she doesn’t just think she is hot, she thinks she is the best of the best.

And that leaves us with Elizabeth.

Yep poor, poor, Lizzie.

Yeah she didn’t have the best of the night. Yeah Darcy did a real number on her pride. But Lizzie like all great sisters, puts aside her feelings and is all about being happy for Jane.

Besides, Elizabeth knows like any other girl who has had a bad time at a dance. There will be plenty more.

And you may meet a special someone:

Or just have an amazing time with your friends:

Yep, nothing to stress over. Just have fun!

For more on Pride and Prejudice, go to Oh NO YOU DIDN’T!

For more on Elizabeth Bennet, go to First Impressions

For more on Jane Bennet, go to Parental Favoritism

For more on Mary Bennet, go to Just Can’t Get a Break

For more on Kitty Bennet, go to Flu Season

For more on Lydia Bennet, go to Food, Food, Food!

For more of my favorite songs, go to The Animal I Have Become

In other news this marks my 400th post! That’s quite a lot. I can’t believe I’ve been able to accomplish that many. Yay Me! And Yay all of you who read this blog!

 

For post 300, go to That’s What You Get

First Impressions

So let’s talk about Mr. Darcy’s first meeting. He made several mistakes.

Yes, you did. You made a ton of blunders that really led to you demise in the public’s eye.

So we see that when Darcy is first introduced as being one hot guy.

“Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mein, and…having ten thousand a year…the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration…”

That is until he showed how prideful he is

“[Mr. Darcy] was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could save him…”

1. Not Dancing

Now I am not big on dancing, I’m like William H. Macy in Wild Hogs

But to people in Regency era dancing was an important thing. As a woman to be dancing it spoke of your beauty and possibility of marriage. Therefore Darcy giving a huge slight on the town  and the women as he danced with no one. It was like saying no one there was good enough for him.

It also told everyone that they had no chance at all at gaining his heart as

“To be found of dancing was a certain step toward falling in love…”

Not good Mr. Darcy, not good at all.

Ouch

But in his defense he only knows a few people, and it can be hard to dance in front of strangers, especially if you are dancing with a stranger.

“You know how I detest it [dancing], unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner.”

I know I couldn’t do it. Mr. Bingley tries to introduce him to people, but Darcy just shuts him down. True it sounds rude, but I believe that Darcy is just socially awkward.

2. Pride

Yep, Darcy comes off as a regular tool, the way he acts above everybody else.

“he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased…”

He only dances two dances, one with Mrs. Hurst (Bingley’s sister) and Miss Caroline Bingley. He also only talked to the people within his party, declining to be introduced to anyone else.

“His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped he would never come there again.”

Good riddance

However, I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. It can be hard when you are in a new area. Sometimes you can come off being ruder than you mean to be.

I used to be like that a lot. People would tell me they thought I was a snob before, and glad that they were mistaken. I never realized that my self-consciousness was giving off that kind of vibe. In fact I feel bad for Darcy, as for him it was the same way. He never realizes the way he may portray himself or the attitude he gives off until Elizabeth tells him.

3. Slighting Elizabeth

Ooooh Darcy, this is where you really dig yourself into a hole.

“She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

Ouch

Sorry Darcy, I have nothing to say to defend you. You said such a cruel thing and she tells her friend and family. Her mother spreads the story around and Darcy, you’re coffin is sealed.

Good riddance

 

So this clearly shows that we need to watch our actions and how we present ourselves to people. First impressions last a long time and take forever to overcome.

Also that even though Darcy is hot and rich, its personality that will always win over as everyone was willing to forget trying to win his heart, once they felt his personality was a huge zero.

Yep personality will always win out:

And it’s a good thing for us that Darcy has a beautiful soul to go with his body. It just takes a bit of time for us and Elizabeth to see it.

For more on Mr. Darcy, go to It’s All Jane Austen’s Fault

For more on Pride and Prejudice, go to Just Can’t Get a Break

For more on Elizabeth Bennet, go to How to Catch a Man

For more on first impressions, go to Happy Birthday Pride & Prejudice

For more on Regency Era, go to Definitely Not Mr. Darcy

For more on tall, dark, and handsome men; go to Gone Forever

For more on Maya Angelou, go to A Woman’s Heart

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Food, Food, Food!

For more on Wild Hogs, go to Part VIII: The Little Movie Lines List

For more on George of the Jungle, go to Episode VI: Return of the Favorite Movie Lines’ List

Red Rubber Ball

So I couldn’t find a quote that was all about being okay and having moved on. All the ones I could find this weekl were sad so I pulled one from a previous song, Gone Forever, by Three Days Grace. Yep, this is another song in the “Getting Over a Heartbreak List”:

19) Red Rubber Ball by The Cyrkle

I really like this song, although the opening chords always make me think of the theme song from Friends. It was written in 1966 and made #2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was written by Paul Simon and Bruce Woodley. Simon offered it to The Cyrkle and the rest is history.

It has been covered by numerous bands, such as; Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, Eggchair, The Diodes, Streetlight Manifesto, Cilla Black, Del Shannon, and Mel Torme. But I think The Cyrkles are the  best.

So the song is about a guy who’s heart was broken. As he looks back at everything, he is doing great. He is moving on with his life, focusing on himself, and doing so much better without that person in his life. It’s like a combination of But It’s Alright and  Move Along.

I should have known you’d bid me farewell There’s a lesson to be learned from this and I learned it very well Now, I know you’re not the only starfish in the sea If I never hear your name again, it’s all the same to me

And I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

You never care for secrets I confide For you, I’m just an ornament, somethin’ for your pride Always runnin’, never carin’, that’s the life you live Stolen minutes of your time were all you had to give

And I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

The story’s in the past with nothin’ to recall I’ve got my life to live and I don’t need you at all The roller-coaster ride we took is nearly at an end I bought my ticket with my tears, that’s all I’m gonna spend And I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

Oh, I think it’s gonna be alright Yeah, the worst is over now The mornin’ sun is shinin’ like a red rubber ball

After all:

To start the “Getting Over a Heartbreak Series” from the beginning, go to If It Means a Lot to You

To go to the previous post, go to Up and Up

For more of my favorite songs, go to Move Along

For more of my favorite quotes, go to Since U Been Gone

For more on Three Days Grace, go to Gone Forever

For more on Meg Cabot, go to Would You Like a Pizza My Heart?

For more on Streetlight Manifesto, go to The End

How to Catch a Man

Hey if it worked for her it should work for me right? And to be honest I just can’t help it, after all we are too much alike.

Go here to see who you are.

But you know what? Being an Elizabeth Bennet isn’t so bad. After all:

So you see, being Elizabeth is the perfect way to go. 🙂

For more on Pride and Prejudice, go to Mr. Darcy is a Charmer

For more tips on how to catch a man, go to How to Catch Mr. Darcy

For more on Elizabeth Bennet, go to The Real Revolutionary

For more on quizzes, go to Girl on Fire

On the 12th Day ’til Christmas: The 12 Men of Christmas (2009)

On the 12 Day ’til Christmas my blogger gave to me

The 12 Men of Christmas (2009)

Now this is a film that is very pleasing to any woman out there. E.J. Baxter is a genius New York publicist that after being betrayed by her fiance, leaves that life to move out to Montana. When she gets there she clashes heads with good-looking bad boy, Will Albrecht. She hears the plight of the volunteer search-and-rescue team, as their lack of funds are causing them to use out-of-date equipment. E.J. comes up with the idea of creating a “naked” calendar (nothing is shown but bare chest) to raise the money.

The calendar is a success and both Will and E.J. realize that there is more to each other than meets the eye and they fall in love. After some misunderstandings the two break up, and E.J. returns to the big apple.  When she gets there, she realizes how dissatisfied she is and goes back reuniting with Will; the end!

However, when I was watching it I realized that a lot of the storyline was just like Pride and Prejudice

1) Their Names

• Their names are
• (Main Guy) Will = Fitzwilliam Darcy
• (Main Girl) E.J. = Elizabeth Jane
• (Main Girl’s BFF) Jan:  Jane -E = Jan

2) Comment Trama

• Will Albrecht says something to E.J. and it causes them to hate each other. Just like how Darcy makes that comment about Elizabeth. In this film Will was the one who was prejudiced while E.J. was the one who was prideful.

3) Water Scene

• They also do a water scene [copying Pride & Prejudice (1995)]. E.J. visits a fancy manor house and happens across Will who is swimming in the pool. Of course this scene is taken much further than P&P. In this version Will is in his birthday suit, but because it is on TV, we don’t see anything.

4) Wickham Surfaces

• E.J. starts dating this guy Mike who hates Will. He tells her that Will is a horrible guy as he dumped his fianceé on their wedding night, leaving her stranded at the altar. He also goes on about there was this perfect modeling job that Will had for his store, but Will kept Mike from getting it because he was jealous of him. This is just like when Wickham goes on and on about Darcy being awful and taking away his inheritance and chance to become a minister.

5) Persuasive Person

• E.J.’s friend, Jan, has been in love with Will’s best friend Eric forever and has been waiting ever patiently for him to ask her out. He is about to, but Will convinces Eric that Jan doesn’t really care for him. Eric listens to his friend and drops all of his attentions to Jan, completely breaking her heart. Just like Bingley was easily swayed by Darcy; Eric is swayed by Will.

6) Terrible Proposal

• One random day Will decides to go to E.J’s office and tells her that even though he fought it and is disgusted with himself, he is in love with her. He goes on and on about how displeased he is, just like Darcy does to Elizabeth when he asked her to marry him. And just like Elizabeth Bennet, E.J. turns him down cold; claiming that he was the last person in the world she would ever get with.

7) Disgrace Be Gone

• So the calendar is going well and they have finished the first 11 months and ready to start on the 12th when the last guy drops out. They can’t find anyone to replace him and don’t know what to do when Will steps forward and fills in their empty slot. Not only does Will save the day, but E.J. realizes that she loves Will. Just like when Darcy saved Elizabeth’s family from disgrace over the Lydia scenario, E.J. too was saved from disgrace.

8) Miss King-ed Out of My Mind

• Mike stops paying attention to E.J., eventually breaking up with her. This is fine as she realizes Will is the one she wants to be with. Later we find out that just like Wickham tried to go higher than the Bennets by attempting to get with Miss King, Mike traded up. He gets with a rich, recently divorced woman. Unlike Wickham, he ends up with her.

9) Wickham’s Wicked Reveal

• At the end we find out that Will wouldn’t give Mike the job because he stole his fiancee. His fianceé cheated on him with Mike, and left Will stranded at the altar, not the other way around. Just like in P&P as we find out that the lies spread about by Wickham to the whole town are untrue, we find out the lie spread by Mike about Will dumping his fiancé is also false.

10) Reunited Couples

• In the end Jan and Eric have finally gotten together; along with Will and E.J. working through their pride and prejudices. Just like P&P, we have a very happy ending.

It’s a great film and you should watch it. You definitely should check out the calendar. Mr. May is my favorite, I’d keep him up all year long.

If you’re wondering Mr. December, as I said earlier, is Will and  Mr. July is the very uncute Mike (I don’t see how anyone would find him attractive).

I think it is a great movie and I highly recommend you watching it! To find out when it will be playing on Lifetime go here.

 

For more modern works based on Pride and Prejudice, go to Definitely Not Mr. Darcy

For more Pride & Prejudice posts go to Let’s Hear it For the Boys

For more of my fav quotes, go to It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year