Father's Day

Sunday was Father's Day. And we didn't post anything on this blog about it. (guilty look) Come to think of it, we didn't post anything about Mother's Day, either...(double guilty look)

The Monday after Father's Day, I was sitting in the dark of church (tangent: there's nothing like sitting in a dark church; peace and serenity envelop you, and you can't help but think, in the words of Julian of Norwich that "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well" end tangent). On a whim, I picked up a letter my dad wrote to me for my eighteenth birthday, that serves as my bookmark in the birthday gift he gave me. The beautiful thing about a beauty is that you always discover new beauties within that beauty each time you encounter said beauty. That's how I felt as I read my father's writing. My dad's wisdom and intelligence were evident to me when I first read the letter on my birthday. But, sitting in the calm of God's house, I was struck by the all the love that the letter contained. And all the love that the writer had for me. A father's love is something I don't understand as easily as a mother's love. (That's probably something to do with my geneder...) But it's a mystery that fascinates me. The strength, the quiet power, and the depth of a father's love astounds me.

"For stern as death is love,
relentless as the nether world is devotion;
its flames are a blazing fire.
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away." (Song of Songs, 8:6-7)

One of Lizzie Bennett's many admirable points (oh-ho-ho, you thought you were going to escape this post without a Jane Austen reference? Think again, my friend.)is her rock solid relationship with her father. Mr. Bennett loves Lizzie to pieces, and he supports her in her endeavors to be a proper young lady in a house full of twittery young flibberty-gibbets. Mr. Bennett has passed onto Lizzie his sense and intelligence. And he's her protector. He's totally got her back. Look at the way he backs her up on her refusal of Mr. Collins, because he has her ultimate happiness in mind.


Fathers are one of those absolutely wicked awesome gifts we majorly do not deserve, but because God's a really nice guy (understatement), He gives them to us anyway. There's something incredibly beautiful, mysterious, and awe-inspiring about the realtionship between a father and a daughter. At the Femininity Summit Prelim. Meeting, we discussed father-daughter relationships, and we agreed that the greatest gift our fathers have given us is the knowledge that we matter to them. Knowing that your father sees you as his beautiful young lady is balm for the soul.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

From the Random Bucket...

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Jane Austen

I was going through my old scripts the other day (because I was in a pensive mood-and I do that sort of thing when I'm in a pensive mood), and I found these little thoughts written in, around, and all over the pages and covers of my Pride and Prejudice Script. I haven't read these since May, but I think they merit a re-visiting...

Without further ado:

• Opposites attract, but they must learn to meet in the middle. (E.g., Lizzie and Darcy: Darcy is her soulmate, because they both need each other- he starts out cold & proud, Lizzie starts out immature-his coldness is melted by my "fine eyes", representing my character, which is on par, and every bit as strong as his. My immaturity (manifest in my rash judgement) is tempered by him. I grow up, he loosens up. I am searching for a soulmate- I refuse to settle for less. My character is attracted to Darcy's character-only when I discover his character to be good and true.)



• Prejudice comes from my [Elizabeth's] fierce loyalty-almost the same reasons as Darcy's failings. E.g. Miss Bingley is an obvious snob. Therefore, [Miss Bingley's]warning [about Wickham] (a true, good warning,) is disregarded because it comes from her lips. This is prejudice, because why should she not be correct, although she is a snob? But, how else is one to judge someone and their actions, and words than by one's previous knowledge of them?
  
  
• PRIDE--Choosing not to love out of fear. Out of fear of being rejected, of not being loved back.
  
  
• Just love! "A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
  
  
• To love was why woman was created. [Ed. Note: This was written in reference to Genesis, and how Eve was created to be a companion for Adam. Adam was told to "fill the earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1: 28), but Eve was made for Adam, because Adam was lonely. God said "It is not good for the man to be alone." (Genesis 2:18) So, what did He do? He made a companion for Adam; and since He's God, obviously He's going to give Adam the perfect companion. That perfect companion was Woman. How sweet/adorable/romantic/lovely/beautiful/mind-boggling/earth-shattering/"inconceivable!" is that? Honestly, I think that's just the best thing ever.]
  
  
• Strong characters are attracted by character, not [exterior] beauty. Eyes express strength of character-windows to the soul.
  
  
• People project what they are onto other people.
  
  
• Obstinancy is his [Darcy's] true failing-perhaps like mine[Lizzie's].
  
  
• I pride myself on being the opposite of Jane (she sees only good in others at all costs), but I pride myself on seeing all and having no qualms about criticizing it.[Ed. Note--Can I say I find it simply fascinating, delightful, delicious, and quintessentially ironic that Lizzie's real fault is pride! Truly, it is: Lizzie is a clever, intuitive girl-the cleverest and most intuitive in her circle of aquaintance. Therefore, there's a little, wee bit of pride-the knowledge that she is better than everyone else. She prides herself on her ability to read character, and her good judgment. She's spiritually on an entirely different plane than everyone else in her family and her friends, and she's fallen into the trap of pride-the mistake of thinking herself "a cut above the company," as a wise, dashing young gentleman once said. But by the end of the story, Lizzie is a much humbler character. She's still witty, clever, and vivacious; but she has learned wisdom and humility.]
  
  
• Lizzie's attraction to Wickham is a vital ( i.e., physical) attraction. Physical attraction is blind-it sees only one side of the person-the side that the person wants you to see, or the side that you wish to see.
  
  
• Lizzie feels a respect that can lead to love-one must have respect-gratitude. Lizzie does not love Darcy as yet; but then her physical and vital attraction is awakened by Pemberly. I see a beauty & splendor of Darcy's that can rival Wickham's glamour. Only when Darcy's character was proved good did his wealth become attractive."If gratitude and esteem are good foundations of affection, Elizabeth's change of sentiment will be niether improbable nor faulty." --P&P Chapter 46
  
  
• "Never had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him, as now, when all love must be vain." ---P&P Chapter 46
  
  
• "She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man, who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her."---P&P Chapter 50
  
  
  So there you are. I love this story-it is arguably the greatest love story of modern English literature. Jane Austen wrote a masterpiece, and it never ceases to amaze me how much richness and beauty and Truth is contained within the pages of her book. P&P is one of the rare works that is a 'classic' in the full sense of the word-it's themes are universal, undying, and are at the heart of all our stories.
  
  

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."---C. S. Lewis