Pride and Prejudice: A Tweet Story in 2009
Imagine how Jane Austen would feel to live in a 140 character world where briefs are king and too many words are instantly tuned out. I think she’d still find a way to poke fun and satirize our techy times. But, oh, what a difference in how. Do you think some of her most famous quotes would now look like this?
It is well known, though unwritten law that a single man in possession of a Fortune 500 company must be in want of a tax deduction.
Mrs. Bennett’s business was to get her daughters married, or failing that, placed on a reality show.
Mr. Darcy didn’t IM or Text or Twitter. It was rumored he denied everyone on Facebook, set his MySpace to private and had a restraining order against the paparazzi.
“Liz is okay,” he admitted in a chat room, “but not really tempting. I am not about to friend her just to add to her MySpace count when she has so few friends to begin with.”
Lizzie texted his comments to her friend Charlotte and added, “I could easily forget his insult if he hadn’t posted it on YouTube too.”
“Don’t rule him out,” Charlotte IM’d back.. “Marriage is like Lotto, you are better gambling on what you don’t know than settling with what you do.”
“It is your turn to talk now, Mr. Darcy,” Ms. Bennett said at their next meeting. “I talked about the weather and you should now make some comment about the latest celebrity scandal or who will win Survivor.”
It’s just not the same is it?
I could go on, but I hear the echo of Lady Catherine voice in protest, “Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?” (Actual quote from Pride and Prejudice)
I write historical fiction to celebrate a different time and world. How else could I travel to meet such wonderful characters? I cannot write like Jane, but, as you can see when comparing the original to the parody, no one should even try.
In my stories I hope that you will find faith, humor and maybe a hint of all the influences like Jane Austen that have been inspirations for my writing journey. For like Jane, I write to poke fun too, though at a different target. One that needs satirized most.
(With apologies to Austen for yet another mangled phrase) “For what do we live, but to make sport for our memories, and laugh at ourselves in perpetuity?”
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Take God seriously, but yourself not so much so. Thank you for letting me visit, TAL! Sincerely, Teryl Cartwright
P.S. As a special bonus, here’s an excerpt from my current book, A Sensible Match, about the unwilling victims of matchmaking and the question of whether we choose destiny or it chooses us.
An excerpt of A Sensible Match:
“Well?” Constance tapped her toe impatiently, awaiting Abby’s response.
“I am sure I must see him soon enough. I need not appear eager for I am not.” Abby’s heart raced; she wished she could just go home.
What must everyone be thinking? Were they watching her, too?
Constance moved to put her arm around Abby’s shoulder. “Truly I sympathize with you, sister, though I don’t understand.”
“You would not wish to marry against your will,” Abby explained. She really didn’t want to meet this man and resented her parents for insisting upon it.
“But if you don’t marry, I may have to wait!” Constance whined. “It doesn’t seem fair to do that to me. Now, does it?”
“Fair…what is fair?” Abby kept her voice low. “Should I marry to please you, Mama, Papa, his family, him…all but myself?” She ended up sputtering rebelliously.
“Isn’t it a Christian duty to forget the self? Besides, from what I can see of him, he looks a man of fine mettle.” Constance smiled provocatively. She kept stealing glances across the room to see the newcomers more clearly.
“Fine mettle.” Abby looked over her shoulder. She saw the top of his head with some difficulty for many people had moved to greet him.
“Look how he enters a room and makes it his own. Oh, how I hate how everyone crowds around him. How well pleased he must be with all the attention.”
She watched him move and talk. His smile was charming and his looks handsome… not at all what she had expected. Surprisingly, he did not look sickly; he looked very fit and well dressed for a country assembly.
He looked fine, but Abby told herself that Christian character remained more important above all. She would not be fooled by looks; she knew what he thought of her.
“His is the gift of a silver tongue and a smile that speaks as well,” Constance observed. She almost looked envious of her staid older sister and continued lightly tapping her fan against her arm as if preoccupied.
“Mettle indeed…fine metal. I’d rather he have a heart of gold than quicksilver wit or…or iron will.” Abby was not impressed by him or his winning ways.
“Perhaps he has lead feet as well. That would indeed be tragic if you must dance with him,” Constance teased. “Fine metal, Abby, just for you.”
Abby became envious of the ease with which he graced the dance. This man looked as if he had the gift of social graces. He seemed so eloquent that surely he could have his choice of bride. So why was he not already engaged? What was wrong with him?
Visit Teryl on the web at
http://www.terylcartwright.com/
Available at
Amazon.com and
Barnes and NobleAbby’s parents want her to marry a man she’s never met. But how can Abby marry someone who’s secretly insulted her? The only solution is to make sure he doesn’t propose. After all, Abby knows that the only sensible match is a love match
Read excerpt
