Lizzy C. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not to be nit-picky, but it's very unlikely that
> any of the Bennet girls would play such a
> fashionable and expensive instrument as the harp.
> And if I'm remembering the lecture I heard in
> Williamsburg, VA correctly, it was considered very
> indelicate for a lady to play the violin. The
> angle of the elbow was considered distinctly
> unattractive. Likewise, woodwinds and brass were
> right out due to the puffed cheeks.
Interesting! So, the instrument you played had to do with the amount of money your family had? One wonders if it was strictly the girl's playing or the indication of wealth that suitors would find attractive. Would a poor girl playing the harp sound as sweet? (Please do not rush to tell me that was NOT the reason Edmund Bertram was seduced by Maria Crawford's harp-playing. I will cede the point in that case.)
Digression of sorts: The Bennet family had two daughters who played piano and maybe Charlotte played, too? I am never quite sure from the text, although the 2005 movie assumes it was Charlotte to whom Lady Catherine referred with her ill-natured remark that one was welcomed to practice the servants' quarter in order to be out of the way. Though, if Charlotte could play, why was it Elizabeth who was the only one who played during the evenings at Rosings? The implication that Lady C meant Charlotte could practice may be something else the 2005 movie got wrong.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not to be nit-picky, but it's very unlikely that
> any of the Bennet girls would play such a
> fashionable and expensive instrument as the harp.
> And if I'm remembering the lecture I heard in
> Williamsburg, VA correctly, it was considered very
> indelicate for a lady to play the violin. The
> angle of the elbow was considered distinctly
> unattractive. Likewise, woodwinds and brass were
> right out due to the puffed cheeks.
Interesting! So, the instrument you played had to do with the amount of money your family had? One wonders if it was strictly the girl's playing or the indication of wealth that suitors would find attractive. Would a poor girl playing the harp sound as sweet? (Please do not rush to tell me that was NOT the reason Edmund Bertram was seduced by Maria Crawford's harp-playing. I will cede the point in that case.)
Digression of sorts: The Bennet family had two daughters who played piano and maybe Charlotte played, too? I am never quite sure from the text, although the 2005 movie assumes it was Charlotte to whom Lady Catherine referred with her ill-natured remark that one was welcomed to practice the servants' quarter in order to be out of the way. Though, if Charlotte could play, why was it Elizabeth who was the only one who played during the evenings at Rosings? The implication that Lady C meant Charlotte could practice may be something else the 2005 movie got wrong.