當莉茲沒遇上達西 Miss Austen Regrets

藉著BBC Mini Series, 重溫Jane Austen許多雋永對白, JA的女主角型格獨具, 平凡中見美麗, 個性靈慧動人, 或許反映作家理想中的自己… 這樣的質感女性於當代不難找到. 對男主角卻要求嚴苛, 無論是Pride&Prejudice的Mr. Darcy, Emma的Mr. Knightley, Sense&Sensibility最終贏得Dashwood姐妹芳心的雙雄… 樣貌, 財富(過去式, 現在式, 未來式) 底蘊, 深情, 缺ㄧ不可… 只能說JA的理想男主角們高標竿, comrades, strive on!


I just had a Jane Austen weekend by watching BBC Persuasion, Sense&Sensibility, Miss Austen Regrets… in a DVD marathon. The least romantic of all(although still with a wedding in the end), Miss Austen Regrets was my favorite with witty and satirical lines
that reflected both the character of Jane Austen and her memorable characters. Some rather piercing… bedridden with illness, Jane still tried to comfort her elder sister and defended her own marital decision by saying 'I chose freedom'. The freedom that she came close to was perhaps in creativity… Jane Austen never quite achieved financial freedom in her time. Longing for fortune and a sense of security remained a strong force behind her characters.

Be able to write from one's heart truly is the freedom of will, dear Jane Austen not only liberated herself, she liberated all her readers.


Miss Austen Regrets的劇情敘述JA生命的尾聲, 透過JA與姪女Fanny亦友亦愛情顧問的軼事, 檢視自己的心情. Olivia Williams飾演的JA倔強幽默諷刺, 懷抱溫情的同時別具蠢動的熱情, 誠然是位變調的莉茲. 大抵愛情和婚姻生活會把人磨得圓潤, 如果莉茲沒遇上達西, 她的聰明經時間拋光, 想必會愈來愈尖銳. 雖然Miss Austen Regrets些許片段現實得讓人心碎, 由這個角度窺探Jane Austen, 自然, 真摯, 餘韻嬝嬝… 曾經看過另ㄧ部描述Jane Austen, 由Anne Hathaway和James McAvoy擔綱的Becoming Jane, 經典才子佳人(才女帥哥?)的浪漫架構, 整部片美麗如畫, 卻沒能留下什麼印象.

Each novel, each story, the joy of reading… we are lucky to bottle so many hearts as the page turns.


死黨Dr. C有次夢見她和我在巴黎街頭閒逛(她夢中的我在巴黎學畫, 還抽煙?!) 氛圍美好愜意, 醒來看見身旁酣睡的丈夫, 突覺單身的自由ㄧ去不返, 大哭起來… 我也曾數度午夜夢迴, 乍醒驚疑什麼時候我已是人妻人母, 任重道遠? 倒不見得是後悔, 全然沒有問號的旅程, 相對來說, 否決人生的無窮可能性吧?

An old shot from my previous life in San Francisco - a cup of latte and a couple homemade madeleines are the perfect companions to reading Jane Austen.

Since I am in the tropics now, a pot of freshly brewed rose tea and rice vermicelli spring rolls will do, too :)