Sunday 16 December 2012

JANE AUSTEN SOIREE - A CELEBRATION OF JANE AUSTEN'S BIRTHDAY - GIVEAWAY HOP


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE!

Thanks to all the Janeites who will drop by and decide to celebrate Jane Austen's birthday with us. It is a very special day, one in which I feel we must express our gratitude to our beloved best favourite author and spread the love for her and her work.
This event, The Jane Austen Soirée is a simple hop,  linking  a few blogs, the ones you find listed below,  in the effort to celebrate Jane's talent and wit. 
The Austenite bloggers involved are posting their favourite page from their favourite Austen novel and readers will have the chance to win some gorgeous Austen gifts in several giveaway contests.
After taking your chances in the rafflecopter form at the end of this post, check out all the blogs taking part in the event. Good luck and Happy Jane Austen Soirée, everyone!

Here's my favourite page
EMMA & MR KNIGHTLEY



You will not ask me what is the point of envy.--You are determined, I see, to have no curiosity.--You are wise--but _I_ cannot be wise. Emma, I must tell you what you will not ask, though I may wish it unsaid the next moment." (…)




"As a friend!"--repeated Mr. Knightley.--"Emma, that I fear is a word--No, I have no wish--Stay, yes, why should I hesitate?—I have gone too far already for concealment.--Emma, I accept your offer--Extraordinary as it may seem, I accept it, and refer myself to you as a friend.--Tell me, then, have I no chance of ever succeeding?" 

He stopped in his earnestness to look the question, and the expression of his eyes overpowered her.
"My dearest Emma," said he, "for dearest you will always be, whatever the event of this hour's conversation, 

my dearest, most beloved Emma--tell me at once. Say 'No,' if it is to be said."--She could really say nothing.

"You are silent," he cried, with great animation; "absolutely silent! at present I ask no more."

(…) 
"I cannot make speeches, Emma:" he soon resumed; and in a tone of such sincere, decided, intelligible tenderness as was tolerably convincing.--"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am.--You hear nothing but truth from me.—I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it.--Bear with the truths I would tell you now, dearest Emma, as well as you have borne with them. The

manner, perhaps, may have as little to recommend them. God knows, I have been a very indifferent lover.--But you understand me.--Yes, you see, you understand my feelings--and will return them if you can. At present, I ask only to hear, once to hear your voice." (chapter 49 pp.370-373)

I find this is the most tender, the most romantic, the most touching love declaration we find in Jane Austen's work. Captain Wentworth's letter is incredibly sentimental for being in one of Jane's novels, but the fact that it is a letter and those words are not spoken face to face make it a bit less gripping to me than those in this tete-a-tete moment between Emma and Knightley. What is your favourite page from one of Jane's novel? Share it with us in your comment!

THE GIVEAWAY PRESENTS


Miss Lucy Steele - Jane Austen Tea Series


Kindle E-book offered by My Jane Austen Book Club

Two presents for one winner. The contest is open internationally. Fill in the rafflecopter form below and good luck. Deadline 18 December.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to visit all these lovely blogs (Warning: some of the blogs listed below may not have posted their best wishes blogpost because it is not yet 16 December when I post this. So, be patient and try again later).

56 comments:

AO said...

hi Maria! mine would be Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney's walk Austen Soirée - a walk with Catherine & Henry, &tc. and i'm writing from SouthEast Asia!

Jo's Daughter said...

Love his declaration too, but I think that Darcy's : "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" = even after all these years still my favorite. I remeber memorising it as a teenager & I still swoon when reading it or hearing it in the movie :D

Jo's Daughter said...

Oops I forgot, I'm from Holland.

ColleenL said...

Favorite scene I think is Darcy renewing his proposal during their walk at the end of P&P.

Thanks for the sweet giveaway chance.

redrose15 said...

Definitely hands down, my favourite scene is when Darcy visits Elizabeth to the parsonage when she is by herself and he says

"Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said, "You cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment. You cannot have been always at Longbourn."

Jane Austen. Pride & Prejudice (p. 92). Amazon Digital Services, Inc."

For some reason I absolutely love this scene :)

El Sitio de Jane said...

Dear Maria, could you correct our link in El Salón de Té?

It is: http://janeausten.mforos.com/1328150/11057638-austen-soiree-2013/

maria said...

Beautiful giveaway as usual :) thank you for the chance!

maria said...

Ops sorry! I'm from Italy and my favorite scene is Mr Darcy's proposal at Mr Collins' house.

Vava, A country dreaming mum said...

This is on of my favourite scenes too, as I wrote in my post, but my choice is another. Thanks for this beatiful event MG, in the afternoon I'll go and check all other contributions.

Monica said...

I love Persuasion and the scene of Capt. Wentworth overhearing Anne talking with his friend and writing his letter to her, but the scene you have chosen is also beautiful and you are right, most tender, face to face. It was a pleasure reading it again today on Jane's Birthday.

KM said...

Elisabet speaking with her father at the end of Pride and Prejudice. Her father says:"If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy".

I´m from Finland.

cmgren said...

Any scene with Darcy is my favorite.

Bess Gilmartin said...

I don't know about picking a favorite, but the scene where Mr. Collins proposes to Lizzie makes me laugh (and cringe) every time.

Hetty said...

Hi,

I'm from The Netherlands. I've read all the books more times, en have seen the films more than once! Every time when I read a book, or see a film, I see new things. I can see that Jane Austen take her time to write the books carefully. I love them all, and every scene!!! I can not choose ;)
But every time when I read Pride & Prejudice I am relieved that the end is successfully.

anja caspers said...

Hi

I`m from the netherlands and my
favorite scene is from P&P 2005.
When Darcy proposes Lizzie a second time,when the sun is rising.
I find that beautiful.

Greetings

Anja

Giada M. said...

It is beautiful! My favourite, however, remains Capt. Wentworth's letter to Anne. Thank you for sharing and for the great giveaway! :D

I'm from Italy.

Giada M.

Denise said...

Wonderful fun! I'm joining in on it.

Denise said...

Oh sorry,I just realized there's more to do :) I'm from The US and I also like the one you choose :)

Unknown said...

My favorite is Captain Wentworth's letter to Anne from Persuasion. I tear up everytime I read it. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!

Kendal
Oklahoma

lucaseth said...

I would agree with you...while I love Capt Wentworths letter...Mr Knightley actually laid his heart open to Emma face to face....how difficult that is to do...

Stephanie
USA

Unknown said...

I'm a sucker for Darcy's renewed proposal speech at the end of P&P!

Nicole, writing from Canada

Rebecca said...

Rebecca from Canada joining you today. Love, love, love Wentworth's letter in Persuasion. :)

Carla said...

Persuasion is my favorite book and Captain Wentworth's letter is one of my favorite moments. It was the one I chose for my post. :)

Thanks for the great giveaway.
I'm in Portugal!

Veronica said...

This is a tender scene, and one I like very much as declarations go. Such a joy to participate in the Soiree.

Veronica
USA

Lúthien84 said...

Captain Wentworth's letter in which he bares his soul to Anne is my favourite page. I'm from Malaysia.

rosecryst said...

Happy Birth~day Jane! 237 looks lovely on You!! I so enjoyed visiting your home in Chawton and having tea :) Each of Jane’s works hold their own special charm for me… Persuasion holds a special place ~ upon re-meeting, and the touch of their gloved hands, the way Anne slowly comes back to life, to unfurl, to bloom…as does Captain Wentworth… inspired Birthday Tea today to celebrate!
*TY Maria*
Christinarose
writing from Colorado USA

Clair Humphries said...

I've always loved Emma, despite her failings! Great extract - thanks for that.

ibmiller said...

I think, since Emma is my favorite Jane Austen novel, that the page you picked is probably my favorite as well - there's an intensity of feeling and a purity of intention that resonates really powerfully with me.

Though I also love, for sweetness and humor, the bit from Pride and Prejudice where Jane tries to make Wickham and Darcy both good.

ibmiller said...

Forgot to mention: posting from Virginia, USA.

aurora said...

My favorite scene is Mr Darcy's proposal at Mr Collins' house as well as Emma's conversations with Mr. Knightley.
I am fom Zagreb, Croatia.
I wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Vesper said...

Love the first Darcy proposal in Pride and Prejudice

I'm from Canada

meikleblog at gmail dot com

Ana Death Duarte said...

Darcy's declaration: "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" for sure!

I'm from Brazil

Thanks for the giveaway ^^

Danielle said...

I love Persuasion and I love the letter but I think the best moment was when Captain Wentworth put Anne in the carriage. You could see that no matter how upset he still was he still put her best interest above it.

Thanks for the giveaway!


Danielle
drcopeland(at)hotmail(dot)com

Sharon Lathan said...

Thank you for hosting this party, Maria. Jane deserves a party to end all parties!

Anonymous said...

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you".Mr. Darcy telling Lizzie about his feelings.

I`m from Pernambuco,Brazil

Danielle said...

I would have to say the moment when Captain Wentworth put Anne in the carriage in Persuasion. It showed that even though he was still upset that he still loved her and would put her best interests first.

Danielle
drcopeland(at)hotmail(dot)com

Helen said...

Mr Darcys second proposal! What courage!

Helen from Australia!

helen at hancock dot id dot au

Colette said...

Ahhhhhhhh....love this scene from Emma (my second favourite Austen).
I'm not a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, though, so I wish that that version would have had Kate Beckisale but kept the rest of the cast.

Poof...books! said...

I am a sucker for my Jane and I celebrate her everyday but thank you for the extra special opportunity. Canot wait for next year's events.

Lisa S said...

One more time. My comments seem to be going poof. It's so hard to choose but I think my favorite is Wentworth's letter. Perfection

Lisa
slapshinyhappy at yahoo dot com

Laurel Ann (Austenprose) said...

Thank you for hosting the celebration of my favorite author Maria. I love your selection from Emma. Very touching.

Happy Birthday Jane!

Jane Odiwe said...

Thank you for hosting this event, Maria! I love this extract-so many to choose from-it's so hard to have a favouite!

Mostly Lisa said...

Such a great event to have for such a lovely author. As the selection you chose is absolutely perfect, you can't really go wrong with this one from Mr. Darcy..

"You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.”

Always,

Mostly Lisa

Jenny Allworthy said...

I love this page from Emma. I just bought the DVD for my niece today, so I really enjoyed the photos from my fave version of Emma!

Lia Christo said...

I'm from Brazil, and I live in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
I'm a fan of Austen and she is my favorite author.

My favorite scene is the film Pride & Prejudice 2005, when Darcy will help young Elizabeth into the carriage, when hands touch, he feels as if he had been a shock. And I think there is at that moment that he realizes he's falling for her. Tbm love the scene late in the film when he says to her. I'm Mr. Darcy forever and ever.

A page that I like to visit is on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrideandPrejudiceMovie?fref=ts

JuneA** said...

Captain Wentworth's letter "You pierce my soul"

*sigh*

Kentucky, USA

thanks for a chance to win!

Sophia Rose said...

My favorite moment is in Persuasion when Anne jumps in and takes charge when Louisa Musgrove is injured and the Captain sees her at her finest hour. The letter he writes is pretty awesome too.

Thanks for the giveaway opportunity.
sophiarose1816 at gmail dot com
I'm from the US.

BeckyC said...

My favorite is a toss up between Darcy's second proposal and Captain Wentworth's letter.

Love the hop! (US)

patricia F. said...

Ooh its so hard to choose! Captain wentworth mr darcy mr knightley they all have the moments that i love that makes them so romantic in Austens works

Meredith said...

Oh Maria, the page you posted is also my favorite! I just love Mr. Knightley's impassioned declaration! And Emma's realization. It is so expertly expressed and emotive. *Sigh*

Thank you for the lovely giveaway opportunity and soiree. I can't believe I'm saying this but, Miss Lucy Steele tea sounds delicious!

Anubha said...

I love each and every scene with my. Darcy and Lizzy... i especially like the scene when Darcy visits Lizzy at the parsonage and when he confesses his feelings... :)

susied said...

I'm going to have to go with Captain Wentworth's letter. Never have 4 little words had such an impact.

I am writing from the US.

GirlforChrist said...

I love the part where Mr. Knightley proposes--or at least, tries to before she cuts him off. And in the Gwyneth Paltrow 'Emma'....(sigh) That scene was so romantic!

MonicaP said...

I don't know if I could choose one favorite but I do love when Lizzy is staying at Netherfield and she and Darcy are sparring. I love when Darcy tells Lizzy her fault is to wilfully misunderstand people. He so wants to kiss her senseless then, I think.

MonicaP said...

I'm in the US, by the way.

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