Nina Benneton

Austenesque Extravaganza: What makes a Jane Austen hero a HERO?

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Written by Nina Benneton

 

Thank you to Team Austenesque for inviting us to participate in the Austenesque Extravaganza. In this blog, Kim Izzo, Ola Wegner, and I will discuss 'What makes a fictional Jane Austen hero HERO material in HEAL (Happily Ever After Land)?' (For your convenience, we have all three blogs at one site here).

For a chance to win our books in a three-books Kindle basket GIVEAWAY,  comment and answer three simple questions at the end.

 

Every author and reader will have her own criteria.  For me, Nina Benneton, the long list of what makes a Hero in HEAL (tall, dark, handsome, rich, and so forth) narrows down to three:

 Income. Is he rich enough?   Yes, yes, very shallow of me, but I absolutely detest housework, and I want a hero who can afford to keep me idle and vapid, with a whole retinue of servants at the ready whenever I flick my wrist.   

'A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of…'   Mansfield Park.

Bottom.  No, I don't  mean courage to fight off an intruder in the dead of night. Goodness, I sure hope he has enough bottom for that. I mean enough bottom to stand up for me—even and especially against his own?  Trust me, I have enough bottom of my own to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Lady Catherine or General Tilney,  but it would make me behave more charitable and mature toward these familial villains at Christmas dinners if my Hero shoulders that unpleasant business with his own relations for my comfort.

'My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me…'  Pride and Prejudice. 

Ease of Maintenance.  Is he going to be high or low maintenance?  If I'm going to be squeezing out those ungodly number of Regency babies and putting myself at mortal risk each time, I'm not going to be patient with a high-maintenance Hero.

“I assure you. I have no notion of treating men with such respect. That is the way to spoil them.” Northanger Abbey

 

So, three simple criteria. Each Hero earns from 0 to 3 stars from me.  Gentlemen, step on up...

 

6.  Edmund Bertram of  Mansfield Park

This second-son Hero receives 0 star for Income (With 700 pounds a year as a clergy man, he could afford perhaps three maids and one man servant, but he couldn't keep a carriage. I do not like having to walk everywhere and getting six inches of mud on my petticoats); 1/2 star for Bottom (For standing up to Mrs. Norris, but he was rather timid with the one cheese who counts, Sir Thomas Bertram), and 1 star for Maintenance level (Mainly because every time a saucy miss comes along with a harp, one would need to keep a close eye on this Hero).   1 ½ stars total.

5.  Frederick Wentworth of Persuasion

Our Navy man earns 1 star for 25K of net worth (about 1K of annual income), 1 star for Bottom (Based on his conversation with Anne later about his narrow escape of doing his honorable duty, I think if his sister Sophia Croft told him he had to marry Louisa Musgrove because he'd raised expectations, I think our man would. Blech!)  0 star of Maintenance (Taking care of him on a moving ship while he's playing pirates and sailors? Are you kidding me? No way!).  2 Stars total.

4. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.  (What? Yes, I know your mouth dropped open!)

Our richest Hero gets 3 stars for Income (10K a year),  2 stars for Bottom (He cringed at his aunt's rudeness at Rosing but said nothing, though he redeemed himself by writing a letter to her at the end and hence earned 2 stars), but 0 star for Maintenance (Remember what Bingley said about Darcy on a rainy Sunday afternoon with nothing to do at Pemberley? Do you know how much it rains in England? He's going to be worse than those eleven children I have to squeeze out, I'm telling you.)  5 stars total. 

3. Colonel Brandon of Sense and Sensibility.  

Our flannel-waistcoated Hero gets 1 1/2 stars for Income (2K a year),  1 ½ star for Bottom (He did try to elope with his childhood sweetheart to save her, but alas, he lost half the stars for abandoning her to his horrible brother and went off to India), and 3 stars for Maintenance (A man who's comfortable in a flannel-waistcoat is definitely a low maintenance guy! And, as a retired Army guy, he's likely to be neat and orderly—and he's not living on a ship!)   6 stars total. 

2. George Knightley of Emma

Our magistrate Hero gets two stars 2 stars for Income (We're only told he's 'secure.' Show me the numbers, George, and you'll get that third star!), 1 1/2 stars for Bottom (For telling the sister of sister-in-law off for her snobbery, but it's not like Emma an authority figure like a father or an aunt, so I'm not as impressed), and 3 stars for Maintenance (For knowing how to arrange a picnic on his own, and for quietly and tactfully arranging a carriage for the Bates, for handling a bitchy neighbor Mrs. Elton so we don't have to…).   6 1/2 Stars total.

1. Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey

Our second clergy Hero gets, like Mr. Knightley,  2 stars for Income, (He told us he has 'independence and comfort.' But, again, show me the numbers!),  3 stars for Bottom (The only man who earned 3 stars here, for telling off his gothic villainous father, General Tilney, at the end that he chooses the Heroine and no one else! Sigh. Bliss!), and 3 stars for Maintenance (He's considerate of his housekeeper before inviting guests over for dinner, he knows muslins, and he reads gothic novels. He'll never make fun of you for reading fluffy romance. Sheer bliss!)  

8 stars total, which earns him the title of Benneton #1 HEAL Austen Hero.

 “One man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best.”  Persuasion

 

Ola Wegner, you’re on next…

 

***

What makes a fictional Jane Austen hero  HERO material in HEAL (Happily Ever After Land)?

 

Is it a tough question to answer? I think that not particularly. All of Jane Austen heroes are full of redeeming qualities. What interest me more is which one of them, coming out of the pages of six novels penned by our esteemed authoress is the most deserving of the title of the best HERO material in HEAL?

 

Who should win this competition?

 

1. Let’s start from Sense and Sensibility just because it was published first  in 1811. We have two wonderful heroes here - Edward Ferrars and Captain Brandon.

 

Edward is a man who likes quiet life, and has simple tastes. He wants to live in the country and is not interested in grandeur of big town.  As we know he is very loyal and never goes back on once given word. His fault is that he can have a very bad taste in women, the best example here is his long time, secret engagement to Lucy Steele.

 

Captain Brandon is good, brave, honest, rich, but lonely and unhappy in love. You want to take him in your arms and love him. Shame that it takes so long for young Marianne to see him.

 

2. Next in line is of course Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813. Let’s just skip Charles Bingley (boring, too agreeable for his own good and with two horrible sisters) to get to Fitzwilliam Darcy, shall we?

 

Mr. Darcy is one of the most famous heroes in the history of literature.  He probably inspired every other hero written after him, whether the author acknowledged it or not- so yes, Mr. Rochester, John Thornton, Heathcliff,  Edward Cullen and lately Christian Grey. So what so special about him?

 

First of all he is tall, dark, and handsome. From a novel itself we only know that he is tall, taller than others, but since I watched BBC’s Pride and Prejudice in 1995 at the tender age of thirteen, every time I close my eyes I see Colin Firth’s chocolate locks and soulful, cocoa eyes.

 

What’s more to him? He is rich, people actually visit his estate as if it was a royal palace, he’s single, and his very own master, parents dead so no monster in law lurking around the corner to ruin your life because you’ll never be good enough for her baby boy. He is sharp and very intelligent, loyal and honourable. But what makes him really hot is that he can be deliciously arrogant and rude when he puts his mind to it.  

 

3. We could stay with Mr. Darcy for  much longer, forever even, but let us move on to Mansfield Park, published in 1814.  

 

Here we have Edmund Bertram, a good guy and great friend to our heroine Funny but similar to Edward Ferrars he takes interest in total bitch meaning Mary Crawford. Our poor Funny suffers through most of very long novel, being forced to watch the love of her life mooning over another woman. Very insensitive. And plain gross, because Edmund and Funny are first cousins! Perhaps it’s my Catholic upbringing but I cannot get used to the idea of the first cousins getting  married and having children.

 

 

4. Emma was published in 1815. I find the heroine mildly irritating perhaps because I can see a lot of myself in her.

 

As for Mr. Knightley, I do like him. He has many good qualities and is a likeable person. He is just, kind and respectful to everyone.

 

5. Northanger Abbey and Henry Tilney, published in 1818. I must say that I tend to forget about him which is not fair to him at all! He can be sarcastic and very clever, but fun to be around and as Nina pointed out he takes an effort to read what you like to read! That cannot be overlooked in his favour!

 

6. Last but my absolute favourite- Persuasion, published in 1818. I love Pride and Prejudice, but it has too much of a fairy tale aspect in it to take it seriously, to really believe in it, you know. While Persuasion is one of my most beloved novels, I reread it too many times to count, and Captain Frederick Wentworth is the man for me. His heart stays faithful to Anne for eight long years. Is that not beautiful? He is a self made man. He suffered, she broke his heart, but he loves her enough to forgive her and most importantly understand her past decisions and misgivings.

 

The winner is Captain Frederick Wentworth. For me the most deserving of the title of the best HERO material in HEAL.

 

And our anchor author is the lovely Kim Izzo…

 

 ***

 

What makes a fictional Jane Austen hero  HERO material in HEAL (Happily Ever After Land)?

 

Well, I must start by saying my two co-bloggers, Nina and Ola have done a superb job. In fact I’m not sure what I can add to the battles of Austen’s leading men! Except to say I have a surprising addition…but first I want to divert our attention from Hero in Heal to Hero or Heel?

 

Since the first two blogs examined in witty detail the pros and cons of Austen’s leading men I’d like to examine some of her leading villains. But I surmise, that some villains are well, more villainous than others. Indeed, while I think some are pure cads others may just be a tad misunderstood. Herewith my choices in descending order from worst to “best” villain in Austen’s novels.

 

1.     PRIDE & PREJUDICE’s Mr. Wickham. It’s hard really to understand after repeated readings what Elizabeth saw in him. Sure he’s in a uniform but I never really understood how she could be so taken in. He’s pure villain, there is no excuse for his lies and betrayals and lack of manners. A double Boo! Hiss!

 

2.     PERSUASION’s Mr. Elliot. This cousin of the lovely Anne Elliot is up to no good from start to finish. A male gold digger! How undignified. And he used poor Mrs. Smith as well! Anne was right to steer clear. And as has been pointed out – how can one ever give him a second look with Wentworth in the room or in our minds? A single Boo! Hiss!

 

3.     MANSFIELD PARK’s Henry Crawford. This rich lad has too much time on his hands, clearly. He seeks to make sport of poor little Fanny. Though he ends up seeing the good in her and how she could change him. A little too late though. Part of me always wanted her to end up with him! I know! Scandalous words! But Edmund is such milquetoast! Which speaks to Nina’s point of his timidity. Back to Crawford, he starts off a cad, then becomes a ‘recovering cad’ until a lack of Fanny and an abundance of Maria restores him to his villainous ways. A single Boo!

 

4.     EMMA’s Frank Churchill. He seems all dashing and mysterious and charms all the ladies including the lovely Emma. She seems almost convinced of a match. Until it turns out he played them all in order to conceal his true love affair with Jane Fairfax. But isn’t Churchill’s motive a noble one? I say he’s not a true villain. He gets a single Hiss!

 

5.     SENSE & SENSIBILITY’s Willoughby. He is my favourite villain for deep down he is not altogether bad. He made an error in judgment by knocking up Brandon’s old love’s secret daughter BUT he did love Marianne. Most women of the day would have been forced to make the same choice he did. It isn’t romantic but you know he pays for it. His heart does break. Who can forget him returning to Marianne’s sick bed? He may cast as the bad boy/villain but I believe Austen had a fondness for him because she wrote his character to be much more complex and tortured than the other cads. He doesn’t deserve a boo or a hiss. Let’s just wag our finger at him.

 

BACK TO HERO TO HEAL

 

Now for my “unsung hero” award: We all love Darcy and Wentworth and Knightley (and who wouldn’t), but as a modern woman who has seen and experienced her fair share of sexy bad boys with fortune and wit, I’d say if I had to choose my Hero in HEAL it would be, wait for it, Mr. Bingley! Yes, ladies, because he is a) very rich, b) has bottom when pushed, he even stood up to Darcy and c) he is beyond low maintenance. Is there a more friendly, happy, gentlemanly and loving character? Is he not the personification of a tail wagging Golden Retriever? He is always overlooked for the dashing Darcy but when it comes to long-term happiness I’d choose to be Mrs. Bingley.

<<<>>>  

 

There you have it, three very persuasive, articulate arguments. Yes?

 

Now, for a chance to win a Kindle copy of each of our books, (The Jane Austen Marriage Manual by Kim Izzo, Moonlighting by Ola Wegner, and Compulsively Mr. Darcy by Nina Benneton), answer these three questions in a comment (or leave a comment if you already have all our books, and accept a virtual kiss from us!):

1.What is the must-have accessory Kim Izzo’s heroine Kate wants in this hard economic time? (Hint: visit Kim’s website KimIzzo to get an answer.)

2.What is the title of Ola Wegner’s book that Austenesqu Reviews calls ‘Suspensful, dramatic, and romantic’? (Hint: visit Ola’s site at Ola Wegner )

3.Who is your Jane Austen Hero in your Happily Ever After Land?

One lucky commenter will be picked at random on October 3 rd, 2012 at 12 MN Eastern Time  for a chance to win all three books.  

Again, thank you to Team Austenesque for organizing Austenesque Extravaganza.