Huswife - Do You Have One?

Last year when I was making a comparative reading between two translations of Sense and Sensibility - Brazilian Portuguese and Portuguese of Portugal. I discovered many words, which I needed to consult in the original English. One of them was huswife. In Brazil, we don't have a unique word to describe huswife, and it is translated approximately as needles case.

Nancy Steel, after Fanny Dashwood discovering Lucy and Edward's engagement, was only concerned about losing her huswife:

And for my part, I was all in a fright for fear your sister should ask us for the huswifes she had gave us a day or two before; but however, nothing was said about them, and I took care to keep mine out of the sight.

At this point I was very curious to know what these huswifes looked like. In the search for images I found  Jennifer Forest's site. and her huswife. Jennifer is author of Behind Jane Austen's Door and Jane Austen Sewing Box.

Then, I remembered my old and dear sewing basket that I have inherited from my aunt Nini, who in turn had inherited it from another lady. This basket must be circa 1930/40. It is a bit spoiled, missing a metal lock and lacking the pink satin cushion in its inner lining, where pins and needles should be stuck.

Raquel's huswife

There is another beautiful huswife made in leather on Fine Arts of Boston

 Museum, probably English, used in America, late 18th to early 19th century.

Back to the post title: huswife, do you have one?

Submitted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português.

Willoughby Knocked Off

Gentle readers: I have been remiss in adding posts to this blog due to a busy schedule. My Jane Austen friend in Brazil, Raquel Sallaberry of Jane Austen em Português, has come to the rescue! She has sent in a  picture of her mischievious cat, Mr. Donnie D.

This post is for those of us who abhor Mr. Willoughby. Now we can all feel vindicated! 

When cornered by the spotlights (well.. a persevering Nikon camera), my Mr. Donnie D bumped into John Willoughby.  I can swear he meowed, "I could meet him no other way." 

Should I rename my fine feline Colonel Brandon?

Mr. D versus Mr. W

Colin Firth comes to the defense of a small Brazilian tribe under siege

Gentle readers, Raquel Sallaberry from Jane Austen em Português has resurfaced to discuss a very important issue in Brazil. She informs us that Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy) is supporting the Awá-Guajá tribe from Amazonia and asking the Brazilian government to take measures to protect "the tribe most threatened of the world".

Click here to see a video of the tribe.

Awá-Guajá tribe

The tribe Awa-Guajá has about 360 survivors - with one hundred of them have ever had contact with the white man. Due to the violent action of illegal loggers and ranchers who invade reserves, Survival believes that the Awas are the tribe most endangered on the planet. Along with the campaign, the NGO has launched a website with information, pictures and videos on the tribe .

Colin Andrew Firth, 52, who became known in Britain for playing Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation of the classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin in 1995, has always been involved with the campaigns of the NGO.

The campaign proposes that the Internet, supporters of the cause the following message to send to the Minister of Justice of Brazil, via email, text or share on Facebook: "The isolated Awa are fleeing for their lives as loggers, ranchers and settlers invade their land. Please use your authority to remove the invaders and keep them off the ground forever. "

Click here for the full article, which comes with a translation.

Port wine in Pride and Prejudice

Inquiring readers: Raquel Sallaberry from Jane Austen em Portugues contributed this interesting information about Port wine:

Last year when I drank a Port wine I vaguely remembered having read a mention about this wine in Jane Austen, but was not sure in which of the books. When we finished the bottle, I brought it home to photograph and do research.

Port wine became very popular in England after the Methuen Treaty in 1703, which allowed the importation of Portuguese's wines. Due to the war with France, they were less expensive than the French wines. The history of Port wine is very old, but the designation of this wine as "Port" began in the seventeenth century. It derives from the city of Porto in Portugal, from where it was shipped.

The only reference I found to Port wine on the work of Jane Austen was in Pride and Prejudice, chapter 16:

The officers of the —–shire were in general a very creditable, gentlemanlike set, and the best of them were of the present party; but Mr. Wickham was as far beyond them all in person, countenance, air, and walk, as they were superior to the broad-faced stuffy uncle Philips, breathing port wine, who followed them into the room.
| Chapter 16, Pride and Prejudice |

The passage below is in Portuguese (Portugal) translated by Leyguarda Ferreira, in 1949, to the Romano Torrres publisher.

Os oficiais do regimento eram todos perfeitos rapazes, mas Wickham excedia-os em distinção, na elegância do andar e dos gestos, na expressão agradável do semblante e nem podia ser comparado com o tio Philips, com as faces balofas, cheirando a vinho do Porto.
| trad. Leyguarda Ferreira, 1949 |

For the Jane Austen's description we can see how popular this wine was in England at that time. Uncle Phillips, who was not exactly a wealthy man, drank it a lot, but in reasonable quantities.

Another curious detail about the wine is the original spelling, which is all lowercase. This seems to contradict the well-known description of "Port Wine".

And finally, notice the coincidence of the names of the translator and producer of the wine: Ferreira!

To learn more about this special wine I recommend the wonderful Instituto do Vinho do Porto's site.

(Image: Porto wine's bottle and my Pride and Prejudice's Romano Torres edition)

Jane Austen in Brazil

The title sounds like a movie, we know, but that is a testament of how popular Jane Austen has become the world over. Raquel Sallaberry, who writes Jane Austen em Português, is a regular contributor to this blog. She sent in this item about a new series of books to be published in Brazilian Portuguese.

Loredano's book covers

Last year in Brazil, we had a number of Jane Austen editions of books published, among them a collection of pocket books from Nova Fronteira & Saraiva DeBolso Press. This press publishes classics, but so far had none for Jane Austen out. So, they reprinted the first translation in Portuguese by Lúcio Cardoso, of Jane Austen, Orgulho e preconceito (Pride and Prejudice). Razão e sentimento (Sense and Sensibility) and Emma, both translated by the poet Ivo Barroso, are also part of this collection.

The cover of the books are drawn by cartoonist Loredano, which surprised Brazilian Jane Austen fans, who were accustomed to more conventional covers. Most of them didn't like the cover.

I can't remember seeing Jane Austen's caricature in her English book covers. Are there any?

Penguin Clothbound Classics: Jane Austen Collection

The six novels of Jane Austen from the Clothbound Penguin Classics with Coralie Bickford-Smith's covers are now available at this site. It would be great if Penguin Classics also published Lady Susan, the juvenilia, and Jane's incomplete books, such as Sanditon and The Watsons!

The patterns used by Coralie intrigued me. Some of them represent an analogy, but I cannot quite understand the meaning of the chairs on the Emma cover!

Does someone have an idea? What do you think that might be the meaning of the illustrations on each cover?

Contributed by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

In Willoughby's Arms - Illustrated Books

I have a few illustrated Sense and Sensibility books, but not all of them have the scene with Willoughby carrying Marianne after her fall.  Except for the C. E. Brock watercolor that I've picked up from Mollands, the rest of the illustrations are photographs of my Jane Austen collection.

Design and paint: C. E. Brock  - RittenHouse Classics
Watercolor: C. E. Brock
Painting: A. A. Dixon - Collins Clear-Type  (I have doubts about the technique, if someone can identify it, please let us know. Thank you.)
Pen and ink: Bessie Darling Inglis - Thomas Nelson & Sons
Woodcut: Joan Hassall - The Folio Society, 1958

Contributed by : Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

Miss Italy and Miss Austen

Here, in Brazil, we used to make a joke saying that the candidates to Miss Brasil and Miss Universe should read The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry.

Now, in Italy, the rules specify that the girls should read one newspaper a day and at least three books per year (LOL) and suggest Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and Pride and Prejudice by our dear Jane!

Contributed by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

Pride and Prejudice Arrives in Brazilian Theatres

Every weekend this past July the citizens of São Paulo had the pleasure of watching Pride and Prejudice on stage. As far as I am aware this is the first staging of a Jane Austen novel in Brazil. The Fora de Foco Group was formed in October, 2003 by members of several groups from the Drama Festival Cultura Inglesa, an English language school in Brazil.The group's goal is to present plays by British authors in Portuguese. Their repertoire consists of Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare and, now, Jane Austen, much to the delight of Brazilian Janeites.

Pride and Prejudice – Grupo Fora de Foco – Brazil

All the performances were lovely, including those of even the most minor characters, like Hill, Mrs. Bennet's maid, and Fosset, the Bingley's butler. Mr. Bennett had a book in hand during most of his scenes, and our dear Mrs. Bennet talked in her familiar shrill tones! Mary Bennet almost busted our ear drums with her recital, and Kitty acted a bit naughty. Lydia acted as coquettishly as ever. Knowing about Mr Wickham's charms, we can understand her behavior.

Mr. Bingley, I believe, must have been chosen for his smile – the clear and sincere smile we all know so well, and which is so very different from the smile of his beautiful and elegant but snobbish sister, Miss Bingley..

Guilherme Magalhães as Mr. Darcy and Alice Martins as Elizabeth Bennet

We recognized Lizzy instantly by her very fine eyes and Jane Bennet by her sweetness. And what can I say about Mr. Darcy? I can only confirm what his housekeeper said about him – that he is the most sweet tempered and generous-hearted man. Guilherme Magalhães, our Mr. Darcy – yes, now we Brazilians can say OUR Mr. Darcy! – also acted as the spokeman for the Group.He kindly gave us an interview and permission to publish these photos.

Jane Austen's characters have finally all arrived in Brazil, from the Bennets to the Darcys, the Bingleys, and the Gardiners. Even the militia was not forgotten, their presence reminding us about our love for Jane Austen!

Alice (Lizzy) (Alice), Guilherme (Mr. Darcy), Roger (my dear Mr. Collins) and me!

Click the image for larger images of full cast.

Click here to see the original post in Portuguese.

Photos © Yuri Pallaro

Submitted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

A Love Letter For You

I think most of us, whenever we read Captain Wentworth's letter, almost forget "Miss A. E.", to whom the letter is addressed. We think about the Captain and our feelings.

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope..."

Amanda Root as Ann Elliot

After Miss Anne read the letter, Jane Austen tell us:

"Such a letter was not to be soon recovered from." 

Since we are talking about feelings I dare ask you, gentle readers: If this letter were for you, how would you describe your feelings in just one sentence?

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

Jane Austen and V. S. Naipaul

“I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.” - Jane Austen, Letters

On May 31st during an interview portion with the Royal Geographic Society the writer V. S. Naipaul, who is considered one of the greatest living writers of English prose, was asked if he considered any woman writer his equal. "I don’t think so," he replied. Until this point, his statement was no big deal, for a great number of the public believes that Jane Austen is very sentimental, many coming to this conclusion based on their perception of the movies adapted from her novels, saying that he "couldn't possibly share her sentimental ambitions, her sentimental sense of the world."   .But then he went further in his explanation:

I read a piece of writing and within a paragraph or two I know whether it is by a woman or not. I think [it is] unequal to me….[A] woman, she is not a complete master of a house, so that comes over in her writing too…My publisher, who was so good as a taster and editor, when she became a writer, lo and behold, it was all this feminine tosh. I don’t mean this in any unkind way...- Buffalo News.Com

Sir V. S. Naipaul, in his house, Wiltshire, England. © AP Photos | The Sidney Mourning Herald

I will say nothing about Naipaul's ouvre, because I've never read one single line of his work. It is conjectured that his opinion of Jane Austen is perhaps a mix of his notorious misogyny and the need to keep himself in the public eye, if even for a short time.

I wonder if he will still be as greatly admired as Jane in the next two hundred years. Poor fellow...  In case I am accused of a partiality to Jane, I shall finish the post with George Eliot *:

“Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.” - George Eliot, Impressions of Theophrastus Such

In this quiz the reader is asked to distinguish whether a male of female writer wrote the passages! How well can you guess the author's sex?


Sources:

• The New York Times (2009) “V. S. Naipaul, a Man Who Has Earned a Knighthood, a Nobel and Enemies Galore ”
•  “A grown man does not worry ”, Tom Adair, The Sydney Morning Herald.
• *The Telegraph: “Hay Festival: no woman writer will ever be as good as me, says VS Naipaul ”.

Post contributed by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

Who is Who?

I am reading The Making of Pride and Prejudice (1995) and the book has lovely histories and images.

One of the photos intrigued me because I could not identify all the actors. I recognized Mrs. Bennet, Mary Bennet, Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley. In one case I suspect who is the actor, but I am not sure. There are still two remaining ladies who I do not recognize.

Could you help me identify them?

PS: I'm curious about the books the Ladies are reading, but in this case it is almost impossible to see the titles...

Contributed by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português,

Sense and Sen­si­bi­lity, Octo­ber or Novem­ber? part 2

Last February I wrote a post for Jane Austen Today about the discrepancy of a publication date for Sense and Sen­si­bi­lity: Octo­ber or Novem­ber?

I continue having doubts, but reading the Laura Engels' introduction to Sense and Sensibility, Barnes & Noble edition, while it does not provide certainty, it is at least an explanation. What caught my attention in the Introduction (picture below) was this excerpt:

"The inicial advertisement for the novel, which appeared in the Morning Chronicle on 31, 1811, refers to the author as 'A Lady'."

Indeed, the book should have been printed when it was announced and I only regret not having found a newspaper picture on that date. With this information I figured that the Cambridge edition [¹] possibly chose the advertising date - October - as the publication date. An Oxford edition chose the month of November, for reasons unknown to me..

[¹] Note that the date of Cambridge issue is Oct. 30th, and the advertising on the Morning Chronicle says 31 October. Would there have been advertising in other newspapers on October 30?

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

Emma Dolls: Pullip Special

These Pullip dolls are arranged in Regency settings. They will appeal to the little girls in your life or the little girl in you.



What are Pullip dolls? Wikipedia has an answer: "Pullip is a collectible fashion doll created by Cheonsang Cheonha of South Korea in 2003. Pullip has an oversized head on a jointed plastic body, with eyes that can change positions and wink...New editions of Pullip dolls are released on a monthly basis. Additional limited-release exclusives are sold occasionally. Each has a unique name with distinct face make-up, hair, outfit, accessories, and box.

Between 2003 and 2010 there have been over 100 Pullip doll releases. The regular monthly releases of Pullip are 'limited' in that only a certain amount are made, this number is known only by the manufacturer."


Contributed by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

Watch the Royal Wedding on YouTube!

Gentle Readers, blog contributer, Raquel Sallaberry, contributed this YouTube invitation to the Royal Wedding. Will you be watching? I will take a peek before work, but alas and alack, I must pay the mortgage and for the kibbles and bits my dog swallows by the pound, and shall have only an hour or two to see the festivities.

Colin Firth, The Biography

Out now in the U.K. is Colin Firth's first biography by Alison Maloney, which

"reveals: his early life in Nigeria; the secrets of his escape to Canada with actress Meg Tilly, the birth of their first son and his heartbreak as the relationship floundered; the passionate affair with "Pride and Prejudice" co-star Jennifer Ehle; and his whirlwind romance with his Italian wife, Livia. Fascinating, revelatory and suffused with Firth's own dry wit, this is a must-read book on the man of the moment."

Order the book from Waterstones.com (delivery is free in the UK) or on Amazon.co.uk

Submitted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

Dick and Jane (Austen, that is)

During April and May of 2010, Parallelogramophnograph debuted the latest in their catalog of innovative shows: Dick & Jane.

Dick & Jane is set in the world of Jane Austen, costumes and all. It is a delicate place, full of giggling sisters, marriage-happy mothers, coming out dances, and fancy gentlemen. PGraph takes you on a tour of this dainty world and show you what happens when greed gets the best of Mr Darcy, Miss Benet slips her father a micky, and Sir John Middleton ends up face-down in the creek. Noir stories set in the world of Jane Austen! It is ever-so-devious.

PGraph's Dick and Jane, 4/30/2010 from Parallelogramophonograph on Vimeo.

Contributed by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português

Sense and Sensibility Brazilian First Edition

This lovely and fragile book is the first edition of Sense and Sensibility, or Razão e sentimento, in Brazilian Portuguese, published by José Olympio Press in 1944. It was translated by Dinah Silveira de Queiroz (1911-1982), author of several books and the second woman to hold a chair at the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

Posted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Portugues

Queen Mab, Sense, Sensibility and Dreams

Queen Mab is the name of the beautiful mare that Willoughby wanted to give Marianne Dashwood.

The gift, as we know, was rejected (reluctantly by Marianne). For an unmarried girl to receive such a valuable gift from a guy who was not even her fiancée was totally inappropriate. And to make matters worse, the Dashwood women had not the means to keep a horse!

Willoughby, hearing of the refusal, consoles Marianne:

“But, Marianne, the horse is still yours, though you cannot use it now. I shall keep it only till you can claim it. When you leave Barton to form your own establishment in a more lasting home, Queen Mab shall receive you.”

Willoughby's speech is dubious. We do not know if at this moment he truly thought of marrying Marianne, or if he just wanted to comfort her with the possibility of marriage.

Despite that beautiful scene in Sense and Sensibility (2008) Marianne,
in the book, never comes to know the lovely Queen Mab.

In the end, the gift was nothing but a dream, and it almost became a nightmare. Queen Mab appears in various works of English literature, as the poem Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem, by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), and it is best known for the monologue of the character Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare. In the first act, scene four, Romeo discusses the veracity of the dreams with his friend Mercutio, who begins a long monologue where he mentions Queen Mab, the fairy midwife.

O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the fore-finger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomies
Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep;
[...]
This is that very Mab
That plats the manes of horses in the night,
And bakes the elflocks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled, much misfortune bodes:
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she—
Excerpt from Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, 1594 – Act I, Scen IV
Full text at Open Source Shakespeare

The best interpretation for that monologue I've found was the Franco Zeffirelli's version, (1968) by actor John McEnery.




First published in Lendo Jane Austen, as "">Queen Mab, razões, sentimentos e sonhos"

Raquel Celebrates One Year on Jane Austen Today with a Giveaway Contest!

Contest now closed. The winner is Anna. Click here to contact us. My first post on Jane Austen Today was "Jane Austen Street in Brazil", published a year ago, followed with "More Jane Austen Streets." Since then, with an occasional slack, I've been writing a weekly post.

Vic, this has been a wonderful experience. Thank you and your gentle readers for this opportunity!

Let's celebrate! Just say hello in this post until March, 21st to compete for the little notebook below.

Raquel's handmade Sense and Sensibility notebook

NOTE: People from any country can compete, except from Brazil, because I've held other contests for them on my own blog, Jane Austen em Português. (Raquel's Etsy shop can be found in this link.)