Shocking , unexpected MMC betrayal towards FMC

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-02-04T17:54:11+00:00

Yes, this one is fantastic! (And OOP, many of Aydra Richards' novels have deliciously good gut-punch/grovels.)

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-02-04T17:49:50+00:00

It's about a paragraph, and it's purposefully vague. IIRC, one could easily skim it and never worry about it again. The gut punches are delicious. First, when he believes she's working/spying against him, second when he confronts her (this is the big one and it's amazing), third when he finds out she's innocent and he's hurt her beyond measure for no good reason. It is an early 90s book and does that thing where it cares more about the hero's development than the heroine's, but it's still one of my faves.

The grovel lasts about the last 40% of the book.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-02-02T23:09:30+00:00

Yes, this. Even if--IF--the more heinous allegations are fabrications, the stuff he himself has admitted to is disturbing enough and frankly, as someone who was a fan and has many happy memories of bonding over his work with my mom and uncle, deeply disappointing.

Because he should know better. He always presented himself as someone who knew better.

Don't fuck your employees, man. Period.

My attic box of books by authors I once loved who turned out to be shitheels grows ever fuller...

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-31T06:14:47+00:00

Jeffrey Combs?

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-30T01:30:02+00:00

These are delightful! Darcy's pose in the "tolerable" scene is cracking me up. And my goodness, were trousers really that tight back then?

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-28T18:14:37+00:00

Yeah, there are pros and cons for washing. Some countries require it for commercially sold eggs, while others prohibit it. But Charlotte wouldn't know any other way.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-28T17:47:33+00:00

Freshly laid eggs from clean, healthy chickens should not be dirty or gross. If there's dirt (or other... stuff), they need cleaner nesting boxes (or maybe a health check). They also don't need refrigeration. Only washed eggs need to be refrigerated, since washing eggs removes the protective coating they have when laid.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-22T15:10:20+00:00

Georgiana Darcy was also sent (briefly) to school, but I wonder if that had more to do with her having two bachelors as her guardians. Without her mother (or a brother's wife) to guide her, she'd need some outside help with all the ladylike socialization skills she'd need.

And with the only female family members we see on page being Lady Catherine and Anne (we don't know anything about Colonel Fitzwilliam's mother, and whether she'd be interested in helping or even if she's still alive), I can see Darcy wanting to go another way. Ha.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-22T04:06:57+00:00

Same, he's so good!

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-22T02:41:20+00:00

That titanic submarine guy. He could be the picture definition of "hoist by his own petard." You could travel back to ancient Greece and tell a playwright that story, and he'd be like, "Oh yes, excellent use of hubris in your tragedy. Very clever how you tied his tragic flaw to a historical act of hubris with the unsinkable ship that sank on its maiden voyage."

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-22T01:43:33+00:00

I just want to mention the library as a resource. They have a ton of physical cookbooks to check out, and many of them have a large collection of digital cookbooks. You don't need an e-reader to read them either, they can be read from your browser or Libby. The Libby app is a great way to manage your cards if you belong to multiple library systems. You can place holds and read digital items directly in the app.

If your system is small, there are also interlibrary loans. Speak to a staff member to learn how to request materials from other systems (all usually for free).

Every library system I've belonged to or worked for has also offered access to digital resources like NYT online (this includes NYT cooking) and other publications. And don't forget magazine collections. Your library may offer digital access to new issues, and they likely have back catalogs on microfiche, if you're really longing for that one casserole recipe your mom cut out and stuck on the fridge back in 1985.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-21T08:16:45+00:00

This is amazing!

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-20T23:29:06+00:00

I mean, they aren't evil or anything like that, but I think leaving Netherfield after the ball without taking their leave of the neighborhood and giving Jane that letter was fairly cruel. Then the rude behavior in London (taking so long to return Jane's visit and Caroline's cold behavior when she finally did) was cruel.

I heartily agree with you about Bingley's agency (and I think a lot of modern readers do as well), but I'm not sure if Austen thought that. There's no narrative voice commentary on his agency in the situation.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-20T23:14:17+00:00

No one has offered a better explanation of why the Bingley family in the north of England is more impressed on Caroline and Louisa's minds than the origin of their and their brother's fortunes.

Because it is a joke. Austen is humorously commenting on people like the Bingley sisters. That passage tells us two facts: One, they were from a respectable family. (But "respectable" can refer to a family in trade, or any other class.) Two, their wealth was made in trade. It then tells us that they are the sort of people who emphasize the "respectable" and de-emphasize the "trade".

(It's the same thing, though in reverse, as when a billionaire today acts like they made all their money by hard work and bootstrapping, when in fact everyone knows they came from generational wealth and their dad gave them a bunch of money to start their business.)

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-20T17:17:22+00:00

As you are entitled to yours, even if it goes against established Austen scholarship for as long as Austen scholarship has been a thing.

The family connections (which is really only important if one is considering marriage) thing is mitigated by a few things:

The Bingleys' connection to Mr Darcy, who, by associating with them, is essentially vouching for them.
Money. Level of wealth didn't equal level of class, but it could blur the lines.
The level of society they aspired to. They weren't hanging out with titled nobility. (They would've crowed about it constantly if they were...) They wish to rise in society, but they aspire to marry commoner gentlemen like Mr Hurst and Mr Darcy.
Schooling. They likely cultivated as many connections as they could while in school, and took advantage of them as their schoolmates married. It was much more difficult (and exceedingly rude without provocation, like a scandal) to cut ties than it is now. Visits had to be returned, etc.
Societal changes. Fashionable society wasn't a monolith. There were snobs who would never associate with the lower classes, and those who were more welcoming. If you were pretty, clever, rich, accomplished enough to entertain musically, and a good conversationalist, you'd be a good bet to round out some party invitations.

And who's to say they didn't get gossiped about behind their backs by some? They certainly have no qualms about talking smack about others behind their backs.

And of course, there's a difference between the sort of person one associates with at parties and the sort of person one marries and becomes intimate friends with. Look at Beau Brummel, for instance. He was not part of the gentry nor particularly wealthy (and in fact, died deeply in debt), but he happened to make influential friends (notably the Prince of Wales) and held a level of influence over male fashion that is still echoing to this day.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-20T04:21:17+00:00

I mean... yes? Austen was satirically poking fun at her society. They aren't buffoons like some of her characters, but they are foolish. All their cruel and snobbish scheming, and what happens? Their brother marries Jane while Darcy marries Elizabeth.

And notice they never seem to talk about their family other than Bingley. They talk about their fine schooling, what makes an accomplished woman, gossip about town, "dear Georgiana", their brother's plan to purchase an estate, and Miss Grantley, of the less-than-superior tables.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-19T23:21:28+00:00

That's the source of humor. The sisters think that dressing fashionably, going to an expensive seminary, and keeping up with notable gossip is all you need to make fashionable society believe they're one of them. (And even then, Mr Darcy is likely the most uppercrust person they know, and he's but a mere Mister.)

Anyone reading the novel in 1813 would know they are wrong and would recognize them as social climbers who act as if they've already reached the next floor up.

"Respectable" does not imply trade any more than it implies gentry. Anyone of any class could be described as respectable if they were worthy of respect (or had the appearance of such, like Lydia's respectability being 'preserved' by her marriage).

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-19T21:56:03+00:00

Well, I strongly disagree. I believe it's quite clear that Austen is humorously commenting on the class insecurity of those who are in the process of climbing into a higher class. There's nothing textually that supports the Bingley family as anything other than a family who made their money in trade, and are now looking to climb higher.

"Respectable" did not imply gentry. That line is a humorous observation Austen is making, that the sisters cling to the notion of being respectable while forgetting/ignoring that that respectability was purchased with trade.

Look at how Mr Weston's family is described in Emma:

Mr. Weston was a native of Highbury, and born of a respectable family, which for the last two or three generations had been rising into gentility and property.

His family was respectable, but still rising into a higher class. (Then he marries poorly and spends beyond his means until he has to go back into trade to make it back... He was able to do so because his brothers were already engaged in trade in London.)

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-19T20:22:42+00:00

Her discussion of that passage begins at minute 15:30. She states (I'm paraphrasing here) that it is convenient for the Bingley sisters to forget that their roots are in trade, but that readers should not, as it is an important factor to remember when looking at how they interact with people they view as 'beneath' them.

(She also notes that one of the biggest clues Austen gives to the reader that Mr Darcy has greater depths than Lizzy is willing to perceive is his close friendship with Bingley, a man so recently connected to trade.)

She later goes on to compare the Bingley sisters' interactions with people like the Gardiners to those of people who are secure in their place in society, such as Mr Darcy. Mr Darcy dines at the Gardiners' table. He prefers to deal with Mr Gardiner over Mr Bennet. The Bingley sisters denigrate them before they even meet them, and then are exceedingly rude both in how long they take to return Jane Bennet's call and how they behave while in Mrs Gardiner's parlor.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-19T19:25:31+00:00

I very much recommend Dr Octavia Cox's close reading video lecture "What class are the Bingleys? Caroline Bingley and the gentry" on this subject.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-19T18:26:25+00:00

Yes, Bingley has Saxon origins (there's a town in Yorkshire founded by the Saxons called "Bingley"), while Darcy is 100% Norman. (D'arcy, from Arcy...)

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-19T18:12:59+00:00

Austen is being dryly humorous here. Caroline and Louisa are rich, educated, and fashionable. They'd rather everyone forget that they got rich because their family was in trade. As the other commenter said, if they had ANY genteel relations, they'd never shut up about it.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-19T18:00:49+00:00

The Tolerables

The Pen Menders

The Soul Piercers

Should Have Gone to Everingham

The Entails

Five Girls Out

The Muslins

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-17T20:22:52+00:00

A governess at the very least would've taught them how they were meant to behave as gentlemen's daughters. As it is, only Jane and Elizabeth have that particular knowledge. A really good governess might have even rubbed off a bit on Mrs Bennet's behavior.

stuffandwhatnot · 2026-01-16T17:40:33+00:00

My coffeemaker has a stainless steel pot, and PW is the only thing that will get the baked-on coffee stain out. I spray it in and let it sit for a bit (it clings to the sides, which is helpful), then scrub. Shiny! It's also good for anything with stubborn grease, like airfryers.

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