JADG - Loss of Countenance

We're up to the "two drinks" level on the Jane Austen Drinking Game! Loss of countenance was a big no-no in Austen's world. Keeping a straight face and one's emotions under control was a major sign of good manners, as is evident in just the title of Sense and Sensibility. I'm sure that most people today would not be able to explain the significance of those words in the context of the times. Sensibility was a full expression of what was received by one's senses. Marianne wore her heart on her sleeve and let her feelings rule over good sense, often to her detriment. In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs Bennett's "poor nerves" made life very wearing for everyone around her, even leading to Mr Darcy's opinion that the whole family were a bunch of kooks. Outbursts of anger, spontaneous professions of affection, or bursting into tears were a sign of an inability to rule over one's emotions and keep reason in charge.

One of my absolute favorite voices from the past is the British politician Edmund Burke (history nerd that I am). His speeches left his audiences with their jaws on the floor and his political essays cut right to the heart of contemporary issues in terms that knew no boundaries of time. He recognized full well the effects of the Enlightenment worship of Reason and the unchecked human emotion that had destroyed the philosophical foundations of the French Revolution. His book, Reflections On The Revolution In France, focused the blame on the "sensibility" of Rousseau, as opposed to the "natural feelings" of mankind, based on sound moral principles. A good free Googlebook, if you are so disposed, is Peter Stanlis' Edmund Burke: The Enlightenment and Revolution. 

An acquaintance of Mother Ackermann is well-known for her wild outbursts.

Old Maps

Antique maps are fascinating. The technology of ancient cartography seems so limited in these days of satellite photography, but armed with compasses, astrolabes, and their own two eyes, the sailors of old managed to draw maps that were surprisingly accurate.  Each successive navigator refined the previous map, filling in the unexplored gaps and blank seas where "Here Be Dragons". Landlubbers focused on maps of terra firma, while sailors marked dangerous currents, submerged rocks, and welcome harbors. One of my favorite maps is this portable diagram of ocean currents and islands used by Polynesian voyagers. This stick chart, or mattang, was a guide to ocean swells between the tiny islands dotted throughout the Pacific, enabling these people to travel incredibly long distances in their fragile crafts.

One of my favorite Jane Austen movie characters is Margaret Dashwood, the younger sister of Elinor and Marianne. The author does not give young Margaret much depth, but the film gives her an independent, adventurous spirit and a love of maps. The maps are all places she has yet to see and conquer, and her ability to memorize geographical information is the foundation of her future success. I love the scene where Edward Ferrars uses her obsession with geographical accuracy to lure her out of her hiding place under the table. I could imagine being that girl. FYI, I was a geography teacher.

Here we see Dolly and Minerva on a walking tour.  Being bound by the world of publications, they wander across a map, which is simple, but much less interesting than "real" travel.