Wherein a random tweet brings up a quote from Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice, a romantic comedy about dealing with the dangers and temptations of a Crisis period and still liking yourself later.

 

This is the tweet that started me on this one

https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1022955880197836802

 

“You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to persuade yourself or me, that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility of danger security for happiness.”

 

An image of Charlotte and Mr. Collins,  from the Colin Firth Pride & Prejudice

https://www.facebook.com/426294907495000/photos/a.485050068286150.1073741839.426294907495000/485050404952783/?type=3&theater

 

A random thought that I feel no need to prove or disprove: Is practical pecuniary Charlotte the Reactive generation to the others’ Hero? Mr. Darcy is 28,  so in that case he would be, too, which might just explain a bit.…Mr. Bingley is 23. (But they were all born somewhere after the start of the American Revolution and before the end of the French, which isn't consistent with even the oldest being Reactive/Nomad)

http://www.rc.umd.edu/pedagogies/commons/novel/favret.html

 

 

Considering it’s a story about women trying to find husbands, the word Danger is used remarkably often - twenty times over the course of the novel. For comparison - amazing what a simple word count can do -  the word Marriage is used 67 times, Happiness 74 times, Joy 42 times, Silly 12, Evil 22 times, pounds 24.

(As I like to say, the importance of arithmetic in history is widely understated.)

Danger, then,  is used almost as often as pounds, the standard by which most of the potential husbands are measured ...

 

You can find me on Twitter: @generationalize and blogging at http://crisis.generationalize.com