Lessons Learned... | Guest Post from Danya!

Guest post #2 today comes from Danya of A Tapestry of Words — and though I don't want to repeat myself all day... I'm totally gonna repeat myself. Like Kai, Danya has been 'round these parts before (and always brings something awesome to the table), and like Maria, you'll be seeing her again...

Today she's telling us about some lessons to be gleaned from Austen novels, and she totally gets bonus points for using pictures of Rupert Friend in his Wickham-in-Regimentals- costume... =D

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For the Fairy Tale Fortnight event a couple years ago, I wrote up a blog post on what sorts of life lessons we can draw from fairy tales. Well, it turns out, I didn't learn absolutely everything I know about life from fairy tales. But thankfully, those gaps in knowledge were filled in by none other than Jane Austen's novels. For instance, I learned that...

• Officers in uniform look positively dashing…but don’t go dashing off after them! Learn from the example of the wretched Lydia, and stay home instead.

Just *too* good to be true.

• Unless you are very confident in your musical abilities, do not volunteer (or allow yourself to be persuaded) to play and sing in front of everyone. It will only lead to humiliation for you and awkwardness for everyone else, especially when you are shown up a few minutes later by the musical prowess of Jane Fairfax. (Not to mention, Mrs. Elton’s friends all think she has quite the talent…and Miss de Bourgh certainly would be able to play divinely if she had learned.)

• A little imagination is a good thing, but don’t let yours run away with you. Implying to your crush that you believe his dad killed his mom will not get you into his good graces.

Too many novels??? Say it isn't so! (pic source)

• Trust only your closest confidante — most likely your sister — with your deepest secrets. Anyone else will just spill the beans, and once Mrs. Jennings finds out, the whole world will know within half an hour. 

Looking gossipy the way only Mrs. Jennings can.

• Don’t be afraid to demonstrate your smarts in front of guys. More
  likely than not, a little witty banter will just increase their
  interest (not to mention you’ll have more opportunity to show off your
  fine eyes.) 

• If you’re sure of your heart, hold true to it. Otherwise, you could wait many years for the love of your life to return, only to discover his rank and wealth have risen but his opinion of you…has not.

  

  Captain Wentworth is not impressed.

• Eloping to Gretna Green is not romantic, it’s just insensitive to your entire family. Do the sensible thing: have a lengthy courtship where you get to know each other, then plan a proper wedding.

• Don’t let a little age gap scare you off your romance of choice. After all, older men are more experienced…

...especially when they're played by Alan Rickman.

• Be open to giving others a second chance. Snap judgments rarely reflect actual reality, and sometimes people really do change.

• Good intentions aside, sticking your nose in other people’s business rarely turns out well. More likely than not, it just means there are a whole lot of tangles in your own life that you’re stubbornly ignoring.

This means YOU, Emma. (Anyone else a fan of Emma Approved?)

• Do not carelessly fling yourself from seawalls and hope that your flirt-of-the-day is there to catch you. It will doubtless go awry.

        This means YOU, Louisa. (gif source)

• Feel like your guy is harbouring a deep, dark secret? Chances are you’re right. He’s probably either a) secretly engaged already to another woman, b) responsible for impregnating a young woman and then abandoning her, or c) in gambling debt up to his earlobes. Get out while you still can.
  

• If you really strongly dislike someone…throw a party for them! Hey, it worked for Emma.

Everyone always wants to throw parties for Mrs. Elton...

• And lastly… a book always offers up a good conversation-starter, be it The Mysteries of Udolpho or Fordyce’s Sermons. Not to mention you’ll add to the improvement of your mind by extensive reading! ;)

What life lessons have YOU learned from Austen?

~ Danya

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