No Rhyme or Reason

“I don’t know man. I’m more of an Elinor.”

(one problem with perception of medieval gender roles is that most of the people who were writing, especially those who were writing HISTORY, were CLERGYMEN who had never been married and lived in a weird situation cut off from the way the rest of the world worked and had like no actual life experience with the real world - and then popular culture’s idea of it has been heavily informed by VICTORIAN choices of who and what to translate and popularize)

upper class medieval women were expected to run and manage the entire estate that they got from their husband (or that they already had in their own right through inheritance or as their marriage portion), a job which was acknowledged as being way difficult and requiring a wife with strength and fortitude and business sense if you wanted to be a successful person

they were the HR managers of households that might have over a hundred people in, and tho a duchess or a queen would certainly not go to the store to do the household shopping, and she probably had a steward to assist her, it was ultimately her responsibility to know what things were needed for that household, to make sure that the appropriate people obtained those things, to oversee the use of the household materials, to make sure that EVERYTHING got done so that ALL those people could live and work smoothly. they wrote letters and managed the business of the estate and networked with other members of the nobility for both important game-of-thrones political reasons and for smaller more personal reasons like ‘that guy has a really nice deer chase, so if i send him some marmalade from our garden, he might send some venison back as a return gift”

even in lower class households mom managed everything and women were basically considered to be shrewder and have better heads for that particularly kind of business than men and choosing a wise wife was the best thing you could do for yourself as a man who intended to be successful

oh, and has anyone mentioned diplomacy. because an arranged marriage is only the START of a princess’s diplomatic career. the alliance she forges with her marriage is one she’s responsible for maintaining her entire life. unless she decides to go ahead and take over the country; that’s been an option too from time to time. :D

the sense of chaotic female energy in the Bennet household

the sound of tinkling piano music and bird song and giggling 

when Jane tries to pull a ‘not all men’ on Lizzy but Lizzy is havin none of it and calls all men humourless poppycocks  

Lizzy’s satisfied smirk as she STRIDES away after sending mr darcy 2 his grave with ‘even if one’s partner is barely tolerable’ 

Lizzy and Jane giggling under the covers 😭

Mrs Bennet discussing Mr Bennets imposing death over the breakfast table and nobody bats an eyelid except to be like ‘its 10am’  like this obviously happens A Lot 

And then Mr Bennet and lizzy joke about Jane dying like why does this Regency era family have the humour of millennials  

when Darcy is listing all the things an accomplished woman should have and he says ‘she should expand her mind with extensive reading’ or w.e and lizzy SNAPS that book shut so fast

the Mrs Bennet Pig Testicle Scene Nobody Talks About 

the hand 

after Mr Collins proposal when Mrs Bennet goes to Mr Bennet for help and he’s just like up a ladder ? And all he does up there is pick up a pot plant? I’m thoroughly convinced he just climbed that ladder to avoid the drama ((he failed))

the dramatic ZOOM when Darcy bursts into the room just to stand around, make one line of polite conversation, and then leave

m not going to comment abt the rain scene bc theres too much to unpack but THE RAIN SCENE 

‘He’s so. he’s so… he’s so RICH’ i feel u girl 

The dreamy shots of Pemberley + dreamy music music layered with Darcy’s housekeeper saying lovely things about him like you know Lizzy was falling in love with him right then and there even tho he wasn’t even in the room

All the ripped statues probably help

 Shame that the scene where Darcy sees Lizzy at Pemberly for the first time will be forever ruined because all i can hear in my head is RUN 

Turns up in the middle of the night, invites self in, insults the size of the garden….. an icon 

The fact that the entire Bennet family listening in to private conversations at the door is a recurring theme 

“i love… i love… i love you”

Takeover!

where the Lestranges are sorting out their family shit and Newt and Tina are just chillin in the corner like