and giggle and snort at the ridiculous people that we came into contact with, and show appreciation for all the well-deserving ones! Perhaps we're fortunate to live 200 years on--I would hate to be on the receiving end of JA's scathing humor! :-)

Perhaps she might have been more sympathetic than I think, however, for no one can speak as well as the characters do in her books (I recall Jennifer Ehle saying in an interview that memorizing Shakespeare was a doddle compared to memorizing Austen, the convoluted sentences with the punch at the end!), and JA herself spoke of how much she revised and crafted (the ivory two inches wide). Plus, she created Fanny as her heroine in MP--so perhaps we needn't have been as witty as Elizabeth Bennet to have held her attention.

But back to Lady D. I must say that I like the "dragon" Lady D in P2, if only because they have such a short time to portray her and emphasize Sir W's and Elizabeth's ridiculousness and pomposity in desiring to be recognized once again by the viscountess. But I agree with you about her characterization in the book--I would rather have a civil word than Elizabeth's coldness.