Posted by Laraine on August 25, 1997 at 13:24:29:
In reply to mr. weston: "poor miss taylor"? posted by greg on August 23, 1997 at 12:18:44
i see hugh laurie more as isabella's husband, john knightley, because i think isabella has a bigger "cross to bear".
[snip](ref. ch.14) to emma, "mr. w was a great favorite", add to my feeling that mr. w was a very personable, discerning(except in his son's case), man - though perhaps a little too funloving - and was generally portrayed as such in e3.
][snip] ... mr. w is a little too dependent on other's company and good will, but still generally a very steady character. jk, on the other hand, strikes me as being too much like his farcical father-in-law, and therefore a good candidate for mr. laurie's talents. what say you?
________
Hi Greg--I wasn't ignoring you--just out for the weekend.
I think Hugh Laurie would make a great John Knightley! An excellent choice. I still think he'd make a great Mr. Weston, but he'd be good as either.
Mr. Weston is still going to go down in my book as being a cross for his wife to bear. He's the kind of person who would conceal the fact that it was snowing outside so people will stay at his house longer, no matter that it will distress Mr. Woodhouse and discompose his daughters (as a Minnesotan, perhaps I see this in a more negative light than some!). He's the kind of person who will invite dozens of people to help him make decisions about how the arrangements can be made for the ball at the Crown, no matter that it simply gives his wife more people she must listen to and endeavour to please. He's the kind of person who will invite his son to Mr. Knightley's strawberry picking, no matter that Mr. Knightley didn't want Frank there. He's the kind of person who, knowing his wife and Emma are planning a trip to Box Hill and Mrs. Elton is planning one, will insist that the two parties combine, no matter that Emma and Mrs. Elton cannot stand each other.
Yes, he's a good person, and people like him because he's quite likable. But he's so amiable that he often isn't capable of seeing that other people don't agree about "the more the merrier". Living with someone like this can be a trial.
Regarding John Knightley, I see him mostly as he's a family-based person who gets irritated and irritating when people impose on his family time or try to direct it for him. But he's very intelligent and perceptive; he catches on to the Elton problem straight off and he values Jane Fairfax very much. Mr. Knightley obviously thinks he's worth consulting about delicate and perplexing matters such as marrying Emma. Would I like to be married to him? That's completely subjective--but I'd rather put up with his faults than Mr. Weston's, I think...
:-)
Larine
Laraine
Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one.