Posted by Rita on July 08, 1997 at 12:20:55:
In reply to Re: Lydia so tanned! -sources posted by Jessamyn on July 08, 1997 at 01:23:37
Just a note for anyone interested:
Lydia's skin reminded me of my astonishment as a young girl(in India), about the nature of tanned/dark skin. Many persons defined dark were as fair as could be, in my eyes.
Ofcourse, our predicament may arise because of the different definition of the word, specially in a world where we are used to meeting all kinds of people.
Shakespeare's Othello is one such character, and people are always debating whether he was dark as in southern mediterranean, northern african or central/southern african.
I think the concept of fair skin as a beauty mark arises out of the definition, that a woman should be dainty and keep out of the sun. It is quite probable that(some) Austen's characters were none of these.
The red nature of Ehle's & Sawalha's complexion were probably made to stand out in order to illustrate active lives.
Also it is worthy to note that some of the characters we see on screen do not fit actual descriptions given in the book. This is probably just a case of dramatic license which A Davies employs to choose the best artist he can find to play the role.....
Hope you have not been bored to tears!
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