The Value of a Liberal Arts Education: Jane Austen, Maggie Smith, and cultural references that make me feel smart...

Once again, I went to bed far later than I ought to have, but this time, it's because I got caught up watching a fun and fractured take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice titled Lost in Austen. It dates back to 2008, and it was great fun to see Hugh Bonneville (of Downton fame) in a role that made him rather curmudgeonly. I wish the idea had been expanded further than the few episodes that exist, but it was an entertaining short series. I have one more episode to watch, and I'm sure the ending will be satisfying. 

I love Jane Austen novels, and this series really requires that one has a solid knowledge of at least the one novel, but it works even better if one has a good acquaintance with Austen in general. As I said, there is plenty of room for expansion in this series, but it is sufficiently fun as it is. 

This, of course, is likely my brain's reaction to the passing of Dame Maggie Smith, an actress whose work I admired greatly, and whose screen presence will be missed immensely. I've seen her work in so many films, not just the Harry Potter series and Downton Abbey, and she is always a sharp-witted, intelligent, and kindly character. I suspect that her natural inclinations formed the characters all throughout her long career. She's the kind of person I wish I could be. 

And I do love period dramas, especially those that ask the viewer to be smart and well-read. I am drawn to those because they feel inclusive and participatory; I can bring what is near and dear to my geeky, literary heart to the experience, and I get to chuckle at the jokes. It makes me happy in "real-life," too, when public figures incorporate elements into their speeches that make us think a little: recently, in his speech to the 79th Assembly of the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden quoted Yeats' "The Second Coming." His speech was a comprehensive summary of all that he's been involved in and witnessed over his long career, well and good as it was, but what made me smile when I heard the audio clip on the radio was that I knew the poet and poem. It's a pretty dark poem to reference, but he was stating that the "centre" has, in fact "held"-- speaking of democracy, of course. I hope it still does, and that is a real fear. But call it ego, if you must, but it is damned refreshing to have an educated person in politics to listen to. I will miss that, if things go horribly wrong.

"Wands Up," teacups and pinkies up, and so on. There's work to do, and we must "take it from here."

C