Note with a silly quote
QUESTION Has The Bank Of England misconstrued the Jane Austen quote on the new £10 note? The quote on the note is a strange choice. ‘I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!’ is spoken by Caroline Bingley, an unpleasant character in Pride And Prejudice (1813)
It might seem like Austen advocating the common man to take up reading, but in context it makes little sense.
Caroline is the shallow, haughty sister of Charles Bingley, suitor of Jane Bennet, elizabeth’s elder sister and confidante. her mean-spiritedness is summed up in her treatment of gentle Jane, first befriending her as she tries to ingratiate herself with her chief infatuation, Fitzwilliam Darcy, then dumping her when Darcy reveals his interest in elizabeth.
There are cringe-worthy scenes in which Caroline flatters Darcy, even praising the act of writing: ‘“how delighted Miss Darcy will be to receive such a letter!” he made no answer.’ She also tells him: ‘You write uncommonly fast’ and, ‘how can you contrive to write so even?’
She attempts to impress Darcy with her literary fervour, but has neither head nor heart for it. her very speech is preceded by a ‘great yawn’. Then she continues: ‘how pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way! I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! how much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.’
The gathered audience pay her pronouncements no mind: ‘No one made any reply. She then yawned again, threw aside her book, and cast her eyes round the room in quest of some amusement.’
Austen satirises this woman who not only fails to read a book for a few minutes, but even disbelieves her own pretentious announcements. her only interest in owning a library is so she can show off.
Julia Holmes, Stratford-upon-Avon.
QUESTION Why are brides supposed to wear ‘something old, something new…’ ?
‘SoMeThINg old’ is intended to be the veil. Although usually made of lace and expensive, veils were handed down from mother to daughter, not from a value point of view, but through superstition.
Something new: the bride would frequently, up to the mid-19th century, be obliged to wear clothing she already possessed (usually her one best ‘Sunday’ outfit). But as she was taking on a new life, this should be symbolised by her having at least one new article of apparel, showing optimism for the future.
It was usually a minor item, such as a new bonnet, blouse or simply a pair of gloves, something practical that could be of further everyday use.
Something borrowed: this was also associated with the veil and the
Out of context: Jane Austen and her quote on the new £10 note
transference of its powers from mother to daughter. Something blue: This stems from the belief that when the Virgin Mary was standing before the Cross on Calvary, she wore a blue robe. The colour blue is therefore supposed to be added to the bride’s raiment somewhere, to signify that she is pure in heart and body when she herself stands before the Cross upon the altar. The practice originated in Ancient Israel where a bride would wear a blue garter as a symbol of her fidelity. Dunstan Davies, author of Why Do We...? At Weddings: The Origins And Reasons Behind Wedding Day Traditions, Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
QUESTION The derrick, a type of lifting device, is named after a man called Derrick. What other pieces of equipment are named after people?
FurTher to earlier answers, the Ferris wheel is named after george Washington gale Ferris Jr., who designed and constructed one for the 1893 World’s Columbian exposition in Chicago. But he probably did not invent the device.
The Travels of Peter Mundy In europe And Asia, 1608– 1667, describes and illustrates ‘severall Sorts of Swinginge used in their Publique rejoyceings att their Feast of Biram’ on May 17, 1620, at Philippopolis in modern Bulgaria, then part of the ottoman empire. It also describes a device which sounds very much like a Ferris wheel.
Will Calder, Edinburgh.