Analyze This

Alison   Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:39 pm GMT
"It is true that there is nothing more forlorn than a forgotten author, a neglected genius whom fashion and whimsy have dictated must languish in the dusty corners of ill-attended libraries and the unread footnotes of dull reference books. Poor Jane Austen! How long must her devotees petition for her return to favour?

When all Christmas has brought you is a 10th anniversary Pride and Prejudice box set complete with anamorphic widescreen and Dolby digital, you’re bound to feel a bit of nose-out-of-jointedness. And when your most famous character, Elizabeth Bennet, has only been played by Greer Garson, Madge Evans, Daphne Slater, Jane Downs, Celia Bannerman, Elizabeth Garvie, Jennifer Ehle and Keira Knightley, what you really need is a lucky break, the helping hand of fate, a push in the right direction. But why must it always fall to publishers to mop up the wider culture’s oversights?"


I have problem right from the first sentence. Is it saying "There is nothing more sad than a genius author MUST languish in the dusty conners of libraries and in the unread footnotes"? Thanks for helping.
Alison   Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:41 pm GMT
- I have problems
bob   Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:34 pm GMT
"There is nothing more sad than a genius author WHO MUST languish in the dusty corners of libraries and in the unread footnotes"

thats what its saying
bob   Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:36 pm GMT
by the way, did you write that? its perfect english... i struggled a little with that and im from england... lol
Gjones2   Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:46 pm GMT
Bob gave the correct shorter version. I'll add, though, that the writer is probably being ironic about the lack of attention. If it's true that Austen's character Elizabeth Bennett has been played by all those people -- Greer Garson, Madge Evans, Daphne Slater, Jane Downs, Celia Bannerman, Elizabeth Garvie, Jennifer Ehle and Keira Knightley -- then it seems to me that she's getting a good bit of attention.
Alison   Fri Jan 27, 2006 5:14 pm GMT
bob, I don't feel so bad about myself if you did struggle a bit with the passages. Nope; I wish I wrote it. Thanks so much for clearing it up for me.

Man, Gjones2, seems like you've really paid attentions to Pride And Prejudice adaptations. Half of those names I've never heard of.

What does it mean by "a neglected genius whom fashion and whimsy have dictated "?
Dictate means command, right?
Gjones2   Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:31 pm GMT
"a neglected genius whom fashion and whimsy have dictated must languish in the dusty corners of ill-attended libraries"

There 'dictated' merely means that her books were neglected because fashion and whimsy (the mood of the reading public) had turned against her ("fashion and whimsy" metaphorically commanded that this happen).
Gjones2   Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:34 pm GMT
>Man, Gjones2, seems like you've really paid attentions to Pride And Prejudice adaptations. Half of those names I've never heard of. [Alison]

I haven't either. I just copied the names of all those actresses from the original passage. I've seen two of them, though, Greer Garson and Jennifer Ehle. There are movie and TV adaptations of most of Austen's other books too. Of them all, the TV version of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle is my favorite.
Alison   Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:24 pm GMT
In the book, Elizabeth was archly sweet, not used to affront people. I liked Ehle, but her portrayal of Elizabeth seemed to be a tad too forwad to me. Well, just my opinion.
I saw the one with Keira Knightley too. I prefer Ehle's version if you ask me.
Alison   Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:32 pm GMT
What is nose-out-of-jointedness?