discussion question
Hey,
since Ive been reading Jane Austen a lot, its only natural that I would bring her novels and quotes up every now and then. Here's a quote by Mary in Pride & Prejudice:
"We may draw from [Lydia] this useful lesson; that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable-that one false step involves her in endless ruin-that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful, and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behavior towards the undeserving of the other sex." (p 219 in the Oxford version in case you want to know the context...thats Vol 3 ch. 5)
What do you think of this statement?
posted by Miranda and Derrick @ 3:19 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
i didnt read the context. but i would perhaps barely agree, and ultimatly disagree. I am not a woman, so i could not fully say. but a woman for one could change, just as anyone could, redeaming their life and virture. and perhaps not every one would accept it, and thats why i would barely agree. but if worse comes to worse they could always leave and go to a new place creating a new life
THanks Nate! SO true. Isnt it interesting how culture changes soo much. Because back when this was written, this statement would probably be considered true by many people (early 1800's). (if theres a history buff reading this and I'm wrong, please let me know.) Unfortunately I think that often even people today think like this. Often we dont have enough faith in someone, knowing that theye can change or have changed. Phil Brookman talked about this in chapel the other day...he said that too often we decide who we will evangelize to based on whether or not we think they will receive the Gospel....how do we decide that? How do we know that our friends around us who aren't christians dont want to be Christians. Ive heard too many stories of people not-knowingly converting a person who they would never knowingly try to convert because they thought it 'wouldnt work' and then finding out later that it was their Christian example that got them thinking and changed their life. People, we need to have more faith! Im going back to Belgium to tell people about God because I still have faith in all my highschool friends! WHen I moved to OC I thought I fet like I had given up on them, but I cant.
Dont give up on your friends! Dont give up on people! Believe in them!Believe in God!
But haven't we missed the point of the comment if we think it is only about what other people think? She (woman - and actually this is equally true of man) has irretrievably lost her virtue. She lost it in the eyes of those around her, but also in reality. Of course she can change (though I don't think the context was about this woman being loose), but she will have to accept the consequences of her actions. Thankfully God is there to strenghten and let us know that we can start again - with Him.
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