Musings with My Mikey

Happy Tuesday, dear readers! I hope the weather in your corner of the world is pleasant. If not, I hope you have a cup of tea and a good book or movie to keep you company. Because, after all there is nothing like staying home for real comfort, is there? And as they say, home is where your heart is.

Well, my heart has been taken for the last 16 years by three boys. As I’ve mentioned before, I was blessed with three sons, no daughters. At first, I was devastated, imagining that my children would never appreciate my love for Pride and Prejudice, but instead only their father’s love for football. But I was so wrong. I’ve had a multitude of experiences with my boys which have burst my literary buttons.

From our trip to Lyme Park in 2019 where all my boys chose to dress up like Mr. Darcy, to the Jane Austen Ball my AP students threw and my youngest chose to be Colonel Fitzwilliam, I am a lucky lady.  My most recent moment of maternal joy happened in a most unglamorous location: my kitchen.

In order to trick me into doing dishes, my husband put a small 15″ television on the counter by the sink, and has the Pride and Prejudice DVD on standby. He had popped it in one night last month when he was going to clean out the garage, and my fourteen year old son, Mikey (Furthest on the right in the above picture) was working on his homework.

Now, my boys have watched every version of Pride and Prejudice since they were born, and appreciate the two most popular versions (1995 and 2005).  That night, Keira Knightly happened to be in the DVD player, and about 1/4 of the way through the movie, my Mikey began to give me his personal insight. For the record, my Mikey is on the Autism Spectrum, and by his own admission, is a ‘man of few words.’ Since he was younger, he has allowed his brothers speak for him, removing himself from healthy doses of interactions with others. That night, I was in for a treat. What follows are the spatterings of conversation between me and my sweet son.

Netherfield Park:

Mikey: “Mom, why is the guy with the red hair in that girl’s room? Isn’t that against the law of Jane Austen?”

Me: “Well, there’s not really a law of Jane Austen, but it wasn’t appropriate for a man to be in a woman’s room, especially if they weren’t married.”

Mikey: “Well OBVIOUSLY if they weren’t married! What kind of craziness is happening?”

Me: “That’s Mr. Bingley. He’s in love with Jane, the girl who is sick, remember? He was just coming in to check on her. That’s her sister Elizabeth.”

Mikey: (Mimicking a deeper voice) ” ‘Yea, I’m glad your sister is sick so she can stay at my house.’ He’s going to crash and burn, Mom! Crash and burn!”

Mikey then began to refocus on his homework, but looked back up when Mrs. Bennet came to take the girls home and Jane and Lizzy were walking out to the carriage.  The infamous hand-flex made him gasp.

Mikey:  “Ok! If my crush touched my hand like that, I’d play it cool like Darcy too!” ‘Yes, drive safely!’ (Inside- ‘Oh my gosh!!!!  She touched me! She touched me!  Play it cool, man!’)

In Hunsford:

Mikey:   (The scene in the church where Col. Fitzwilliam tells Lizzy of Darcy’s separating Jane and Bingley.) “People are always talking in church, huh? What’s the Colonel’s scheme? Is he after Lizzy? You know that kid spinning the top? That was like the earliest form of the I-phone! A distraction when you’re bored!”

(He had to run and help his dad when Darcy proposed, but came back right before Darcy walked in to give Lizzy the letter).

Mikey:   “I feel like Darcy transports places. Bam! He’s there when she least expects it. (After Darcy drops the letter and leaves) It looks like she is staring into my soul…Why is she still staring?…She’s still staring…I’m concerned…She has not blinked!…Why is she still staring…That must have been a hard scene for her to film!”

When Elizabeth Returns to Longbourn:

Mikey: “Why is Lydia so happy? She’s been invited to where? Brighton? Isn’t that where all the officers are going? Probably not a good idea to let her loose with all those men!”

When Elizabeth is touring Pemberley:

Mikey: “Wait…she sees the statue and falls in love with him? That’s all it took? Well, that was easy! No offense, Mom, but this would have been over a long time ago if she’d just seen that statue before!”

When Bingley is Preparing to Propose to Jane:

Mikey:  “He’s practicing with Mr. Darcy. The girls talked it out, but the guys had to act it out.”

Photo: BBC

Thoughts as the Credits Rolled:

Mikey:  “If I actually lived in this time, I would just stand there and say, ‘What are you talking about? I can’t understand you people.'”

Mikey: “You know mom, I think I like the other one better…with the other Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.  Don’t get me wrong, this one is good, but it just feels so rushed. This one has no episodes; no time for…’maybe this will happen, or that will happen…’ Not everyone has a mom like you to explain everything this movie is missing. No, it’s just too fast for me.”

I hope you enjoyed this peak into the mind of my Mikey, and a Pride and Prejudice novice. Watching the movie which I love about a book I adore through his eyes gave me a bit more insight into the story, and made me look at things a little differently.

What are some things you noticed/enjoyed about this version? I personally love the music and cinematography. It is such a beautifully shot film! I also like that I can get a P&P fix pretty quickly while washing dishes. 🙂