Love and friendship

2.2. Conflicts and the summary of the novel

At times, she portrays events almost in parody form, at others, she is sharp and critical, but as always, the typical Jane Austen brand of gentle, sparkling wit is highly evident. She describes the concept of "sensibility" or what we would today call "sensitivity" or "sentimentality" and how it can be taken to ridiculous extremes. The deliberately twisted and complicated plot is replete with fainting fits, deaths due to a variety of causes, including "galloping consumption," plenty of drama, elopements galore, unbelievable coincidences and wicked philanderers—all the elements that a typical potboiler of the era would contain.Love and Friendship was written primarily for the amusement of her large and gregarious family, and young Jane was probably called upon to read her writings aloud. The reader can only imagine the sheer hilarity that the novel must have evoked. As part of a collection of Jane Austen Juvenilia, this is indeed a treasure trove for Jane Austen enthusiasts as it offers early glimpses of that brilliant talent which was to shine forth a few years later and delight readers of all ages. A lack of conflict in stories is a common error among beginning writers. A writer will often painstakingly develop a setting and characters and then produce a story that is almost entirely lacking in conflict. One way to avoid this error is to outline your novel, and another is to get feedback on story scenes and conflicts. However, Outside of the most experimental approach to literature, all novels need a major conflict as well as smaller conflicts along the way.It's easier to build in conflict naturally when your scenes are structured well - download our free guide to starting,

developing and ending scenes here.) Throughout the study of literature, there have been numerous attempts to codify the conflicts that can appear in fiction. In school, students are often taught that the main conflicts in literature are "man against man," "man against nature" or "man against self." Of course, these types of conflicts can involve women as well. However, others argue that this list is incomplete. Some have pointed out that a protagonist can also be in conflict with society. Genre fiction arguably creates another set of conflicts. A person might be in conflict against. The catalyst is Lady Susan's teenage daughter, Frederica, who has run away from her expensive boarding school — and who's trailed to the Vernon estate by a boobish suitor named Sir James Martin. Sir James is pomp-and-gloriously played by Tom Bennett, who reminded me of Peter Cook as one of his impervious-to-reality titled Englishmen. But Lady Susan insists that Frederica acquiesce to this idiot's affections.Beckinsale's attack is driving and precise, her diction so sharp it can draw blood. And Stillman has given her amazing lines, some — but not all — culled from the novella's letters. They come at you so fast that the movie's texture is positively Oscar Wildean — or perhaps I say that the movie reminds you how much Wilde owed to Austen.In one scene, Lady Susan declares of her daughter's private school, "The fees are too high to even think of paying, so, in a sense, high to even think of paying, so, in a sense, it's an economy." Later, she dubs America "a nation of ingrates," adding, "Only having children makes you understand such behavior."Lady Susan's poor daughter — played by the winsome Morfydd Clark — wouldn't stand a chance without a benign intervention that builds the film to a near- farcical pitch.The cast has one weak link: Chloe Sevigny, who's forced to speak too quickly as Lady Susan's American confidante. The performance, though, makes you realize why Sevigny is so wonderful in other roles: Her dreamy rhythms are uniquely her own. And I don't care for Stillman's dullish title, Love & Friendship. I even prefer the ones suggested with tongue-in-cheek by author Leo Rockas, who adapted Lady Susan into a novel: Flirtation and Forbearance or Coquetry and Caution. But by any title, the movie is an absolute treat. accompanying title cards and descriptions. It's still hard to keep the relationships straight, but the device bespeaks an affection for the milieu that makes you want to use words like "bespeaks." Love & Friendship has both formal elegance and theatrical glee, so what might have seemed stuffy and posed now sings with undercurrents. We meet her after she has left the estate of one Lord Manwaring after enchanting the host and driving the hostess, Lady Manwaring, to despair. The next place she decides to stay — that's how she lives, you see, off wealthy friends and relations — is the mansion of her late husband's brother. She charms him, but unnerves his wife, Lady Catherine DeCourcy Vernon, an unusually empathetic woman played by the delightful Emma Greenwell.Just as alarming to Lady Catherine is the behavior of her younger brother, Reginald DeCourcy, played by Xavier Samuel with a bit of Hugh Grant's adorable lockjaw. Reginald claims to want to study Lady Susan's wiles from an anthropological perspective, but he seems more and more seduced by them.You might be thinking, "That's a lot of names to keep track of" — and I've cited only a few. Stillman helps by presenting the characters one or two at a time, with