Jane Austen Lessons

(Piano Music) (gulls, sounds of city) - [Andrew Davies] In her novels, Jane Austen often shows people changing drastically.

That is one of those things about literature, people have reforms and redemptions.

- [Stringer] Miss Heywood.

- [Charlotte] Mr.

Parker, Mr.

Stringer, Mr.

Robinson.

- Miss Heywood, how splendid to happen upon you like this.

- They're one of the most lovely things to read about and to write about, but, yeah, in a way, I think it's a convention of literature that people go through character arcs.

I think, often, what she's doing is she's revealing something that's there at the heart all the time.

One of the things I like most about Jane Austen is that there are always more layers.

The more carefully you read her, the more things you can see.

I love "Emma", and there are so many favorite scenes I could pick.

(Horse hooves) One of the favorite scenes is the famous picnic of Fox Hill, where Emma is unnecessarily rude to Miss Bates, and Knightley gives her a telling off and she feels it because she knows she was in the wrong and she's upset, and it's a big setback for her.

Of course, it all comes out all right in the end.

(piano music) Charlotte is in a quite similar situation to Emma.

She's resourceful, she's plucky, she stands up for herself, she doesn't know much about the world, but she knows what she thinks.

She's a bit too opinionated in the beginning.

- He really made it clear in the character that she's her own person, she has her own opinions, she's not afraid to speak her mind.

Sometimes that gets her into trouble and she, sort of, speaks before she thinks.

- Or your elder brother, Tom, could be called overenthusiastic.

(laughing) I'm afraid that, despite his good nature, he neglects his own happiness, and his family's, in his passionate devotion to Sanditon, don't you agree?

- Upon my word, Miss Heywood, you are very free with your opinions.

- I beg your pardon, I didn't m... - [Sidney] And upon what experience of the world do you form your judgements?

- [Rose] She really speaks so freely that there's a bit of a lack of understanding and ignorance around certain issues.

- I must ask, for the life of me, I cannot think what Sidney's objections to you could be.

- [Georgiana] Is it not obvious?

Look at him.

- [Rose] She has had such a limited experience in this country town, that she's completely oblivious and unaware of the plight of people.

- And she gets quite a lot of shocks and setbacks when she moves to a very different sort of society in Sanditon, and she gets knocked back by Lady Denham.

- You just can't help it, can you?

- [Charlotte] Help what?

- Speaking your mind, standing up for yourself.

- [Andrew] But also, she gets knocked back, particularly by Sidney.

- Did we not agree that you would look out for Georgiana?

Keep her out of trouble?

I should have known you weren't to be trusted.

- And I should have known, just by your professed concern, you care nothing for her happiness.

- I would ask you to refrain from making judgements about a situation you don't understand.

- I understand perfectly well.

- Oh, of course you do.

Even though you've known Georgiana but a handful of weeks and him but a matter of hours.

- [Charlotte] That was time enough to learn that Mr.

Molyneux is as respectable a gentleman as I've ever had cause to meet.

- You seem to find it impossible to distinguish between the truth and your own opinion.

- Mr.

Parker!

- Georgiana has disappeared off the face of the Earth, no one's seen her anywhere.

(sobs) - I've been acting as a go between for Georgiana and Otis Molyneux since you forbade them from seeing each other.

Her heart was broken, Mr.

Parker, I could not bear to see it.

- If anything happens to her, anything, it will be on your head, do you understand me?

(door opening) - [Rose] She's completely and utterly naive to the fact that there's so much more to it than that.

- [Andrew] She is our heroine and we go through this with her, learning as she learns.

And she gets taught one or two painful lessons, but we're totally on her side.

(piano music) (bird calls)