Friday Quote: A New Delicious Bliss

...alone with [Kitty] he felt, now that the thought of her approaching motherhood was never for a moment absent from his mind, a new and delicious bliss, quite pure from sensuality, in being near the woman he loved. There was no need for speech, yet he longed to hear the sound of her voice, which like her eyes, had changed since she had  been with child. In her voice, as in her eyes, there was that softness and gravity which is found in people continually concentrated on some cherished pursuit. 

Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (Part VI, Chapter 3)

Friday Quote: My Favorite Scene from Pride & Prejudice

"I am not to be intimidated . . ."

I finished Pride & Prejudice! Today I'm sharing a portion of my favorite scene.

The illustrious Lady Catherine De Bourgh has made a special trip to Longbourn to confront Elizabeth. A rumor has reached Lady Catherine that her nephew, Darcy, and Elizabeth are engaged. She is furious! She asserts that Darcy was intended from birth to marry her daughter, Anne. 

This scene comes as a surprise. Lady Catherine is the last visitor anyone would expect at Longbourn. She is out of her element and quite sour about it. What proceeds is an epic battle between two women. It's loaded with contrast, it's amusing, and, as we later discover, it propels the plot to a happy conclusion!

The following is just a slice -- I resisted the urge to post the whole chapter:

"You are a gentleman's daughter. But who was your mother? Who are your aunts and uncles? Do not imagine me ignorant of their condition."

"Whatever my connections may be," said Elizabeth, "if your nephew does not object to them, they can be nothing to you."

"Tell me once and for all, are you engaged to him?"

Though Elizabeth would not, for the mere purpose of obliging Lady Catherine, have answered this question, she could not but say, after a moment's deliberation, "I am not."

Lady Catherine seemed pleased.

"And will you promise me never to enter into such an engagement?"

"I will make no promise of the kind."

"Miss Bennet, I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a more reasonable young woman. But do not deceived yourself into a belief that I will ever recede. I will not go away until you give me the assurance I require."

"And I certainly never shall give it. I am not to be intimidated into anything so wholly unreasonable."

 Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice (ch. 56)

What is your favorite scene from Pride & Prejudice?

Friday Quote: Pride & Prejudice

"Her teeth are tolerable but not out of the common way . . . "

Jealousy

Caroline Bingley has a crush on Mr. Darcy. The problem is Elizabeth Bennet. Darcy has already admitted he thinks Elizabeth has fine eyes. Now that Caroline has had a chance to observe Darcy's admiration of Elizabeth while in her company she has resorted to hurling low-down dirty insults. As Jane Austen points out: " . . . this was not the best method of recommending herself; but angry people are not always wise."

"How very ill [Elizabeth] Bennet looks this morning, Mr. Darcy," [Caroline Bingley] cried; " I never in my life saw any one so much altered as she is since the winter. She is grown so brown and coarse! Louisa and I were agreeing that we should not have known her again . . . For my own part, I must confess that I never could see any beauty in her. Her face is too thin; her complexion has no brilliancy  and her features are not at all handsome. Her nose wants character -- there is nothing marked in its lines. Her teeth are tolerable but not out of the common way; and as for her eyes, which has sometimes been called so fine, I never could perceive anything extraordinary in them. They have a sharp, shrewish look which I do not like at all; and in her air altogether there is a self-sufficiency without fashion, which is intolerable."
Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice (ch. 45)

For a great post on the subject of jealousy visit Tim Fall's recent post at Just One Train Wreck After Another.

Hope you have a marvelous weekend! See you Sunday for "Classics and the Bible Sundays."

Cyber-Samplers for 12/12/12

Nearly blinded myself this morning while attempting to capture this shot.

Took this of my son while on a camping trip last summer.

Made this with a paper bag on the kitchen floor.

I've been having a blast making little quote pictures lately. If I hone in on your favorite quote, I'll probably be sending you one. (If I know your email address, that is!) When I was a teenager, I cross-stitched little designs and sent them to my friends in the mail. I've come to think of what I'm doing now as as "cyber-stitchery"! What you see here are "cyber-samplers".

When I hear a person say they love a certain quote, I try to really pay attention to it. The quote will usually reveal something essential about that person, something he or she may never articulate to me any other way.

 Made this with a silk apron which has "France 1919" embroidered on the pocket.

I always read with a sharp #2 Ticonderoga. My pencil also serves as a bookmark. 

On my blog you will only see cyber-stitchery from quotes that I've come upon in my reading -- stuff I've underlined and reread and pondered on my own. This is a little rule I follow because while it's fun to skip over to Pinterest or Wikiquote and grab a quote I like, there is nothing quite like scaling a mountainous tome in a hungry search for a morsel of nourishment. Something about that whole process makes a quote much more memorable and personal to me. If feels like it's mine.

For this one I used some red Christmas wrap with white dots. 

Took this picture on one of my morning walks this past year. 

Take care dear ones.

Oh and I nearly forgot -- Happy 12/12/12!

This is a good day to do something you'd like to be remembered by!

Love to all!

~ Adriana

p.s. Did I invent two new terms? I haven't noticed anyone else use "cyber-stitchery" or "cyber-sampler" before. Which do you like best?

This is a portion of a sampler I made in 1996.

p.s.s. If I DO send you a quote via email, It's a gift. Please don't feel obligated to stick it on your blog or anything! (But you certainly may if you want to.) No need to reference me in your post, my  blog-signature is already on the stuff I make.

Dear Friends, I made this for you today.

I'm in a general holiday bustle today. 

Busy, busy, busy!

But a little while ago, I stopped to think,

If I could give my readers one gift today, what would it be . . . hmm . . . yes, I know just the thing -- one of my favorite quotes from Anna Karenina!

I took a picture of some fabric out of my daughter's sewing kit for the background.

Hope you like it.

Love,

Adriana

The Quote that Changed my Life (An Autumn Ramble)

by Adriana

When walking with a friend I've always found it's easier for me to share the deepest parts of myself -- the mistakes I've made, my strengths, my weaknesses, the things I'm most grateful for, my fears,

and my dreams for the future.

You have a dream too. I know you do. (We all do.)

If you were walking by my side over these hills and through these autumn meadows, what would you share with me? What kind of person are you striving to be? 

Nearly a year ago, I read a quote that changed me. I'd like to share it with you because maybe it's just what you need too.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

The first time I read that, something connected deep within me. I thought, Am I going to spend the rest of my life talking about what I want to do? Reading about it? Day dreaming? No! 

That was the day I started Classical Quest. I've been writing something pretty much every day since -- somedays I write a blog post, often it's just a summary which I jot with a pencil at the end of a chapter of classic literature -- but something!  Recently, I referred to my self as a writer. It came out naturally. I didn't feel awkward about saying it because writing is what I do. A writer is who I am.

What do you do repeatedly? Are you engaged in an excellent habit? It is our habits which define us. They give us a name. They make us who we are.

Here's how I would describe myself based on the positive habits I engage in repeatedly:

giver of affection, advocate for the misunderstood, life-sustainer, memory-maker, vision-caster, mood-setter, self-educator, walker/jogger, photographer, face-reader, deep thinker, person of prayer (How do I say that? Pray-er? Supplicant?) quote-collector, reader, writer

(I'm not going to share my negative habits today!)

The discipline of creation, be it to paint, compose, write, is an effort toward wholeness ...

The artist cannot hold back; it is impossible, because writing, or any other discipline of art, involves participation in suffering, in the ills and the occasional stabbing joys that come from being part of the human drama. ~ Madeline L'Engle

Some of you are hurting. Some of you don't feel whole. There is a nagging ache in your heart because you know there is something you should be doing with your life. I want to encourage you  to set your excellent habit into motion. Don't say, "I don't have time."  --  Our great-grandmothers didn't have time, because they had to churn their own butter and sew their own clothes, but most of us do have time. Turn off the television, shut down your Facebook account -- do whatever you have to do. Life is fleeting. Begin today in some small way. If you are not sure how to begin, feel free to email me at classicalquest@gmail.com. Perhaps I can point you in the direction of a blogger who is on a similar journey.

Do you agree that excellence is a habit?

What new habit do you want to cultivate?

I've shared my positive habits with you. I hope you will share yours with me. I am so inspired by my readers and I want to get to know each of you better. 

How would you describe yourself based on the excellent habits you engage in repeatedly?

(If this post was an encouragement to you, please "like" Classical Quest on Facebook. Thank you!)

Anna Karenina's Paper Knife

by Adriana

When it's quiet around the dinner table it usually means the meal is especially satisfying.

And so it's been quiet here on the blog  as I've been mowing through Leo Tolstoy's 923 page gem, Anna Karenina.


I thought I'd peak my head in today to let you in on something new --

I've started a collection!

Ever since I read The Happiness Project last summer, I've been thinking about taking Gretchin Rubin's advice to collect something. But what? (I'm not big on knick-knacks.)

On my Pinterest page you will find a board called "Quotes from my Quest". These are not merely random pithy quotes that I've found while roaming the internet, they are quotes I've found on my own while holding a #2 Ticonderoga pencil in my hand! A couple of the images on the board are pictures I've taken myself.

My collection is currently small, but you can be sure I'm keeping it in mind as I read. I love to make connections between great quotes and great images!

Here's a tip: My main source for images on this board is Wiki Paintings the Visual Arts Encyclopedia. I discovered it very recently and I'm enthralled. It is vast, well organized and the image quality is good. You can view many paintings by pretty much any famous artist. You can also choose to view an artist's work chronologically or alphabetically.

Currently I've been intrigued by Russian artist, Konstantin Makovsky. Born in Moscow; died in Saint Petersburg -- he painted a lot of portraits of Russian aristocracy during the time Tolstoy was writing his novels.

Would you like to know what led me to Makovsky?

It was Anna Karenina's paper knife.

I came upon this while pinning images --

At first glance, a scene from Anna Karenina came to mind.

Remember the part where Anna had just boarded the train to Saint Petersburg?

Still in the same anxious frame of mind as she had been all day...she took from her bag a paper knife and an English novel.. twisting the smooth paper knife in her little hands, she forced herself to read.

Of course I had to find out who painted this. I did not expect to find it was one of Tolstoy's contemporaries!

Here's a few more of my favorites by Makovsky --

 

This is how I imagine Dolly Oblonskaya.

                                   

source

So now that I've told you all about my fun new hobby, I want to encourage you to try it for yourself. If you come across a great image that makes you think of a classic quote you've read, I would love for you to share both the image and the quote with me!

First, be sure to link your source.

Second, put your image/quote combo somewhere where I can see it! It really doesn't matter where --  the Classical Quest Facebook page, your blog or your own Pinterest board (just leave your link in the comment box).

Third, keep it clean.  I'll delete anything I consider inappropriate.

If I get enough feedback, I'll eventually start a new board on Pinterest called "Quotes from YOUR Quest".

I expect this will take a while because reading through the classics and making connections is a long process, but I'm not going anywhere in a hurry. You know where to find me!

Happy collecting!