#ashlee bree talks jane austen and taylor swift

[austennerdita2533]

Since we both love Taylor and Jane Austen: name 1-2 Taylor songs you associate with each Austen couple...though of course you don't have to include Fanny/Edmund ;)

Darcy and Elizabeth:

seven

Delicate

Jane and Bingley:

Enchanted

Sweet Nothing

Anne and Wentworth:

All Too Well - This is such a THEM song I could scream

The Story of Us

This Love

Emma and Knightley:

tolerate it

invisible string

Catherine and Henry:

Paris

Marianne and Colonel Brandon:

august

Begin Again

Elinor and Edward:

You Belong With Me

Fanny and Edmund:

Teardrops On My Guitar

[austennerdita2533]

Hi! So if Jane Austen's heroines were alive today (and not fictional, lol), which ones do you think would be the biggest Taylor Swift fans? I know Marianne would cry along to her songs and analyze her lyrics as much as I do, lol. And I can totally see Emma organizing outings to Taylor Swift concerts. (Also, I'm rewatching Friends and while Rachel Green and I are very different people, I just know she would be a big Taylor fan, which partly explains why I love her ;))

Hello friend!! And omg, what a fun question to ponder!

You know, I think an argument could be made that most, if not all, of Austen's heroines (+some secondary characters, too!) would be Taylor Swift fans. Mostly because I feel like Jane Austen herself would be a ride or die Swiftie, so it's fitting some of her characters would be as well. :)

Marianne Dashwood would absolutely WEEP over the beauty of T-Swift's writing. She'd hone in on the metaphorical significance of lyrics; be all about the symbolism, the allusions, the themes. She'd deconstruct her vocal and instrumental choices. And she'd scream about how deeply the songs made her feel.

She'd be out there posting dramatic memes like this:

(Also re: why do I get the sense that Marianne would romanticize Willoughby with a song like Enchanted? ☠️)

Elinor Dashwood would be more of a subdued fan, I think. A quieter one. She wouldn't blast Taylor's songs in the car necessarily, but rather, would listen to them from the privacy of her own headphones so no one else need hear her favorites. She'd like the poignant, introspective songs better than those that were the biggest hits. I could see The Story of Us fitting her and Edward's dynamic well.

Emma Woodhouse planning outings to concerts? HELL YES TO THAT. I also could envision her organizing listening parties before a new album dropped or even throwing parties for different T-Swift eras "just because" (1989, Speak Now, Fearless etc). Tell me she wouldn't love doing that! She'd have a whole vibe/color scheme with themed decor, food, and party favors, and of, course, would invite all of Highbury. Also, if someone expressed that they weren't a fan of Taylor's music, I could picture her being snobbish about it and judging them for having poor taste (which, obviously, they would 😂).

The Bennet sisters would all be big fans, too. The girls would probably all own/wear Swiftie merch, attend concerts together, and blast her music in the house at all hours. (This might be another reason why Mr. Bennet chooses to hide himself away in his library. He's soundproofed the walls, because dammit, he needs some peace and quiet!)

Lydia and Kitty would be overly invested in all the T-Swift gossip, especially the conspiracy theories regarding Taylor's dating life/exes. They would be focused on deducing which songs she did - or did - not write about whom. They'd also go totally feral over Harry Styles. No question about it. They might even go so far as to post blind items online about where Taylor's current lovers and/or exes have been seen recently, and with whom. As for Mary, I think she'd consider herself to be a more "serious" fangirl and have a whole YouTube channel or TikTok account that was comprised of carefully cultivated T-Swift covers. Jane would have a special fondness for Lover. (The song, in particular.) It fits her aesthetic: her pure heart and the way she loves--softly, sweetly, in shades of effervescent gold. And Lizzie, of any Austen character, is the likeliest to have or live out her own Reputation Era. She radiates "I Did Something Bad," Look What You Made Me Do," and "Delicate" energy without even trying. She ain't afraid to burn shit to the ground, Darcy's first proposal included. 🔥

Anne Elliot would be let herself be eviscerated by the album, Red. She'd listen to it over and over again and just let herself bleed with the memories of what was, of what could have been, with Wentworth. Tell me you can't imagine her sing-crying along to All Too Well (10 Minute Version) while she's draped morosely over her bed, alone, pining, well after 2 AM. Death by A Thousand Cuts is another song she'd play on a loop to wring her heart out. (My heart, my hips, my body, my love/Trying to find a part of me that you didn't touch") It fits thematically with her assertion that women love longest even "when existence or when hope is gone." 😭

Catherine Morland has a dreamy, fanciful quality about her and likes to lose herself in other people's stories more than she tends to stay grounded in her own. For that reason, I think she'd appreciate Folklore and Evermore a lot. The songs in those albums double as short stories and character studies so I think she'd love submerging herself in the narrative richness and intimacy they provide because it's like getting a first-hand glimpse into another world, into somebody else's life.

Fanny Price, though timid, is an incredibly self-aware character who knows she's jealous of Mary Crawford because she has managed to secure Edmund's romantic interest/attachment. If there is any song she would relate to most in sentiment, it'd probably be You Belong With Me. She'd never convey that out loud, though. Never admit it. Least of all to Edmund, the man she's loved and pined for in secret her whole life. It's not her way. She's resigned herself to admiring him from a distance, which would make her affinity for that song much sadder and heartbreaking, in my opinion.

Anyway, wow! I did not mean to drone on so much about this but once I got going I couldn't seem to stop. 🙃

[austennerdita2533]

Sorry to live in your inbox, but here's another one! Choose three fictional characters who you think would be Taylor Swift fans. I'll pick Lexie Grey, Catherine Morland and Caroline Forbes---and you know I love all of them :)

You could literally stakeout my inbox forever and I’d be happy as a clam! You’re always welcome here. ❤️

And what great choices! I can see all three of them bobbing and/or crying along to T-Swift songs. If I had to choose three other potential Swifties, I’d say Mindy Lahiri, Leslie Knope, and Anne Shirley would be good contenders.