Becoming Jane

Heavenly Father,
     Please bless everyone with safe travels, Lord. Prayers for those who have asked me to pray for them; and for two Special Intentions. Jesus, guide my words so that they bring you greater glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.
       I watched Becoming Jane for the 'nth' time this past weekend. I've wanted to write about this movie for some time, so here goes. Spoiler alert.

      Jane Austen chooses to marry for love, not money. Even though she lives in poverty, she will not be swayed to marry without emotion. She remains true to her craft, and made a living by it. In the 18th Century, for a woman to make a living by writing was unheard of, and often ridiculed. I'm saying this from the information garnered through the movie; her mom maliciously tells her in one poignant scene, after Jane refuses the offer of marriage from a wealthy gentleman named Wisley. Her mom tells her, "How will you live, Jane? By what...your pen?! You'll die a penniless, old spinster!" But Jane is a courageous woman and doesn't care what 'society' thinks of her, or her passion; in fact, she uses her writing to mock the thoughts of the day. She is who she is, and doesn't apologize for it.

     Then Jane meets the handsome Londoner named Tom LeFroy, portrayed beautifully by James MacAvoy, and they fall in love. Tom relies on his uncle, a judge in London, for his livelihood, and his education. They decide to see Tom's uncle, so that Tom can ask for his uncle's blessing; which would mean that Jane and Tom can be together, and not live in poverty.
     But alas, a letter arrives anonymously to Tom's uncle, just seconds before Tom is about to speak to him. In the letter, Jane is described as a desperate woman, vying for Tom's money (this is conjecture on my part; we're never told exactly what's in the letter.).  We do, however, see the uncle furiously storm out of the study, and refusing to give Tom any kind of blessing whatsoever.

     It is so terribly sad to see Tom's face when Jane enters the room, asking what happened. Tom is too stunned for words, but does manage to explain to Jane that they can't get married; his family relies on the money from his uncle. To see Tom this way contradicts his masculinity shown in the first hour of the film and it's heartbreaking. Jane tries to persuade him otherwise, saying they'll survive on her writing, but Tom doesn't believe it. When Jane comprehends the depth of what Tom is saying, she, her brother and her cousin leave London.
     I like that the movie allows the audience to see that Tom is love-stricken, and in such pain by the loss of Jane; it's cathartic. He still goes to 'houses of ill-repute,' but with much less vigor then was shown in the beginning. Jane is hurting too. The images of her pulling away from a conversation with her sister, to walk alone on the beach, emanates a profound sense of loss.

      But all hope is not lost! Tom returns a few weeks later, and asks Jane to elope with him. She quickly agrees. The wagon that is carrying them to Scotland gets stuck in the mud, and Jane is given Tom's things to hold while he helps push the wagon.  This is when she 'finds' a letter from Tom's mother, thanking him for the money he sent.When the wagon stops at a resting point, Jane asks Tom about his family; how many brothers and sisters he has, what their names are...Tom gets a little defensive because he knows where this questioning is leading. Jane is now fully cognizant of the repercussions of their actions. She comes to the same conclusions Tom came to when they were in London with his uncle. Jane leaves him there, at the rest stop. Tom is beside himself, but sees her resolve and doesn't run after her.

     Turns out that the letter sent to Tom's uncle was from another suitor of Jane's. This suitor was intent on disrupting any kind of union between Jane and Tom. Unfortunately, I've known men like this, and the anger you feel when you realize how selfish this person is, cannot be described easily.

     Jane and Tom see each other many, many, many years later, at an opera. Tom is a lawyer and married. Jane is a successful writer. Tom has his daughter with him, who he's named Jane, and Jane Austen does a private reading of one of her story's to Tom's daughter.

     Bitter sweet ending. Sigh.

     Reader, you can probably see why I wrote about this movie. Yes, I identify with Jane Austen's character in Becoming Jane. I've read on wiki that this relationship between Jane and Tom didn't actually happen, but it certainly made for a great movie.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa