The End.

So, the final chapter went a long way towards me liking this book. The final assessment that "We'd let Austen into our lives, and now we were all either married or dating" seems especially contrived and disturbing. Although, more and more as I think about it, I do see the parallels between the character(s) and the book they hosted. Jocelyn is the busy-body match maker like Emma, who after trying to set her friend up (minor confusion ensues) decides to take a man for herself. Sylvia is the quiet one who keeps everything inside, while Allegra is passionate and reckless, like Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Bernadette, always disheveled like Elizabeth after walking to Netherfield, is an older version of Elizabeth infinitely intriguing and marriageable, though not desperate. An interesting surpising notable turn with Daniel being Anne. Is Grigg then Catherine? And Prudie Fanny?

I'm torn between seeing Fowler as being clever or being a plagiarist. I love Bridget Jones's Diary and think Fielding terribly clever, so I guess I need to be fair across the board. (Or maybe Fowler is less clever because she's copying Fielding, not Austen). This paralleling does seem to give a little more point to the story. Perhaps the struggle is that there's too many layers. Each of Austen's heroines is a rich complex character that could deserve a whole update on her own (see BJD) and trying to put them all in one story makes for a lot of breadth and "hey, that's nifty" moments, but provides little depth. Once I'd determined what I see as less and less subtle connections, the more Fowler's characters have very little development of their own and rely on the audience's knowledge/love/appreciation of Austen's characters to be transfered to her own.

In regards to Jocelyn's question (#2), I used to watch Wishbone with one of the boys I babysat in high school. I thought it was awesome. Though I don't remember any Austen adaptations (apparently there are two "Furst Impressions" and "Pup Fiction"), I would certainly love to see them. I doubt Jocelyn would.