In Jane Austin’s Pride & Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet decides to visit her sister who fell ill while calling on the Bingleys. When Elizabeth’s father reluctantly offers her the use of a horse, Elizabeth declines.“I do not wish to avoid the walk,” she says. “The distance is nothing when one has a motive: only three miles. I shall be back by dinner.” 

Let’s take a moment to unpack Elizabeth’s declaration. The distance from her house to the Bingleys is “only” three miles. That’s a six mile roundtrip, and no one says the distance is too far to walk. One sister mentions that she prefers not to exert herself so much, while two others join Elizabeth for part of the journey, before turning their own steps towards town.

Long walks in all kinds of weather, expected or sudden, are a frequent activity in Austin novels. Walks to neighbors; walks to town; walks across meadows or down to lakes for a picnic. Walking was the only way to get out of the house, whether for social interactions or solitary contemplation. Walking in public spaces was also one way couples became acquainted away from matchmakers.

But walking in Regency England was only appropriate if one didn’t need to do it. One walked the moors or strolled on the promenade in Bath through choice rather than necessity. 

The “Running Craze”

In 1960, Americans didn’t think a normal person would walk, jog, or run unless the individual was trying out for the college track team. But change was in the wind. Bill Bowerman, a running coach at the University of Oregon went to New Zealand and met with a jogging coach. Bowerman was so impressed he co-wrote a book, Jogging, to prove jogging led to better health.

Slowly the new exercise caught on, but solitary individuals jogging around a neighborhood were viewed with suspicion. In 1968, police issued a ticket to a runner in Hartford, Conn. for the “illegal use of a highway by a pedestrian.” Soon no one noticed fitness disciples running and jogging their way through life.

In 1977, Jim Fixx published The Complete Book of Running, and not long after, running was “in.” Fixx generously indicated joggers could call themselves runners. But he didn’t discuss walking. The activity was running, not walking, leaving the impression that walkers lacked … something. Walkers often outpaced joggers, but how could something people did every day be a form of exercise?

Walkers kept walking anyway

As runners wore out their joints, walkers kept walking. They walked for miles on all terrains, and researchers finally started to pay them some attention. 

There is a significant difference between walking and running. In running, both feet are off the ground at the same time. The runner pushes up and then lands. Thud.  In walking, only one foot at a time leaves contact with the ground. 

How we walk

We don’t normally think about the mechanics of walking, but in case you ever wondered … in the forward motion, the leg leaving the ground swings forward from the hip, before striking the ground with the heel and rolling forward through the toe.

It turns out walking is a stellar form of exercise. Other than a good pair of shoes, walkers don’t need any special equipment for their daily activity.

Walking at a brisk pace is a low impact exercise that is weight bearing for better bone health, contributes to weight loss, lowers blood pressure and stress levels, and improves cardiovascular health. It’s also a good chance to get outside and take a break.

While playing Elinor in the movie Sense & Sensibility, Emma Thompson observed that standing like an Austin heroine was a strenuous activity that required keeping the pelvis firmly beneath the rib cage. The same could be said for walking like an Austin heroine.*

There is, of course, a healthful way of walking that we might not be aware of, one that doesn’t include looking at our phones. We all have our walking idiosyncrasies, but Margaret Martin’s approach may give you some new ideas.

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*Quoted in “Incandescently Healthy.” Willow & Thatch.

Illustrations

Morning Walking Dress, 1810

A Garden Stroll by George Goodwin Kilburne

2010 USA Track & Field Championships by Phil Roeder

Man Walking Icon

Stance & swing phase of a gait cycle. By Rlawson9

People Walking in Caleta de las Monjas by Ian D Keating

Phil Edwards. “When Running for Exercise was for Weirdos.” Vox. Aug. 9, 2015.

Oliver Jones. “Walking & Gaits.” Teach Me Anatomy. Nov. 13, 2020.

James Roland. “How to Walk Properly with Good Posture.” Healthline. Jan. 16, 2020.

The post Walking: A Beneficial Activity first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

As a writer Jane Austen saw and recorded many human foibles but this quote from Pride and Prejudice is the one most often remembered. Through several beautiful films and television series, the  romance of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy remains in the minds of readers. Just to refresh your recollection of time and place, here’s a scene from the 1995 mini-series in which Mr. Darcy as played by young Colin Firth arrives unexpectedly to his estate at Pemberley, unaware that Elizabeth Bennet and her relatives have been touring the property.

Ah, the romance, the uncertainty, the sexual tension. All so unlike the 21st century singles scene, and attempts to tell Austin’s story in a contemporary setting. More on that shortly.

First let’s review the details. Elizabeth Bennet is the second of five daughters; Mr. Darcy the wealthy heir of an well-placed family. The Bennets are not well off, and their property is entailed which meant that in the absence of a son when Mr Bennet died, the property would pass to the nearest male relative.

[It’s the same situation we saw in Downton Abbey. Lord Grantham lacked a son, so his property would pass to the eldest male relative. In the end, that person turned out to be his grandson, which was nicely convenient.]

But back to the Bennets. In addition to Elizabeth, there’s her older sister Jane, a middle sister Mary, and two younger sisters Lydia and Kitty. Other characters include Charles Bingley, the man whose fortune is referred to above, Bingley’s arrogant friend Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr. Collins a vicar and heir to the Bennet property, and the dastardly Wickham who seduces Lydia and very nearly “ruins” her, as they said in the eighteenth century. There are numerous minor characters as well.

There are some very real stakes in Austen’s story. Genteel spinsterhood as experienced by some lesser characters, is not a comfortable existence. Women did not enjoy financial independence. They did not have rights to their children. They had little choice in marriage partners. Mrs. Bennet’s obsessive desire to marry off her daughters was to keep them secure. Mr. Bennet’s lack of funds meant that in addition to the normal difficulties of making a match, the girls would not have attractive dowries. When Lydia ran off with Wickham, she completely destroyed any chance she had of a respectable, financially secure marriage unless it was to Wickham. When Elizabeth rejected Mr. Collins she not only repulsed a suitor, but insured that the family property would change hands. Jane Austen knew these situations first hand.

The quartet of Charles Bingley and Jane, and Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth form the core of the story. There is strong attraction within the respective couples and little chance to act upon it. Respectable women didn’t just nip round to the pub for a welcome drink. They attended local balls. They drank tea. They waited and hoped.

In the end Jane Austen put her characters out of their misery, but it wasn’t a foregone conclusion for the reader.

So that’s the story. Fans have a seeming insatiable desire to find out what happened next, and several authors have tried to answer the question. In 2011 P. D. James published Death Comes to Pemberley, quite a good read as well as miniseries. Shannon Winslow penned The Darcys of Pemberley (2011), and for those who wanted to know what went on below stairs, Jo Baker offered Longbourn (2013) a well-researched historical novel about the Bennet servants.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is an attempt to retell Pride and Prejudice in the 21st century. Many readers found the story rollicking good fun. I disagree. Eligible has no depth, innuendo, or sexual tension. No real stakes. And not much drinking of tea.

Mr. Bennet lives the childhood home he bought from his parents for $1.00 and has not kept up. He has no real occupation or interest, and in that he is similar to his predecessor. Mrs. Bennet wants to get her oldest daughters married. In this tale, Jane is 40 and Elizabeth, 38. They aren’t getting any younger. Her other obsession appears to be catalog shopping.

Reviewers note that Liz makes a living as a magazine writer. This apparent independence is diluted by her lengthy affair with Jason Wick, a married man. Sister Jane teaches yoga, not a well-paying occupation. She’s tired of looking for Mr. Right and uses her savings for intrauterine insemination.

Mr. Bennet has a heart attack; the older daughters rush back to Cincinnati from New York, and the story begins. Chip Bingley is an eligible doctor who appeared on a reality television show called – wait for it – “Eligible.” Fitzwilliam Darcy is a neurosurgeon and Bingley’s good friend. Cousin Willie Collins made his fortune in tech. Bingley, Darcy, and Collins keep the personalities Austin gave them.

The romantic quartet is formed as before. But there’s no real sexual tension, because it’s all worked out in almost immediate sexual activities. In Liz’s case, the activity is called “hate sex.” Not a lot of romance there. Of course, physical proximity can lead to emotional connection.

Meanwhile Lydia and Kitty do Crossfit. Lydia sparks a relationship with Ham; they elope. Hmmm….I don’t think elope is a word for the 21st century. Anyway, they get married. Eventually everyone calms down. Did I mention Ham is trans?

Eligible lacks romance, atmosphere, and character development, because though there are a few questions about how things will turn out, there’s nothing at stake. No one will become destitute. Everyone will live in Cincinnati, except Willie Collins who will remain in California with his wife, Charlotte Lucas, Liz’s childhood friend.

So there you have it. For myself, I think the story update works better in Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (2001), if only because she used Austen for inspiration rather than plot.

Bridget says: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.”

Alas, that is often the case.

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Book Links to Amazon sales pages:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James.

The Darcys of Pemberley by Shannon Winslow.

Longbourn by Jo Baker.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Jo Baker.

Featured Image: Cover of Pride & Prejudice, 1894. National Library of NZ. Creative Commons Attribution. Wikimedia Commons.

Elizabeth Bennet in her “walking dress.” Detail of C. E. Brock illustration, 1895. U.S. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

Cover of Eligible on my iPad.

Masterpiece. PBS. Pride & Prejudice.

The post PRIDE, PREJUDICE, & ELIGIBLE first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.

In 1988, Bobby McFerrin recorded Don’t Worry, Be Happy and won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance. [McFerrin made all the sounds himself.] Robin Williams and Bill Irwin joined McFerrin on the YouTube video.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU] Crazy, gleeful, unrealistic – but, aside from a warm puppy, isn’t that what happiness is?

Next to articles about making and keeping resolutions, January lifestyle reports emphasize the traits of happy people. Americans believe in “happiness.” Our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain states very clearly that everyone has certain unalienable rights, among them “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Though as Benjamin Franklin later pointed out, the Pursuit of Happiness does not necessarily mean it can be caught.

Despite Jane Austin’s pithy observation that “a large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of,” experts inform us that happiness is not a monetary experience.  In fact, one is happier giving money away than acquiring it, and the best way to acquire money is not by pursuing it, but by following your passion.

How happy are you?  Professor Martin Seligman contends that authentic happiness is not a social event, nor even a pleasurable pastime. The greatest happiness comes from engaging in an activity so intensely we become unconscious of time – we are in a state of flow. This is further enhanced if the activity is meaningful – if it relates to something greater than ourselves.

Huh?

Kate Bratskeir’s article on the Habits of Supremely Happy People is more direct. She advises us to

• Surround ourselves with happy people.
• Decide  to cultivate happiness.
• Laugh
• Be Resilient
• And Look on the Bright Side of Life

Thinking about the bright side of life brings to mind another quirky, strange, and yet cheerful song from Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) No matter what life throws at you, keep looking at the bright side, and, if you can, whistle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo

For more information:

Martin Seligman is Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. For more insight into Seligman’s research into authentic happiness, view his 2004 TED Talk on You Tube.  http://www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology.html 

Kate Bratskeir’s Huffington Post article on the Habits of Supremely Happy People is at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/happiness-habits-of-exuberant-human-beings_n_3909772.html#slide=2706913

Don’t Worry Be Happy button courtesy of Krol111 – May 28, 2013. Commons Attribution, Wikimedia Commons

The post PURSUING HAPPINESS first appeared on Sandra Wagner-Wright.