Postsecret and embarassing Pride and Prejudice confessions

Postsecret- Frank Warren

Postsecret is a blog that is made up of secrets written on postcards.  It sounds sort of silly, but it’s a heartfelt reminder of all the similarities and differences between people.  It can be soothing, shocking and even L-O-L funny at times, but everything about it seems to be sincere.  But why am I posting this on a Pride and Prejudice blog?  Because one postcard, about two weeks ago, came in that was my own secret through and through, but from some other place in the world, and it said “When I daydream, I pretend I’m the heroines in Jane Austen’s works.”   And it begged the question… what hidden secrets do we have about Pride and Prejudice?

Frank Warren started the Postsecret idea through a community art project, where he gave out postcards and asked them to send them to him decorated with a secret no one else had ever been told, and to be given anonymously.  He received an enormous response and today is an internet phenomenon, keying into the most personal areas of our lives.  Since the creation of the postsecret community (a separate site that allows chatting and details upcoming exhibitions and events) there have been over 80,000 members.

The new secrets every Sunday (US time) are incredible, and I read them fairly regularly.  However, I’ve been thinking about my own Pride and Prejudice confessions… and I’ve come up with a Top 6.

1) I once bailed on a relatively decent friend’s birthday party, because I wanted to sit at home and watch six hours of Pride and Prejudice.

2) I often style my hair like Jennifer Ehle’s is in Pride and Prejudice, and then brush it out because it doesn’t suit me.

3) In my mind, I often think “What would Jane do?” before making big decisions. 

4) It never occurred to me, until someone pointed it out, that the characters in Pride and Prejudice are fictional.  In fact, in my mind I still think they are fairly real.

5) I subtly quote Pride and Prejudice all the time, and when someone notices I feel embarassed-  as though I’ve been caught out… it’s not even a deliberate quoting most of the time.

6) (see the picture of Colin Firth below!)

 

In fact, secrets in Pride and Prejudice are a very important thing, and often shown to be negative.  When Darcy keeps his feelings from Lizzy, we see her grow more distrusting of him because she doesn’t understand why he looks at her.  When Lizzy and Darcy both keep the truth about Wickham’s reputation quiet, it results in near-peril for the Bennet family’s reputation.  Lydia and Kitty’s keeping of secrets helps spur on this mess.  Similarly, if Lizzy had been completely secretive to Lady Catherine then Darcy would not have heard about her feelings, and the end of the book might have been very different.  Jane is also shown to be too quiet, guarded and secretive about her own feelings.  Can you think of other examples?  I think this is obviously telling us to share our secrets!

So what are your top secrets about Pride and Prejudice?  How would you decorate them?  And have you ever sent a postcard?  I think everyone who loves P&P has a secret guilty story about being anti-social to read the book, or imagining yourself as one of the characters.  Perhaps there should be a JA (Jane-ite’s anonymous) group.