... with you on your journey

Period Dramas

A poetically delightful look at novel romancings with an insightful cherry on top.

I wonder why period dramas particularly appeal to women
Why some of us get flustered when we see Darcy swimmin'
Is it the suits and dresses that the characters wear?
Or perhaps it's their manners and vocabulary flare

The male and female roles often contrast each other's
And we are overjoyed when they finally are lovers
Is it the lead up that gives us such a thrill
Or does the first kiss provide the biggest chill?

We tend to romanticise these periods in time
When things looked beautiful, stylised and sublime
And it's not always the gentleman who lure us into temptation
Slang talking peasants can have us in delightful contemplation

If you were Cathy would you choose Linton or the gipsy?
Surely either path would require you to be tipsy
Heathcliff's wily ways or Edgar's stiff oppression
Either one of these would have me in depression

With Heathcliff she has passion, longing and desire
Playing on the moors and embracing by the fire
With Edgar she has comfort, status, dining like a queen
He is well-spoken and his house is really clean

When Heathcliff is too harsh in his wicked behaviour
She realises that no one can ever be his saviour
So she opts for Edgar who is charming and polite
Then it's weird when she gives Heathcliff an invite

But when she gets ill, needs some air and sees that light
All she wants to do is go back to Wuthering Heights
In order to avoid the gloomy outcome of that tragedy
I shout at the TV "Cathy, choose a different strategy!"

I like the way that Kate Bush sings it in her song
About the windy moors and how it all went wrong
Is it a love story with a tragic twist
Or about the revenge of a narcissist?

Pride and Prejudice is the one in which it takes them ages
Because they have to go through a multitude of stages
Of misconceptions about what one another is thinking
Couldn't they just have flirted and done a bit of winking?

Mr Darcy comes across as mean, quite stern and cold
He likes Lizzy's character and how she can be bold
But he stands around in his moody looking prance
So it's awkward between them even when they dance

However as she gets to see some more of the facts
She realises the gossip was spread by a load of prats
Then she finds him cute and his silence appears charming
But she keeps it secret as she finds it so disarming

The man who she once hated is now the one who she desires
And all the crap and everything was merely due to liars
Eventually after all of that they finally share their feelings
Then it ends abruptly and we don't see any of their dealings

Except for their brief and simple double wedding scene
Such a visual anti-climax that unfolded on my screen
I was expecting a massive church and to see their married life
But no point I guess cause romance is dead now that she's his wife

If you were Jane Eyre what would you do
If Mr Rochester had hid his wife from you?
All that time he had her locked up in the tower
Which would only make her crazier hour after hour

A famous scene is when he asks Jane to marry him
And she wonders if he is for real or acting on a whim
In disbelief that Rochester would propose to his maid
And probably wondering if she would still get paid

His dramatic declaration made me go all funny
All soft and fuzzy in my tummy like a fluffy bunny
Still his temperament is slightly grumpy for my liking
If I lived with him I'd need to do a lot of hiking

At one point they endured a prolonged separation
Then when they reunite we feel such elation
Rochester was in a fire and now he's partially blind
But because he's got Jane back he really doesn't mind

Jane has got her independence now that she has money
And likes to emasculate him because she thinks it's funny
I guess that this was her attempt at becoming his equal
Maybe she would beat him up if they made a sequel

Why do some of us seem to like these characters
Who have dark secrets and lots of dodgy factors?
When quite clearly the oppression is not appealing
Do we need psychological healing?

One aspect which seems to be a factor that is prominent
Is the appeal to many women of a man who is quite dominant
After much analysis I have come to a conclusion
That really it is all just a bit of an illusion

Smoke and mirrors create this convincing charade
Because our gender roles are merely a façade
It's not really about romance or marriage whatsoever
Fairy-tales or babies or shacking up together

So what has it to do with being woman and man?
It all seems to be a part of the great plan
In shards of glass my mirror seems broken and un-whole
When I am merely stuck within my female role

Who am I as I go beyond life's surface play
Living out these parts of me that I hid away?
What do I discover and what do I see
As I unlock my treasure chest and throw away the key?

This poem is dedicated to Jennifer... friend, fairy, crystal whisperer, healer.

Angelkate