In Pride and Prejudice, the heroine’s young and very foolish sister elopes with a devious military officer at the age of sixteen. When the family learns that she has been tracked to London, they begin to despair. London, it seems, is where the energy of a bustling city covers all sins, and where it is possible for a young girl to be lost to her family entirely. In the quiet country social circles, her plight would be sure to be known and protection offered on all sides. But in London such help is futile, as the lady may be cast into inappropriate society, beyond the help of her friends. Something similar happens in Clarissa, a mammoth novel of 1000+ pages of tiny print. As the lady holds stoutly to her virtue, attempting to fend off a lascivious suitor, her heart quails at the thought of being carried off to London, where she will not be able to rely on public decency to keep her young man from impinging on her virtue.
I was reminded of these 18th- and 19th-century views of London recently as I reread Pride and Prejudice, and as Sydney and I are ourselves preparing to venture a trip to London (one month away!). I will be glad that, for most of his stay, he will be holed up in the much smaller community at Oxford, but I am excited to see a bit of the city with him. The list of recommended places to visit from friends who’ve been there is swelling, and I haven’t even started looking for things to do! At the moment, we’re just working on finding suitable housing for Sydney. With tickets and housing, we’ll feel pretty ready to go. Until then, we’ll keep scouring college website and attempting to read British English (wait! did they forget an article in that sentence? what exactly do they mean by these terms? so much the-same-but-different language!).
Erin
Alan Schmierer
I spent most of my time in Oxford rather than London and returned to the States frequently using the word “whilst.” Now that I know there is a list, I’ll start adding things to it.
The first should be a nasty nightclub formally known as “Studio at the Westgate” but more commonly known by students as “Filth” (I swear I’m not making this up). Just in case you and Sydney want to get your freak on with some 17 year old undergrads while you’re on vacation, I thought I would mention this lovely hidden jewel.
The second should be Ben’s Cookies in the Covered Market.
Let me know if I can provide any additional assistance. 🙂
Thanks, Heid 🙂 I think I’ll pursue the latter and leave the former suggestion to funny thoughts. I think my first order of business will be to track down a place to get FRUIT. I’m serious, I go nuts if I don’t get fruit on a regular basis, and I’ve been told repeatedly that they don’t have any over there. I doubt that’s true, but I’m not sure I’ll be downing shepherd’s pies without some major fruit intake to keep me sane.
Erin
Alright, well, in case you change your mind… apparently they have a website now: http://www.filthoxford.com/
I’m just trying to be helpful. 🙂
You go, Heidi! Should I ever go there, I’ll check out Filth just for fun!!
The name is really choice, I have to say. But after checking out the website, I’ll thank Sydney for not being a frequent visitor!
Erin
What you don’t really get from the pictures, is the reason why its called Filth: by approximately 10:30, all the toilets have overflowed so much that the water flows out into the area surrounding the “dance floor.” You must wear heels to this place, because when you attempt to use the toilets, there is standing water covering the entire floor. Hence the name “Filth.”
I was really giggling as I was typing “in case you and Sydney want to get your freak on”