Sink Me!

"They seek him here,
They seek him there.
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven?
Or is he in... hell? *gasp*
That damned, elusive pimpernel."

Hold the phones. All the plans have just changed. It's official: I am going to marry the Scarlet Pimpernel.

It's a slightly embarrassing fact that I've had a pseudo-secretive love for historical romance novels for years. Yes, they're cliche, and yes, they're unrealistic, and yes, they're everything else you've ever heard about them... And yes, I love 'em for it. >.<() Whaddya know? Turns out I'm a sappy romantic girl after all...

Sir Percy: "The only power that I can see at present, mademoiselle, is the power of your beauty."
Marguerite: "Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Sir Percy."
Sir Percy: "This beholder is enchanted."

SQUEEEEEEEEE! XD

I watched the Scarlet Pimpernel for the first time today, and it carried me away to a world where men are noble and hold themselves to codes of honor and dignity. Women don't have to play tough and aren't pleasantly surprised when a man treats her with the good manners one shows a lady because chivalry is already expected. It's a world wherein people aren't afraid to make their romantic intentions toward each other known and they act upon their emotions, rather than hiding them out of fear of another's rejection. It's the kind of world where men like Sir Percy Blakeney, Bart. are allowed to exist.

Marguerite: "I don't know whether you're mad, or..."
Sir Percy: "Desperately in love? 'Tis all the same. Tell me, if you can, that you do not feel it, too."

There's a line in the movie where Marguerite describes the sort of man she wanted - "...the sort of man a woman can look up to. That she could turn to in trouble." At a glance, it seems so often that these romances set in older times portray women as needy and incapable of handling their own lives without the assistance of the dashing rogue that suddenly enters their world. They're dependent on the men around them in a totally patriarchal society. It's a veritable plethora of fuel for the feminists of the world.
For me, the idea of a woman relying on a man isn't about lacking self-sufficiency or independence at all. It's about having someone you have enough faith in to trust to be both capable and caring enough to look after your best interests. There's absolutely nothing wrong with turning to someone else for guidance and support when you're certain that they love you too much to have any priorities above your happiness and well-being. That's why I want so badly to find a man who absolutely adores me. I'm a pretty passionate person, and I throw myself whole-heartedly into my relationships - and not just the romantic ones. I give everything I have to the people I'm close to. And I've burned myself out my fair share of times because I've given more of myself to those I care about than I've received in turn. Therefore, it's crucial to me to find someone who can adore me and share as much of himself with me as I'll give to him. That's someone I would trust explicitly to take care of me. Not because I need it. But because I want to place that trust in him and can.

Sir Percy: "What has poor Armand done to be condemned to matrimony?"

There's so much more I'd love to go on about - from Sir Percy's quick wit to his smug grin to his dashing heroics. But alas, it's 6 am, I've been freezing outside in the rain for hours because I can't get an internet connection inside my apartment, and my computer's battery is about to give up the ghost. So this is where the circumstances dictate that I bring this half-baked drivel to a close.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quote - "You must tell me all about yourself, in every detail, but oh, so slowly, so very slowly, so that it takes a very, very long time," Sir Percy Blakeney, Bart.
Music - "Dreams to Dream," Linda Rondstadt
Mood - In love with love