Tea Tips

Have you ever had to calculate the appropriate sum for a tip after dining out? Did you know that tips and tea go together?

Tea came into high fashion in England after King Charles II took the throne with his wife Catherine de Braganza. Both growing up in other parts of Europe conditioned them to the taste and tradition of taking tea. As time passed, consumption of the beverage increased greatly (going from 40,000 pounds to 240,000 pounds in a ten year span).

Tea was defined as either "low" (or "afternoon") tea or "high" tea. Ironically, "low" tea was held by the upper class and served around 4:00 pm. This was viewed more as a snack and consisted of only light refreshments(it should be noted that they typically only had two meals previous to this trend, dinner being held at 8:00pm). Whereas the middle and lower classes held the "high" tea at either 5 or 6 in the evening and served with a wide variety of foods. Why the difference in "height" for the teas? It was determined by the table at which teas were offered: the "low" table of a coffee table or the "high" table of the dinner table.

Interestingly enough, tea gardens came upon the scene and boxes were made to hold monetary contributions for a waiter in order to gain faster service as the kitchens were far removed from these gardens. These boxes were marked "T.I.P.S": an abbreviation for "To Insure Prompt Service."

This is just a summary of an article found at The Jane Austen Centre. Poke around through the rest of the site to find interesting tidbits of the era, including fashion and history!

I hope you will join me for a "high tea" (minus the tea) this Tuesday at 7:00pm at Amanda Hall(I know, extremely inventive, isn't it?)

Concepts to Consider

A few things to consider during your reading of Jane Austen.
The influence of the surroundings and the reflection of such upon the characters, especially Anne.
The relationship and pursuit of acceptable acquaintances among the gentry.
The role of women in society.
The purposes of a woman being "accomplished".
Austen's perception of a good marriage match.
Flat and round characters within the novel and their influence in the plot.

Knowing an Author's Influences

There are so many different approaches to understanding a piece of literature. One such way is to become familiar with those texts with which an author enjoyed. While this is not always apparent and available, Jane Austen often finds herself alluding to other works while composing her own.
Being human, an individual goes about the world coming into contact with so many various people and influences. As this occurs, the individual invariably comes away with a portion of new understanding due to this interaction. If an artist attempted to convey this on canvas, she might paint a more understandable visual using a collage of different items/ideas/people with which portions become attached to a central figure.
I see this in myself in my word patterns after spending large amounts of time with any given individual or after submerging myself in a particular novel. It is inescapable for me, yet neither is it desirable to not be influenced as I choose good things and people by which to be influenced.
Even in this thought, the entirety of the plot of Jane Austen's Persuasion is set. The characters are persuaded through their encounters with others to create their opinions and further their influences. It is only by the end of the novel that the heroine rises above strictly being persuaded and influenced to make good and justly decisions on her own. Anne ultimately recognizes in herself the ability to make good judgments and to be happy with the outcome and consequences of such.

First Selection

The first selection for the book club is Jane Austen's Persuasion.
Persuasion was published posthumously by her brother Henry. She was not fully confident in her writing and found herself plaguing the texts to perfection before allowing them to be published, leaving this, Northanger Abbey and Love and Friendship to find publication after she left this earth. She grew up in a religious family; her father being the Rector through her childhood and into adulthood. She lived with her family throughout, and was never married herself.
While Jane Austen struggled through an illness that eventually took her life, she completed this final book. Persuasion is about a woman who has jilted her love and through the course of devastating family circumstances, is faced to encounter him years later and confront her feelings for him and he for her.
Enjoy this reading this month! We will be meeting 15 Sept 09 to discuss our perceptions and insights into this novel.