cineaste1939

What Low Man and others who have made similar comments fail to account for is that 7/8 of the movie-going public don't know a fugue from a fermata.Most of them like one or more of the musical genres, but probably can't say why, in musical terms.

In any case, the movie isn't about the rarified and arcane nuances of music as an art. Its creators didn't aspire to see it cited in Grove's or a top musical journal. The film could have easily been about dramatics, fine art or any of the three r's disciplines. Each evokes passionate interest from students and claims some wannabee top performers in those fields as teachers, sooner or later. The film is about how one can release one's tight grip on self-aggrandizing dreams and find a gloriously satisfying life in service to others. This message it transmits superlatively.

Many here have commented derisively upon Mrs. Bennet's overweaning ambitions and exploits in the interest of seeing her daughters wed. It's important to remember that in the 19th century, marriage was the vocation of all but a very few young women. College was almost singularly the preserve of young men, as were the professions and the trades. The modern office had not yet been established, and when it was toward the end of the century, men were routinely hired as secretaries and clerks. Especially with an estate entailed to a male relative, the only way Mrs. Bennet could rest assured that her five daughters would enjoy the benefits of a roof and regular food was to see them married.