Source of the Portraits (Literary influences on JKR)

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 141035

I was reading "Persuasion" by Miss Jane Austen, an act of improvement 
upon my mind, with the intent to train myself in the proper manner of 
speech and deportment; when I lost all control and began to whoop and 
jump up with such a degree of agitation as to call out the entire 
population of my household; not so great a number as we do not 
maintain a full staff of servants, not even a cook or maid...

erm...that is to say...I was reading about the shocking changes in 
the Musgrove parlour, and it isn't at all important that I couldn't 
quite figure out what was so shocking...when I came to this part:

Oh! Could the originals of the portraits against the wainscoat, could 
the gentlemen in brown velvet and the ladies in blue satin have seen 
what was going on, have been conscious of such an overthrow of all 
order and neatness! The portraits themselves seemed to be staring in 
astonishment.

Do you suppose Miss Austen gave our Ms. Rowling the idea for 
conscious portraits?

JK as in "Jay Kay!" is the current slang for "just kidding". Given 
our views of some of JKR's writing and some of her interviews, I 
think Just Kidding Rowling is an appropriate name!

And as this post is so dangerously close to being OT, I won't mention 
the rumor that yet another cast member from Sense and Sensibility is 
being considered for HP and TMTMNBN. And as that is also by Jane 
Austen, this post has come full circle.

Potioncat, going off to iron shirts and hands.