"I'm only me when I'm with you" This week on AP Taylor Swift, we're diving into an AP Lit favorite: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813). We trace Elizabeth and Jane Bennet's unshakeable sisterhood through "I'm Only Me When I'm With You," relive Darcy's catastrophically bad proposal through "Haunted," and land on "Lavender Haze" for a look at gossip, reputation, and what it means to fall in love in a world where marriage is a woman's only real option. Along the way: the literary canon, Regency courtship logistics, Bridgerton comparisons, and a debate about whether Elizabeth would be a Hinge girl.

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Songs Discussed

"I'm Only Me When I'm With You"

Taylor Swift, Track 12 (2006)

Written by: Taylor Swift, Robert Ellis Orrall, Angelo Petraglia

"Haunted"

Speak Now (2010) / Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (2023)

Written by: Taylor Swift

"Lavender Haze"

Midnights, Track 1 (2022)

Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Jahaan Sweet, Mark "Sounwave" Spears, Sam Dew, Zoë Kravitz

Episode Highlights

[01:01] Setting the scene: Pride and Prejudice, published 1813, and "a truth universally acknowledged"

[06:48] "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" — Jenn's pick and the case for Jane and Elizabeth as the book's real love story

[30:36] "Haunted" — Maansi's pick, staged around the infamous first proposal

[48:24] "Lavender Haze" — Jodi's pick, tied to the novel's opening line about marriage

Mentioned in this episode:

Books

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen — Bookshop.org

Emma, Jane Austen — Bookshop.org

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë — Bookshop.org

Pride & Prejudice (2005) — JustWatch

Bridgerton — JustWatch

& Juliet (musical) — Official site

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.