The Jane Austen binge continues. I must admit that I hit a wall with this one. Sense and Sensibility moved along so merrily and with great suspense, whThe Jane Austen binge continues. I must admit that I hit a wall with this one. Sense and Sensibility moved along so merrily and with great suspense, while Northanger Abbey had a few moments where I thought, "Oh gosh, do I really have to pick this book up again?"
After I finished the novel I started doing more research including reading the introduction by crime writer Val McDermid (I make it a policy never to read introductions as I they often include spoilers), and realized that this was the first novel Austen wrote.
From that lens it all makes sense. The novel has the feeling of being with someone who is trying on various outfits. Austen plays around with the gothic and supernatural, a la Women in White or Frankenstein, with varying degrees of success. Yet her sparkling Austen wit is simmering beneath the surface. This makes for a tone that is a bit uneven: mysterious characters, romantic comedy scenes, moral digression.
You also see the origins of Austen's house fixation (she really likes nice houses); Her overwrought and romanticized description of Northanger Abbey was one of the sections of the book where I needed a breather. There is also a really interesting moral condemnation of romanticism, which I think was Austen's illustration of her female protagonist evolving from a girl to woman. It's a transition that she handles as a first-time novelist, successfully in many areas, but also a bit heavy-handed in others.
However, it's all good work, because you see the foundations of her later beloved characters in these experiments. Isabella, the annoying female who is slippery and selfish speaks more in monologues than Austen's later works has so much meat to her and reincarnates into many of Austen's beloved later characters. Her sketch of the rake is suitable annoying but still a bit unrefined. And as for Mr. Tilney, the love interest, the tension is not quite there, but you have all her other books to look forward to....more
Well, at this point I am waist-deep into my accidental Austen binge. I might as well read the other three. This time it was Sense and Sensibility. (I Well, at this point I am waist-deep into my accidental Austen binge. I might as well read the other three. This time it was Sense and Sensibility. (I started with Persuasion, followed by Mansfield Park.) Sense and Sensibility struck me as remarkably boisterous after Mansfield Park, which seemed to meander in details. And Marianne is by far the most modern heroine I've read in this binge of three. Her habit of expressing exactly what she thinks and feels seems much more inline with current behavior. And vanity, selfishness and seriousness were three tropes that played loud and long.
There is always a rake in Austen's books and Willoughby is one of the best in her quiver. He's handsome, charming, fun and goes along with things. But behind that easy-going nature you find a man that doesn't take himself or others seriously. I think seriousness, which is one of the redeeming qualities of Elinor and Colonel Brandon, is a quality that Austen takes great pains to extoll the virtue of throughout this novel. "Take your heart seriously! Take yourself seriously!" she seems to be saying.
I appreciate this emphasis on respect of the mind and the person because it renders her characters positively feminist. Her heroines are never silly. And many of Austen's other characters are fabulous foils to her women of integrity: that vile Lucy, idiotic Lady Middleton, small, mean Mrs. Dashworth.
Also, the dialogue between Elinor and Lucy is some of the best in the book. Austen conveys such a subtle nastiness that leaves you on the edge of your seat. There are so many layers and double entendres as Lucy tries to incite as much pain as possible. It's a ringside seat to horrid girl games at its best.
Finally, as I was reading this book, and I stopped at one point and thought to myself, "She really is a master of uncomfortable situations." You cringe in the beginning when Mrs. Dashword convinces her husband to give his sisters nothing but occasional acts of kindness. Elinor and Edward's dysfunctional dynamic leaves you in spasms of pain. Marianne seeing Willoughby in London makes you want to cover your eyes with your hands! Austen's a specialist of tension in Sense and Sensibility. You're never quite comfortable until you reach the end. And when you do, you're disappointed. Somehow you've gotten used to a prolonged state of discomfort!...more
**spoiler alert** My accidental Austen binge continues. I moved on from Persuasion to Mansfield Park this week, which struck me as Austen spending hun**spoiler alert** My accidental Austen binge continues. I moved on from Persuasion to Mansfield Park this week, which struck me as Austen spending hundreds of pages working out through her prose exactly what bothers her about certain people. I think Austen's profound intelligence makes most people irritating to her. The Crawfords for example. Mr. Crawford is vain, silly, and in my opinion, weak. I think Austen abhors the propensity in some people to guide their behavior by how others will see them. Miss Crawford is another prime example. Austen writes "It was the detection, not the offence which she reprobated," which crystalizes her perfectly.
This got me wondering what Austen would think of today's Instagram and Facebook's idealized images and humble-brags posts and the like. A life lived for exterior fruits, would surely be under censure!
It really is refreshing to read Austen against today's backdrop. The internal world is so valued: integrity, lack of artifice, principles. All wonderful things. How can we continue to make sure these characteristics get their due? Can social media be changed, conquered, swayed?
As for our main character, after Anne Elliot of Persuasion Fanny Price struck me a confused and very uncomfortable young woman, while Elliot, to use a Austen turn of phrase, was "quite fixed in her character." Then again, Fanny is much younger in this book and you gradually see her grow up. In many ways Mansfield Park felt more complex than Persuasion, there are so many highly developed characters, not just our heroine. I'm sure it's another book that deserves a rereading from time to time.
To conclude, I'll leave you with one my favorite quotes from the novel: "She was of course, only too good for him, but as no one minds what is too good for them..."...more
Book 5 of 6 completed of my accidental Austen binge. I have to say that Emma is enormously entertaining. But as I was reading this book a strange realBook 5 of 6 completed of my accidental Austen binge. I have to say that Emma is enormously entertaining. But as I was reading this book a strange realization came over me. At this point I think I'm becoming deeply acquainted with Austen's wit and tricks, and there is one quality that I find the most incredible.
Jane Austen is amazing at writing about annoying people. There are the annoying neighbors, the annoying suitors, the annoying relatives. She recreates the inane way in which these annoying people prattle on with such humor. Austen's so clever with her writing that this is not annoying for the reader and somehow becomes wickedly funny. You share in the joke with a raised eyebrow. And, Austen manages to do all this without being mean or nasty.
Emma could be called annoying at times. She's not a particularly likable heroine. She assumes much, is spoiled and a bit unaware. But Austen also shows how she learns from her mistakes and Emma is always endeavoring to improve which makes her more interesting and charming over time. I've seen so many movie versions of Emma, and various remakes, but for some reason Clueless came to my mind the most while reading this book.
For me, this book more enjoyable than the films because I found it deeply satisfying to get a much clearer picture of of the satellite characters. For example, SPOILER ALERT, the attraction between Mr. Churchill and Jane Fairfax is explained in detail. It was a side story that always rang a little false to me in the films. But here Frank emerges as less of a serious rake than some of the other Austen bad boys: he's as thoughtless and selfish, he wants to have his cake and eat it too, but he's much less offensive than Willoughby or that odious Mr. Fairfax from Mansfield Park who's downright sinister. And Frank and Emma's faux love reminded me of a pair of popular kids at high school who play a game with no real tenderness behind it.
Jane Fairfax is also very interesting. Now having read five of her books, you begin to see the Austen patterns here. Austen has a fixation with women with "low prospects." The heroine of Mansfield Park is a cousin of unimpressive birth, Anne in Persuasion is past her prime. Here Austen presents not one, but two women with tough futures ahead of them. Jane who is going to be a governess and Harriet Smith who seems to be caught in some sort of unmarried woman limbo-land.
I like how Austen balances the qualities of these two women, who are beautiful and full of noble qualities against an unpleasant future. Jane keeps her dignity while being bossed about by Mrs. Elton and sweet-tempered Harriet is pushed around by Emma. You feel Austen's sympathy for the underdog. She's rooting for these women to triumph. They are trapped in a glass jar of limitations must do their best to navigate their constraints, even if that means marrying wonky Frank Churchill. But ultimately all of Austen's characters, including Emma, are in a box of limitations.
I love Jane Austen, but sometimes I get bit tired of reading about the device of marriage as a strategic move.
***First time I've ever used the word annoying seven times in a review! But in the best sense. ...more
Loading...
