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There’s a manga version of Emma. This only shows that Jane Austen translates to all areas of pop culture and retains her popularity throughout the ages.

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Why does Jane Austen's spinsterhood bug us so much? Austen, who published six timelessly great novels between 1811 and 1818, never married and never ex ...

I also am slightly disappointed by the fact that Austen never had a happily ever after like many of her heroines. I think that maybe she wrote into her characters fantasies of her own. Because she never found love, her characters all do. But apparently the romance in Becoming Jane is based on a chapter in a biography written by Jon Spencer. In the book, Spence identifies Tom Lefroy as the love of Austen's life and her relationship with him as the origin of her genius.

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Mr. Collins Interrupted: Reading Fordyce’s Sermons with Pride and Prejudice

Apparently, Mr. Collin’s reading of Fordyce’s sermons illustrates Jane Austen’s distaste for traditional notions of women’s “place” in society. Fordyce’s sermons outlined what was considered “proper” conduct for young women. Among other things, he recommended that women should be meek, humble, submissive, and modest, among other things. Austen’s reader were familier with Fordyce’s sermons. Ford wants her readers to consider what is NOT read by Mr. Collins when Lydia cuts him off, to analyze a new way in which Austen interacts with her audience.

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I love this scene with Emma and Mrs. Elton, and I feel like the actress played Mrs. Elton perfectly. I found it interesting how Emma and Mrs. Elton are dressed similarly. I think this illustrates how Mrs. Elton character is basically a parody of Emma. The pink dresses make us inadvertently compare them.

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Because “hunky dreamboats” like Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Knightley and Edmond are half the reason why I like Jane Austen. The social commentary is good too, but this comic expresses part of the appeal of Jane Austen. I love the “happily ever after” endings.

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This is an illustration of (you guessed it!) Emma and Mr. Woodhouse, done by Hugh Thomson (1860-1920). It illustrated Emma’s role as the caretaker of her father. In the illustration, she is sort of hovered over him, and looks as if she is inquiring about his comfort by her handling of the pillow. I also think that the line of sight between them--him sitting, with his feet propped on a stool, looking up at her, and her standing, looking down at him--shows his dependence on her, and her responsibility for him, as well as the mutual affection between the two.

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A Feminist Connection: Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft

This article compares Jane Austen to Mary Wollstonecraft, the original feminist. Many feminist critiques dismiss Austen as conforming to the traditional role of women in society by the fact that her heroines always ended up married. One critique mentioned in the article remarks that Austen was “implicitly endorsing the established social order.” But Austen still makes a social commentary which makes her a “proto-feminist” as well. The author of the article believes that Austen is realistic about women’s situation in society at the time: marriage meant security. At the same time, “Austen focuses on the reasoning skills women need to survive,” which “is the ultimate feminist statement.” Austen, like Wollstonecraft, advocates the idea that women, like men, are rational creatures. The merit that Austen’s heroines possess lies in their cleverness, insight, and ability to think for themselves. And in this way, I suppose Austen can be seen as a feminist.

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But really though. Jane Austen, I believe, is in some aspects considered to be a feminist. However, the strength of this assessment, I feel, is weakened by the fact that all of her female characters always end up married. In particular, the protagonists and other likeable subsidiary female characters (such as Jane Bennett, Jane Fairfax, and Harriet Smith) always end up in good marriages. I suppose Austen could be seen as somewhat of a proto-feminist by the because of the fact that she highlights wit, cleverness, insight, and a strong adherence to principles (think Elizabeth, Emma, and Fanny Price) in her female protagonists, as opposed to those typical traits that made a woman “accomplished” during the time. But ultimately she submits to the reigning social order when her clever, witty heroines come to fulfillment and completion in the ideal marriage union by the end of the novel. It seems that their intellectual merit is mostly useful for catching good husbands (and in Emma Woodhouse’s case, making mischief).

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I like this snapshot of Emma and her plaything/friend Harriet Smith from the 1996 film adaptation. I think that, even if one was not familiar with the novel, they could easily surmise the relationship between Emma and Harriet from this photo. Harriet is innocently dressed in a sweet white cap and a a plain, unassuming gown, and from the look of credulousness on her face, one can only imagine the nonsense that Emma is feeding her with surety at this particular scene in the movie. Harriet looks too gullible for words.

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So I’ve never seen any Mansfield Park adaptation, but these are the covers for the 2007 BBC adaptation of the novel, and the 1999 version, respectively. I suppose the cover is ultimately irrelevant and not necessarily a reflection on the film itself, but I feel like neither cover accurately captures Fanny’s character, or the flavor of the novel itself. In the 2007 version on the left, Fanny is staring boldly into the camera. But we all know Fanny Price to be a very timid, demure, almost self-debasing character, not one to boldly stare at anyone or anything, and especially not with such a defiant, saucy look like that which the actor shows. In the 1999 version on the right, I feel like it over-emphasizes the romantic aspect between Fanny and Edmund, if that is indeed supposed to be Fanny on the cover. The romantic relationship between Fanny and Edmund mostly consists of Fanny’s unrequited feelings, and never blooms until the very end of the novel. There are certainly no such romantic displays of affection between Edmund and Fanny, like that which is portrayed on the cover, at any point in the novel. Fanny is far too pure and modest for such a thing.

Ignore its uptight reputation – Mansfield Park, published 200 years ago this month, seethes with sex and explores England’s murkiest corners

Mansfield Park is probably my least favorite Jane Austen Novel thus far. I don’t like Fanny. I agree with Austen’s mother, who thought that Fanny was an insipid character. But this article claims that Mansfield Park is Austen’s “sexiest one yet,” where “passion, eroticism, danger, illicit love and incest simmer below the surface in Mansfield Park. I don’t know where she’s getting these ideas from, certainly not from the delicate, morally pristine, timid, irreproachable Fanny Price. She does however point out some subtle ironies in the story: Austen names Mansfield Park, built on slave trade money, after Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, a name that everyone knew for his significant contribution to the abolition of the slave trade. He also adopted his mixed-raced great-niece, Dido Belle. In contrast, “ Robert Norris was an infamous slave trader and a byword for pro-slavery sympathies,” a fitting name for one of the least-liked characters. In the novel. Austen sort of flips Pride and Prejudice: the witty, clever, pretty, likeable Liz Bennett character, which is reflected in Mary Crawford, is now the anti-heroine instead of the main character. Austen instead focuses on one not-so-rich and fortunate Fanny Price, detailing her rise to prominence and importance through her own merits.

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These made me laugh. It brought to mind the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (I liked the movie) and its partner Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. The Jane Austen possibilities are endless. I know that this comic is only mocking of all the adaptations out there, but it only goes to show how popular Jane Austen is and has remained since the 19th century.

Of the five Bennet sisters, Kitty is the only one whose individuality is nonexistent—questionable, at best. Jane is defined by her sweet graciousness; Elizabeth, by her unrelenting faithfulness to what she holds to be true. Mary is the family pedant—filling her mind with knowledge yet living in ignorance of most everything, then there is Kitty, “weak-spirited, irritable, and completely under Lydia’s guidance” (203)...

Our class discussion on the (almost nonexistent) role of Kitty Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, and how she is sometimes left out of film adaptations of the the novel, sparked my curiosity. This blog post that I found goes a bit more in-depth on KItty’s role in the story, Although minor, there is still a dynaimc element to Kitty’s character. She models more minor themes such as individuality, influence, and reputation.

This is a snapshot from the first major zombie battle scene in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which occurs at the Netherfield ball. I like how Elizabeth heads the group as the forefront of her sisters, who flank her on either side. Notice the color difference as well. Although Elizabeth is not the oldest, she is clearly established as the leader of her sisters. I also feel like the dark colors of her dress differentiate her disposition as well, as the keenest and strongest of her sisters. Although he is not featured in this photo, Elizabeth’s dark clothing matches the dark and mysterious characterization of Mr. Darcy, visually pairing them together.

This is the cover of one of the issues in a Pride and Prejudice comic book series. I found it quite amusing; the headlines reminded me of some of the covers of popular magazines today, such as Seventeen. It’s clearly directed at women, young women in particular, and reflected the stereotype that Jane Austen is “chick” literature. Of course we know that Austen is for everyone.

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