Analyzing Austen

A blog/journal made for the purpose to detail my literary journey through the novels of Jane Austen

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'What is it your brother Sidney says about its being a hospital?' 'Oh, my dear Mary, merely a joke of his. He pretends to advise me to make a hospital of it. He pretends to laugh at my improvements. Sidney says anything, you know. He has always said what he chose of and to us all. Most families have such a member among them I believe Miss Heywood. - There is a someone in most families privileged by superior abilities or spirits to say anything. - In ours, it is Sidney; who is a very clever young man, - and with great powers of pleasing. - He lives too much in the world to be settled; that is his only fault. - He is here and there and everywhere.'

  Austen, Jane, and Margaret Drabble. Lady Susan ; The Watsons ; Sanditon. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974. Print. 171

I thought that this was a particularly interesting passage to consider for a number of reasons. Firstly, we see how this idea of self medicating and the application of homebrew remedies can be debilitating in the worst degree not only to physical health, but also the mental conditons of those that are making such prescriptions. We see how truly ridiculous this entire concept is, as the sisters of Mr.Parker are limiting their lives by thinking themselves constantly ill, when it is the cures that they self prescribe that are in fact doing them the most harm. They have convinced themselves and a number of other people with their charade of constant illness and invalidity that it is a natural part of their constitution and just quite easily prone to sickness. And so Sidney suggests that Mr. Parker make Sanditon into a hospital, whereby they can "cure" the ailments away of those who come, for Sanditon is as effective at healing or curing those who come as his sisters home remedies of leeches and teeth pulling. Sidney here speaks his mind and is blatantly honest with his little jab of criticism, and it serves to separate him as a man of independent thought and probable integrity, though Mr.Parker debases it by calling it a joke and saying things merely because he can, not because he truly believes them or stands behind them.

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Here is a webpage that has sections of the Sanditon manuscript that Austen wrote and was working with shortly before her passing. It's really interesting to take a look at, as the sidebar has the words in each section as well as the changes on the side, and so you can tak a peek into Austen's creative and editorial process in the earliest stage of the novel.

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Pride and Prejudice:

Having a Ball

Social historian Amanda Vickery leads the action as a team of experts recreate a Regency ball in honour of the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s popular novel.

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Anne's inner self is in constant and direct conflict with surface appearances, and she cannot stifle her deeper feelings in the cause of maintaining conversational smoothness. Unable to accommodate her past relationship to Wentworth or express her present feelings for him, she excludes herself in deliberate abnegation from the conversation. Indeed, she becomes almost a ghostly figure, present and yet absent, spoken of in her own hearing in the third person: "She has quite given up dancing," say say the Miss Musgroves, "She had rather play. She is never tired of playing."

Bree, Linda. Belongoing to the Conversation in Persuasion. Ed. Patricia Meyer Spacks. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013. Print. 294.

I felt that this passage was relevant because it perfectly illustrates the strange dynamic that is so important to the miscommunication between Anne and Captain Wentworth. There is an air of awkward uncertainty between the two and this further clouds the space between the two characters, making them blunder through something as simple as small talk. This does indeed causes Anne to become a distant character and I noticed this absence, but wasn't quite able to put it to words until I read this essay

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All credit goes to the creator of this video: http://vimeo.com/katherinebrowning

I also noticed that the poster had made a second scene adaptation, and decided to post it here for the rest of the Austen junkies. :)

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All credit goes to the creator of this video: http://vimeo.com/katherinebrowning

While browsing for things on Persuasion, I stumbled across this Jane Austen Video Project which adapts the scene in which Anne overhears Wentworth and Louisa talking privately while on a walk.

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My Mapping of the Family Trees of the First Volume of Persuasion

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They had no conversation together, no intercourse but what the commonest civility required. Once so much to each other! Now nothing! There had been a time, when of all the large party now filling the drawing-room at Uppercross, they would have found it most difficult to cease to speak to one another. With the exception, perhaps, of Admiral and Mrs. Croft, who seemed particularly attached and happy, (Anne could allow no other exception even among the married couples) there could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.

Austen, Jane. Persuasion: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Patricia Ann Meyer. Spacks. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. Print. 46.

This passage stuck out in my mind when I first read it because it seemed to exemplify the novel's title. Anne has been persuaded, not only by the others within her society of friends  and family, but she has actually gone on to persuade herself of the "reality" of things. It was because of Lady Russel's objections against Captain Frederick Wentworth in the past that she now finds herself in such an anxiety-inducing situation. She has convinced herself since then that he must hate her so and not want to see her or be in her company ever since she had changed her mind as to their engagement. She has concluded unfairly that there is no hope for their old affections resurfacing or having any chance of taking hold of their hearts once more. And so they do not really speak, and they act strangely awkward around one another, unsure of how the other feels regarding the other. Their separation of the past seven or eight years, and the continued separation of their company had estranged their hearts and their minds, keeping them apart until they could find a way to communicate their thoughts and emotions.

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Lithograph of Jane Austen's Emma

"Litographs creates art from literature."

I've always thought that these things were really cool, so I decided to post one that I stumbled across while browsing the interwebs. Just a thought, but it kind of gives new meaning to the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words."

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Last surviving first edition copy of Jane Austen’s Emma

"An incredibly rare first edition of Jane Austen’s novel Emma [was] tipped to sell for 200,000 pounds when it [went] up for auction at Sotheby’s in London…"

    I thought that this article was really interesting because the copy of Emma for sale is "the only one from the original print run of 12 known to exist today," and the rest have been lost. Seeing this picture and understanding the age and the legacy of such a book which still retains the publishers mark "from the author on the title page." Austen had the original print run of Emma distributed among the royal family, her own family, and her friends. This copy had been a gift to her close friend Anne Sharp, and had lain hidden away in the hands of a private collector until it went on auction last year. I wonder how much it ended up selling for!

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"Can you trust me with such flatterers?—Does my vain spirit ever tell me I am wrong?" "Not your vain spirit, but your serious spirit.—If one leads you wrong, I am sure the other tells you of it." "I do own myself to have been completely mistaken in Mr. Elton. There is a littleness about him which you discovered, and which I did not: and I was fully convinced of his being in love with Harriet. It was through a series of strange blunders!" "And, in return for your acknowledging so much, I will do you the justice to say, that you would have chosen for him better than he has chosen for himself.—Harriet Smith has some first-rate qualities, which Mrs. Elton is totally without. An unpretending, single-minded, artless girl—infinitely to be preferred by any man of sense and taste to such a woman as Mrs. Elton. I found Harriet more conversable than I expected."

Austen, Jane, and George Justice. Emma: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print. 227-228.

I chose this passage for a number of reasons. This is of course during the ball at Crown Inn, and shortly after the Eltons have been extremely rude to Harriet. Mr. Knightley shows himself to be a true gentleman and man of integrity in contrast to Mr.Elton. He takes up a dance with the recently offended and partnerless Harriet in order to raise her spirits. Furthermore, he compliments Harriet for her qualities not only as a dance partner, but as a young lady(though not in a hierarchical sense). Emma here admits that she was mistaken about Mr. Elton while Mr. Knightley saw through his person perfectly. Instead of gloating or saying I told you so, Mr. Knightley concedes that he himself had underestimated Harriet, and that she was a girl of first-rate qualities. This definitely seems to be a step away from his role as a potential paternal or chaperone figure, and towards his role as a charming potential suitor or match for Emma. We see this furthered when they both deny their relationship as being similar to that of a brother and sister, and immediately dance following this newly founded understanding of their relationship.

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'Oh! you amuse me excessively. I am delighted to find that you can vouchsafe to let your imagination wander—but it will not do—very sorry to check you in your first essay—but indeed it will not do. There is no admiration between them, I do assure you; and the appearances which have caught you, have arisen from some peculiar circumstances—feelings rather of a totally different nature—it is impossible exactly to explain:—there is a good deal of nonsense in it—but the part which is capable of being communicated, which is sense, is, that they are as far from any attachment or admiration for one another, as any two beings in the world can be. That is, I presume it to be so on her side, and I can answer for its being so on his. I will answer for the gentleman's indifference.' She spoke with a confidence which staggered, with a satisfaction which silenced, Mr. Knightley.

 Austen, Jane, and George Justice. Emma: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print. 242.

I liked this passage because it points out Emma's utter denial of what's actually going on. She doesn't want to believe that there is a 'hidden' relationship and possibly an engagement between Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill. It is because of her obstinacy and stubborn nature that she refutes the observations made by Mr. Knightley. Mr. Knightley however, has seen evidence of their affections and advances, and yet Emma refuses to listen to reason and see the reality of the situation because she believes herself to be right. Unfortunately we know that her sight can be flawed when considering the motivations and affections of others, as we saw how very mistaken she was about Mr.Elton's feelings in the first Volume. Emma almost seems to be trying to convince herself more than she is Mr. Knightley with this proclamation. She's explaining away the evidence as merely circumstantial, and that their feelings are not of love, but different, and she takes it upon herself to vouch for it on Frank's behalf even if Jane is in love with him.

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"Indeed, Mr. Knightley does look like a benevolent, all-seeing monitor crucial to the conservative fiction of Austen's day. Hovering like a chaperone around the edges of every major scene...he is always on the lookout for wrongdoings and nonsense,always alert in his benefactions for the poor and innocent. Knightley himself confesses that with Emma his role as a moral censor has been particularly obnoxious...Alternately beaming with heartfelt approval when Emma acquits herself properly, and frowning with pain whenever she misbehaves, he has been half paternal and half pedagogical in his watchfulness."

Johnson, Claudia L. “Emma: ‘Woman, Lovely Woman Reigns Alone.’” Emma. Ed. George Justice. New York: Norton 2012. Print. 424-425

I chose this passage because it discusses something that I also noticed while reading the novel. Mr. Knightley does play the role of a watchful guardian or protector, not unlike that of a father figure, or even an elder brother. He's constantly watching over Emma, and scolding her for her wrongs and blundering about because her own father won't do it himself considering that he sees her as a perfect child with no faults in her character and personality.  However, his role is also likeable to that of a mentor or a teacher because he does flirt with her and compliment her because of his interest in a potential match with her. He knows that she is a girl of some genuinely good qualities and spirit, but he wants to teach her to see the folly of her actions before proceeding in his pursuit of her.

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Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of.

Austen, Jane, and George Justice. Emma: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print. 125.

I thought that this was a really funny remark to start a chapter with. It's a funny little thrust made by the narrator who is commenting on the state of the society that Austen and Emma were surrounded by. The narrator perceives that people tend to be far less critical towards those who have passed on from life into death, or from being an unwed and eligible bachelor into the bounds of marriage. It also seems to suggest that it isn't necessarily done out of any sense of respect or good-will, but the fact that it's more "interesting" or effective to gossip or slander those alive and single, than to do so for those passed on or married. It's harder to speak ill of a dead person, for many within the society would be largely offended and wouldn't stand to hear such injustice and irreverence towards the deceased. Furthermore, it's also difficult to speak ill of a married person, for the chance that they are much more well established than they were prior is very high, and people are less likely to speak ill or gossip about what most people consider to be a good match with a better life for both involved.

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After dancing in class last time, I thought it would be interesting indeed to look up a video of the dancing from Emma, and compare it to the things that we learned. I quickly observed that Emma and Mr.Knightley took the top of the dance floor as deserved by their rank, which we discussed in class. The dance began of course began with two lines, men on one side, and women on the other. As we practiced in class, they bowed or curtsied respectively, before getting into the dance. I was able to recognize the grand round move that we did in groups, and they performed one or two other moves of which I was unfamiliar before shifting down the ranks. It was interesting to see how much the eye contact can change this dance. When the two were apart they would which makes the moments when they are apart they were still looking to one another, or trying not to.And so when they came back together, their smiles couldn't be hidden, and when the dance drew them close to one another, their connection was even more powerful.

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I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry. Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing! but I never have been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall. And, without love, I am sure I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine. Fortune I do not want; employment I do not want; consequence I do not want: I believe few married women are half as much mistress of their husband's house, as I am of Hartfield; and never, never could I expect to be so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right in any man's eyes as I am in my father's.

Austen, Jane, and George Justice. Emma: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print. 62.

I thought that this passage was interesting to analyze, because I know that this novel will probably end with her married, as the others do. She does enjoy the independence and power that she maintains while single and living at home with her father, however she disproves herself by shortly after thinking to herself of Frank Churchill. And we know that there is of course an underlying affection for and tension towards Mr.Knightley. She has never been in love, because she is perfectly content with the status of her household and the condition of life that it grants her. She has had no need to seek a man to raise her fortune, and no man has yet stolen her heart away with dancing or poetry. This passage also seems to convey that she is using her father and what he has to offer and that he loves her far more than she loves him.

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Emma, your infatuation about that girl blinds you. What are Harriet Smith's claims, either of birth, nature or education, to any connection higher than Robert Martin? She is the natural daughter of nobody knows whom, with probably no settled provision at all, and certainly no respectable relations. She is known only as parlour-boarder at a common school. She is not a sensible girl, nor a girl of any information. She has been taught nothing useful, and is too young and too simple to have acquired any thing herself. At her age she can have no experience, and with her little wit, is not very likely ever to have any that can avail her. She is pretty, and she is good tempered, and that is all.

Austen, Jane, and George Justice. Emma: An Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print. 45

This quote grabbed my attention for a number of reasons. Firstly, Mr.Knightley is possibly my favorite character in the novel, but he is also a man of integrity and will speak his mind openly, and expect the same in return. This is an honest and genuine disposition in contrast with many of the other characters that we have been introduced to in Austen's novels. Furthermore, we see how Emma has been blinded by her affection for Harriet to the point that she forgets that Harriet is really a nobody outside of their village, just like she would be if she were to go to London. Their self absorption, vanity, and pride will bring only trouble, and reality will hit them hard if they continue to pretend to be superior and that they deserve better.