Jane Reigns

The 21st Centry Commonplace Book straight from the mind of Erica Clifford

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How Jane Austen Actually Predicted The Current Ambiguous Hook-Up Culture

It may be near 200 years since Austen passed away, but that doesn’t seem to lessen the obsession readers have for her work.

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I made this digital story for the final project in Jane Austen in Context.  It covers the socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds behind bread pudding, as well as some small meal differences during the regency period.

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THIS IS SO PERFECT

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I also thought this was pretty great, not only because of the Austen cup, but because each one is pretty spot on, and very well done.

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While I was browsing the Tumblrverse for Jane Austen related media I happened upon a picture from Disney's Frozen.  It took me a minute, but after a while I realized that the tags on the image were suggesting that Frozen is an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.  At first I was dubious because I thought the only similarity was an overeager girl falling immediately for a less than scrupulous man.  Upon closer inspection, however, I realized there are quite a few similarities between the two.  For instance, Elsa and Elinor (whose names are already pretty similar) are both the level-headed characters who embody "sense" as the name suggests.  Anna and Marianne (again, the names) are both the more spirited and impulsive characters who embody "sensibility" and are somewhat carried away by their impulsive and romantic sensibilities.  And, of course, the base story of two sisters.

I could go on, but I thought this was a really interesting take on Frozen that I didn't see before.  I guess Kristoff would be Colonel Brandon in this scenario..? Leave it to Disney to replace the old Colonel with an endearing and rugged "fixer upper" of an ice man.

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John Nott's Cook's and Confectioner's Dictionary, published in 1723—This is one of the resources for my digital essay that I'll be using because it is one of, if not the first recorded recipes for white-pot. The OED cites the first in-text mention of white-pot in 1577, apparently by Batman, which I found both super exciting and ironic because of my own extreme nerdiness. 

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Apparently Jane Austen created the town of Sanditon based on her own vacation in Worthing in West Sussex.  This is an artistic rendering of old Worthing. 

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When Mr. and Mrs. Parker, therefore, ceased from soliciting a family visit and bounded their views to carrying back one daughter with them, no difficulties were started. It was general pleasure and consent. Their invitation was to Miss Charlotte Heywood, a very pleasing young woman of two and twenty, the eldest of the daughters

Sanditon

Austen, Jane. Sanditon. Ed. Margaret Drabble. London: Penguin 1974. Print.

It's very interesting to examine the different ways that Austen introduces her heroines. Because Sanditon was unfinished, we must assume that Charlotte is indeed the heroine, as she fits the part.  Charlotte, however, does not make an appearance until just before the third chapter, whereas the majority of Austen's other heroines make an appearance within the first chapter, if not the first few pages of her novels.  The novel remains a mystery as Austen never completed it, however, the manner of introduction of Charlotte's character gives us cause to wonder, if Charlotte breaks some of Austen's general conventions, what other molds might her character have been intended to break later on in the novel?

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Every Austen novel has an iconic quote, usually from the reconciliation scene between the heroine and her significant other.  I thought it was really interesting to take the iconic quote from Persuasion by Captain Wentworth, and to see the different ways it has been graphically rendered.

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Her accommodations were limited to a noisy parlour, and a dark bedroom behind, with no possibility of moving from one to the other without assistance, which there was only one servant in the house to afford, and she never quitted the house but to be conveyed into the warm bath. Yet, in spite of all this, Anne had reason to believe that she had moments only of languor and depression, to hours of occupation and enjoyment. How could it be?

Persuasion

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

This passage is particularly interesting because of the Elliots’ removal from Kellynch.  Austen tells us that the Elliots are out of funds, which requires them to let Kellynch to the Crofts.  Anne even narrates that her sister and father live far beyond their means due to the comforts that the two believe that they require.  This passage, however, is a more realistic glimpse of what is really required to live.  Since Anne is presented as already being fairly receptive, self-aware, and educated, this is actually a fairly big moment because she is seeing something that astonishes her.  This moment shows Anne that a person doesn’t need to have everything to be happy, and that her own attitude and mindset are powerful tools in regarding her situation and creating her own happiness, just like Ms. Smith.

(Another post that the LAX wifi didn't submit) 

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He had frequently observed, as he walked, that one handsome face would be followed by thirty, or five-and-thirty frights; and once, as he had stood in a shop on Bond Street, he had counted eighty-seven women go by, one after another, without there being a tolerable face among them. It had been a frosty morning, to be sure, a sharp frost, which hardly one woman in a thousand could stand the test of. But still, there certainly were a dreadful multitude of ugly women in Bath; and as for the men! they were infinitely worse.

Persuasion

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

  I thought this internal glimpse at Sir Walter was a fairly good example of free indirect discourse (again).  The narration of his personal thought process really shows us precisely how arrogant he is, and how that arrogance mentally separates his from the rest of society in Bath.  Austen’s choice of the word “tolerable” is interesting here because it mirrors Darcy’s choice of words about Elizabeth so well.  Depending on whether we believe that Darcy changed when he met Elizabeth, or whether he simply revealed more of himself throughout the novel, it is possible to draw a connection between Mr. Darcy and Sir Walter.  Though this tenuous connection may exist, the nature of the connection differs greatly with which stance we take on Darcy’s altered behavior.  This, in turn, also affects a possible interpretation of Sir Walter.  Is Sir Walter’s internal monologue an attempt to convince him that he is superior to the rest of the people in Bath because he knows that due to his title, he ought to be?  Or, as we are lead to believe, is Sir Walter merely a pompous simpleton?

(another entry that the LAX wifi failed to enter correctly)

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I actually posted this with the rest of my stuff while I was in LAX, but apparently their internet didn't actually make a solid connection and the posts didn't go up. I snapped this while I was in the library enjoying some coffee and Jane on a rainy day

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"…[Anne Elliot] maintains a clear-sighted, morally elevated, central but static position throughout, while Captain Wentworth's gradual learning of love and truth defines the forward movement of the plot. In him the reader sees the educational process, in her, only the product"

Persuasion

Astell, Ann W. "Anne Elliot's Education" Persuasion: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. By Jane Austen. Ed. Patricia Meyer Spacks. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. 245. Print.

I know that this is a point that Astell is arguing against in her essay, and I can see the holes in the predisposed logic of other critics.  Nevertheless, I thought that this was a very interesting stance for some critics to take.  I suppose that as far as overall analysis goes, I usually wait to analyze the summation of a character's learning once the novel has ended, which is why this point didn't occur to me initially.  I disagree with prior critics that Anne Elliot's education has been completed at the start of the novel, for we all are constantly learning all the time, and as humans, education is never really over.  I think that Anne Elliot's understanding that she is still in love with Captain Wentworth is clear evidence of this learning, for she must contend with that realization, and then act accordingly, and learning is certainly a byproduct of action, if nothing else then simply through trial and error.  

I think, however, that Captain Wentworth does have more to learn than Anne Elliot, although this could be simply because Anne Elliot's actions dictated the necessity of his learning because of the complications of her breaking off their engagement.  It really interested me that Austen chose to portray a somewhat greater degree of learning in the male character, rather than her female heroine.  Again, I do think that Anne Elliot still has a great deal of learning to engage in (so far in the novel), but this is the first time that I have recognized a greater degree of learning and realization in the male character than the female (I would say it's relatively equal between Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice).

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Tumblr on We Heart It. http://weheartit.com/entry/69273982

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

This reminds me a lot of that cliché angst-filled quote circulating around tumblr quote graphics that reads "we're not friends, we're strangers with memories."  Cliché as it may be, I think it pretty accurately describes the situation that we as readers are dropped into as we begin to become acquainted with Anne Elliot.  

Overall, the circumstances of this novel drive me nuts.  Obviously we as readers want to see Anne Elliot end up with the man that she loves, and we perceive Lady Russell almost as an antagonist because of her role in persuading Anne to break her engagement.  Because of both her meddling in Anne's affairs, and because of her title, it is not difficult to imagine Lady Russell as something of a Lady Catherine figure like in Pride and Prejudice.  Instead, though, through the well-intended but poorly executed meddling of Lady Russel can see an evident parallel between her and Emma in Emma, especially as Lady Russell seems to be in a similar social mentoring relationship with Anne as Emma took it upon herself to engage in with Harriet.  

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These are the three most well known period film adaptations of Emma.  I thought it was really interesting to look at the casting, and to examine the ages of the characters.  I think the Kate Beckinsale version most clearly highlights the 16 year age difference between Emma and Mr. Knightley, although I can understand why other directors would have cast differently.   To contemporary audiences, it gives a slightly strange and out of place feel, no matter how accurate it is to the novel.

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You cannot imagine how suddenly it has come on me! how peculiarly unprepared I was!—for I had reason to believe her very lately more determined against him, much more, than she was before.

Emma

Austen, Jane. Emma. Ed. George Justice. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 325. Print.

While we were reading Sense and Sensibility in class, we discussed the idea in Austen's time of a divine overarching plan where each of the characters ends up with the perfect soulmate who is completely designed for them.  I think that through Harriet's initial reception of Robert Martin, we can see that their marriage was inevitable, and that the correct order finally fell into place within Harriet's life.  It is interesting to note that this correct order manifested itself after Emma was effectively absent from harriet's life, leading us to the conclusion that by playing matchmaker, Emma was meddling in things extremely beyond her reach or understanding by essentially defying God's plans, and the order of the universe.  It would be a stretch, but an argument could even be made that in this guise, Emma Woodhouse represents an antichrist or Satan-like character.  I obviously don't think that this was Austen's intention in writing a character like Emma, but it would be an interesting direction to go in, even if only to underline the reformation of a sinner or heretic.

Going back to the notion of divinely preordained marriage, however, the I have to wonder what the ever-affable and good natured Ms. Bates did to deserve to end up a spinster. What's more, other characters ill-suited characters like Mr. and Mrs. Bennet come to mind as a questionable flaw in this logic.

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She was just as determined when the morrow came, and went early, that nothing might prevent her. It was not unlikely, she thought, that she might see Mr. Knightley in her way; or, perhaps, he might come in while she were paying her visit. She had no objection. She would not be ashamed of the appearance of the penitence, so justly and truly hers. Her eyes were towards Donwell as she walked, but she saw him not.

Emma

Austen, Jane. Emma. Ed. George Justice. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 260. Print.

Here we can see Emma reverting back to the lovestruck teenage girl that she never was, dropping by places that Mr. Knightley might be found in order to bump into him while doing something that he would be impressed by.  It is clear to readers that Emma must repair her slight against Ms. Bates, but I, for one, have to question her motives.  Emma does not repent her words to Ms. Bates until Mr. Knightley reprimands her, which gives reason to wonder if Emma truly regrets her words, or just Mr. Knightley's reception of them.  If Emma's remorse has more to do with Mr. Knightley than her own ethics and Ms. Bates, then it is not difficult to believe that her reasons for visiting the Bates' household is a self-serving errand of obligation, and bears no true sincerity.

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I found this while wandering aimlessly in the Pinterest universe, and immediately thought it related to Emma, as she could definitely take some lessons in humility from Mother Teresa.