http://clevermsbennet.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
clevermsbennet.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2009-03-05 02:09 pm
clevermsbennet.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2009-03-05 02:09 pm
Entry tags:
Literature, Class 8: Period 3, Thursday, March 5
"I trust all of you are well-rested from your vacation," Miss Bennet said brightly. "I heard the weather was exquisite. I do hope you found time over break to engage in a spot of reading, as I did ask, last class, that you obtain a copy of either Randolph Park or Amelia. Both were in the school library. However."
This was a quite generous smile that she was granting her students. "I am prepared to be quite understanding, if the excitement of tropical weather and a cruise meant that the matter slipped your mind entirely, and you have read neither work for today's class. Everything belongs in its right place. I could never talk of books in a ballroom, and I must confess, I doubt that any of you could focus on romance and social intrigue in paper form while so much was going on around you. Therefore, if you haven't read either work, there is no penalty for saying so, and I shall try to keep today's discussion accessible to all."
"To begin. Why did I ask you to read these two works? Both are by author Jane Austen. Austen was from my own time, and her works largely involved the social strata with which she was most familiar. The upper class, though not the aristocracy; land-owners, and those who did not work to support themselves, but perhaps managed an estate. She also chose to focus upon the lives of women. For a genteel woman, there was but one goal: to marry, and to marry well. This may sound callous or frivolous to modern ears, but please do consider the situation of women in those times. A woman was not to work; such was unseemly beyond the telling of it. If her family did not have wealth, she must marry someone with enough income to support her as well as himself. Do remember that those gentlemen could probably afford to be choosy; they would seek out wives with influential social connections or fortunes of their own. Let us go on to note that society, in that time period, was harsh and exacting. A single misstep, an unfortunate faux pas, and one's standing could drop considerably. That would, in turn, reduce the chances of marrying well.
"There lies the backdrop. And now, the tales. Jane Austen once wrote that the lead character of her next novel would be, in her own words, 'a heroine that no one but myself will much like.' She was speaking of Amelia Forrester, the girl for whom Amelia was named. Amelia was one of Austen's few heroines who did not have monetary concerns; she was wealthy, and might marry anyone she fancied. She found herself quite bored, and little amused by her own lifeShe amused herself by making matches of those eligible men and women she saw around herself, though some were successful and others, miserable failures. At novel's end, she discovers that she is quite taken with her brother-in-law, Walter Bishop, and has been for quite some time. The two are happily paired as the other matches untangle themselves. Amelia is easily Miss Austen's lightest work: playful, coquettish, and somewhat inconsequential.
"It may surprise you to hear that Miss Austen was, in fact, quite wrong. Her readers largely embraced Amelia. They found her charming, and the work equally so. She is, of course, self-indulgent, but she seems earnest in her concerns for her friends and loved ones, and moved by a genuine desire to do good. Perhaps she is forgivable in that she seems terribly young. Many of her faults may smooth themselves out, with time and the wisdom of experience.
"Austen's quote is particularly fascinating when viewed in the context of another work of hers, Randolph Park. Randolph Park is her most divisive work. It is the tale of a young Fern Prince, born to a mother who married beneath her to an unfortunate man of little money and great vulgarity. Fanny's aunts decide to 'rescue' her, from her crowded but happy home, and teach her good breeding and manners. They hope, in doing so, to make a fair match for her. However, they treat her contemptuously, always reminding her of her place -- which is, of course, decidedly beneath the Wooster cousins with whom she now lives. Fern is lonely, mistreated, and longs for her family. Yet Fern has been told that she must be grateful, and grateful she is: quiet, loyal, and never wishing to disturb anyone else's wishes for her own.
"Why do I mention Randolph Park here? Quite simply, because Fern was a heroine that very few but Miss Austen much liked. Her demeanor is sweet, but she never asserts herself. She is pious, earnest, and sincere; she does what is right, and blessings eventually come to her. Many find her to be too timid, and wish she would display herself to have a backbone. Many find her faith grating, in that it seems Randolph Park is a world of sinners and saints. Saints are rewarded, sinners are not, and one category can never cross to the other. Randolph Park is less a satire than a morality tale.
"There is something to be said for the way society has changed our priorities, and how tastes may change. A quiet, docile and pious heroine might be far more acceptable to a nineteenth century audience than to a twenty-first. And yet, this rift over Randolph Park is not new. Austen's very mother called Fern 'insipid.' Clearly, there is more at work here than a cultural divide.
"Many of you have read one or both of these books. What is your interpretation? Why are Amelia's sins more palatable than Fern's? What makes a character likeable or prevents one from being so? And why was Jane Austen's prediction so far from the reality of how her works were received?"
(OOC: I wrote up a meta-ing for the names of the major characters in the two books, so we wouldn't keep tripping over each other in inventing them. You can find that here.)
This was a quite generous smile that she was granting her students. "I am prepared to be quite understanding, if the excitement of tropical weather and a cruise meant that the matter slipped your mind entirely, and you have read neither work for today's class. Everything belongs in its right place. I could never talk of books in a ballroom, and I must confess, I doubt that any of you could focus on romance and social intrigue in paper form while so much was going on around you. Therefore, if you haven't read either work, there is no penalty for saying so, and I shall try to keep today's discussion accessible to all."
"To begin. Why did I ask you to read these two works? Both are by author Jane Austen. Austen was from my own time, and her works largely involved the social strata with which she was most familiar. The upper class, though not the aristocracy; land-owners, and those who did not work to support themselves, but perhaps managed an estate. She also chose to focus upon the lives of women. For a genteel woman, there was but one goal: to marry, and to marry well. This may sound callous or frivolous to modern ears, but please do consider the situation of women in those times. A woman was not to work; such was unseemly beyond the telling of it. If her family did not have wealth, she must marry someone with enough income to support her as well as himself. Do remember that those gentlemen could probably afford to be choosy; they would seek out wives with influential social connections or fortunes of their own. Let us go on to note that society, in that time period, was harsh and exacting. A single misstep, an unfortunate faux pas, and one's standing could drop considerably. That would, in turn, reduce the chances of marrying well.
"There lies the backdrop. And now, the tales. Jane Austen once wrote that the lead character of her next novel would be, in her own words, 'a heroine that no one but myself will much like.' She was speaking of Amelia Forrester, the girl for whom Amelia was named. Amelia was one of Austen's few heroines who did not have monetary concerns; she was wealthy, and might marry anyone she fancied. She found herself quite bored, and little amused by her own lifeShe amused herself by making matches of those eligible men and women she saw around herself, though some were successful and others, miserable failures. At novel's end, she discovers that she is quite taken with her brother-in-law, Walter Bishop, and has been for quite some time. The two are happily paired as the other matches untangle themselves. Amelia is easily Miss Austen's lightest work: playful, coquettish, and somewhat inconsequential.
"It may surprise you to hear that Miss Austen was, in fact, quite wrong. Her readers largely embraced Amelia. They found her charming, and the work equally so. She is, of course, self-indulgent, but she seems earnest in her concerns for her friends and loved ones, and moved by a genuine desire to do good. Perhaps she is forgivable in that she seems terribly young. Many of her faults may smooth themselves out, with time and the wisdom of experience.
"Austen's quote is particularly fascinating when viewed in the context of another work of hers, Randolph Park. Randolph Park is her most divisive work. It is the tale of a young Fern Prince, born to a mother who married beneath her to an unfortunate man of little money and great vulgarity. Fanny's aunts decide to 'rescue' her, from her crowded but happy home, and teach her good breeding and manners. They hope, in doing so, to make a fair match for her. However, they treat her contemptuously, always reminding her of her place -- which is, of course, decidedly beneath the Wooster cousins with whom she now lives. Fern is lonely, mistreated, and longs for her family. Yet Fern has been told that she must be grateful, and grateful she is: quiet, loyal, and never wishing to disturb anyone else's wishes for her own.
"Why do I mention Randolph Park here? Quite simply, because Fern was a heroine that very few but Miss Austen much liked. Her demeanor is sweet, but she never asserts herself. She is pious, earnest, and sincere; she does what is right, and blessings eventually come to her. Many find her to be too timid, and wish she would display herself to have a backbone. Many find her faith grating, in that it seems Randolph Park is a world of sinners and saints. Saints are rewarded, sinners are not, and one category can never cross to the other. Randolph Park is less a satire than a morality tale.
"There is something to be said for the way society has changed our priorities, and how tastes may change. A quiet, docile and pious heroine might be far more acceptable to a nineteenth century audience than to a twenty-first. And yet, this rift over Randolph Park is not new. Austen's very mother called Fern 'insipid.' Clearly, there is more at work here than a cultural divide.
"Many of you have read one or both of these books. What is your interpretation? Why are Amelia's sins more palatable than Fern's? What makes a character likeable or prevents one from being so? And why was Jane Austen's prediction so far from the reality of how her works were received?"
(OOC: I wrote up a meta-ing for the names of the major characters in the two books, so we wouldn't keep tripping over each other in inventing them. You can find that here.)
Re: Sign-In [LIT-8]
Re: Sign-In [LIT-8]
Re: Sign-In [LIT-8]
Re: Sign-In [LIT-8]