Closure

A friend of mine commented today at lunch that I haven't posted for a while. "That's because I am finished the project," I told her. We both agreed that the project required closure.

I have presented my project to the class, and subsequently recieved 100% on it (Thanks Mr Roberts!). Not to bad if I do say so myself.

I have learned so much from this project; how talented Austen was, what makes her a good author, and how much work goes into a big undertaking like mine. I think that I came out on top. I had so much information when I was done that I taught the class for 40 minutes. I appreciate the fact that they tried not to look bored!

Jane Austen invaded my life. I dremt about her books, I spent hours writng about them, and I'm positive that I drove my friends crazy talking about her. I still stand amazed at how witty she was, and how her style changed over time but remained uniquely Jane. I am throughly a Janeite, and I embrace it whole-heartedly.

Thanks for reading; I appreciate all your support. I hope that by now you have picked up an Austen novel, and that you will allow its words to comfort, excite, and stun you in the same way that they did me.

Let us finish with a word of wisdom from Austen, it seems only appropriate.

"There is nothing that I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature."

A Feminist Austen???

The subject of whether Austen was a feminist or not seems to be popping up a lot right now. So, I will take a moment to address my own thoughts on the matter.

Austen does seem to have feministic qualities ahead of the age she lived in. She definitely had a sarcastic view of men, and she knew a lot of them, so she did write from experience. She once wrote, "Men were put into the world to teach women the law of compromise." I believe that she liked men in general, and celebrated their more amiable qualities. It seems that she only had problems with gentlemen when they suppressed, undervalued, or mocked the gifts and talents that made women special. When the heroines of her novel meet smart, kind young men, she is not afraid of saying that it is good, and a nice thing for the girl. She is also quick to criticize bad behavior and disrespect of others. Good men in her writing are required to be nice to women and to men (Think Darcy and Wickham).

She often speaks slightingly of women who imprison themselves, and do not live according to their full potential. Virtue is rewarded. Look at this passage from Persuasion: "Women of that class have great opportunities, and if they are intelligent may be well worth listening to. Such varieties of human nature as they are in the habit of witnessing! And it is not merely in its follies that they are well read; for they see it occasionally under every circumstance that can be most interesting or affecting. What instances must pass before them of ardent, disinterested, self-denying attachment, of heroism, fortitude, patience, resignation; of all the conflicts and all the sacrifices that ennoble us most." (Chapter 17)

From this I think it may be safe to say that she held both women and men to the same standard of behaviour: To be good, help others find themselves, and avoid suppressing the humanity of other people. Instead of being feminist, she had a desire for all people to value each other, but spoke more of degradation against women because that was an issue of the time. It would be interesting to she what social causes she supported if she were a person in today's world.

Do I think that she was a feminist? Perhaps. I do not really know for sure. I think it is safe to say that Austen was a voice for women, and that she set a precedent for all aspiring feminists. The only way to know for sure would be to ask Jane herself.

Out and About Austen Women

"In the fifteen years of my marriage; though many women have done more, I have crossed the Atlantic four times, and have been once to the East Indies and back again, and only once; besides being in different places about home: Cork, and Lisbon, and Gibraltar. But I never went beyond the Streights, and never was in the West Indies." (Chapter 8)

A friend once commented that Austen was frustrating to read because the females sat inside all day and never did anything interesting. She said it would be more interesting if they went outside the house more often. Maybe she should read Persuasion. The women in this novel walk a lot; along the seashore, in the country, around the Pump-room in Bath. Makes me want to be outside. I know that the rain makes everything green and sparkling, but does it have to all fall now? I'll have to spend my time indoors reading about Austen's adventurers instead.

Here is a active character that I love: Mrs Croft. She is adventurous, active, and a stylish role model for other women. She is the wife of Admiral Croft, and she went on all the trips abroad while he was at sea. She loves to be out and about, as one might say. She endears herself to people, and is always cheerful. In the movies, she wears colourful shawls and pretty turbans, which is kind of off the beaten path for fashion of the time. I think she is wonderful, and of the minor personages in Austen's works, she is one of my favourites. Like the sea breeze that she loves, Mrs Croft is a breath of fresh air.

Prepare to be Persuaded

"She had seen him. They had met. They had been once more in the same room." (Chapter 7)

What do lost love, raging teenage hormones, drama in a town of extravagance, and the seaside add up to? Answer, an awesome romance novel with the perfect balance of classy soirées and unplanned meetings.

Persuasion is the story of Anne Elliot, the oldest of the Austen heroines, and the one that you cannot help but pitying and cheering at the same time. She looses the love of her life when her family and friends persuade her that it is a bad match. To add to the chaos is the fact that her family has depleted their savings, and as a result are forced to move. In order to stay near her family home, she temporarily moves in with her sister, a die-hard hypochondriac. When her lost love turns up several years later, still unmarried, and now wealthy, she realizes that she is ready to fall in love with someone... just not her. What will happen when she moves to Bath, and an eligible suitor appears to pledge his own troth to her?

Anne is a unique character, and though I sometimes feel like yelling at her because she lets people walk all over her, perhaps she is like Fanny Price, and her value lies in patience and consistency; or maybe I know this because I know the ending to the story. It would be really interesting to go back a few years in time, and read Austen with fresh eyes. I love Austen, but I cannot for the life of me remember how it started.

In one chapter, I forget which one, Austen employs the word "unpremeditated." What a great word! I mean, you can use "not previously decided," or "not considered before," but why would you not want to use the one word that perfectly describes it? Persuasion itself might persuade me to widen my vocabulary!

I've been procrastinating a little, but in the time that I have taken to write this post, I have been feeling more inspired. Austen does seem to be penetrating my life though, kind of in odd ways to. Last night I dreamed that the cast of the Francis O'Connor's version of Mansfield Park were drinking tequila shots in church, and some people from my class ran around asking if I could set up investment portfolios for them. I have no idea why. Perhaps my REM sleep will be better when this project ends.

Five Down, One to Go

I have also finished Northanger Abbey, and am chugging, though slowly, through Persuasion. Hopefully you will find an introduction to Persuasion posted here in a short time.

I have to state, for the record, that Northanger Abbey was a joy to read. I never groaned inwardly when I reminded myself that it was time to read for an hour or so. I should clarify that it is always a joy to read Austen, but the assignment was a mix of pleasure and project. The style of Northanger, like that of Pride and Prejudice, is just funny, and made me chuckle more than I did with most of the others. Because Austen tried to mock and censure other romance novels of the time, she will often say something along the lines of, "I'm not supposed to do this, but I will do it any ways."

Case and Point: In this scene near the end, she says that she is not supposed to introduce certain types of characters, but she does anyways. "I have only to add — aware that the rules of composition forbid the introduction of a character not connected with my fable — that this was the very gentleman..." She she is such a rebel.

Well, good-bye Northanger, I am sure that I will be back soon to see your fair pages once again.

Fevered Imagination

"The mere habit of learning to love is the thing; and a teachableness of disposition in a young lady is a great blessing." (Chapter 22)

I have found a wonderful hideout for reading that is worthy of any time spent pouring over the pages of Austen. My dad designed a rather large playhouse for us a a few years back, and the upper balcony makes a lovely place to sit with a book. It is facing away from the house, towards the west, where I can position myself in the evenings to watch the sun set. It is surrounded by several tall pine trees, and the birds were singing. The lighting this evening was lovely, and a warm breeze blew through our yard to complete the scene. If it sounds perfect, it is because it is.

I sat out there this evening and read more of the dreamy, quasi-realistic story of Catherine and Henry. It is always wonderful to read about Mr Tilney, and I might have mentioned before that he is one of my favourite Austen heros. I think that I like him more than Mr Darcy.

I have taken the trouble to compile a list about why Henry Tilney is the perfect hero:

• He cares for his family, and most especially his sister. Isn't there an old adage that says a women can tell how he will treat her by how he treats his mother and sisters?
• He cares for his property. He has a modest estate about 20 or so miles from his father's. After returning home from Bath, he leaves to check up on the house, and make sure that everything is in good order.
• He is a faithful man. More than other Austen heros, his religious fervor is mentioned, and rightly so, for he is a rector.
• Henry has a good sense of humour and wit. He is playful and light-hearted with Catherine when it is appropriate.
• He understands women extremely well.*
• He brings out the purity and the goodness in Catherine.
• He loves Catherine for her naivete, but will not let her follies go unchecked. He makes sure in Chapter 24, that she not be allowed to continue in dangerous folly.
• He is mature, but kind and a good teacher.
• He adapts to every environment. He is the same genuine man in Bath that he is at the Abbey. Even when he is baffled by Catherine's childlike behaviour at the Abbey, and reproaches her for it, he is quick to give her comfort and make her feel settled.

* This humourous scene occurs upon Henry's first introduction to Catherine at the Assembly Rooms in Bath:

“I shall make but a poor figure in your journal tomorrow.” (Henry speaking)

“My journal!” (Catherine replying)

“Yes, I know exactly what you will say: Friday, went to the Lower Rooms; wore my sprigged muslin robe with blue trimmings — plain black shoes — appeared to much advantage; but was strangely harassed by a queer, half–witted man, who would make me dance with him, and distressed me by his nonsense.”

“Indeed I shall say no such thing.”

“Shall I tell you what you ought to say?”

“If you please.”

“I danced with a very agreeable young man, introduced by Mr. King; had a great deal of conversation with him — seems a most extraordinary genius — hope I may know more of him. That, madam, is what I wish you to say.”

“But, perhaps, I keep no journal.”

“Perhaps you are not sitting in this room, and I am not sitting by you. These are points in which a doubt is equally possible. Not keep a journal! How are your absent cousins to understand the tenour of your life in Bath without one? How are the civilities and compliments of every day to be related as they ought to be, unless noted down every evening in a journal? How are your various dresses to be remembered, and the particular state of your complexion, and curl of your hair to be described in all their diversities, without having constant recourse to a journal? My dear madam, I am not so ignorant of young ladies’ ways as you wish to believe me; it is this delightful habit of journaling which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated. Everybody allows that the talent of writing agreeable letters is peculiarly female. Nature may have done something, but I am sure it must be essentially assisted by the practice of keeping a journal.”

Only six chapters left

To Censure or to Celebrate?

"She was to be their chosen visitor, she was to be for weeks under the same roof with the person whose society she mostly prized- and, in addition to all the rest, this roof was to be the roof of an abbey! Her passion for ancient edifices was next in degree to her passion for Henry Tilney." (Chapter 17)

Good grief! I can just she her screeching and giggling inside with delight. Catherine really is the most naive of all the Austen heroines. She seems to think this a recipe for perfect happiness and affability. I know that Austen started this at a younger age than the rest of her novels. Was she looking for a place to channel her own passions, or a place to censure those of others? Up to this time the novel has been about, "chocolates and flowers." Later, Catherine gets a little dose of reality. But then she gets her prince too. Is the novel to censure or celebrate this stage in life? Maybe a little of both? Seeing Catherine's admiration and passion reminds me that some things never change.

Another thing that never seems to change is the way that some people look at our language. In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen definitely spends time censuring her modern language. From the book tirade in the first few chapters in the novel, to the sly comments that the hero makes about language, this novel was one of Jane's earlier attempts to state her opinion about language. Catherine and Eleanor use the word "nice" to describe a novel that they are discussing, and Mr. Tilney mocks them playfully for their use of an over-used term. " 'Very true,' said Henry, 'and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk, and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything. Originally perhaps it was applied only to express neatness, propriety, delicacy, or refinement - people were nice in their dress, in their sentiments, or their choice. But now every commendation on every subject is comprised in that one word.' " (Chapter 14)

This reminds me of several words in modern English as well: "Random," "awesome," and a few swear words that can function as a verb, noun, or adjective. I am going to make it my personal goal to irradiate certain over-used terms from my vocabulary. I have almost banished "I am good," and replaced it with, "I am doing well, thank you!" I do not seek to make myself seem pompous, but we have such an intricate and varied language, why should we not make the best of it? I think that I have a talent for words, and I will nurture that, not suppress it. I think that is what Austen was trying to point out in all her language tirades; Nurture, do not suppress.