Monday January 13th 2014

'I am not at all in a humour for writing; I must write on till I am.' 

-Jane Austen in Personal Correspondence

New Year, New Diary.

Jane Austen, Feminism and Fiction

This is a must read for any Janeite. What I loved most about this book was how it places Austen squarely in the midst of her radical female contemporaries and predecessors, and it gives Jane back her mantle of 'feminist'. Although by today's standards the feminism involved seems rather tame and out-dated, it is there nonetheless. It also debunks a lot of the 'good Aunt Jane' myths which were created by relatives in the Victorian age, or at least provides an alternative viewpoint. Most importantly it's a nice reminder that we actually know very little about her life, and so excepting conclusions like 'Jane hated Bath' (a theory which is based on the evidence of three letters) is rather rash and unhelpful. The lack of letters from this period has long been attributed to their contents being of an intimate, romantic nature; hence their destruction. However, Kirkham suggests that Jane's period in Bath was a lot more socially and intellectually active than we have been led to believe, for it is 'the one period Austen spent continuously in an urban environment, in contact with a society and culture close to the metropolitan'.  There's a good chance she saw many plays, wrote about her opinions on these plays and notable figures she may have met and just generally broadened her literary horizons, yet in Edward Austen-Leigh's 'Memoir' this time is Bath is merely talked of as a time when she 'went a good deal in society, in a quiet way, chiefly with ladies'. As Kirkham remarks, this is a 'masterly dismissal of five vital years in the author's life in such a way as to inhibit further interest in them'.

'It will not do to approach the female authors of this period and divide them into genuine feminists versus the rest, for at this period to become an author was, in itself, a feminist act.' p.33.

Anyway, theories abound and I for one find Kirkham's suggestions very persuasive. The rest of the book is full of interesting insights, and I came away with a different view of Jane than when I began reading. Even if that is only to be slightly more skeptical of Austen myths which have almost become accepted as fact. 

The Irreconcilable Faces of Jane Austen.

‘Two portraits of Jane Austen are reproduced as the frontispiece to this book. The top one, drawn by Cassandra when both were still young, is the only authentic portrait known. It shows a young woman with penetrating dark eyes, sitting with arms rather aggressively crossed and staring boldly ahead. The mouth is caustic, and there is no more than the suspicion of a smile; the curls are slightly absurd. The subject is plainly attired and sits on what appears to be a simple, country-made, ladder-back chair. The lower portrait is the one commissioned for the Memoir, and executed by Mr Andrews of Maidenhead, on the basis of Cassandra’s unacceptable sketch and the advice of the now elderly relations, who told him what their recollection of the appearance of the author was, as they saw her more than half a century earlier. Mr Andrew’s Jane Austen is altogether more decorous than Cassandra’s. The face is no longer slightly alarming, the cap and curls are prettier, the pose is more ladylike and the chair would belong comfortably in a Victorian dining room. The dress is right for the turn of the century, but this is a Victorian lady, dressed up in the fashion of another age, who could not have read Mary Wollstonecraft or sympathised with some of her ideas, although the young woman of Cassandra’s sketch looks as though she might.’

-Margaret Kirkham, Jane Austen, Feminism and Fiction (1997)

I’ve always found it difficult to reconcile the Memoir portrait with the witty, sardonic authorial voice of her writing. It’s a shame that the latter portrait is the most widely reproduced and recognised likeness of Jane. I for one much prefer Cassandra’s original portrait. The folded arms and almost impatient look are somehow more appealing than it’s wide-eyed Victorian counterpart. 

New Books!

 I live for second-hand book shopping. Whenever I feel the slightest bit down I head straight for the charity shops. Oxfam are particularly good for old and interesting books, including this lovely hardback copy of Brideshead Revisited (which is also beautifully illustrated). To be honest, getting first pick of the donated books is one of the perks of volunteering there;) I’ve also picked up Lark Rise to Candleford, a Penguin book on Victorian Literature and a volume of Jane Austen’s letters! Thoroughly satisfying:)

First book post.

I would quite like to keep a record of books that I am currently enjoying. This can be difficult as I am desperately impatient. I can be half-way through 5 books at any one time but here goes. I had a lot of time to kill at Uni today so -armed with my trusty Kindle- I sat down and read Charles Dickens' short ghost story The Signal-Man. This was a great little story about a railway signal-man, who repeatedly saw the spectre of a man before something awful happened on the railway line...chilling stuff!

Other than this I dipped into a bit Jane Austen's Lady Susan too. I'd forgotten how gloriously manipulative the eponymous heroine really is. For so short a piece she is an incredibly lively character: I would have loved to see her equal in a longer work.

What I'm most excited about though is that I've finally got round to starting Gone With the Wind. The gorgeous pictures of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara have been drawing me to the story for a couple of years now, and I've decided that 2013 shall be the year for it.

I mean what a face! Naturally, the reading of the novel must always precede the adaptation when possible so true to form I am three chapters in and loving it so far. Margaret Mitchell's style of prose is so vivid and colourful, especially when describing the red dust state of Georgia. My copy of the novel is dear to me as it has the most charming inscription on the inside cover.

It says: 'If this book should dare to roam, box its ears and send it home'. Second hand books are a passion of mine, and I am pretty proud of my collection which I have been working on for a while now, but I just adore the characters and the history's that you get with them!

 

Anyway, I can't say I think much of Scarlett at the moment, but what I can gather from diehard fans is that it's all part of the charm of the novel. We would soon get bored if we immediately adored every literary character that ever sauntered into fruition.