Paper #1 Assignment

Choose ONE of the following:

O1: Austen’s wrote dozens of clever, incomplete works throughout her teenage years, and not until Lady Susan, and later, Northanger Abbey, was she able to complete a bona fide novel. Yet Lady Susan and Northanger Abbey are seemingly worlds apart in their style and technique, and many Austen fans don’t even like Lady Susan, which they find too different and ‘strange.’ Discuss what you feel is the primary difference between her first two novels, and what Austen revised in her approach to fiction from one to the other. Do you feel that Northanger Abbey is an improvement over her earlier fiction, or is it a necessary simplification?

O2: Austen is famous for recycling certain types of characters throughout her fiction, since she wanted her readers to learn the shorthand of good and bad characters, morals, and motives. Discuss a specific type of character you see popping up in a few of these works, and how Austen makes the similarities so obvious. Do their actions/motives change from one work to another? Or do they remain fairly consistent? Be specific and quote from each book so we can see the connections.

O3: Austen is known for her wit, which differs significantly from humor or even comedy. Wit is a form of satire, and can be distinguished by language which calls attention to itself and the playful way it mocks people or situations. Discuss what makes Austen’s wit so distinct in these works, and why such wit might have been shocking for a female author in the late 18^th century /early 19^th century. Again, be specific and quote so we can see how her language affects her meaning.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 3-4 pages double spaced
• Close reading: this means quoting significant lines or passages from the text and discussing them for the reader. Don’t rely on summary or paraphrase. On the same hand, you don’t have to quote all the time—but when making significant points, help us see what you’re talking about.
• Follow MLA style guides and include a Works Cited page with all the works you include in your discussion.
• Due next Wednesday, June 30^th by 5pm.

Austen Video #3 and Northanger Abbey Questions

 First, watch this short video on the Gothic movement in English literature...

Then answer these questions for Northanger Abbey (answer 3 as usual):

Q1. A consistent theme in Austen’s novels is the entrance of a young woman into society.  However, such a rite of passage requires experienced chaperones to guide her on her way.  How does Austen satirize the idea of a young woman’s education—and in this case, into the social wilds of Bath?  What dangers or missteps does she encounter that were all too real for women in Austen’s time?  

Q2. Chapter 14 is a delightful discussion of books and taste, in which narrator readily admits that “It was no effort to Catherine to believe that Henry Tilney could never be wrong.  His manner might sometimes surprize, but his meaning must always be just.”  How are we supposed to read their budding romance in these chapters?  Is it truly a match of equals, or is Henry somewhat condescending towards her as a ‘weak’ woman?  Is it satiric, or romantic?

Q3. How does Catherine continue to mistake fiction with reality, and allow her aesthetic views to color her personal decisions and beliefs?  In other words, how does she expect life to ‘read’ like a novel, and how does Austen satirize (however lightly) her views in doing so?

Q4. In what way does Austen distinguish Henry Tilney from the other characters in Bath (Thrope, Mrs. Allen, Isabella, etc.)?  Is he, despite his sex, closer to the voice and wit of the narrator (who we assume to be Austen)?  How do we feel the narrator, herself, feels about him (besides the fact that he is only “very near” being handsome)? 

Q5. In Chapter 21, we encounter Austen’s spot-on imitation of a Gothic novel, complete with many of the hallmarks of the genre from works like The Castle of Otranto and The Mysteries of Udolpho.  How do we read this chapter in particular—as a parody or a legitimate attempt to conjure up a sense of horror for her readers?  Does the tone of a giggling narrator lie behind this, or is Austen allowing herself, audaciously, to write like a Mrs. Radcliffe? 

Q6. Do you think Austen is more critical toward the women in the book than the men?  Consider the portrait of Isabella that emerges in Chapter 18, when Isabella remarks, “A little harmless flirtation or so will occur, and one is often drawn on to give more encouragement than one wishes to stand by...What one means one day, you know, one might not mean the next.  Circumstances change, opinions alter.”   Why might Austen have more of a bone to pick with her own sex? 

Austen Video #2 and Questions for Lady Susan

 The new video is below. All you have to do it watch it, since it will give a little more context for the reading (these are things I would do in class, but simply can't when teaching like this). The questions for Lady Susan are below:

* NOTE: Be sure to pay attention to who is writing the letter and who is receiving it. This would be important in real life, and is very important in figuring out how to read the letter (and the letter-writer’s intentions).

CHARACTERS (all of whom write one or more letters):

• Lady Susan Vernon:  a widow, sister-in-law to Mrs. Vernon (she married her husband's brother). Has a daughter, Frederica, she is trying to get married to Sir James Martin.
• Miss Vernon: Frederica, Lady Susan’s daughter.
• Mrs. Johnson: Lady Susan’s intimate friend, with whom she shares her secret plans and love affairs. Her husband thinks Lady Susan a bad influence.
• Mrs. Vernon: Married to Lady Susan’s brother; lives at Churchill where Lady Susan stays after being ejected from the Manwaring’s house. Her mother is Lady de Courcy and her brother is Mr. de Courcy.
• Mr. de Courcy (Reginald): Mrs. Vernon’s brother, is anxious to meet Lady Susan after all the rumors he’s heard of her.
• Sir Reginald de Courcy: Mr. de Courcy's and Mrs. Vernon's father.
• Lady de Courcy: Sir Reginald's wife. 

Answer THREE of the following:

Q1: Lady Susan writes of her daughter, “I do not mean therefore that Frederica’s acquirements should be more than superficial, and I flatter myself that she will not remain long enough at school to understand anything thoroughly” (Letter 7). According to the book (so far), what qualities, talents, and behavior make an “educated” (or cultured) woman? Is Lady Susan herself educated? Related to this, what kind of education does she want for her daughter?

Q2: Is Lady Susan the antagonist of Lady Susan or a kind of anti-hero? Are we supposed to like her or loathe her? Does she come across as the heroines of Love and Freindship? Consider a passage such as this one: “There is an exquisite pleasure in subduing an insolent spirit, in making a person pre-determined to dislike, acknowledge one’s superiority” (Letter 7).

Q3: According to the letters of Mrs. Vernon and Mr. de Courcy, how has Lady Susan earned a bad reputation in society? What is she accused of doing, and can we tell whether or not any of this is true, or just gossipy slander? What might justifiably make Mrs. Vernon reluctant to welcome her into her home? 

Q4: Though Lady Susan quickly wins over most of the Vernon household, including the lovelorn Reginald, how does Mrs. Vernon begin to see cracks in Susan's mask? How does she begin to show her true "naked" features?

Q5: In criticizing her own daughter's affection for Reginald, Lady Susan writes that "Artlessness will never do in love matters, and that girl is born a simpleton, who has it either by nature or affection." What does she mean by this? Why does Lady Susan always place 'art' above 'artlessness'? What does she fear her daughter will never understand, that will make her "ridiculed and despised by every man who sees her"?

Q6: Is Lady Susan supposed to be read more as a comedy or a tragedy? Most epistolary novels were tragic in nature, and contained perilous life and death stakes for their characters (The Coquette, Pamela, Clarissa). Is Austen showing us the danger that results when reputation hangs in the balance? Or is she merely satirizing the pretensions and plots of the upper classes? Use a specific scene or letter to illustrate how you read the novel.

Austen Video #1: Enlightenment Satire and Sensibility

Here's the first video to introduce Austen's world and some of the literary and artistic convention, such as "sensibility" you'll find in her stories. Nothing to respond to, just watch and think about these ideas as you read and answer the questions in the post below this one. Enjoy! 

Response Questions for "Love and Freindship" and "Catherine"

Answer THREE of the SIX questions by this weekend, based on the two stories for this week: "Love and Freindship" and "Catherine." I'll post a blog video tomorrow for you to respond to as well, so be on the lookout! 

Q1: Based on these two works, what kind of woman was the young Austen?  If we can glean character and values from a literary work, what do these stories say about the woman behind them?  Additionally, how might these works contradict the portrait of Austen we typically get as a genteel writer of love and marriage?

Q2: In both works, Austen has great fun satirizing the way people in society act, whether in their fear of answering a door, of finding dead bodies from an overturned coach, or of toothaches and other sicknesses preventing them from attending balls. Though this is obviously still funny today, what do you think her

Q3: Many of Austen’s early works were epistolary in form (letters) because that was a popular genre of the day. However, it proved something of a dead-end for Austen after Lady Susan. What do you feel are the limitations of the epistolary novel?  What directions does it not allow Austen to move in?  Do we ever get the feeling that she’s metaphorically panting herself into a corner? 

Q4: Many of Austen’s mature novels are considered “novels of manners,” which means they satirize they way men and women act in public—and usually, the things they do wrong. Rather than being interested in etiquette, Austen cared more about moral behavior, and how fads and tastes often got in the way of being ‘good’ or honest. Where do we see this in both works? What characters seem to fail Austen’s moral test and why?

Q5: “Catherine” exhibits many of the same satirical impulses of “Love and Freindship,” though Austen is clearly trying something new in this work. What most separates one from the other? Why might we see more of the mature Austen in “Catherine” than “Love and Freindship”?

Q6: Though “Love and Freindship” says “Fins” at the end (meaning “the end”) it feels curiously incomplete, as if she just ran out of gas. “Catherine,” too, is unfinished, just at the point where it’s becoming most interesting. Almost all of her early works break off in the beginning or middle, even though she called most of them “novels.” Why do you think this is? Why might a teenage girl (in the 1790’s or today) not finish a single work, but simply abandon it and start a new one?

Jane Austen: Satire and Scandal Syllabus (Summer 2021)

 

English 5993: Jane Austen: Satire and Scandal

Course website: grassobrit2.blogspot.com (this is my normal website for British Literature from 1800, so don’t worry about what’s already there; I’ll post new blogs each week once our class starts)

Description: Jane Austen’s work has most often become conflated with Regency romances and romantic Hollywood adaptations. However, Austen herself avoided overtly romantic sentiment and never had her characters kiss or show any kind of unseemly PDA. Instead, Austen was at heart a satirist, who used wit and an almost theatrical sense of caricature to lampoon her society and point out its flaws. In this class, we’ll explore the ‘real’ Austen in some of her earliest works, where she emerges as an audacious literary hellion, to her later works, where the satire becomes more subdued, but no less potent. As we read these works, we’ll also ask the question why is the 21^st century so desperate to re-write Austen in its own image, rather than read the actual works she bequeathed us?

Required Texts: (I can lend you these)

• Austen, Love and Friendship and Other Youthful Writings (Penguin)
• Austen, Northanger Abbey (any edition)
• Austen, Persuasion  (any edition)
• Austen, Sandition (Penguin)

Required Works:

• Bi-Weekly Meetings (if possible) to discuss the works
• Weekly Response Blogs & Questions: for each reading, as the books will be broken up into multiple days of reading
• Two Short Papers (one on each pair of works)
• One Final Project (TBA)

MEETINGS: Let’s try to meet every other week on the day of your choice so we can discuss the works in person and I can give you some instruction beyond the questions and the blogs.

BLOGS & QUESTIONS: Each week I’ll post a blog video (about 11-15 minutes) discussing that week’s reading. The blog will also have a series of questions to respond to, which you can e-mail me afterwards. All questions are due by the Saturday of that week.

SHORT PAPERS: Each one will cover 2 paired works (the early works, the late works). I will give you assignment sheets for each one well in advance. They will be due on Saturday, June 25 and Saturday, July 17.

FINAL PROJECT: We will discuss possible ideas for this project together, and you can decide what you want to do (within reason) and how you want to do it.

 

Tentative Calendar:

JUNE

1-6: Short Juvenilia: “Love and Friendship” and “Catherine”

7-12: Lady Susan

14-19: Northanger Abbey

21-25: Northanger Abbey  + Paper #1 due

JULY

28-3: Persuasion

5-10: Persuasion  + Sandition

12-17: Sandition + Paper #2 due

19-24: Discuss Final Project

31: Final Project due