Not to derail the thread, but I think this is a ridiculous reading of Austen. She is a cynical social satirist. Her sarcasm and near-nihilist critique of the position of women in her society is well-understood by many critics (and readers). Overwraught- are we even talking about the same author? QUOTE]
Definitely talking about her books had to read her for my English degree. Never actually seen any of the dramatisations.
And the word overwrought IMO could definitely be used to describe some of her writing...and if shes such a "near- nihilist" proto feminist how come much of her work revolves around her female characters adolescent obsession with some Mr Right.
For a nineteenth century female who wrote genuinely adult fiction you dont have to go any further than George Eliot*. Or even the Brontes. However clever Austen's novels purport to be there's no getting away from the fact that they're also suffused with a superficial "romanticism" of the kind that I should imagine is believed in by readers of "Hello" magazine.
*And in particular "Middlemarch" which although extremely long had me lamenting every chapter I finsished so reluctant was I to leave her near perfect construction of a Victorian community and its people.
Suits me."I'm good with this - why don't we agree to one of the others as the next book - maybe Bros K to appease those who wanted a 'classic' and we could then do Gravity's Rainbow or Regeneration afterwards - if we have managed to keep momentum going! That way we won't get caught up in wrangles over choices."
I wouldn't say that they are obsessed with Mr Right. It's simply that the books reflect the natural preoccupations of women in their situation in the early 19th Century where the hope of marrying someone wealthy is a career move rather than romance. It is often said that she never writes a scene in which no women are present, because she had no knowledge of such scenes and it's this kind of realism throughout the books."And the word overwrought IMO could definitely be used to describe some of her writing...and if shes such a "near- nihilist" proto feminist how come much of her work revolves around her female characters adolescent obsession with some Mr Right.
For a nineteenth century female who wrote genuinely adult fiction you dont have to go any further than George Eliot*. Or even the Brontes. However clever Austen's novels purport to be there's no getting away from the fact that they're also suffused with a superficial "romanticism" of the kind that I should imagine is believed in by readers of "Hello" magazine."
One down."I'm going to repsectfully bow out of this one"
Mean but funny."possibly wishful thinking on her part about the way Austerlitz pieces his memory back together."
Not to derail the thread, but I think this is a ridiculous reading of Austen. She is a cynical social satirist. Her sarcasm and near-nihilist critique of the position of women in her society is well-understood by many critics (and readers). Overwraught- are we even talking about the same author? QUOTE]
Definitely talking about her books had to read her for my English degree. Never actually seen any of the dramatisations.
And the word overwrought IMO could definitely be used to describe some of her writing...and if shes such a "near- nihilist" proto feminist how come much of her work revolves around her female characters adolescent obsession with some Mr Right.
I will tell you exactly how.
Saying female Austen characters were obsessed with mr. right is like saying "subsistence peasants are obsessed with the weather." It's not adolescent, it's the reality of the time, when Mr. Right is a matter of material survival for women of that time. Are you not aware that because of the inheritance laws and the legal system middle class women were absolutely without option (as were families with no sons) without a man? Women could not own or inherit property, or work for pay except in the most abject and controlled way. The focus of 9/10s of Austen's writing is how that plays out - how little freedom was available to women.
It's not adolescent -it's life or death, or at least material survival vs. abject poverty, and it's cold calculation on the part of all the women in her stories (except for the witless few whom she mocks). None of it at all is about love - she makes that explicit over and over again. That's the nihilism. Genuine love between men and women seems almost completely impossible in Austen's world, even when the heroines get it the commentary undercuts it or the situation (where it is always backed by financial security) casts it in a different light.
What does 'quietism' mean? I'm drawing a blank on Wiktionary.
It's a tough life. How about you stay at home and read it and I'll go to Skye for a week.I wont be able to start it because im going to Skye for a week, and I couldnt get it delivered before I go, shame really as it would be a great place to read but I guess ill just cane through the rest of my books before starting Austerlitz..
What does quietism' mean. I'm drawing a blank of Wiktionary.
but what has struck me is the slow narrative pace which is deeply seductive, it seems to force you to read slowly, to stop and ponder which kind of runs counter to prevailing hyper fast pacy po-mo life. It feels both lovely and ominous from the opening sentence.