Living the Austen fantasy
Rebecca Traister at Salon.com takes a wry look at the recent explosion of Jane Austen in popular culture. As she points out, many of the books (one might even say, including the Editrix’s own humble production) seem to be directed to Janeites who want to escape the modern world and live in a fantasy version of Jane Austen’s world, where we get to wear pretty gowns, dance with handsome men, live in a mansion, and have servants do all the work.
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“It’s all about the dresses,” laughed Rachel Brownstein, professor of English at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center at CUNY, when I asked her about the current bout of Jane-itis. She was only half joking. “Everybody really wants to be Jane,” she elaborated, meaning that they all want “to wear long ball gowns and go to dances and be genteel,” not that they want to live in constant financial jeopardy and die single in their early 40s.
That’s a problem; many of us do tend forget the bad parts.
“We can lay a lot of this at Colin Firth’s door, for good and for bad,” said Margaret C. Sullivan by phone.
Hey now! 
Don’t worry, we weren’t picking on His Firthness.
“He’s pretty hot, let’s face it,” she continued
Because, you know, he is. 
Potter, a 37-year-old Brit currently living in Los Angeles, acknowledged that fantasizing about Regency England is more than a little twisted. “The feminists didn’t fight this hard for us to be sitting around in corsets doing samplers, did they?” she said.
But, she added, “the fact is that everybody’s sick of modern-day men, and everybody’s guilty of looking for the perfect person, even if he’s a fantasy.” The Austen man, and Darcy in particular, she explained, “is going to love you forever. He’s not going to bump into some 20-year-old in a bar. He’s an honorable, chivalrous, upstanding man that is going to be a hard nut to crack, but once he falls in love with you, it’s going to be forever … He’s not going to be into Internet porn.
Tho’ sometimes he might be Internet porn. Er, sacred non-smutty transcendent lovemaking. Sorry.
And he doesn’t go for the prettiest girl in the room. He goes for Elizabeth Bennet, who is witty and sharp.”
DING DONG! As the saying goes.
In the mad dash to find their Darcys (and to invent one for their favorite author) some readers and fans have forgotten that Austen regarded mushy female infatuation as side-splittingly funny. Though she wrote in the Romantic period, and though her plots conform to those of classic romance, Austen’s work was not Romantic in style. Her heroines are not so much breathless and overcome by their emotions as they are practical and genuine. Elizabeth is never ga-ga over Darcy; when “Sense and Sensibility’s” Marianne Dashwood goes all nutsy for dashing Willoughby, she is punished for her rain-soaked silliness with a cold that nearly kills her. And Austen’s “Northanger Abbey” is a sendup of the popular Gothic novels with which her contemporaries were so obsessed.
Yep.
There is a particularly grim shirt for sale bearing an image of Austen originally drawn by her sister Cassandra (who also never married after the death of her fiancé) above the caption, “Where’s My Mr. Darcy?” To hold out for an affectionate union, as Austen did, was to put your future — and your family’s future — at real economic risk, with no greater (and perhaps a lesser) guarantee of finding your Mr. Darcy than today’s anxious singletons have. Fergus pointed out that Austen herself cautioned her niece in a letter that “there are such beings in the World perhaps, one in a Thousand, as the Creature You and I should think perfection. Where Grace & Spirit are united to Worth, where the Manners are equal to the Heart & Understanding, but such a person may not come in your way, or, if he does, he may not be the eldest son of a Man of Fortune, the Brother of your particular friend & belonging to your own Country.”
In short, Fergus said, “Austen is not expecting Darcy to turn up, and if he turns up, she knows he’s going to need a lot of reforming.”
Heh. One of our co-workers recently read P&P for the first time, and we discussed the “fantasy” notion a bit; she pointed out that the “fantasy” is perhaps thinking that one can change a man. 
But thinking about all of this is taxing. And not nearly as much fun as thinking about Colin Firth in dripping breeches.
Very true! And there’s nothing wrong with having some fun with our fantasies…
By phone, Sullivan said the trick is finding balance. “You can go too far” in Austen fantasy, she said. “That’s one of the lessons of ‘Northanger Abbey’: that you can go too far with books, get far too lost in the fantasy. You need to keep things in perspective.”
Here endeth the lesson. (And welcome to any Salon.com readers who happen by…we’re mostly not the scary brand of Janeites here, but we do have our fun with Jane. Just remember it’s about 90 percent tongue in cheek.)
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All of this makes me wonder: what about us guys who can barely remember the dripping Colin Firth but preserve the indelible image of Jennifer Ehle’s lovely face, or who have improbable crushes on Fanny Price, and have no desire to wear a Regency gown? Maybe we need a “grim shirt” bearing the particularly geekly image of Harris Bigg-Wither, with the caption “Where’s My Elizabeth Bennet?” (Although I’ve been happily married to mine for eighteen years.)
All of this makes me wonder: what about us guys who can barely remember the dripping Colin Firth but preserve the indelible image of Jennifer Ehle’s lovely face, or who have improbable crushes on Fanny Price, and have no desire to wear a Regency gown? Maybe we need a “grim shirt” bearing the particularly geekly image of Harris Bigg-Wither, with the caption “Where’s My Elizabeth Bennet?” (Although I’ve been happily married to mine for eighteen years.)
@Robert Hardy: Hear, hear.
I still don’t really understand all the fuss about “the dripping Colin Firth,” but I was certainly one who got pretty good at navigating the DVD to Lizzie singing and playing at Pemberly (and rewinding and sitting through it again and again). I don’t know if it was Jennifer Ehle singing or not, but that particular scene always had me mesmerized.
@Robert Hardy: Hear, hear.
I still don’t really understand all the fuss about “the dripping Colin Firth,” but I was certainly one who got pretty good at navigating the DVD to Lizzie singing and playing at Pemberly (and rewinding and sitting through it again and again). I don’t know if it was Jennifer Ehle singing or not, but that particular scene always had me mesmerized.
You and Darcy both, Ben M.
Though I like Lizzy and Darcy in P&P, I’m really not a Team Darcy, and I certainly dislike gushing fangirls (when it’s mostly serious). Darcy would be a big pain in real life, IMO. Walking around in a wet shirt and looking brooding is no accomplishment. Give me a Tilney repartee.
Good article – very well balanced.
You and Darcy both, Ben M.
Though I like Lizzy and Darcy in P&P, I’m really not a Team Darcy, and I certainly dislike gushing fangirls (when it’s mostly serious). Darcy would be a big pain in real life, IMO. Walking around in a wet shirt and looking brooding is no accomplishment. Give me a Tilney repartee.
Good article – very well balanced.
Wonderful article. Gets right to the heart of the matter for Janeites: Are you a Janeite because you love the brilliant novels and the genius of Jane Austen or do you call yourself a Janeite because you like the movies and pretty dresses?
Give Rebecca Traister a raise!
Wonderful article. Gets right to the heart of the matter for Janeites: Are you a Janeite because you love the brilliant novels and the genius of Jane Austen or do you call yourself a Janeite because you like the movies and pretty dresses?
Give Rebecca Traister a raise!
Can you like both?
Can you like both?
Er, sacred non-smutty transcendent lovemaking. Sorry.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA*snort*
This was an enjoyable article to read as it made some excellent points. Personally, I didn’t even like Mr. Darcy all that much when I first read “Pride and Prejudice.” I certainly recognized that he was a good person and respected him for his excellent decisions in the end, but he didn’t interest me personally. So this notion of “My Mr. Darcy” was at the time, lost on me. Of course, when I watched P&P2 for the first time, that sentiment changed a little but even then I realized I was more interested in Colin Firth than I was in Mr. Darcy the character.
In fact, the only time I’ve ever really gone “girly” over one of JA’s heroes was when I first read Northanger Abbey and was introduced to Henry Tilney. If I could model a real man off of any fictional character, it would be him. Of course, that’s the kind of silly thought that would have Mr. Tilney shaking his head and laughing at me
Er, sacred non-smutty transcendent lovemaking. Sorry.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA*snort*
This was an enjoyable article to read as it made some excellent points. Personally, I didn’t even like Mr. Darcy all that much when I first read “Pride and Prejudice.” I certainly recognized that he was a good person and respected him for his excellent decisions in the end, but he didn’t interest me personally. So this notion of “My Mr. Darcy” was at the time, lost on me. Of course, when I watched P&P2 for the first time, that sentiment changed a little but even then I realized I was more interested in Colin Firth than I was in Mr. Darcy the character.
In fact, the only time I’ve ever really gone “girly” over one of JA’s heroes was when I first read Northanger Abbey and was introduced to Henry Tilney. If I could model a real man off of any fictional character, it would be him. Of course, that’s the kind of silly thought that would have Mr. Tilney shaking his head and laughing at me
Yeah. I love P&P, don’t get me wrong. I’ve read it about 200 times (no exaggeration). And I adore Colin Firth. But if I were to marry an Austen hero? It’d be Henry. Every time. (Although Captain Wentworth is a close runner up.)
*adds this article to the list of research materials for her future PhD dissertation on Austen paraliterature*
Yeah. I love P&P, don’t get me wrong. I’ve read it about 200 times (no exaggeration). And I adore Colin Firth. But if I were to marry an Austen hero? It’d be Henry. Every time. (Although Captain Wentworth is a close runner up.)
*adds this article to the list of research materials for her future PhD dissertation on Austen paraliterature*
We ought to keep in mind that the sopping wet image of Darcy was a product of Mr Davies’s overactive imagination. Does he deserve your gratitude for that? I think not. It merely served to pollute the ranks of Janeites with a bunch of Colinites who think that they are the former. Quality, not quantity, if you please!
Ah, but now it comes out, another truth yet to be universally acknowledged, very succinctly put by Ms Traister,
Judging by the general tilt of this crop of Janeism, what Austen devotees seem to feel they lack is a man.
Heh! And most of my buddies still wonder why I hang around here.
We ought to keep in mind that the sopping wet image of Darcy was a product of Mr Davies’s overactive imagination. Does he deserve your gratitude for that? I think not. It merely served to pollute the ranks of Janeites with a bunch of Colinites who think that they are the former. Quality, not quantity, if you please!
Ah, but now it comes out, another truth yet to be universally acknowledged, very succinctly put by Ms Traister,
Judging by the general tilt of this crop of Janeism, what Austen devotees seem to feel they lack is a man.
Heh! And most of my buddies still wonder why I hang around here.
Tony, I think Mr Davies did a brilliant job adding the wet shirt scene to the series! It fits perfectly in the story, in my opinion, and it’s not that famous for nothing.
I also must admit that Mr Darcy is in my opinion not at all the perfect guy. I’d rather join Team Tilney!
And by the way, haven’t read the whole article yet (only the bits Mags posted), but I think there are a lot of Janeites (including myself) who love both Jane Austen’s work and the gowns / movies / handsome men, etc. etc. I think those things shouldn’t be seperated. If you love Jane Austen’s work, there’s quite some chance that you’re also attracted to the whole Regency period, and movies depict that period, so that’s why we also love the movies.
Tony, I think Mr Davies did a brilliant job adding the wet shirt scene to the series! It fits perfectly in the story, in my opinion, and it’s not that famous for nothing.
I also must admit that Mr Darcy is in my opinion not at all the perfect guy. I’d rather join Team Tilney!
And by the way, haven’t read the whole article yet (only the bits Mags posted), but I think there are a lot of Janeites (including myself) who love both Jane Austen’s work and the gowns / movies / handsome men, etc. etc. I think those things shouldn’t be seperated. If you love Jane Austen’s work, there’s quite some chance that you’re also attracted to the whole Regency period, and movies depict that period, so that’s why we also love the movies.
Hey guys–I’m pimping you in interviews, don’t worry. I keep saying, “We have MEN who come to the blog and everything!”
There’s an angle for some enterprising reporter who wants to get in on all this hot Jane action. Contact the Editrix, and I’ll be the, er, entremetteuse.
Hey guys–I’m pimping you in interviews, don’t worry. I keep saying, “We have MEN who come to the blog and everything!”
There’s an angle for some enterprising reporter who wants to get in on all this hot Jane action. Contact the Editrix, and I’ll be the, er, entremetteuse.
Oh, there’s nothing wrong with loving both. I think the point some of us are trying to make is that some people never get past the pretty and romantic and yet call themselves Jane Austen fans. We’ve had an example here pretty recently–visitors who claimed to be Jane Austen fans and yet seemed to be under the impression that her stuff is all about romance and pretty and happy and shiny and non-sarcastic. If you’ve read any of her books with any degree of care you realize that’s not true. That doesn’t mean they’re not fun, or that we can’t have fun with them.
Make sense?
Oh, there’s nothing wrong with loving both. I think the point some of us are trying to make is that some people never get past the pretty and romantic and yet call themselves Jane Austen fans. We’ve had an example here pretty recently–visitors who claimed to be Jane Austen fans and yet seemed to be under the impression that her stuff is all about romance and pretty and happy and shiny and non-sarcastic. If you’ve read any of her books with any degree of care you realize that’s not true. That doesn’t mean they’re not fun, or that we can’t have fun with them.
Make sense?
Re: Mags #10. I imagine one of those television interviews with people who want their identities protected–faces blurred out and voices electronically disguised. Like, remember those Frosted Flakes commercials? “Yes, I’m a man, and I love Jane Austen. I always cry when Emma Thompson tells Kate Winslet that she isn’t the only one who’s suffered. I bought a copy of ‘Fight Club’ just so I could use the DVD case to disguise my copy of ‘Sense and Sensibility.’ But I’ve decided I’m not going to be ashamed any more! I’m a Janeite! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my book. Frank Churchill has just gone to London to have a haircut, and I’m dying to find out what this reveals about his moral character.”
Re: Mags #10. I imagine one of those television interviews with people who want their identities protected–faces blurred out and voices electronically disguised. Like, remember those Frosted Flakes commercials? “Yes, I’m a man, and I love Jane Austen. I always cry when Emma Thompson tells Kate Winslet that she isn’t the only one who’s suffered. I bought a copy of ‘Fight Club’ just so I could use the DVD case to disguise my copy of ‘Sense and Sensibility.’ But I’ve decided I’m not going to be ashamed any more! I’m a Janeite! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my book. Frank Churchill has just gone to London to have a haircut, and I’m dying to find out what this reveals about his moral character.”
Hey guys–I’m pimping you in interviews, don’t worry.
And is that to be my only security? Alas, alas! — Sorry, couldn’t resist throwing in a Tilney line. Thank you, all the same, Margaret. And of course, there is nothing wrong with loving both—the scholarly and the fun sides of being a Janeite—as long as we do not get the two mixed up. As it says in Ecclesiastes, there is “a time for every purpose…” Or was that the song? See what I mean? It’s so easy to confuse things. And just because you know the lyrics of the song, do not think that you know what the Qohelet is all about.
Aah! I feel better already.
Hey guys–I’m pimping you in interviews, don’t worry.
And is that to be my only security? Alas, alas! — Sorry, couldn’t resist throwing in a Tilney line. Thank you, all the same, Margaret. And of course, there is nothing wrong with loving both—the scholarly and the fun sides of being a Janeite—as long as we do not get the two mixed up. As it says in Ecclesiastes, there is “a time for every purpose…” Or was that the song? See what I mean? It’s so easy to confuse things. And just because you know the lyrics of the song, do not think that you know what the Qohelet is all about.
Aah! I feel better already.
I do enjoy both the novels and the movies, but my first love is the novels. At this moment in time, I can really do without ever seeing another movie. Tomorrow I may even look forward to Becoming Jane. Tomorrow is another day, after all.
As for Tony A., he is fast becoming quite amiable in my view. Always makes me smile! And no dumb bunny, he!
I do enjoy both the novels and the movies, but my first love is the novels. At this moment in time, I can really do without ever seeing another movie. Tomorrow I may even look forward to Becoming Jane. Tomorrow is another day, after all.
As for Tony A., he is fast becoming quite amiable in my view. Always makes me smile! And no dumb bunny, he!
Oh, my. I don’t know what to say… write! Thank you, Lizzy. You flatter me, I am sure. We neither of us perform to strangers.
Oh, my. I don’t know what to say… write! Thank you, Lizzy. You flatter me, I am sure. We neither of us perform to strangers.
Ah, like others mentioned, I’ve never been too keen on Mr Darcy Grumpypants so am at a loss to understand the mania (which I often find tiresome). But then I’ve been a fervant member of Team Tilney for years.
Ah, like others mentioned, I’ve never been too keen on Mr Darcy Grumpypants so am at a loss to understand the mania (which I often find tiresome). But then I’ve been a fervant member of Team Tilney for years.
Robert, you have me laughing in my seat right now (re: #12). What a hoot!
Robert, you have me laughing in my seat right now (re: #12). What a hoot!
My husband has just turned the corner.
He’s not read any Austen (but knows all the plot lines thanks to me),he’d seen a couple of adaptations and having a soft spot for clever brunettes (including myself, natch) didn’t at all mind a spot of Jennifer Ehle. But that was the limit of his interest.
But tonight I settled in for (yet another) re reading of Persuasion and asked my husband if he minded me reading aloud (we’ve done that a lot since we lost our TV. Long story.)He didn’t mind, and wham, before 10 pages were up he was laughing every minute and I think he’s going to make me read the whole book to him.
Could help that I’m seriously awesome at doing voices. And people said those college drama classes were a waste of time.
This ‘sad, single, female Janeite’ stereotype is rubbish. Many Austen enthusiasts and scholars have been, and are, men.
My husband has just turned the corner.
He’s not read any Austen (but knows all the plot lines thanks to me),he’d seen a couple of adaptations and having a soft spot for clever brunettes (including myself, natch) didn’t at all mind a spot of Jennifer Ehle. But that was the limit of his interest.
But tonight I settled in for (yet another) re reading of Persuasion and asked my husband if he minded me reading aloud (we’ve done that a lot since we lost our TV. Long story.)He didn’t mind, and wham, before 10 pages were up he was laughing every minute and I think he’s going to make me read the whole book to him.
Could help that I’m seriously awesome at doing voices. And people said those college drama classes were a waste of time.
This ‘sad, single, female Janeite’ stereotype is rubbish. Many Austen enthusiasts and scholars have been, and are, men.
Congratulations on the clever conversion of your husband!
By the way, Tony A., I have a niece with fine eyes . . .
Congratulations on the clever conversion of your husband!
By the way, Tony A., I have a niece with fine eyes . . .
I have to admit that I’d love to know where I could get a bumper sticker (or any other merchandise) that reads, “Prepare yourself for something very dreadful.”
I think Austen would have approved of such clever capitalism!
I have to admit that I’d love to know where I could get a bumper sticker (or any other merchandise) that reads, “Prepare yourself for something very dreadful.”
I think Austen would have approved of such clever capitalism!
That was a really excellent article. It’s reassuring to know that not everyone takes Jane Austen as dismissively as we have exemplified in the recent pop culture…huzzah Ms. Traister!
That was a really excellent article. It’s reassuring to know that not everyone takes Jane Austen as dismissively as we have exemplified in the recent pop culture…huzzah Ms. Traister!
So how could a guy not fall in love with Lizzy Bennet? Especially when played by Greer Garson or Jennifer Ehle?
I wonder if Rachel Brownstein ever tried wearing a regency ball gown complete with stays?
I re enact the war of 1812,and our women wear stays-we even have procedures in case a woman wearing stays has a heart attack.Period dancing sure beats the heck out of Marching!
James
So how could a guy not fall in love with Lizzy Bennet? Especially when played by Greer Garson or Jennifer Ehle?
I wonder if Rachel Brownstein ever tried wearing a regency ball gown complete with stays?
I re enact the war of 1812,and our women wear stays-we even have procedures in case a woman wearing stays has a heart attack.Period dancing sure beats the heck out of Marching!
James
Oh and if stays are uncomfortable maybe some should try them with Civil War Era Hoop skirts- and then try to enter a lavatory! Pure Torture!
James
Oh and if stays are uncomfortable maybe some should try them with Civil War Era Hoop skirts- and then try to enter a lavatory! Pure Torture!
James
With what that-dare I say -no better not-?-said about Ang Lee/Emma Thompson Sence and Senceability,I get the impression that HE is jealous of Lee’s success.
HE most likely stole the wet shirt scene from John Wayne/Maureen O’Hara in the Quiet man….
With what that-dare I say -no better not-?-said about Ang Lee/Emma Thompson Sence and Senceability,I get the impression that HE is jealous of Lee’s success.
HE most likely stole the wet shirt scene from John Wayne/Maureen O’Hara in the Quiet man….