Everyone's a critic
Alert Janeite Lisa sent us a link to an article in the Bath Chronicle about some controversy over a reenactment of a public hanging that was part of the Jane Austen Festival in Bath.
Major John Guest has labelled a mock hanging that took place during the launch weekend of the Jane Austen Festival an “appalling spectacle”.
Major Guest, from Stonehouse Lane in Combe Down, was in the city centre when he saw the dramatic stunt in Queen Square and decided to challenge organisers.
He told the Chronicle: “A public execution was staged in Queen Square, complete with gallows and a realistic body hanging from a noose.
“The public were encouraged to witness this foul recreation and I observed several instances of children, with re-enactors dressed as soldiers, posing for photographs in front of the swinging corpse.
“This was a foul obscene stunt, with as far as I can recall absolutely no connection with Jane Austen’s books.
“When I intervened and challenged the organisers during this sickening display I was asked to leave.”
The Festival organizers pointed out, quite correctly, that theft of as little as one shilling’s worth of goods was a hanging offense in Jane Austen’s day; indeed, her aunt, Mrs. Leigh Perrot, stood trial for shoplifting some lace and could have been sentenced to hanging as a result (though because of her age and wealth, such a sentence would likely have been changed to transportation to Australia). It seems to us like a not terribly pleasant though definitely a part of life in Jane Austen’s time.
And a note to Major Guest: Jane would not have approved of your being a buttinsky and disrupting the event, either. Next time, try writing a strongly-worded letter after the fact.
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Hi Mags,
Because I usually agree with you, and greatly enjoy your writing, I hesitate to add my two cents on this, but here it is (and since it’s only worth two cents, you may take it any way you’d like!): I disagree with you on this. Jane Austen never wrote about all the political, social, moral, industrial (insert your choice of late 18th/early 19th century upheaval here) upheaval going on around her.
I’m very glad she did not, for many, MANY reasons (insert your choice reasons for loving Jane here) NOT the least of which is that her stories are gentle and beautiful (I could go on and on here, but I know I don’t need to…). I think having a reenactment of a public hanging at the Jane Austen Festival was in poor taste, not at all in the spirit of Jane Austen, and I applaud the Mayor. There is enough ugliness in the world; a Jane Austen Festival should be a thing of beauty, as her writing is, and I would have been extremely disappointed if I were there as a participant. As a “beginning” Janeite, I AM extremely disappointed!
“One half of the world…” oh, you know the rest of this quote!
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest,
Cathy Allen
She didn’t write about it, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening. The system of justice touched Jane Austen’s own family quite closely.
If such a presentation isn’t your particular cup of tea, that’s one thing; from what I can tell it was one of many activities and completely voluntary. If someone didn’t like it, they could find something else to do. Many Janeites are very interested in the history of Jane Austen’s time, and would find such a talk interesting if perhaps a little disturbing (and it SHOULD be disturbing).
And really, do you think the story of Richard Musgrove, for example, is beautiful and gentle? Or Fanny Dashwood? Or Mrs. Norris?
Touche’ Mags,
Good points, all! I, too, am VERY interested in the history of Jane Austen’s time, and greatly enjoying reading anything I can get my hands on, or find on the Internet! I was completely shocked by the lace incident, for instance; being imprisoned, with the possibility of transportation looming — hard to believe. For the vast majority of people, it was not a pretty time, nor was it more gentle than our time, by any means. In my humble opinion, I still think it wasn’t necessary to include it.
Thanks for your insights,
Cathy Allen
Cathy, I understand that it isn’t your thing. We all have different ways of approaching Jane’s work; we each have a private Austen, if you will.
However, just because Austen created characters and situations that involve vice, her works have a great deal of discretion in declining to describe details past a certain point; i.e. Wickham’s dissipation, Willoughby’s seductions.
For some topics, I am sure she would have agreed with the response Elizabeth gave to Lydia’s question of whether she was curious to hear about her wedding, “I think there cannot be too little said on the subject.”