Tuesday Open Thread: So Much For The Stereotypes Edition
We got the best e-mail the other day from a new Janeite, and he gave us his permission to share it with you.
Greetings:
I met Jane Austen several months ago while I was fishing through my library bemoaning the fact that I thought I had nothing to read. I spied my daughter’s 10 year old ignored and dusty copy of “Emma” and opened it up. For about 100 pages, I struggled with who was doing what because Miss Austen’s character lists seem endless. After the 100th page, I was HOOKED. What many contemporaries would call a slow-moving, almost sedate story I found full of suspense, humor, and ironic sentimental twists. As I read, I found myself vocally telling the characters to “say it!!” “Tell him!.” “Oh no, don’t do that!” When Mr. Knightley finally…..FINALLY takes a turn in the bushes with Emma and proposes, I jumped with glee and pranced around the room. I have since read all of Miss Austen’s novels and am moving swiftly on to Sanditon and Lady Susan, plus whatever else Miss Austen has put to paper. It is difficult indeed to explain why I find Miss Austen’s works so entertaining and fascinating. Perhaps it is her “fly on the wall” focus which puts the reader right at the constantly shifting point of action.This from a 63 year old male, married for 38 years, 2 children, 6 grandchildren, Vietnam Vet, Alumnus of the University of Washington, 42 year career in the airlines, having worked the professional side as well as the working-class side of the business. This from a guy who has read Cormac McCarthy. (Talk about wild contrasts!) I’m here to learn, share, and express my opinion and believe me, I love to communicate what I’m currently obsessed with.
What I once considered “chick-fiction” and looked upon with disdain, the genius of Miss Austen has succeeded in demolishing my pre-conceived notions on what is appropriate for a man to read with great joy. If any man ever tells me that reading Jane Austen is “women’s’ reading,” I’ll threaten to knock’em on their ass.
I’ll see all of you around the Austen Blog.
Best Wishes,
Jeffrey Ward
Say hello to Jeffrey, everyone! *waves* We think his letter will be very popular. And feel free to share your story of “finding Jane.”
This is also an open thread, so let us know what’s new in your patch of Janeiteville!
Comments are closed.
Welcome, Jeffrey!
Yesterday, a big friend of mine finally told me that he’s going to read P&P and Persuasion (he once told me, after reading an abridged version of S&S that JA was only a C19 romance writer…).
Another male friend who likes JA, yesterday bought Sanditon, The Watsons and Lady Susan.
And this morning I read this post
Jane rules!
I discovered Austen when I was thirteen. Pride and Prejudice. I remember now a feeling of being absolutely delighted by “my” discovery. Like falling in love, I walked around on clouds for a few weeks. I had never read anything quite like it before, and I don’t know if I ever will. I still don’t know exactly what it is that appeals to me so much about Austen novels. I have read quite a lot of books that are “better” in a technical or stylistic sense. But I don’t love them like I love Austen books. Her whole is more than the sum of her parts. Maybe it is that she makes me feel like her confederate. When I read her novels, I get a sense quite unlike any other novels of this PERSON behind the narrative, taking satisfaction in what she is writing, and taking part in what she is writing. I think she is very sympathetic towards her characters, despite her razor-sharp portrayals of some of them. She is attractive, delightful, and she draws us in, in a way that we are hardly aware of.
Welcome Jeffrey!
It’s wonderful that you started your Jane Austen adventures with Emma, as I did, though much much earlier.
I always envy anyone who has just discovered Jane because they have so much to read and look forward too.
Not saying that those who have been reading her for ages don’t discover new things in her novels. There are always things one had never noticed before.
@Allie
Not to say you don’t have a right to your opinion, but I think Jane Austen’s technique is unique and of a very very superior quality so also her style. It’s top class.
Welcome to the madness, Jeffrey!
I started with P&P (of course). A friend was reading it and told me about it a couple times, and I figured I’d read it for the English Literature AP exam I was taking the following year. (I’m a jump start girl when it comes to English…)
I was roughly sixteen and a half, nearing the end of tenth grade. I’m now eighteen and a graduating senior who plans on taking all of Austen with me to college. I’ve recommended them to friends. I’ve given S&S as a Christmas gift and told my (very obliging) prom date to read P&P, which he has promised to do. When my parents wanted to go to England, I said I’d go only if we could see Bath.
And indeed we did.
It’s nice to see a man reading Austen, because it’s not just a girl thing. Austen wrote about men AND women, and she did so incredibly well.
When did I first meet Jane Austen? High school… Yay, for lit classes! I’m sure that when I looked at the cover of the mass market paperback and saw the title I was a little intimidated. As a matter of fact, freshman year I heard one of my new classmates talking about how she had already read P&P and what a great book it was. This was in a conversation that included references to dreams of becoming a cheerleader. I was very awed…
I was in college when I first read Jane Austen. I was at my school library was browsing around for something to read and happened upon Pride and Prejudice with the cover photo of Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Now, my mother has owned a little paperback of P&P for years. My sisters and I grew up with it and used it when we would play library. I never was particularly interested in reading it until that film cover grabbed my attention. I thought, “Oh, well. I’ve heard of Jane Austen all my life and she’s the only novelist that my grandma approves of. I remember long lectures over the evils of novels from my grandma. For some reason Jane Austen could do no wrong in Grandma’s book! So, I checked it out. As soon as I read the first paragraph I just knew this was P&P. It was a familiar paragraph even though I don’t think I had ever heard it. Maybe I read it when I would play library with my mom’s books and it got stuck in my subconsious. I don’t know, but I do know that I was hooked. I remember gasping at Mr. Darcy’s “She’s not handsome enough to tempt me!” line, being shocked when Lydia and Wickham ran off together, and over all thinking, “This is from the 1800′s, but these feelings they all have are still what we go through today!” It was real. Since then I have read and re-read all of Jane Austen’s books and consider her one of my two favorite authors.
I first read “P&P” about 30 years ago, when I was 12 or 13. From that masterful first sentence on, I loved its wit and bite and the unparalleled fun that Jane Austen was clearly having with language and people. Though it became one of my favorite books from that day forward, and indeed formed part of the furniture of my mind, this did not translate into real excitement about the rest of her work until considerably later. Indeed I remember reading “S&S” a few years later and being quite bored; it seemed so slow and stuffy after “P&P.” I read “MP” at 17 and found that even worse: the characters seemed all unlikable in their different ways and the story tedious, no fun at all. As a college freshman I read “Persuasion” and loved that every bit as much as “P&P,” though with a different part of my brain, it would seem. “NA” was — enh. I don’t even remember when I read it first. It was kind of funny, but nothing special. Now, of course, I love them all, or I wouldn’t be here on the AustenBlog
I am intrigued by Jeffrey’s account of reading “Emma” because I think it the most subtle of Austen’s books and the most unlikely point of entry. I was an English major and preened myself on being well read, having read for fun or for school many works by authors seemingly more difficult, in their own ways: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Fielding, Burney, the Brontes, Meville Woolf, James, Nabokov, Joyce & etc, etc.
Yet I had read “Emma” once or twice (not in a class) and found it quite perplexing, until embarrassingly recently, maybe five years ago. I really did not understand what I was supposed to get from it. There were too many characters, most of whom seemed annoyingly prolix, none particularly sympathetic, and nothing was really explained. I was too far too dull an elf to grasp the games Austen was playing with point of view and narrative. Reading P.D. James’s 1998 lecture to the Jane Austen society, “Emma Considered as a Detective Story,” provided my first, ahem, clue.
An appreciation for literary irony (along with other kinds) is definitely a sense that develops late; in some people, never. Maybe at 63, Jeffrey was exactly the right age, finally mature enough to appreciate “Emma”?
Perhaps it is only my current intense focus on all things Miss Austen but do I perceive a renewed interest in her works and her place in time? Well, I’m doing my part in my own little corner of the world to either introduce or pique renewed interest in Miss Austen among my family, friends, and acquaintences. I have never been one to re-read a book or re-watch a movie. So, fellow Janeites, what does one look for in a second trip through any of Miss Austen’s works?
Today on my blog I have some observations on the near mathematical formula, really, of Andrew Davies in making his Austen (and other) adaptations. I’d love to hear people’s thoughts… Please visit!
I thoroughly enjoyed Kathleen’s above comments. I read “Emma” with a certain naivete’ because I really had no pre-conceived notions on what to expect! I didn’t know “handsome” was the ultimate compliment that could be bestowed on an 18th century woman. I don’t think any other of Miss Austen’s heroines were thus described, except perhaps Marianne Dashwood. The palpable awkwardness in the way Mr. Elton attempted to propose to Miss Woodhouse in the carriage is the stuff of genius. One of the funniest things I’ve yet read. Miss Bates’ blathering monologues! Miss Austen is incomparable in her dialogues. Nobody touches her brilliance there. Someone please stop me! This is so much fun!
I became hooked on jane when as a child i watched the Greer Garson/Edmund Gwinn version of pride and prejudice.I fell in love with greer garson….I was 5 years old at the time.
I also enjoyed the carriage race.
Welcome abord Jeff….now you have to watch The jane Austen Book Club…..
James
P.S. Jemima-P; I have added a comment on your site.
Welcome, Jeffrey! Emma is one of my favorites and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Jane Austen has snuck up on me over the years. I first read P&P in college because an accounting major friend of mine was reading it. She said that it was one of those books everyone should read, and there I was, an English major who’d never read it. Even though I enjoyed it, I didn’t start reading the other novels until much later. They’re the type of books you can read over and over again, and always find something new to enjoy in them.
My husband will deny that he likes costume dramas, but he has watched the 2006 movie version of P&P more times than I can say. He used to say that he only liked the soundtrack, but he finally admitted that he likes the story about “the five sisters.” He read it in college, but I’m hoping he’ll read it again.
Welcome welcome welcome Mr. Ward! It is a very great pleasure indeed to have you joining our community.
@James: Now I want to watch the 40s P&P AND The Jane Austen Book Club! You were a young man with good taste.
By the way, thanks for visiting my site. But I don’t see a comment?
Welcome to the party Jeffrey,
I was a late joiner, too (I THINK I saw the 40′s P&P movie when I was a child in the 50′s; next was the Elizabeth Garvie version in the ’80′s, and really became hooked with the ’95 version), but better late than never! I encountered a website I think you’ll enjoy: Male Voices in Praise of Jane Austen; here’s the URL~ http://www.theloiterer.org/ashton/index.html
There are some interesting things there, and I agree with a lot of what is written. A very interesting essay on the premise that Jane Austen herself had the personality traits of BOTH Elizabeth AND Mr. Darcy — I agree with that! It’s my understanding (someone correct me please, if I am wrong) that the man who started the site passed away, and the site has been preserved by another Janeite, happily for us. I think you’ll enjoy it. Good stuff here, too…
I have no memory of how I started reading Jane. I simply picked it off the shelf at home, and loved her writing immediately, although I was much too young to understand most of the humor. I do remember, on my first or second re-read discovering that there was actually IRONY in the books! I do know that one of the compelling aspects for me was that I really really really wanted Jane Austen to approve of my behaviour. That continues to this day, even though I, too, am a mother-grandmother and quite mature enough to measure my own behaviour!
I first read Pride and Prejudice in the summer before my final year of high school. I was familiar with the story, from watching parts of the 1995 miniseries with my parents as a child. I moved onto Northanger Abbey after that. And spent the next year reading through the novels.
I studied Emma in my second year of university. In my favourite lecture I have ever attended, my professor spent forty-five minutes bashing the characters, plot, themes, symbols of Emma, labelling it a mediocre book, inferior in all ways to Pride and Prejudice. I was outraged. I wrote three pages of notes and sat there seething the entire time. Then, my professor said: “Just as you can’t trust the narrative in Emma, you shouldn’t trust your English lecturer to always give you the whole truth.”
Jane Austen’s about the only author who has stayed with me, whose entire body of work I have had an obsession with. I began reading them as romances, moved through to enjoy the irony of the texts, and currently have a thing for her minor characters, like Miss Bates and Isabella Thorpe. I’ve used Lady Catherine’s ‘Shades of Pemberly’ rant as a speech and drama monologue (was quite insulted when my teacher said, “You know who would really suit you, Aimee? Lady Catherine”), I’ve given a speech at high school about how Jane Austen has influenced society (which embarrasses me now because it was at the height of my Jane Austen writes romance phase), I’ve studied Emma, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey at university…
I first encountered Jane Austen in the 1980 BBC version of “Pride and Prejudice,” which I absolutely loved. I thought David Rintoul as Mr. Darcy was perfect, and Elizabeth Garvie as Elizabeth was everything Lizzie should be. (I thought this, of course, until Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle showed perfection could be shared!…)
The mini-series led me to read all of Jane’s books, and collect every tape, audio book, DVD, related book, fan fiction, action figurine, etc. etc. that I could find.
My favorite is “Persuasion,” which probably is as it should be, since I’m no longer that giddy schoolgirl who fell in love with P&P.
Jane speaks to every age, though, because she taps into what is true and fundamental about human nature. And she does it so deliciously well…
Hi Jeffery! If you want some other ideas of Jane Austen stuff, stop by my blog where I have a huge list of books and movies inspired by the author!!
Welcome Jeffrey. You have confirmed what Janeites instinctively know: Real Men Read Austen!
Welcome Jeffrey – you must be in the NW – I think you have proven that Brave Men read Jane Austen and lose nothing from the experience. I truly wish that Jane had lived to finish Sandition – the start is intriguing and I find myself wondering just where she was going with those characters.
Personally I think Jane should be required for all peoples – she is a joy – and – I might also point out that I have read that back after WWI shell shocked soldiers in England were given Jane to read – to help soothe their inner wounds. I too go to Jane when I’m feeling a need for a bit of normalcy and cheering up !
jemima-P;
I have now tried to post three more times.I am not a fan of a.d.He reached his peak with the Elhe/Firth version pf pride and Prejudice.Down hill ever since.his worst was soft core tipping the velvet,his comentary……well…
Were a young man with good taste? Hey I fell in love with beautiful women- Maureen O’Hara, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr, between ages 4 and 5…turned 54 on may 12.Garson and Elhe are my favorite Lizzy’s!Amanda root my favorite Anne….
What a treat to read Jeffrey’s letter–sometimes I wish I could discover all over again. Reading Emma and not knowing how it turns out is truly a once-in-a-lifetime treat.
Welcome Jeffrey! Always nice to add more male perspectives into the mix.
Hi, Jeffrey–happy to see you here, and thanks for spreading the word that Austen is for everyone. That was a beautiful letter.
What I look for in a second, third, tenth, twentieth read? Comfort, insight, nuance, self-discovery, delight in the genius of a master. Curling up with Austen is like being with an old friend, comfortingly familiar, but always something new to discuss and discover. As Austen wrote, “…people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them for ever.”
Welcome, Jeffrey! What a fantastic letter!
My 21 year old brother lists P&P among the “favorite books” on his Facebook page. “Yeah, I like it. So what?”
I found Jane in 4th grade at the “Reading is Fundamental” book fair. Every student got to choose one free book, and my pick was a very no-frills paperback of P&P. The cover illustration was from the 1970′s and pretty goofy, but I was drawn in by the summary on the back. Sadly, I never made it past Mr. Collins’ proposal until a few years later. By the time Elizabeth and Darcy ran into each other at Pemberley, I was hooked!
Hello All: Thank you for your very kind welcome! Now, I have a question to pose: I just finished reading an “annotated” version of “Northanger Abbey.” What I found very helpful was that it explained antiquated words, phrases, places in footnotes on every page. I would love to find a completely annotated set of Jane Austen’s works. Such a footnoted collection would greatly expand my knowledge and appreciation of Miss Austen’s work. Can anyone direct me to such a prize? Concerning Miss Austen, “I dare say” were I to encounter her in a time warp I should hope she would be a most pleasant and likeable sort, wouldn’t you? And shouldn’t it follow that anyone who reads and appreciates Miss Austen would tend to be someone with “superior sensibilities?” Well, of course! Reach around and give yourselves a pat on the back.
Welcome to Austenland, Jeffrey! I hope you liked NA as much as Emma.
A thousand of hellos to Jeffrey!
Hello Jeffrey! My father is a huge fan of Jane Austen. He’s 80.
I first read P&P in 1969 or so, when I was 10. I read Emma a year or so later (after I’d devoured Jane Eyre), and then re-read both in college (late 70s), along with MP. I didn’t like MP and didn’t read another Austen novel until the 1990s when I finally got around to reading the rest of the Canon. Looking back on it, I was probably too young to appreciate MP. I think that MP and P can be difficult if you’re only 18.
@ Finetooner:
Oxford UP has very good annotated editions of all of Jane’s novels (and unfinished works). Cambridge UP also just came out with some really nice annotated editions that include supplementary readings (for example, Mansfield Park includes the script to Elizabeth Inchbald’s Lover’s Vows). The Norton Critical editions and Broadview editions include extensive annotations and supplementary (usually critical) readings as well. Hope this helps!