Zia Jane.. grazie per tutto!

DNF etter side 413 (etter pride and prejudice) fordi Jane Austen ikke er for meg. Synes ho ikke var så god forfatter. Man liker første boka man leser, men så blir man lei fordi alle de andre er akkurat den samme boka, bare med andre karakterer. Dette skjer i alle: 1. Familiemedlemmer blir syke, 2. De drar på besøk hos hverandre, 3. Blir gift, 4. Noen griner på et tidspunkt. Lissom... Dude. Alle starter likt også, med en kjempelang, unødvendig introduksjon til hundre karakterer (vanligvis 12 på side nr 1 av hver bok) som ikke har no å si, så jeg står over, ass... Kanskje i framtida

I am not reviewing a particular edition. I had a Jane Austen omnibus edition once, and it was not easy to read from. I just wanted to make some notes regarding ALL the novels, which I re-read in 2017 with an online discussion group.

And this review is based on re-reading the books, so I am not worrying about SPOILERS.

Incidentally, there are 720 different ways of ranking Austen's novels, but only 120 ways if Northanger Abbey is always last. My own personal ranking did not change, although as someone else remarked, my favorite Jane Austen is always the one I'm currently reading. Even Northanger Abbey, simple as it is, has touches of genius. Notably the superb liar Isabella Thorpe, who gets engaged to Catherine's brother, dumps him, and then tries to patch things up when her other thing doesn't work out.

And that reminds me, that the twists at the end of NA are as fast-paced and breathtaking as in any of the later books. Also, the sketch of Catherine's mother, at the end, as a sort of overworked, over anxious, barely affectionate country parson's wife is very well done.

Sense and Sensibility- Elinor and Marianne- what a plot! What amazing comic characters! I knew everything that was going to happen to Marianne when she came to London, and still I was reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next. What a coup de theatre when M. is expecting Willoughby to come walking in the door, and Colonel Brandon appears. Matched a little later by Willoughby's sudden appearance on a dark and stormy night. The twist involving Lucy Steele becoming Mrs. Ferrars- Mrs. Robert Ferrars- is a good one, handled well.

Pride and Prejudice- the favorite of many, and with good reason. I can honestly say I appreciated it more than ever. I must say I still have a thing for Lydia and her "natural self-consequence." Is the whole thing too "light and bright and sparkling"? Of course not!

Mansfield Park- the best novel by the best novelist. This is the one which will amaze the reader more and more with its skill, in every line, the more one re-reads it. Yes, the rival and the scoundrel- Mary and Henry Crawford- are the most charming 'villains.' One might say they have all the charm, and the heroine none.- but Fanny Price is actually quite amazing. And Aunt Norris- words fail me. Some people spread joy wherever they go, some whenever they go.

Emma- the thing to consider about Emma is, is Emma the heroine, or the hated rival? What struck me this time is that Emma is really about Jane Fairfax, telling her story from the wrong end of the telescope. At any rate, this is one of the best parts in Emma:

"Emma," said she, "this paper is worse than I expected. Look! in places you see it is dreadfully dirty; and the wainscot is more yellow and forlorn than any thing I could have imagined."

"My dear, you are too particular," said her husband. "What does all that signify? You will see nothing of it by candlelight. It will be as clean as Randalls by candlelight. We never see any thing of it on our club-nights."

The ladies here probably exchanged looks which meant, "Men never know when things are dirty or not;" and the gentlemen perhaps thought each to himself, "Women will have their little nonsenses and needless cares."

Finally Persuasion- This I had not re-read for a long time, and it was wonderful. Whatever level of appreciation you are at, Jane Austen will meet you there. Anne's sister Mary sort of plays the same role as Aunt Norris, but they are completely different. Still Mary's egotism is breathtaking. I love when Anne is talking to her distressed friend Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Smith says she loves having a nurse as a friend, because she has access to all the homes in Bath, and Anne says, oh, yes, she must tell wonderful stories of fortitude in sickness, and Mrs. Smith says, basically, noooo, that's not the kind of inside information I meant.

Anyway- Jane Austen 2017. Thanks to Anna K. for organizing the group, and to Bryan for sticking with it, and to Ian for his scholarship, and to Cphe for always being at the finish line cheering on the stragglers.

Pride And Prejudice

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." So the writer states right in the beginning.

That is because while this is assumed to be a romance it is really a very astute picture of society that transcends time and geography and social boundaries and cultures, and applies universally to any place where there are young women at an age ripe to marry without dowries to bring out grooms out of the woods swarming. This is all the more so when the young women in question are not about to while away time with pretense of careers and attempts at education while the men they school and party with are getting ready, or any other subterfuges of societies they belong to.

Marriage is the beginning of the life they are going to lead with homemaking and child rearing and building of social fabric and of future as their occupation, since time immemorial. It can be said to be the most important occupation in the world, and yet few societies make a provision of how the young women can go about securing their life in it, with few structures and storngholds and little if any security.

Jane Austen writes extensively about this in various settings in her works, and offers much light to guide people - not only young women but men and women of all ages - with good counsel. This is her most popular work and most famous one, and with good reason.

It seems like a romance and at some level it is but only after normal intelligent and prudent women - young and old - use decorum and wise counsel added to commonsense. This like other books by the author is about how to live well and safe and be good and decent, sensible and honourable, prudent and not blinded by illusions, and find love and romance and marriage as well.

Often people of a bit less comprehension are likely to make the mistake of a common sort, where they conclude "Elizabeth married Darcy not out of love, but for his money". She - the writer - herself makes a joke of the sort, somewhere along towards the end, but it is clearly a joke for all that. Elizabeth might not have been sighing and fainting with passionate abandon at first sight, but that is because unlike figures of trashy pulp she is a person with a mind and other concerns as well, and for a normal young woman passion does not necessarily come as the blinding flash at first sight any more than it does for - say - a writer or a poet or an artist or a scientist. Which does not reduce the final outcome of a certainty when it does come. Elizabeth married for her conviction of love, respect and rectitude, not for money.

If that were to be true she would not have refused him, or indeed even been off hand, and not fawning or manipulative, even before with all his standoffish behaviour.

But she behaved normally, and refused him with a growing wrath when he proposed - it was not his money, but to begin with the truth of his letter, and then the regard his household had for him, the people who knew him the most, and subsequently his more than civil behaviour towards her relatives who were only middle class, and his obvious attempts to have his sister know her and have her for a friend - these wer the successive steps that changed her more and more.

The final clinching one was of course his taking all the trouble to make amends to the grievous injury caused to her family by his silence, about someone he should have and did not warn people about, and keeping not only silent about it - the efforts he made to make sure about making amends to the injury caused by his reticence - but making sure her uncle would not tell anyone either.

In between was his aunt arriving haughtily to obtain a reassuarance from her to the effect that she would not marry him - which not only made her stubborn but made the three concerned (the two and the aunt) realise that she might be considering it seriously, although his offer had not been left on the table indefinitely.

So if anyone out there still thinks Elizabeth married him for his money - I suppose you did not read the story, really.
............

Sense and Sensibility

This one gives the clash of values characteristic of the writer, with wealth and temptation and opportunity versus rectitude and character and propriety as well as prudence playing the major part. How love itself must give way to rectitude and character is the chief theme, with the obvious lesson that giving way to temptation for now might close the door to happiness, love and future in fact.
............
............

Mansfield Park

The writer of the universally popular Pride And Prejudice explores another angle of the conflicts of dealing with life as it is dealt out - wealth and relative status, temptation and opportunities, family and relationships, extended family and relatives, and love that never might be attained. Above all are rectitude and character and values, to be never lost whatever the temptation.
............
............

Emma

Perhaps arguably the second most popular of the writer's works vying with Mansfield Park for the title, this one again explores values and conflicts from another angle, with growth of character and perception, and temptation to meddle in social affairs, as the chief theme.

It is more serious than it looks, as is usual with a good deal of her work, where the seemingly most superficial and romantic turns out to be most serious and worthy of note.

More people than would care to acknowledge or admit even to themselves do meddle in affairs of others, especially those of heart, with a fond illusion that they can do good to others and provide their happiness for them. But lacking in perception and maturity and judgement and discrimination they often spoil more than they would like to admit, often ruining lives.

Couples that might change the world with their love are torn asunder by a disapproving bunch of relatives or even religious heads with their "concern" for the "soul" of the one who might bring wonderious gifts but is not one of them (hence the gifts of course), and the miracle that would have been the families and souls generated with such love are nipped in the bud. Of course, it is only the couple that knows the tremendous love and the pain and suffering of being torn asunder, while others merely go about congratulating one another for having averted an unsuitable match with an outsider.

Of course, meddling is not limited to that - couples that could have changed the course of the universe with their love and their gifts combined often get torn apart by meddling others who delude themselves that they were acting in good faith for the betterment of society, and if it is clear they were tormenting a woman or a daughter, well that is what they are for - so they can learn to do the same to others in turn, if so lucky, and so goes the chain. Jackals manage to devour the marriage and the love and even the children on all but physical level.

Meanwhile gifts of heaven go squandered into dust because the couples are either too weak to hold on to each other and to their heavenly gift of creation of a new world, or even worse, because one gets turned against another and hurts until the one hurt is no more, which is when the survivor might realise if lucky of what has been lost, even though it might be too late. Often such realisation awaits death of the one who hurt the other one into death.

None of this happened in Emma - she was lucky, to have good counsel and love guarding her, and her weakness of character of meddling with others nipped in bud and her mistakes of perception corrected by someone wiser and stern about serious faults. She was lucky indeed.
............
............

Northanger Abbey

The not so well to do young woman is taken to a resort by comparatively well to do relatives and is invited by the master of the Northanger Abbey, the father of the young and eligible gentleman who has a mutual attracted to her and courting her, to stay with him and his family, under the impression the she is going to inherit the relatives' money.

The character of this father, the rich owner of the home that is the title, unfolds, and there are confusion, test of virtue and character, and separations and misunderstandings.

The young man however has excellent character and fortunately realises what is what, and love triumphs even without money.
............
............

Persuasion

The most gentle love story from Austen repertoire, with the usual cache of gentle women and men following a normal course of life for their day while falling into easy traps of faults or follies and realising their mistakes and generally rising above, with their counterpart of men and women of small follies or serious faults of character providing examples of how not to be or behave.

Someone (name escapes me, having read this long ago, two decades or more) had once pointed out that in Austen nothing happens page after page and yet one reads it with great interest, and to that one might only add, time after time again and again with the interest not diminished at all. And the most interesting are those of her tales that have the gentlest of stories, characters, et al.
............
............

Lady Susan

If one never knew anyone of this sort, one would think the character is entirely invented. At that it is not that uncommon to come across men who deal with their own children, especially daughters, this cruelly or worse, but they are excused or even pressured to be this cruel and admired for it in various cultures (not excepting west or US for that matter) while women are usually this cruel with children of other women, say a lover's wife or a sister in law. But the character therefore is entirely possible, especially in an era when a woman could only obtain wealth and consequence by marriages her own and her relatives'; and the only area she could use her mind however sharp was in fields related to intrigues of social sort, marriages, love affaires, and so on, especially gossip and vile gossip about other women. This unfortunately is what far too many women and even men use their minds for, even now, for sport and not for want of subjects that could use the sharp minds. Sometimes it is the heart of such a gossiper and mud thrower that is at fault seriously in that destroying another person is the pleasure, and use of mind and other facilities is merely a means.

Lady Susan comes as a surprise therefore not because of the subject but the author who chose to write it, since Jane Austen usually is as clear as a sunny day in desert about virtues and vices, and condemning not only the latter but even faults of character that might seem only human today but do lead to follies or tragedies even today often enough unquestionably.

Here Austen chooses the letter form prevalent in her time, and avoids commentary, except in letters of another character, giving equal voice to two opposite characters as it were. The story ends well as all Austen tales do to reward virtue, protect innocent and punish vice or folly only in measure.

A window as always to her time, and informative in that as well.

Feb 05, 2016.
............
December 31, 2020.
............
............
Watsons

One wishes she had had time to write it up as she did others; here is an outline written in her green years.
............
............
Sanditon (1817)
............
............

Austen is delightful as ever, in her way of quite succinctly judging characters she writes about.

"Upon the whole, Mr. Parker was evidently an amiable family man, fond of wife, children, brothers and sisters, and generally kind-hearted; liberal, gentlemanlike, easy to please; of a sanguine turn of mind, with more imagination than judgement. And Mrs. Parker was as evidently a gentle, amiable, sweet-tempered woman, the properest wife in the world for a man of strong understanding but not of a capacity to supply the cooler reflection which her own husband sometimes needed; and so entirely waiting to be guided on every occasion that whether he was risking his fortune or spraining his ankle, she remained equally useless."

What with Mr. Parker promoting Sandition with a faith in sea air and bathing as remedy for every ailment, and necessary to health, on one hand - and his siblings swearing their ill heath is too far gone for them to visit, the latter being quite hilarious, this is already promising entertainment and more, right at the beginning.

Later, it's the young Sir Edward Denham, handsome, and flattering in his attentions to the visitor Miss Charlotte Haywood, who is subject of the author's scrutiny.

"Charlotte’s first glance told her that Sir Edward’s air was that of a lover. There could be no doubt of his devotion to Clara. How Clara received it was less obvious, but she was inclined to think not very favourably; for though sitting thus apart with him (which probably she might not have been able to prevent, her air was calm and grave."

Austen is clear about her contempt for a modicum of behaviour slightly reminiscent of Mary Bennett from her most famous work, Pride And Prejudice.

"He surprised her by quitting Clara immediately on their all joining and agreeing to walk, and by addressing his attentions entirely to herself. Stationing himself close by her, he seemed to mean to detach her as much as possible from the rest of the party and to give her the whole of his conversation. He began, in a tone of great taste and feeling, to talk of the sea and the sea shore; and ran with energy through all the usual phrases employed in praise of their sublimity and descriptive of the undescribable emotions they excite in the mind of sensibility. The terrific grandeur of the ocean in a storm, its glass surface in a calm, its gulls and its samphire and the deep fathoms of its abysses, its quick vicissitudes, its direful deceptions, its mariners tempting it in sunshine and overwhelmed by the sudden tempest—all were eagerly and fluently touched; rather commonplace perhaps, but doing very well from the lips of a handsome Sir Edward, and she could not but think him a man of feeling, till he began to stagger her by the number of his quotations and the bewilderment of some of his sentences.

And she has Charlotte bequeathed with intelligence and common sense of Elizabeth Bennett, rather than the self absorption of Emma.

"His choosing to walk with her, she had learnt to understand. It was done to pique Miss Brereton. She had read it, in an anxious glance or two on his side; but why he should talk so much nonsense, unless he could do no better, was unintelligible. He seemed very sentimental, very full of some feeling or other, and very much addicted to all the newest-fashioned hard words, had not a very clear brain, she presumed, and talked a good deal by rote. ... "

Charlotte chooses to stay with Lady Denham on the Terrace, as asked by her, instead of going with others to library.

"Nobody could live happier together than us—and he was a very honourable man, quite the gentleman of ancient family. And when he died, I gave Sir Edward his gold watch.” She said this with a look at her companion which implied its right to produce a great impression; and seeing no rapturous astonishment in Charlotte’s countenance, added quickly, “He did not bequeath it to his nephew, my dear. It was no bequest. It was not in the will. He only told me, and that but once, that he should wish his nephew to have his watch; but it need not have been binding if l had not chose it.”

"“Very kind indeed! Very handsome!” said Charlotte, absolutely forced to affect admiration.

"“Yes, my dear, and it is not the only kind thing I have done by him. I have been a very liberal friend to Sir Edward. And poor young man, he needs it bad enough. For though I am only the dowager, my dear, and he is the heir, things do not stand between us in the way they commonly do between those two parties. Not a shilling do I receive from the Denham estate. Sir Edward has no payments to make me. He doesn’t stand uppermost, believe me. It is I that help him.”

"“Indeed! He is a very fine young man, particularly elegant in his address.” This was said chiefly for the sake of saying something, but Charlotte directly saw that it was laying her open to suspicion by Lady Denham’s giving a shrewd glance at her and replying,

"“Yes, yes, he is very well to look at. And it is to be hoped that some lady of large fortune will think so, for Sir Edward must marry for money. He and I often talk that matter over. A handsome young fellow like him will go smirking and smiling about and paying girls compliments, but he knows he must marry for money. And Sir Edward is a very steady young man in the main and has got very good notions.”"
............

Austen writes candidly about - whether consciously aware, and deliberately writing, or simply taking them as facts of life - arranged marriage and caste systems of England in particular, Europe in general; things that since have been, falsely, identified exclusively with India, in line with Macaulay policy to break spirit of India.

"“Sir Edward Denham,” said Charlotte, “with such personal advantages may be almost sure of getting a woman of fortune, if he chooses it.”

"This glorious sentiment seemed quite to remove suspicion. “Aye my dear, that’s very sensibly said,” cried Lady Denham. “And if we could but get a young heiress to Sanditon! But heiresses are monstrous scarce! I do not think we have had an heiress here—or even a Co. since Sanditon has been a public place. Families come after families but, as far as I can learn, it is not one in a hundred of them that have any real property, landed or funded. An income perhaps, but no property. Clergymen maybe, or lawyers from town, or half-pay officers, or widows with only a jointure. And what good can such people do anybody? Except just as they take our empty houses and, between ourselves, I think they are great fools for not staying at home. Now if we could get a young heiress to be sent here for her health—and if she was ordered to drink asses’ milk I could supply her—and, as soon as she got well, have her fall in love with Sir Edward!”"
............

And again, as the two parties unite -

"Sir Edward, approaching Charlotte, said, “You may perceive what has been our occupation. My sister wanted my counsel in the selection of some books. We have many leisure hours and read a great deal. I am no indiscriminate novel reader. The mere trash of the common circulating library I hold in the highest contempt. You will never hear me advocating those puerile emanations which detail nothing but discordant principles incapable of amalgamation, ....

¿Qué más puedo decir de la más grandiosa y favorita escritora de todos los tiempos? Sin duda alguna, Jane Austen marcó un hito en mi vida y sin dudarlo ni un segundo, esta bellísima colección ilustrada en su idioma original es mi mayor tesoro suyo. Cierto es, que aun me faltan varias novelas suyas, como los Watson, Lady Susan, Sanditon (¡yey!, ya las conseguí hace poco :))y muchas otras que escribió en su infancia, estoy satisfecha de mi pequeña pero adorada colección, que en un país como el mío, es un reto en verdad conseguir novelas clásicas. Y aunque me tarde mi buen par de meses o inclusive años en releerla en su idioma original, será una placentera aventura.

OMG, dieser Schuber ist echt sooooo hübsch, viel kleiner als erwartet und viel schöner. Die Ober- und Unterseite ist aus schönem roten Stoff (wahrscheinlich Leinen), der Schuber insgesamt wirkt stabil und hochwertig. Und dann die einzelnen Bücher erst. Sehr klein, als HC mit Schutzumschlag und schönem Goldschnitt und Lesebändchen. Unter dem Schutzumschlag, sind die Romane aus dem gleichen roten Leinen wie der Schuber und der Buchrücken ist mit goldenen Lettern beschriftet, wirklich sehr schick. Die Edition wirkt natürlich nicht sonderlich modern, aber hochwertig und altmodisch klassisch, für den Preis von knapp 36€, den ich bezahlt habe, wirklich sehr schön gestaltet. :)

After finding Jane Austen's writing amusing but slow as an early teen, I studied her works at university, and grew to appreciate her books. I still enjoy reading them, and identifying her characters in the people around me.
This review is more a review of the edition of the book I own than of the content. The book is beautiful, enhanced by the beautiful illustrations, with an old-fashioned ribbon bookmark bound into it. It is too heavy to actually carry around to read, but has to be placed on a table for reading. It is a lovely reference and browsing book, and collector's item.

Orgoglio e pregiudizio, 01/04; ****
Ragione e sentimento, 21/04; *****

I love this book! It is very large and heavy, so not easy to read without a book stand or sitting at a desk. But I bought it for the display abilities. I want it to be the center focus of my library. I love the collection of illustrations, the bookmark ribbon, and the clear text for reading. I have already started underlining my favorite quotes.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑
Pride and Prejudice (Aug 2021)

“That would be the greatest misfortune of all! To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil.”

Who even am I? I’ve read a classic and I absolutely adored it. I knew nothing about this novel before I started, obviously I’d heard of Mr Darcy but honestly that was it! I’ve walked passed the Jane Austen museum so many times when I visit Bath and it was beyond time I picked up a copy of her work, this edition being completely gorgeous may have helped a little bit!

I’m pretty basic so Pride and Prejudice seemed the best place to start. It took me a while to get into it but I loved Lizzy and Mr Darcy. I was practically squealing with happiness at the OG enemies to lovers.

Big Austen year in 2020 for a subject in my BA at UQ. Still to read S&S and Mansfield Park. I am ow a fan of the young woman and understand what at least some of the hype is about.

How could anything ever be better than Jane Austen. I'm reading her complete works for the third or fourth (or maybe eighty-second) time. Such a combination of wit and irony, but not in a biting or depressing way. She has good characters and bad, but somehow manages to make humanity look good, simply by being honest. I love her!